Late model Falcon/Fairlane, preferably with the Barra motor. Cheap to buy and maintain, solid, comfortable and better protection than a buzzbox in case of animal strike or prang.
Thousands of taxi owners are lamenting the the inability to operate a car as cheaply and efficiently as these.
Following a similar vain just a little more luxury. Wifes Lexus Es300 2003 was with M&D until they brought a new Merc.I just drove it to the auto spaky to repair the mirrors ($20 thanks Chris)Quote:
Originally Posted by Homestar
Lexus ES ES300 2005 Price & Specs | CarsGuide
I saw a few at auction for stupidly small money. Leather and luxury really and not loved by those who do not know them. If I wanted a very comfortable and very cheap second hand drive. The Merc steellers offered M&D $500 for it.
[bigwhistle]
Kids are taking ours.
ive always liked the Peugeots since owning the 405 which was great, however i am cautious of the newer ones reliability otherwise the diesel 407 or 307 would be at the top of my listQuote:
Originally Posted by rar110
Quote:
Originally Posted by V8Ian
Ill have a look into the falcons then as I have never thought of getting one before. I just spent the last hour researching some of Fords Diesel models like focus and fiesta (modeo auto trans seems like a nightmare).Quote:
Originally Posted by Tote
Been mentioned before but a Falcon with a Barra engine will go forever, cost next to nothing to buy and maintain, comfy and if on LPG really cheap to run.
We have a 407 with the same motor/trans. The only issue has been caused by the EGR, which for some reason no longer works. [emoji12]Quote:
Originally Posted by squizzyhunter
Freelander & Mondeo are two cars with a variation of the same motor/trans.
I’ve been told the earlier Pug 5 speed auto was problematic. So you need to check this if looking at a 307/407.
I'll weigh in against the current thought process re Peugeots. Ultra reliable!
Canbe expensive to get wear and tear and service items if you only ever use the main component channels, but we're slowly finding cheaper alternatives for these items.
Brother has had 405 and 406(wagon) both petrols, then finally a 307hdi.
All exceptional cars by comparison to similarly aged crapbox runabouts that I've had and/or driven.
None of the pugs have been unreliable, but the two petrols models were 'looked after' by idiot mechanics and or previous owners.
Only reason bro sold them was situational. 405 had to go as family outgrew it.
406 he gave to me for a few months, and finally insurance claim came through and they paid him out more than it was feasible to sell on the market.
Had insurance not paid him out, I'd still be driving it.
eg. the previous owner of the 405 had an issue with it's rear lights/indicators where they were cross connecting in strange ways. Three elecs over 3 months couldn't work out what/why.
As part of the RWC obviously had to be done.
My mechanic is 100klms away, so RWC was to be done there, and he sent us to his elec mate around the corner to sort the rear lights. In about 30 secs he'd done whatever grounding issue it had, RWC was had about an hour later.
Only conclusion is that a lot of mechanical operations are either stupid or lazy, or both.
What happened with the 307(1.6Hdi). Dad now owns it. Dad has to be at a minimum the worst driver in Melb, maybe Vic .. dunno about the rest of the country.
He's had the pug for about 4 years now. His old Explorer was too costly for a pensioner, bro sold the pug for next to nothing.
For background. My dad has never had a car that he hasn't destroyed in some way or another rendering it too costly to continue repairing the next thing he'd buggered up.
60 series diesel LC, Exploder, Frontera, Bluebirds, Cadillacs .. you name a supposed fairly reliable vehicle .. and he's stuffed it in one way or another.
2 clutches in the Exploder in less than 2 years(about 15K klms)
The Frontera had had for 2 years, cost him an arm and a leg, he'd done about 15K klms(maybe less), I then took it over. I had zero $s and needed a vehicle to continue working as a courier (for 18months).
I'd done 170K klms in it basically trouble free. Only real issue I had was that the idiot LPG installers places the main tank to converter hose between chassis and body under the body weld fold. Body cut the gas line.
