Ladies Car advice

[kwijibo]

The missus' 1983 corolla is looking a bit worse for wear lately.. It decides when and if it will start for no apparant reason. Since she leaves for work before 6am, I'm thinking about getting something a bit more reliable.

Now, I know nothing about cars, but I'm thinking something like a (newer) Toyota Corolla, Ford Focus, or Holden Astra.. as a hatchback would be good (shes a personal trainer, so would be easy to throw gear in the back if need be) and something economical.

Are there any otheres I should add to that list, or any of those to avoid? I'm not exactly sure how much I want to spend, but probably not a great deal more than 10k unless it really seems worth it.

[wabbit]

2000 ish model Corolla

[nutty]

2000 ish model Corolla

Yea, cant go wrong with a Corolla. I own a 92 model and its fantastic, never had a single problem with it. Yet to know of a single person who has said bad things about them for a little run about.
Stay away from Astra's, a friend my mine misses has had nothing but problems with hers from day 1.

[r8response]

My brother and his GF recently bought a Mitsubishi Lancer, and honestly i can't fault it. Nice ride, engine is responsive and extremely economical. They filled up last night after having done 600+ Km's on the one tank, it averaged something around 7L/100km. Brilliant car

[Exar Kun]

For functional A to B transport the Corolla really is good. For something that's a bit more fun to drive but still reliable then a Focus would be a good bet.

[Cutter]

1 vote for the astra, zippy and cheap. Bland as batshit tho.

But imported might be the way to go.
Car dealers ordered cars 6 months ago, before the downturn, and are now stuck with expensive yard fillers and need to shift them.
A lot of extended warranty / free service etc offers out there.

Matbe a little Mazda / /Suzi / Corolla

[bengatta]

Get a Corolla...

[Hz-Lab]

Corolla's are tops little Cars, if you are looking around the 2000 era then they are probably the pick of the bunch. Focus's are pretty darn good but you you'd probably have to look more around the 2004/05 mark. Also, don't overlook the Toyota Yaris's either, especially the yrx's. You can get them dirt cheap and they are an awesome little car. Great to drive, sporty feeling, and damn well reliable.

[wabbit]

don't overlook the Toyota Yaris's either, especially the yrx's.

Hell yeah, i had forgotten about them, they share some fancy features from the Lexus range aswell.

[kwijibo]

Cheers guys.. the Corolla certainly seems popular. I'll have a look around!

[Santaria]

+75 for a Corolla. Can't kill em with a stick.

[Fandango]

Yep for price go the corolla kwij. Newer Astra's are bloody brilliant... SRi coupe's really look swoit and can't go past the german build quality... but you're getting into low 20's territory for a cheap or Demo CD/CDX. Corolla will go forever.

[Gizmo]

As long as it's PINK!

[richo]

Coming from a spare parts reseller , avoid Opel based cars such as the Astra and Vectra . The amount of head gasket failures, cooling system failures and major electronic issues was amazing.

There probably a good car in Europe but not here..

[kwijibo]

Avoiding all advice in this thread awhile back, I ended up getting a 2001 pulsar hatch, as they were a fair bit cheaper than the corolla's. Wanted a hatch as she does house to house personal training and its easier to get the gear in and out.

It burns oil like no tomorrow and now appears to need "lower control arm bushes" - the front wheels got way out of alignment (now fixed) which worn two new tyres down to nothing (now replaced). Thinking of selling it and getting something else now - might have to look closer at the Corolla! She just wants a $1000 banger, but I want something reliable.

[bengatta]

buy a corolla... this time

[kwijibo]

They cost so damn much though!

[bengatta]

they dont burn oil or need the lower control arm bushes replaced.... thats why they cost more than a nissan pulsar... didn't take too long for you to learn why the nissan was Soooooo much cheaper...

[petey]

they dont burn oil or need the lower control arm bushes replaced.... thats why they cost more than a nissan pulsar... didn't take too long for you to learn why the nissan was Soooooo much cheaper...

No need to be like that, the Nissarn is a very attr... ok no continue.

[bengatta]

they dont burn oil or need the lower control arm bushes replaced.... thats why they cost more than a nissan pulsar... didn't take too long for you to learn why the nissan was Soooooo much cheaper...

No need to be like that, the Nissarn is a very attr... ok no continue.

don't forget how well they hannnnnnnnnnnnnnd, yeah they don't do that either...

[dvestate]

Hey calm down my 98 Pulsar SSS is going great guns.......

[bengatta]

Hey calm down my 98 Pulsar SSS is going great guns.......

arh yes, I forgot about the 98... the only decent pulsar they made...

[dvestate]

lol........ I've also owned a 94,95 & 99 SSS at various points of my car life, every time I sell one 2 years later there is a replacement SSS in the driveway

[bengatta]

lol........ I've also owned a 94,95 & 99 SSS at various points of my car life, every time I sell one 2 years later there is a replacement SSS in the driveway

well, sorry to have to say this, they were all shit... lucky the one you own NOW is the 98...

[petey]

SSS should be the sr20det so thats atleast something