advice on buying my 1st car

[JJCRU23R]

gday guys,

would really appreciate your collective advice.

in the next few months, my wife and i plan on looking for her first car.

shes still on her L's ATM and i want to get her something reliable she can practice on, then go for her P's in.

definately wouldnt want her to be driving a lemon like my first car was... but at the sametime, we definately arent the richest people in the world right now.

just wondering where in sydney can you TRUST a 2nd hand car dealer on purchasing a car that wont break down within a few months? (reliable after sales service a major plus)

we're possibly looking to spend $5000 max. which probebly means im looking at a car made as early 1990 (id rather not buy a car that old, but i guess thats as old a car as im willing to let my wife drive)

at least 4 doors, automatic. sedan/hatch is ideal...

if you were looking into buying something like this, which models would you trust?

what 10 year old cars have proven themselves as reliable?

which 1s to avoid?

considering factors such as possible cost of parts/repairs, running costs, fuel economy.

[sportiyo]

anything toyota or honda, not too old and good service history and the other basic stuff of course, i noticed 99% of the mitsu magna(90's model) blows out black/blue smoke, maybe worn engine, so stay away from them!!

[Fronozby]

Not sure for SYD but up here QLD there is some used car dealers that are promoting all their used cars as better than any other used cars because of the quality and stuff. like they get a full 100 point saftey check and they sometimes have a quality check too. Best if you know anyone that works their or just get chummy with a sales dude. just so you can talk no bull to them.

[MIIKEY]

i just bought my first car off a ebay guy , the car was a toyota lexcen VS 1995 model, with a blown gear box, he told me straight out that if we we'r going to buy the car off him he would have the gear box fixed straight away, we left our deposit n that afternoon it was in the shop being fixed , it cost him $800 for a gear box for it and he didnt even charge us for it, either im a sucker for niceness or he was really good

The address was 14B Tangerine St Villawood. Call him on 0415 288 657 before u go out there, his names Omar

[MarkMish]

this is what is supposed to happen when ur wife starts driving. is u give her your car as its more reliable and the men drive the lemons. this will lessen the head aches cause she has the kids with her all the time and have u ever broken down alone with small kids its a bigger headache. at least if u broke down in the lemon no harm done u call nrma and wait for them no screaming kids no headaches. it just makes more sense. :D

our first 2nd car we bought for mark was an 89 corolla sedan which we bought for $800. and it started every morning first go. it was an awesome car. it got him to work and back every day with no probs.

[JJCRU23R]

you know wat mish i WANT my wife to be able to drive the bugger but its a manual.

she wants to drive auto.

i dont mind the 89 model but geez... id make sure the engine and trans was definately in good nick.

i got screwed on my first car. every 6-8 weeks something would kcuf up... all coz we believed the BS the salesman was giving us.

bought a ('85?) laser kc model for $5000.. 2 weeks later my classmate bought a tx3 for the same price... and his didnt break down all the time like mine!?! :/

hate salesmen! once they start telling stories i just wanna turn my back and say no thankyou..

Edited September 6, 2007 by JJCRU23R

[GtiRboy]

as said, anything toyota will be a goer, they just never seem to stop..until people do silly things and break them :P

AE92 Corolla FTW

[JJCRU23R]

yea if its from a priv8 seller make sure it was a "lady driver" lol

man.. damn now where am i gonna get this $$$ from...

[CAP]

My dad has a 1990 Holden Nova/Corolla AE92 auto sedan, nothing has ever gone wrong with the thing. Don't think you can go wrong, but only problem is most cars of this age will have or be close to 200,000km's which can make them a little tired and possibly problematic just because of the wear from the km's.

I think generally anything Japanese would be good. However perhaps a Hyundai isn't such a bad thing either, for the same price as an older Japanese make, you could get something newer which is something to consider. My friend got a 1 year old ex-rental Getz for 9k and for what he paid, it does the job quite well.

[MarkMish]

you know wat mish i WANT my wife to be able to drive the bugger but its a manual.

she wants to drive auto.

i dont mind the 89 model but geez... id make sure the engine and trans was definately in good nick.

i got screwed on my first car. every 6-8 weeks something would kcuf up... all coz we believed the BS the salesman was giving us.

bought a ('85?) laser kc model for $5000.. 2 weeks later my classmate bought a tx3 for the same price... and his didnt break down all the time like mine!?! :/

hate salesmen! once they start telling stories i just wanna turn my back and say no thankyou..

manual is easy to drive. just leave her in your car and you stay in the house its easier to teach yourself then to have someone screaming at you. thats how i learnt i picked up my car from toyota and drove it home to my house without stalling. the first day i ever attempted manual. jerked heaps but never stalled. hehehe. by the end of the day i had it down. :D

good luck with the search though......

[JJCRU23R]

negative. shes has to learn bout how to deal with traffic, roundabouts, parking etc before she bothers with a clutch and manual gears! thats crazy talk! baby steps mish! im not gonna throw her into the deep end like that! shes pregnant lets not forget!?! as if im gonna let her stress out like that...

further more it would be illegal to just let her drive while i sit at home!!?

SHES ON HER L'S. lol!

only 3 hours previous driving experience on auto is good enough to drive manual? dont think so. maybe for some, but definately not for my wife.

Edited September 7, 2007 by JJCRU23R

[JJCRU23R]

my wife and i have somewhat agreed on the type of car - small station wagon.

did toyota release a small corolla station wagon back in the 90s?

[MT]

they did release a 4WD corolla wagon in the early 90's, but from what i heard it was terrible... cant think of the body code right now, but i do remember the ugliness