Mike Rotch's RenaultSport Clio 200T

[Mike Rotch]

Yay, third thread in a week

I figure before I throw it open in the CiG forum, I might try the level heads here first.

"The Situation"
Apart from being a guy from TV, these are the constraints I am working around:

1) Cars in Australia are hideously expensive and depreciation is a word not even to be found in the dictionary. Example: IS200? Cannot be found for under $9000.

2) My car will be solely used for weekend errands. Driving to work is not an option, unless someone would like to gift me an annuity of $500 a week for parking .

3) My heart says buy something >$7500 as that is most pretty much where the <6yrs old & <100,000km cars start, however, seeing that much money garaged up for 6 days a week makes my head put my heart in a kimura and make it tap out like a bitch.

4) How low can one go in terms of price? Does a $2000 early 90's corolla with 200,000km on it makes sense (from a maintenance perspective) over a $6,000 Echo with 100,000km on it.

The Contenders

My research has identified the following candidates:

1) late 90's Mitsubishi Mirage. ~ Looks ug mind you.
2) Late 90's Toyota Echo ~ Prices are still strong...
3) Late 90's RAV ~ How reliable are this vintage?
4) Early 2000 Mazda 2 ~ hard to find a good one
5) Late 90's Mitsubishi Magna ~ Looks ug too.

I wouldn't mind a Getz, but they start at about $6,000 .

So the first question, is I am missing something in terms of car models, and, if I am looking for something possibly overengineered and less likely to give issues, which of the above makes sense?

 

[W3H5]

Just a thought; no chance of importing from Asia? Or would the costs not be worth it?

 

[Small_Fryz]

Taxes + rules on importing.

 

[W3H5]

I thought that might be the case there. It's similar in China. Twice the price of European cars due to taxes, even when they're made here! Crazy!

Not a job for a motorcycle if it's just a weekend runner?

 

[Mike Rotch]

Just a thought; no chance of importing from Asia? Or would the costs not be worth it?

One can only import cars not available for sale (present or historically) in Australia.

If one can demonstrate that, you get slugged with import duties which make it pretty uneconomical

Some "heart" ideas which makes no sense other then in dreams:

'86 230E
E34 525i
156 V6

 

[Shaun]

Here you go mate.

http://www.carpoint.com.au/all-cars...138615F39552&__Nne=15&__Qpb=1&seot=1&__N=1216

A ute is always handy. May look a bit rough around the edges but going by the contact name of Rosemary I detect a lady owner, probably only drove it to church on Sunday.
Should be handy for city driving as well considering no one will want to get too close to you. Parking will be a dawdle as it wont matter what you may rub up against in the process. New clutch and spare motor, how can you go wrong.

But in all seriousness if your after a small city runaround from the 90's have a look at what Toyota has to offer. Sure they are bland but reliability is one of their strong points. I'll have a bit of a look around when I get the chance.

Cheers Shaun.

 

[Mike Rotch]

Here you go mate.

Thanks mate . One problem; my hands are made for keyboards, not scratching around under the bonnet of a car .

PS: Didn't know about that site - thanks

 

[opelgt1969]

4) How low can one go in terms of price? Does a $2000 early 90's corolla with 200,000km on it makes sense (from a maintenance perspective) over a $6,000 Echo with 100,000km on it.

The Contenders

My research has identified the following candidates:

1) late 90's Mitsubishi Mirage. ~ Looks ug mind you.
2) Late 90's Toyota Echo ~ Prices are still strong...
3) Late 90's RAV ~ How reliable are this vintage?
4) Early 2000 Mazda 2 ~ hard to find a good one
5) Late 90's Mitsubishi Magna ~ Looks ug too.
First question does Mike Rotch know how to do minor repairs to say a (90's Corolla with 200,000 km on it)
If he does then maybe he should go this route then save for something better later on that he'll enjoy better, then keep older car for bad weather driving.

 

[Spacegoat]

Here you go mate.

I second that.

PS: Didn't know about that site - thanks

Carpoint's a great site. My father bought a super clean '95 VS Statesman from there, a couple months ago.

 

[Keef]

Of your list, Diamante. Err, Magna. Not sure why you would consider any of the other cars on that list, ever. Ever. And I do mean ever.

