the other car

[85 county]

ok any ideas on whats good for the other car.

i sort of went along these lines over the last 3 years, D1300tdi, econovan, puma, epic, transits.

no since flicking of my business all i need to do is drive my 14lkm to work and home again. so cheep means every thing. cheep rego cheep fuel. but i dont want to look like a poofter and i dont want to spend ever second weekend under the hood ( that's reserved for the county.

[Tombie]

14km...



Mountain Bike 😃


"Where the Desert meets the Sea"
'Did I mention some great 4WDriving is just 5 minutes from home?'

[justinc]

A really good, reliable and cheap to run and buy vehicle is a 1992 Camry. Even the later wide body 1993/4 onward are a good reliable cheap vehicle, that won't make you look suspect:eek:

JC

[Hall]

Not sure how early,cheap or motor size. I have a 92 Laser that seems to be bullet proof. Bloke I work with had one as well and it also was bullet proof, that was until his missus boiled it. Ours has done 250+ K`s and still going well. Only regular servicing in the three years we have owned it.
Cheers Hall

[bee utey]

Mazda 323, Laser, or the Meteor sedan version, they're pretty tough, they go well on gas too.
Camry maybe, after 18 months of my wife having one I'm not so sure. They're OK but you need one well under 200K
Or an e-bike, that would knock over the 14km in 1/2 hour.

[justinc]

Mazda 323, Laser, or the Meteor sedan version, they're pretty tough, they go well on gas too.
Camry maybe, after 18 months of my wife having one I'm not so sure. They're OK but you need one well under 200K
Or an e-bike, that would knock over the 14km in 1/2 hour.

True some Camrys have proven a bit dodgy, BUT I have one with 450k, (1992) and a friend has 3 (:eek:) the oldest with 300+, no issues so far outside of normal servicing. I would rate them as a good bet personally, cheap too which is important.

JC

[rovercare]

Falcon wagon

[85 county]

14km...



Mountain Bike 😃


"Where the Desert meets the Sea"
'Did I mention some great 4WDriving is just 5 minutes from home?'

Mate coming from you, the mountain so what sort of bike do you have in mind

[85 county]

ok

i was thinking more along the lines of what another Isuzu pilot has done

Get a getz and after 3 years get another ( new) so you end up forking out bugger all, i think it worked out to be less than 20 bucks a week, rego is cheep fuel is cheep.

only problem i am over 6ft and he is that round. he fits i dont. besides is a really confusing signal seeing a high vis cement dusted grisly isuzu pilot steering a Getz.

[crash]

Mountain bike or a Camry.
A workmate has been driving a couple of older Camrys for a few years. No problems except cooking one due to where the to rad hose fits onto the radiator rusting off. He travels about 100km's a day, a paid for the car in less than a year in fuel savings over his Dunnydore SS.

[Beckford]

ok any ideas on whats good for the other car..... but i dont want to look like a poofter......


Get a getz and after 3 years get another ( new) so you end up forking out bugger all.....

I suppose it's a balance between not looking like a "poofter" and "forking out bugger all".

Our second car is an ex local council Commodore. You don't look like your a hair dresser and is cheaper to run than a V8 Club Sport.

If we had the money, we would love to get a 90 to run around town in.....

[DeeJay]

I bought a 1995 Diahatsu Feroza for my daughter but would happily
choof around town in it..
Maybe a zook?

[p38arover]

A really good, reliable and cheap to run and buy vehicle is a 1992 Camry. Even the later wide body 1993/4 onward are a good reliable cheap vehicle, that won't make you look suspect:eek:

JC

Of course, driving a Camry will make you look like an old fart who hates cars and whom we all avoid like the plague as we know Camry drivers have no idea what they are doing.

BTW, if you buy one, it is imperative that you do not drive at any speed approaching the speed limit. To do so will get you chucked out of the Camry Owners Club.

[roverfan]

Buying a camry is akin to trading in your man hood

[PhilipA]

HOW DARE YOU!
The Subaru anything is the spriritual successor to the Volvo Wagon, and mark the driver as one to be avoided at all costs.

Any Japanese old car is a good bet. The early 90s Mazdas ( 323 and whats the stylish one? ASTINA ( just remembered, )were very stylish and so well built they almost sent Mazda broke. Corollas , Camry, or basically anything with a Toyota badge is great. I bought my daughter a Camry with 340KK on it a year and a half ago and it is still going strong.

If you want cheap and cheap to run , an old Charade is the go. I ran a B11 ? turbo for many years despite my son thrashing it to death.
Regards Philip A

[Grumbles]

True some Camrys have proven a bit dodgy, JC

I'm looking similarly for a small runabout and I too thought of the Camry and your comment surprised me. Is that dodginess related to any specific year model JC?

