Good older small car?

[DavidPartay]

Hi guys,

My fiance and I are looking at getting her a car, we're thinking about a VR-VS commodore, but a small car would be cheaper to buy and run. I'm not big on the know-how of smaller cars, at the moment I'm thinking an Astra or Mazda 323.

Basically I want to know which ones are RELIABLE, which ones tend to have a bad rep for airconditioning problems, etc... I don't want anything older than 1995, and preferably cheaper than $12 grand.

HAS to be a manual.
Rear-wheel drive would be preferable but I know they're few and far between.
I want to steer clear of Hyundai, Kia, Daewoo and Honda, and Ford is DEFINITELY out of the question as she is the biggest Holden fan in the world.

I'm looking to Holden, Mazda, Subaru and Nissan mainly.

Advice would certainly be appreciated.

[clixanup]

No mention of the iconic Toyota Corolla?

$12K should get a 2001 to 2002 model. Provided its manual.

Nippon denso air = you'll find yourself turning it down in 40 degree heat. It gets COLD.

They're ultra reliable. They just don't break down. And as a bonus, the gearing in them is relatively short, which makes them heaps of fun to drive.

That's what I'd buy if I were in the market for a small car.

[michaelw]

Yep another vote for the Corolla, boring as batshit but VERY reliable.

One thing to watch for on the hatch back is that the rear seals on the back glass can leak causing rust on the bottom passenger hand side of the window.

Engine mounts can get worn otherwise good cars. Depending on what people want I always recommend either a corolla or a commodore.

Mike

[DavidPartay]

Corolla, eh? For some reason it didn't even come to mind, definitely a suggestion worth looking into!

Being a Toyota I wouldn't expect anything less than good build quality and there's plenty of great Toyota service departments around who I would expect look after you.

Cheers

[HDT_aero]

any old small car will be fine so long as you dont drive it like a commodore lol

treat it nice and it will treat you nice back

[clixanup]

Corolla, eh? For some reason it didn't even come to mind, definitely a suggestion worth looking into!

Being a Toyota I wouldn't expect anything less than good build quality and there's plenty of great Toyota service departments around who I would expect look after you.

I had a 1989 AE92 (1.6 twin cam with a/c and 5 speed) for 5 years. That little car earned my respect. I'd give it heaps, but it always started with the first turn of the key. Had 216,000 km on it when I sold it, and it still didn't blow smoke. Never gave me any trouble. I used to get 10km per litre around town. On a round trip to Wagga ~ 1100km, it used 65 litres with the a/c on all the way...

[minux]

I quite like taking my sisters 1.8 litre Laser GLXi for a drive, goes well for a little 4, only cost her 9k with 107k on the clock(2000 model) elec windows, cruise control etc etc

nm, read your post to the end...

[DavidPartay]

Ok next question, what small car 1990-1995 era would be the best? Still Corolla, or would something else pass the test of time better?

[filtnineee]

covert a vs to gas and its cheaper to run then a small car,and u dont loose power, and u still have a big car, why bother with small car? there prob solved

[DavidPartay]

No, problem NOT solved.

In 2 years the price of gas will be comparable to the price of petrol. A gas conversion costs minimum $1600, you will NEVER recoup that expense because of this. Don't be surprised if gas costs over 70c/L by the end of the year.

I would much prefer to have her driving a big car, but small cars ARE cheaper to run.

[michaelw]

Ok next question, what small car 1990-1995 era would be the best? Still Corolla, or would something else pass the test of time better?

My girlfriend has a '93 corolla other than the above mentioned rust problem. No worries.

Another small thing with corollas the normal wheels seem to lose their hub caps quites easily. I know of 3 corollas and all of them never had a full set of hubcaps.

EDIT: A friend's corolla was a 1990 hatch still in very good nick, picked up for $3 300 from a dealer. The owner had to move back to NZ and it was sold privately 3 months later for 3000.


