Hi Ozbargainers,
May I please ask for your recommendations on buying an automatic car for around $2000?
I am just about to get my P, and simply cannot afford a lot.
As I am not sure exactly what I should look for in a car that needs to be durable and not drain the petrol quickly, I want to as for your advises. Please post direct links from gumtree or whichever good websites.
I live in northern Sydney area.
Thank you in advance for your help.
These are ok deals, but its a bit of a lottery. Massive KMs and could be on the verge of a major mechanical failure. But for $2000 I don't think you are going to get anything reliable or decent without a large slice of luck.
Thanks mate, but its already been driven 400k km.
How much would it cost to change the engine?
Drive it 'til it stops, then get another. How long do you want to get out of your $2K
already been driven 400K km
A friend had an EB ex Cab with 1.3M km
Yeah for $2k you just drive them until they breakdown and apart from like a replacement battery or something minor, you just scrap them once they break. Replacement engines would cost more in labour then parts
I would've posted this one, but it's under $1500 :p
http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/ingleburn/cars-vans-utes/2007…
Thanks for the reply!
I have been advised on getting a Japanese car, probably a Honda Civic as parts are cheap if somethings happens, and they are usually durable.
I know someone selling a 2000 Toyota Camry wagon, it's done about 300,000km.
Ditto above small old Japanese cars - really anything at this price range is a gamble though, a single major repair can easily cost more than whatever you spent on the car in the first place.
121 Metro was a great car in its time, lots of useable space and the boxy look that is super popular in Japan even in modern designs. This example is one owner but press for most recent service receipts to make sure it hasn't been neglected.
http://carsales.mobi/cars/details/1997-Mazda-121-Metro-DW-Se…
If you can hold off on the purchase and save up, the kinds of cars you can purchase at $6-7k are a lot more modern with far fewer kms - they won't cost a great deal more in the end since they're less likely to need major repairs and you'll be selling them for more money down the track as well.
I have a 1997 subaru impreza 2.0 auto wagon for 1+ year that I bought for $1,200 with Rego and 275,000km I think at the time, and it runs like a dream!
Only thing I have to do now (293,000) is change rear brake pads and the radiator which has a small leak.
Mileage does not mean anything as far as you make sure you have a strong motor, a not too expensive brand to fix if anything happen and make sure you have all records of repairs/accidents that the car might have been thru. Do not rely on "so-said" by the seller.
As you are looking for something reliable, I will definitely direct my choice on a ford falcon wagon, a holden commodore wagon or something similar.
These are the cars that backpackers use around Australia and they keep going and going…
Good luck
Thanks everyone,
Learning a lot here, and will definitely make my final decision based on your advises.
With a tight budget, just start looking at cars of any make and model. Make sure to factor in costs of insurance, rego, and perhaps tyres or brake pads.
Ex Cab on Gas
Doesn't use any petrol, and parts are cheap.