[roverfan]

If you actually enjoy driving, take I fiesta for a run.

[bee utey]

While we are Camry bashing, I thought I'd tell you about the one we bought.

1993 wide body 2.2 litre wagon. Basically bought as an "invisible" car, with slightly seedy paintwork no-one would look at it from a theft point of view.

At 224K it had a broken conrod, but still ran on 2 cylinders without noise. Piston no.1 was sitting at the top of its bore, conrod was in the sump, oil pressure was close to nil. We got it for $500 and put a second hand engine in it and a gas system.

In 18 months/25K we have had:

Failed central locking/immobiliser. It wouldn't let you out of the car unless you got brutal with the lock lever.

Collapsed engine mounts, these hydraulic mounts cost an an arm and a leg, but it still vibrates in typical 4 cylinder fashion under power.

Failed alternator, no big drama it's a Bosch and easy to fix.

Failed dissy, wouldn't start one morning.

Failed speedo sensor.

Failed headlamp control module, the headlamps would go out randomly and come back on when you flicked the flasher on. That took a load of study to work out how to rewire it to standard operation.

Failed plastic top tank of the radiator.

Exhaust pipe broke off at the engine flange, manifold cracked in half, studs broken/seized etc.

Headlamp adjusters broken off, pointing at the ground. Yellow reflectors. Another headlight.

And for the biggie: the other day I was driving it, gave it a bit of welly, and with an almighty bang the gearbox tried to select two gears at once or something. I backed off, it was still driving so I nursed it home with only first and third operational. Being suspicious, I tried it on petrol, it ran like the proverbial woolly goat. Turned out to be ECU failure, another one got plugged in and it worked again. Don't know if the trans has any damage.

Oh and the plastic trim acts like snowflakes, dropping off in little bits.

So yeah, it's still mobile, but my wife would like a less difficult car. And the power steering leaks and isn't very nice to drive. While it only does local runs I will put up with it, but somewhere there must be a nicer way of getting around.

If I hadn't picked up another matching wreck for a further $500 I would have trashed this one. If you have had a good Camry in the past, cherish the memory. If you want a good one, find a looked-after granny's car. Or a new one.

Oh and my brother has two of these, the first one was fine until it cracked the head beyond repair, then with a new head did a big end. And a clutch. The second Camry also did a head and got his almost new head on it. Plastic trash, beyond its use-by date.

[BigJon]

The Subaru anything is the spriritual successor to the Volvo Wagon, and mark the driver as one to be avoided at all costs.



We have a 2005 Liberty sedan, I don't think we conform to your stereotype. It is a great car to drive and with 17 inch tyres, bilstein struts and constant awd handles very well.

[85 county]

ok i am looking at stuff mid 2000s

[pop058]

We have a 2005 Liberty sedan, I don't think we conform to your stereotype. It is a great car to drive and with 17 inch tyres, bilstein struts and constant awd handles very well.


ok i am looking at stuff mid 2000s

My daughter has a MY03 Liberty RX (auto). No probs so far (170K) and a very nice car to drive. It has all the creature comforts (air, steer, cruise, etc.) as well.

[Dave_S]

For short distance commuting you could get a Postie Bike. Tough, cheap and they can even be driven off road.

[omnibus]

Not sure if anyone else suggested this (dont know why they didnt ) A SWB landrover with a 4 pot in it. cheap to run and the county can snuggle upto it in garage at night

[85 county]

Not sure if anyone else suggested this (dont know why they didnt ) A SWB landrover with a 4 pot in it. cheap to run and the county can snuggle upto it in garage at night

well i wouldnt mind actually, but if any one whats to swap for a transit van. the other thing is i dont have enough time to keep on top of the county, add a S3 to the mix and ??

[D110V8D]

Get a volvo. You wouldn't call Brocky a poof would ya? :D

[DeeJay]

I'm looking similarly for a small runabout and I too thought of the Camry and your comment surprised me. Is that dodginess related to any specific year model JC?

All of them. The common joke circulating tow truckies, ambo's RTA, etc at the time, was that if you lift the carpet behind the drivers seat, you will find a serrated line in the floor pan with " tear here"
They have thier enthusiasts though..

[VladTepes]

cheap late model jap motorcycle !

[VladTepes]

For short distance commuting you could get a Postie Bike. Tough, cheap and they can even be driven off road.

All very true except for the cheap part. Inexpensive yes but their popularity of late has pushed prices well above their actual worth I reckon.

[poleonpom]

Any pre-94 Mercedes; simple and built by engineers. My 78 W123 is the most reliable car I have ever owned.

[jonesfam]

Daihatsu Terios.
Wife had 1 we got second hand for a few years, then it went to the daughter for another 5 years.
Son in law finally rolled it being a D-H.
Top little car as long as you didn't have to drive it all day.
Jonesfam