I myself have always been interested in Mercedes W201 cars myself. Mmm, dat 190E. Relatively inexpensive and reliable.

 

[niky]

Despite the supposed reliability, I wouldn't get a 4AFE Corolla with 200k kms on it, too much of a fixer upper. A 100k km Echo, on the other hand will be just about broken in, and shouldn't be too difficult to maintain for the next two years if you're only doing weekend trips and maybe 5,000 kms a year.

Fancy an SP20 or a Laser (same thing)? Good poke, fun to drive, lots of room and sorely under appreciated (thus likely cheap). Geared a bit low for good economy, but should still get you 12-16 km/l on the highway.

EDIT: Egads, looked at the prices on Carpoint, the prices! If you do consider a Laser, a manual 1.8 hatch... KQ is your best bet, but asking prices are wild!

 

[Sharky.]

My mother drives a 1.5 auto KE Laser. It is terrible. Avoid like the plague.

 

[Shaun]

Fancy an SP20 or a Laser (same thing)? Good poke, fun to drive, lots of room and sorely under appreciated (thus likely cheap). Geared a bit low for good economy, but should still get you 12-16 km/l on the highway.

Yep same thing. The Laser equivalent is the SR2.
We had one for three years before getting a Mazda 3. Three years of trouble free motoring. Like all second hand cars here though the prices are crazy.

Cheers Shaun.

 

[niky]

It is kind of mind-boggling, given the amount of kays on some of those.

My mother drives a 1.5 auto KE Laser. It is terrible. Avoid like the plague.

Hence KQ, a truly decent car, and the 1.8 is the most reliable of the lot.

 

[Neal]

Definitely get the ute and then you can carry your bike like this

 

[homeforsummer]

I myself have always been interested in Mercedes W201 cars myself. Mmm, dat 190E. Relatively inexpensive and reliable.

This, if it's cheap enough to buy. We're spoiled in the UK - you can get a good, solid 190E with decent service history and not too high mileage for about £800-900 ($1200-1400, $1200-1400 AUS). Like, I dunno, this one. Last forever, built like tanks (one of the last Mercs that can claim this) and look cool.

But yeah, depends how available they are and what price they are in the Antipodes.

 

[Shaun]

Brad, I started to have a quick browse for you only to realise I didn't know what I was exactly looking for.
A few questions if you don't mind.

1. 4,6 or 8 cylinder.
2. Auto or manual.
3. Max spend/preferred spend.
4. Sedan, hatch, wagon.
5. How far can you travel for purchase. I was only searching within 25 km's of Sydney.

That should be enough for a start.
One thing I did notice in my short search was that the prices were worse than I thought. I haven't bought a second hand car for 9 years.
As the norm though Commodore/Falcon will get you the most for your dollars in the second hand market in Aus. You can probably throw Magna in there too. All are cheapish to maintain, insurance I'm not sure of but obviously the fuel costs will be higher than a 4 cyl Japanese car.

Cheers Shaun.

 

[Moglet]

I can recommend an Echo no end, my 2002 1.3 has just hit 160,000km and it's still running perfectly. The interior gets a bit rattly but everything else is running as smoothly as most cars half its age. I don't know if the UK models differ to the Aus ones though.

 

[Brando-K]

160,000 km pfft come back at 350,000 km+. My dads EB Falcon has 375,000 km and my mums EL has 390,000 km (yes they both still run well). Also the old models are cheap as here Mike so you might want to look at them.

 

[Dennisch]

1) Cars in Australia are hideously expensive

Indeed they are. Ridiculous.

That Mirage. (Colt over here) That's 750-1000 Euro car over here.

It's just wrong.

 

[Moglet]

160,000 km pfft come back at 350,000 km+. My dads EB Falcon has 375,000 km and my mums EL has 390,000 km (yes they both still run well). Also the old models are cheap as here Mike so you might want to look at them.

Mine has had a fairly average life, I never suggested it had done high mileage; its just in good condition for its age.

 

[Famine]

Mike Rotch needs a car!

The answer is clear. Hondapants.

 

[Solo]

Hondapants.

Do they enhance the power of dreams?

I'll second that the Yaris (echo) as a choice, Mum's is still going very strong after 11 years and is in great condition too.