Mike

[ucwepn]

I can't believe no-one has said a honda civic, They are as good if not better than the corolla in reliability and build quality, although their major concern is the necessity to get spare parts shipped from Japan. But the VTEC engines are very hard to kill, the toyota corrolla is a very good car as well. Just steer well clear of anything from korea or malaysia

[Bec]

Corolla for sure. Hondas have better build quality but cost too much to maintain

[DavidPartay]

I said I want to steer clear of Honda, I have a personal vendetta against them . I would rather drive a Ford, let's put it that way!

[clixanup]

Ok next question, what small car 1990-1995 era would be the best? Still Corolla, or would something else pass the test of time better?

Yeah. Mine was a Japanese made 1989 AE92. They stayed the same shape until 1994 I think.

According to Redbook, a 1994 AE92 (hatchback) is going for about $4K these days (5 speed).

Shop around. There are heaps of these in the cheaper car dealers these days. Take one for a test drive.

Aside from the Malaysian & Korean crap there wasn't much else around in the small car sector in the late 80's & early 90's. As someone else mentioned, the only other car I'd consider of this age & size would be a Honda Civic, but you said you don't want a Honda...

[sixshooter]

Stay away from Toyota Metallic paint if your still cotemplating a Toyota... its thin shit... my roof is a sight to behold...all rusting away...least the rust matches the metallic red paint elsewhere....

Because these cars are recycled in Japan after about 3 yrs cause of their tight emmision standards they just aren't built to last.

I'd buy a Mitsubishi if I was considering buying a Jap car...but I dont think I'll ever stray from Holden ever again.

[DavidPartay]

That's one of the main reasons I want to avoid Honda, they're not built to last more than three years.

[clixanup]

Because these cars are recycled in Japan after about 3 yrs cause of their tight emmision standards they just aren't built to last.

That's a fallacy.

I went to Tokyo last year and saw heaps of cars older than 10 years. The taxi we rode in was 7 years old.

I don't know where/how this rumour started, but it definitely is not true.

[vtdemon]

That's a fallacy.

I went to Tokyo last year and saw heaps of cars older than 10 years. The taxi we rode in was 7 years old.

I don't know where/how this rumour started, but it definitely is not true.

Does anyone know where I can find info about this so-called rule about Japanese cars? A friend said something about it once and I didn't believe him but he seemed pretty sure they chuck out cars older than 3 years. Info would be great.

Cheers

[matrix]

i drove a turbo Astra the other day and omfg. it f**king rocked.
if i ever decide on a small car thats gonna be it, and the new "HSV" Astra is on its way too.

[portercg]

can't believe you hate Honda's so much. Oh well.

Thought about a Subaru? they are well built and have all wheel drive option
early Impreza for instance, just buy some nice wheels/tyres and leave it stock. they have brilliant aircons
You'd be imprezzed. (Sorry, I just can't help myself)

[Nobody Actually]

malvern star= cheap to run, low maintainance

[Joes_meat]

I've personally found Honda's to be very reliable.

matrix, you're talking about the HSV VXR?
240 horses through the front wheels. Go like a bloody rocket. Torque steer like it's posessed. I'd love one.

[sixshooter]

That's a fallacy.

I went to Tokyo last year and saw heaps of cars older than 10 years. The taxi we rode in was 7 years old.

I don't know where/how this rumour started, but it definitely is not true.

The 3 year Law maybe a myth... but the fact is Japan is always tightening the emmission standards of cars and they have the toughest emission standards in the world to get the old shitboxes off the roads... The car manufactures know this so they make cheap nasty cars that wont last till the next emission standard... thats why there's such a booming export market for used vehicles coming from Japan... I reckon the emission standards are driven more by economics that greenies...

http://www.adb.org/Vehicle-Emissions...ards-japan.asp

[DavidPartay]

Portercg,

I dislike Honda because their vehicles are ugly and more often than not I am stuck behind a CR-V, HR-V, Prelude, or Civic. Sometimes Odysseys get in the way as well. On top of that, Honda have the inherent Ricer image which I certainly don't want to have pinned on my fiance .

I know it's superficial, I know Honda make good cars (and the best power/displacement engines) but I just don't want one .

I have looked into an older Subaru, can't go wrong with an Impreza! My mum got last year's model Impreza RS and it's a lovely car.