Little car for less than $12000 (1 Viewer)

[imsooverskool]

Ok, there seems to be heaps of car heads here so i am going to ask for your advice.

I am looking for a girl car, no less than 1.4 L engine, Euro styling, can be manual or auto. I am tossing up between a Barina (top of the list) and a Toyota Echo. What do you guys think? Any suggestions (I am so sick of looking on carsales.com.au)

 

[loquasagacious]

I'm thinking a 2000-ish ford laser/mazda 323 (same car) can be picked up for that money with the 1.8L and higher spec interior having driven them and newer echo/barinas the laser/323 wins out.

Also worth keeping an eye out for is the now superceded (eg g1) ford focus.

The pulsar's in that price range are also well worth a look - careful though dump the clutch and they'll chirp.

 

[Vangineer]

i heard that barina's apparently need the belts replaced after 20000 kms, this is with a brand new car. read further on pf forums

 

[loquasagacious]

Hmm that seems unlikely.

Even were it true it would cost way less than $100 and the replacements would last longer.

 

[petar13]

What kind of age are you going for?

A nice Ford Focus ('02-'03) will run you around $14 000 - which is a tad over your budget, but it has some Euro influences.

I hate myself for suggesting this - but you could think about a Mitsubishi Lancer. You'll probably find a nice clean 2000 model at just around the top of your price range.

You could look at the French squad - Peugeot, Citroen and Renault. You can be assured of the Euro styling here. You have yourself the 206/306, Xsara and Clio, respectively for each of the three brands. I think the best bet here is the Peugeot - I know you don't lilke carsales - but here are what they look like. The newer (206) is definitely a girl's car, whilst the older could be too. Both of these are immaculate, low km, and nice all over -
Peugeot 306 - this one has a very nice leather interior with sports seats
Peugeot 206

What else.... Personally, I would go for an older Merc or Bimmer - so this is a little difficult. Sadly old German autobahn stormers don't seem to do it for most girls looking for a car.

You could also go for a 2004 Daewoo Kalos - which is your 2005 Barina. In your price range

This is by no means an exhaustive list. Probably the best way IS to go to carsales.com - and check out all the cars in your price and and engine range.

 

[imsooverskool]

Thanks for the advice guys.

Petar- yeh i have scoured carsales and i just wanted opinions from people who know shit about cars, because i have no idea. Btw, i literally shuddered at the suggestion of a lancer, lol!

 

[lil lelu]

go the barina. a barina is a chik car,echo is more of a granny car. barinas have a slight sporty look, well echos are a...? cant describe it lol

 

[imsooverskool]

yeah the Barina's are hot looking but from what i heard they are shit boxes. I would stick with my excel, but you know it is time to move on- argh i hate not knowing anything about cars, it makes life difficult

 

[lil lelu]

barinas are good. they have good fuel economy and there parts are of good quality. they are not like the shit brands. barinas are acually good! my bf's dad is one of the top (retired) mechanics around my area and has a barina, so they obviously are not shit!!!!

 

[petar13]

Older Barinas are good quality. They are built in Spain, and badged as Opel Corsa (German brand) in Europe. Good cheap car. Very popular outside of AUS.
However the new Barina (released this year) is the Daewoo Kalos I mentioned previously. Low quality cheapy. Considering that Daewoo is basically a defunct brand, I think it would be better to go with something different.

But Astra (Vectra in Europe) is even better (speaking quality).

 

[DaddyK]

Well if you buy a mazda 3 your pretty much buying a ford because ford owns mazda.

 

[SlipStream]

I'd be on the lookout for a first generation Ford Focus or an early-example Fiesta. Fords of today are far better than yesteryear and actually are better quality and better equipped than their rivals, especially the euro models. DaddyK, a Mazda3 comes from Mazda so if you're driving a Fiesta then it's really a Mazda as they share a lot of parts. Granted though, the Fiesta is more Ford than a last-generation Laser, which is just a Mazda with a different face. Barinas are all right as well, but I'd prefer the Fiesta.

 

[DaddyK]

........yawn.

 

[ToO LaZy ^*]

post pics when you get it

 

[imsooverskool]

I'd be on the lookout for a first generation Ford Focus or an early-example Fiesta. Fords of today are far better than yesteryear and actually are better quality and better equipped than their rivals, especially the euro models. DaddyK, a Mazda3 comes from Mazda so if you're driving a Fiesta then it's really a Mazda as they share a lot of parts. Granted though, the Fiesta is more Ford than a last-generation Laser, which is just a Mazda with a different face. Barinas are all right as well, but I'd prefer the Fiesta.

I really like the Fiesta as well, but unfortunately it is out of my price range. The average price is around $16,00 for an 03 model and i just don't have that type of moolah- meh the search continues

 

[Zozo6969]

Get a 2002 Mazda2 manual, either in Maxx or Genki. So good, small, quick, decent engine power.

 

[SlipStream]

Yeh look out for a Mazda2 as well - essentially the same underpinnings as a Fiesta but looks different.

In a couple of hours I'll be the owner of a 2002 Mitubishi Lancer coupe. Costs $11500; five-speed manual, 1.5L engine and 72000km on the clock.

If that's what you wanted then good for you - personally I can think of better ways to spend $11k+ on a car, but it wouldn't necessarily be as reliable as the Lancer. At least it's manual.