 

[homeforsummer]

Do they enhance the power of dreams?

No, but they stop you Mazda-baiting.

 

[Solo]

Brilliant

 

[Mike Rotch]

Of your list, Diamante. Err, Magna .

I didn't know they they in the States too - so do they have a rep for being solid (if somewhat dull) cars there?

Echo

Echo

Echo

Seems like a consensus that that is a safe bet....Will definitely investigate that one further. Are they relatively spacious in the driver seat? I have to stuff 6'5" behind the wheel.

Brad, I started to have a quick browse for you only to realise I didn't know what I was exactly looking for.
A few questions if you don't mind.

1. 4,6 or 8 cylinder.
2. Auto or manual.
3. Max spend/preferred spend.
4. Sedan, hatch, wagon.
5. How far can you travel for purchase. I was only searching within 25 km's of Sydney.

That should be enough for a start.
One thing I did notice in my short search was that the prices were worse than I thought. I haven't bought a second hand car for 9 years.
As the norm though Commodore/Falcon will get you the most for your dollars in the second hand market in Aus.

Thanks for the help mate . A Falcon, I must confess, is really not something I'd really like to consider. I know they are good second hand prospects but I am not sure I could stomach piloting the staple of the Sydney taxi fleet [/snob].

As for your questions:

1) I'm not too fussy, a small part of me is thinking early 2000 ss, but that may a bit too bogun...
2) Manual for a big car (Magna, Commodore), auto for any econobox. Purely because the size of the econobox makes clutching a chore with such long legs...
3) If I could get away with under $5000, that would be optimal. I could go a lot higher, but above $7000 I would start to get uncomfy, just because its not going to ge used a whole bunch.
4) Any shape 👍 A stationwagon/ suv would be cool for carting stuff around on weekends, but would be an added bonus.
5) 25km outside the Metro is about the limit, just because I'd be bumming lifts of mates to get me out to see stuff.

The answer is clear. Hondapants.

Ay. Hens teeth though. I've seen the odd Civic hatch from 97-99 with sensible km but people just don't seem to let them go until they have driven 3/5 of the way to the moon.

Ute

*goes to watch Hammond beat up an S4 with a Maloo*

 

[niky]

Typical Honda resale... at least you shouldn't get the rust issues we get in the tropics.

Echo... You might just fit... As long as no one sits behind you... A mid-90s Corolla is the same way. My bud's Corolla was practically a three seater.... he was inexcusably long of limb.

 

[Crash]

I didn't know they they in the States too - so do they have a rep for being solid (if somewhat dull) cars there?

Mitsubishi's have a somewhat dodgy reputation around here. Though certainly not as bad as late 90s Chryslers, many people still consider their cars garbage (Evos aside).


What about a Subaru of some sort? Aren't they quite popular in Australia?

 

[Mike Rotch]

What about a Subaru of some sort? Aren't they quite popular in Australia?

Finding an Impreza under $6000 is rare, the most likely candidates would be maaaybe an old Forester or more likely a late 90's Liberty/ Legacy.

Are mid 90's 3-series just a pile of grelimins waiting to unravel?

 

[Crash]

Finding an Impreza under $6000 is rare, the most likely candidates would be maaaybe an old Forester or more likely a late 90's Liberty/ Legacy.

From my experience, Foresters aren't that bad of cars. Good thing is they should be able to haul a good amount of cargo and should you so choose to, there are plenty of performance parts out there to put on the car. The only down side of driving a Forester is you look like a lesbian.

Are mid 90's 3-series just a pile of grelimins waiting to unravel?

Yes. Well, kinda.

How big is your budget for repairs? How much are you going to be fixing your own stuff vs. bringing it to a shop? As you can imagine, parts for BMWs are expensive. My experience with my BMW is that with regular maintenance, it's pretty darn reliable, but when something breaks, it becomes really expensive, really quickly.

Like all used cars though, the biggest thing is how the previous owner treated the car. I have a friend who owned a E36 3-series and it was a complete pile of turd. It was in the shop more often than it was driving. On the other hand, it doesn't sound like Azuremen's has had a ton of issues on his (albeit much later model year, and an M3 to boot) E36.