Thread: Recommendations for a underrated car for low $ and commuting high Kms

Originally Posted by goingbush

I was just about to call the scrappers to come get my PT Cruiser , Its got a new head / waterpump / timing belt . They are the things that usually let them down at 250k and why they are usually so cheap.

Bloody fabulous little car . Grandaughter heard I was dumping it and thinks she wants it , so I just paid the rego as the 3 months unpaid time was almost up. Its waiting for her pending a test drive to see if she can handle a manual, if not you might be interested ??

Thanks mate I know nothing about these PTs apart from my partner having an illogical visceral hatred of them
Keep me posted mate and ill try read up on them

Originally Posted by Tombie

Camry.... bland as hell but keep on ticking

How big a car do you need? Camry are near bulletproof. Corolla likewise. If you only need a small car the a Yaris is about the best around. Go to the government auctions for the best price on a near new car. Govt. cars are usually sold at 2-3 years of age and usually well maintained. Perhaps a last model Commodore. They are a really great car. Do not buy Euros if you want lower cost reliable motoring. At least three repair shops I know well refuse to book in Citroen/Peugeot/Renault/Audi/ Fiat/Alfa. Also some models of Volvo and Benz are not welcome. Neither are Land rovers.

Originally Posted by 101RRS

My brother commutes from Newcastle to Sydney CBD each day - 280km per day (1,400km per week).

He bought a 2013 Mazda 6 Diesel and he has found it perfect - excellent fuel consumption but given the km he does, servicing and tyres come around with monotonous regularity but the car has had 100% reliability and are relatively cheap to buy.

Garry

Thanks Garry
I havent looked at the Mazda 6s as I assumed they would be out of my price bracket, I will have to take a look

Originally Posted by Bigbjorn

How big a car do you need? Camry are near bulletproof. Corolla likewise. If you only need a small car the a Yaris is about the best around. Go to the government auctions for the best price on a near new car. Govt. cars are usually sold at 2-3 years of age and usually well maintained. Perhaps a last model Commodore. They are a really great car. Do not buy Euros if you want lower cost reliable motoring. At least three repair shops I know well refuse to book in Citroen/Peugeot/Renault/Audi/ Fiat/Alfa. Also some models of Volvo and Benz are not welcome. Neither are Land rovers.

Cheers Bigbjorn
I forgot about the Auctions, does it still work out worthwhile given the hassle, auction cost and mandatory haulage?
As for the size i would like a wagon for bikes & boards ect but not too fussed about size. In saying that the Yaris may be a little twitchy for high country kms (only speculation as I havent driven one though).

For a while I had a 99 auto Hyundai Sonata. Got it at 243k km's and unloaded it at 450k km's or thereabouts. To my knowledge it's still a daily driver from Dandenong to Hoppers Crossing. Cosmetically it's rubbish but mechanically it's fine. An old workmate has an early i30 with a bazillion km's on it and it's fine - just normal servicing. Lots of lease fleets are Hyundai's these days. One of the big wigs of 13CABS uses leased Hyundais and puts LOTS and LOTS of km's on them before he changes them over. He uses the Hyundai option because they never let him down.
If it was me, I'd go the Hyundai option. After a few years they start to look like crap but they go on and on and on. Tey seem to drink bugger all fuel too which is a bonus.

shorten the oil changes (I know guys that have installed quick drains and cut holes in the panels for access to filters) and the coolant changes

and on most small front engined mobile bump stops they'll go forever, till the timing belt lets go.

Id be aiming for one of the earlier mid sized diesel VW or volvos, one thing that the small cars do not stack up well against is roo strike.

What is wrong with using the 110 as a commuter, The money you would save on rego alone would offset any fuel cost gains owning/driving the extra ****box car?
I use my D2a for pretty much everything and clock up 25-30K a year in it and it is WAY more fun to drive also much more comfortable than ANY of the hideous little ****boxes mentioned here so far

Originally Posted by Blknight.aus

shorten the oil changes (I know guys that have installed quick drains and cut holes in the panels for access to filters) and the coolant changes

and on most small front engined mobile bump stops they'll go forever, till the timing belt lets go.

Id be aiming for one of the earlier mid sized diesel VW or volvos, one thing that the small cars do not stack up well against is roo strike.

My brothers VW Passat diesel that is not long out of warranty broke a water pump belt which then took out the timing belt , it has bent all 24 valves . Not good when the water pump was replaced by the dealer 6 months ago one would think they would have replaced the belt at the same time . They also make a shield kit that stops the Water pump belt from taking out the cam belt but this was not offered or fitted so a nice expensive job just before Christmas.