I know $10k is not much money in the current climate but it's what I've got to spend. Just need a small city car.
Need;
Hope;
Dream;
Is that only on cars.com.au
I'm seeing cars on gumtree and marketplace with low KMs.
Actually wow yeah i30s are available. I rate them.
+1 to i30
Make sure they aren't repairable write offs, lots of low priced things on there are.
Well I think OP already knows what they want
Just needs to put the criteria into Carsales.com.au or Gumtree Cars and see what comes up
Target The Dream, then the Hope.
Bottom line is to get the best car for the least amount of money
I just bought a 2001 Mazda Tribute, 1 owner, with log books and 2 sets of original keys, 144,000km and 8 months rego
No problems with body or interior.- all original
All fluids under bonnet checked out perfectly with correct colours and clarities so regularly serviced
Drove unbelievably well
Paid just $3,600
Wasnt even looking for one but this caught my eyes and what a great car.
So just plug in the criteria and see what comes up
You cant use any general advice here because every car is different, has had a differnt driver and has been serviced and treated differently.
Just add to your criteria the following:
1 owner
Good service record
2 sets of keys and remotes
Long rego
Stay well away from Euro cars!
Just put all of your criteria into advanced search in carsales, gumtree and Facebook marketplace.
Or do you want us to do it for you FFS.
What Kind of Wizardry Is This?
I thought there would be one of these. Thanks for getting it out the way early. No I'm fine for the research just after opinions. Everyone's got one.
There's no point recommending a particular car if there isn't one for sale in your region. Obviously you won't be buying interstate or even intrastate (Qld is friggin huge) as that will blow the budget with added transport costs plus all of the other associated risks.
Im a man who is willing to track down the bargain. Driving to Brisbane is on the cards. Also waiting for the right deal, I'm not in a hurry. Could be a few months before purchasing.
@figarow: Well dont waste our time then.
Plug in the search critera into any car sales website and away you go
PS plenty of people are tracking down the bargain EVERY DAY!
Dont expect anyone to wait just for you.
Its first in, best dressed
I did it
3 to choose from after ignoring the euros
https://www.carsales.com.au/cars?q=(And.Price.range(..10000)..SuburbPoi.poi(Noosa+Heads+QLD+4567x100km)..GenericGearType.Automatic..Year.range(2010..)..Odometer.range(..150000)._.Doors.5.)
.
Buy a brand new Suzuki Baleno. Yes it's above your budget but at least you know you've bought $20k worth of car instead of $10k of unknown. Even getting a loan to stretch there is better.
Same applies to Kia Picanto Auto. $20k drive away, seems to fit OP specs. Probably be some cheaper 2nd hand low km versions knocking around
I did toy with the idea but talked myself out of buying new because of service costs. I do the oil changes myself so cost of services and depreciation (new-used resale value) would blow costs out too much? I was looking at the Kia Picanto.
If you bought a new car there’s no point in servicing yourself. Capped price servicing, although an expensive way to buy oil & filters is also an extremely cheap way to get full stamped service history, which in turn makes a big difference on resale value.
For me, paying $200 to $250/year for a service on a new small car is totally worth it
Good point. I thought they where charging more.
Buy a brand new Suzuki Baleno.
If you go down this route would you please, for the love of god, make sure the Bluetooth microphone is working prior to taking ownership. Thanks in advance.
What's the history on the Bluetooth?
LOL
Suzuki Swift or i30. They'd be my two go to's.
Auto might be the price break though
https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-cars-vans-utes/noosa/carmake-su…
Need;
Ultra cheap to run, small compact
Korean / Jap / ?
Automatic
5 doors
What else are you willing to tradeoff? What were you options?
Nothing. Plenty to choose from in that list.
Just stick with Japanese or Korean. Don’t pick anything you don’t see plenty of on the roads. There’s plenty to choose from, and like the suggestion above go play on carsales and add your criteria. It’ll pop up options.
I’m not looking in your market, but that’s what I do when I start looking for a car. Browse carsales. Once you’ve scrolled for a whole you should be able to narrow it down a bit bsed on things you like or not.
Do you want a little more space (corolla, Mazda 3) or happy with a smaller car (swift, jazz, Yaris)?
Really comes down to personal preference. Plenty say that a lancer is underrated - good solid but basic car.
Don’t forget you can add a reverse cam for a few hundred by replacing a stereo so don’t rule out a car on that feature.
Also, if you want any form of objective recommendation about cars, best bet is to pick no more than 3 and ask for specific opinions as to preference.
That is, when you ask ‘which hatchback’ there is too many opinions because there’s too many options. If you look at options and break it down (within your criteria) and come back with corolla vs i30 vs Mazda 3 (with a year range) you’ll get more meaningful feedback. Even better if you ask is a 2010 Yaris vs a 2008 Yaris or something similar.
Corolla, Mazda 3, i30, Cerato - take your pick. All of these cars sell in spades, every mechanic will be familiar with them, are super easy to service (learn to do it yourself and save some money), and parts are easily available and accessible meaning you'll get a good life out of them.
If you want something bigger, can't go wrong with a good old Camry.
Good tip - have a look at what cars company fleets, Uber, taxis use. Unlike consumers who get carried away with fancy brand names and showing off to their fourth cousins, businesses need cars which are reliable, cheap to run and maintain to minimise their overheads and down-time. Most of the fleet cars I see are Camrys, so take that for what you will.
Some example options:
https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/details/2007-toyota-camry-a…
https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/details/2006-toyota-camry-a…
https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/details/2007-toyota-camry-a…
One with some hail damage is the reality for your wish list.
unlikley to match $10k to the "post-2015" dream.
bump that up to $15k, or reduce dream to post-2010.
A Suzuki swift should fit your wishlist
I have a 2011 Mitsubishi Lancer Active. It's has 80k on the clock and I purchased it new. It has a 2l motor, loads of room and runs like a charm. Only costs have been the annual service fee (low) and one set of tyres. It was the main car until 2016 when we bought an ASX and sold the previous Lancer, which was10 years old. The car is an auto and in pristine condition. It does not have a reverse camera but everything else. I suspect it's market price is around $10k in today's market. I think the Lancers are great cars. Easy to maintain, great motors, lots of room, low insurance etc. Worth consideration. For $10k it is unlikely you will get much better on your wish list given the silly prices of cars.
Include a Honda Jazz in your test drives. Plenty available that meet your hopes and a few of your dreams.
My sons advice ( mechanic ) stay away from Korean and Euro, and that includes Holden cars made in Korea , and Holden and Ford cars in general. He says if you do happen to buy a Korean car new, move it on after 5 years, that’s when they generally start having issues. He doesn’t like Subaru as well. Mazda is his pick and Honda. My last 4 cars over 20 years were Japanese. Only mechanical failure ( very minor ) was fluid filled engine mount on the Magna after 100K km’s. 2 Honda Jazzes ( zero issues ), and currently 65,000km’s on a bought new 2017 Mazda 3 with zero issues
When I was looking even precovid $10k cars was still over 200k on the clock