Need to Buy a Car - Suggestions?

[Dave_S]

I've been working on my 110 for over a year now and am finally ready to admit that it will not be going anywhere near a road (or off road) for at least another year. The last time I "drove" it I got 15 feet before the engine died and some wiring caught fire.

I've decided to buy a car that actually works. I have a pretty small budget, as I've spent most of my "vehicle" budget on the 110. I don't want to just wreck the thing to raise money to buy something else, so it needs to be cheap. It also needs to be reliable, as workhop time is limited and I would prefer not to have two wrecks.

I need to carry mountain bikes, but only one passenger. A ute is out, as they are not secure enough and the last time I had one I spent most weekends helping friends move stuff around. It doesn't have to be 4 wheel drive and it doesn't have to be pretty or powerful.

Anyone got any ideas? A Volvo 245 springs to mind, but they are hard to find in good nick.

Cheers, Dave.

[loanrangie]

D1's are pretty cheap to keep it in the family ?

[catch-22]

merc w123

[rovercare]

Falcon wagon

[rainman]

Unfortunately anything with soul is probably going to be either unreliable or expensive to maintain. You could do a search on Car Sales for all makes and then drill down to perhaps "wagons" and your maximum price to at least give you some ideas. I just tried it with a $5000 max and look what happened to come up on the first page:

Volvo 240GL wagon (http://www.carsales.com.au/all-cars/private/details.aspx?R=10946834&__Qpb=1&Cr=11&__Ns=pCar_RankSort_Int32%7C1%7C%7CpCar_PriceSort_D ecimal%7C1%7C%7CpCar_Make_String%7C0%7C%7CpCar_Mod el_String%7C0&keywords=&__N=1216%201247%201252%201282%20900%201562%20442&SearchAction=N&silo=1011&PriceTo=442&seot=1&tsrc=allcarhome&__Nne=15&trecs=192&__sid=12E108106D60)


James.

[CraigE]

It all depends on your budget and what you really want. As disgusting as this is for me to advise, buy a EA or EB Falcon. You can pick these up for between $500 and $1500 in really good nick.
As far as the Volvo saw a Volvo sedan last week in perth (Rockingham) for $300 in good nic.

[PhilipA]

Camry wagon. Lots about and just about the most reliable thing ever built.

I bought one for my daughter about 18 moinths ago with 340KK on it for $1800 with good tyres and 6 months rego and it is still going strong.
I would never usually buy anything with Ks like that but AMAZING.
Regards Philip A

[drivesafe]

Craig, being where you are, I would go to the local wreckers and see what is the most common car there and then go buy a road worthy version of the same.

This way at least you know you will have quick access to parts.

[UncleHo]

In my limited knowledge of Volvo's they were called 245's the sedans were 240's the 6 cylinders were 260/265's or was that the earlier 70's models


If not a Falcon wagon on gas with the tank underneath or flat floor in the rear

[rainman]

In my limited knowledge of Volvo's they were called 245's the sedans were 240's the 6 cylinders were 260/265's or was that the earlier 70's models

The second number represented the number of cylinders (so 4 or 6) and the third originally designated the number of doors (4 for a sedan, 5 for a wagon), but somehow in the early to mid eighties they brought out a 240 and a 260, so I guess you had to climb in through the windows. To add to the confusion, the 240 diesel (which I don't think we got here) was a 6 cylinder. :wacko:


James.

[frantic]

Toyota camry wagon as has already been said; or look at a van like a hiace, transit or volkswagon t4 in diesel. this would fit all your bikes and if it's wet you could sleep inside:D. The vans also have the bonus of being able to cart around defender spares/muddy bikes without worrying about staining carpets;)

[isuzurover]

'90's Subaru wagons are generally cheap and reliable.

Our D1 has also been pretty good - and extremely practical for your uses.

[incisor]

hmmmmmm

what do drama queens drive?

:D:D:D:D:D

hard to go past a falcon ea/eb

son just picked up an absolute ripper for $1600

tinny little man that he is... :D:angel:;)

[4x4shooter]

Buy a disco

[Chucaro]

Among all the cars that I have before the Volvo 244 was the most unreliable.
The best was a Peugot 505.

[bee utey]

EB, ED Falcon 4.0, don't touch the 3.9's
Dunnydore, VS is the last of a long line, better motor than the older ones
Camry 1993 onwards, dull but very reliable.
TS Magna with the 3.0V6

All the above are quite good on LPG, which is an indicator of engine strength.All of the above can have under floor gas tanks fitted.

[landychris]

Having had Land Rovers for many years my son asked advice on a vehicle for camping, moving gear around on weekends dogs bikes etc, etc. He thought he might get a Rangie. We had a look around but not much in his budget area (under $5000). He finally found a great 4WD, well looked after, on gas, plenty of room. He thought it was a great truck and it was only $4800 with RWC. I had a drive and was quite impressed...........:o It was a GQ Patrol.
landychris

[VladTepes]

EB, ED Falcon 4.0, don't touch the 3.9's
Dunnydore, VS is the last of a long line, better motor than the older ones
Camry 1993 onwards, dull but very reliable.
TS Magna with the 3.0V6

All the above are quite good on LPG, which is an indicator of engine strength.All of the above can have under floor gas tanks fitted.

Yes but not the magna
I'd go for the cantu myself

Or be sensible and combine the car and bicycle concepts and get a motorbike !!

[pop058]

Have to agree with the falcon wagon idea, and as allready been stated, leave the EA (3.9 motor) out of the conversation. Be aware that the first of the EB's also had the 3.9 motor, So stick with the series 2 and younger. Anything from EB2 (1993) upto and including EL (1998) have the same general running gear and are everywhere (cheap bits). Aircon issues plague these models as does powersteer pump leaks (directly onto the alternator which is an easy clue to spot). Obviously all models have probs but Falcoon parts are common and cheap.

HTH

PS the hiace van idea sound pretty good though.

[Sleepy]

Yeah, falcon is the go. A mate bought a ef falcon for 2 grand a couple of years back and hasn't missed a beat. Boring car but they are cheap, work ok and hard to kill.

I recently bought a 2000 Magna for bugger all and that is a pretty good car too. - for what it is.;)

Is this short term while you finish the 110, or is the 110 going too?

[Ratel10mm]

No, not a van! Same issue as a ute, except if the weather's rubbish you'll still have to move their furniture 'cos it'll stay dry in the van! Otherwise a blimming good idea.

VW's are generally very reliable.

[Dave_S]

Thanks guys - lots of good ideas there. I'll start scrolling through the usual sources and see what's around. Cheers, Dave.

[Benz]

how many people do you know that move house?...

i would go a subaru wagon or a super carry Suzuki van.

at lest you can drive the subaru like a rally car :burnrubber:

[d2dave]

I would go for a EF/EL Falcon. I reckon they were the best of the E series by a country mile. If you look hard enough you could probably find one on LPG.

Apart from head gasket problems which are easy to fix, they are pretty well bullet proof.

Dave.

[VladTepes]

how many people do you know that move house?...

i would go a subaru wagon or a super carry Suzuki van.

at lest you can drive the subaru like a rally car :burnrubber:

Yeah but you could do stoppies in the van !!!

[TomBrulinski]

Subaru Wagon with Low Kms and you'll be set. Low Km's are vital with subaru's