Other than regular service items, never gave me issues broken down or failed in a major way. while he had it tho, he'd stuffed the starter, broken two starter ring gear/flex plates, burnt fuel pump, busted diff .. etc. he thought it the most fragile vehicle he had.
Never mind that I did 170K klms in it, primarily around town tho.
eg. to give an idea of his incompetence. He left the Frontera running all night one day, not realising it was still running. He thought he'd switched it off, it ran all night and used all it's petrol and LPG. He went to start it the next day, battery flat and when he jumped it, it wouldn't start. he called me to come have a look, and I pulled my hair out trying to work out why it won't start(maybe 20mins or so) .. he had no idea it was all out of fuel. ARRGGGHHH!
So now he has the '04 307 1.6Hdi Pug now. That he's done 20K klms in it now, all around town, and that it has fallen to pieces .... a la blue brothers Dodge style ... is amazing!
He can't help but start off in second. He won't get it through his head that he's going to kill the clutch and flywheel .. ie. why the Exploder clutch failed 2 x in 15K klms.
He's smashed the pug 3 times now, 1 major, 2 minors(did I mention he has to be THE worst driver in Melb!! [bigrolf])
It's done 150K klms now, and things are due for repair or replacement.
Modern diesels don't have injector pumps, so wouldn't worry about that. Some models(that I'm reading) use different DPFs tho, and his model uses the DPF fluid type. Hard to track stuff when they change it all the time at the factory, but we recently sorted his DPF fluid issue. EGR came up as a error, and that was fixed about 4 weeks back. Not overly expensive, just not easy access.
DPF fluid was a lot harder to sort it tho. Took me a couple of weeks to locate a reasonably priced DPF fluid replacement. if you just go get it from the common sources it'll cost close to 1K for the 2lt it needs.
I found a source in the UK, cost him $200, we just had to transfer it from a bladder type setup(they use in one type of model) to the specific plastic reservoir setup his car uses. No biggie, just something you wouldn't trust an lazy-idiot workshop to do!
If you're self reliant, I'd have no issue recommending a 307 Diesel Pug. Around town he regularly gets in the 5lt/100 range, best brother/dad and I have seen at any point has been 3.5lt/100 on a run to Ballarat.
If you don't know Melb - Ballarat 100klms each way, either mainly uphill or downhill all freeway. But the fuel use was for both up and back.
My experience so far is that the Pug has to be the most solidly built, reliable and indestructible vehicle out there! Could well be that this one is a one off, and he was lucky to have got hold of it for his current needs.
Hopefully this year(if all remains well at work), I'm also considering a small cheap runabout myself, and No 1 choice ATM is a small diesel pug too. Up to about $4K will be my planned budget.
Brother only just got a Tdi Golf for his son, have driven it .. don't like it as much as the Pug tho. Much of a muchness in many ways, Pug smoother quieter tho.
Golf does feel more solid in terms of body sense. Both similar era and klms. On my local bumpy street test track, Pug is miles better, quieter and smoother suspension.
Main advantage the golf has is it's DSG box. No idea how durable it is, just feels nicer 'to drive' in that sense.
The usual chatter that Euro cars are unreliable or irrepairable .. never experienced it myself.
Does under 10’s on the freeway, can be a bit thirsty when peddled hard around town but compared to all my other cars, it’s very fuel efficient - That’s against an RRC, 101 and XJ6 Jag... [emoji16]. I would use it as a daily driver no dramas if I didn’t have a company car, but there certainly would be more efficient cars out there but not many more reliable or bullet proof IMO. [emoji106]Quote:
Originally Posted by squizzyhunter
Hardly, Ian. Taxi owners are the meanest creatures God ever put breath into. Every taxi in the Brisbane taxi district is now a hybrid. Everyone driver and owner I have asked lauds their economy. If Falcons were cheaper they would still be used.Quote:
Originally Posted by V8Ian
If Falcons were available they'd still be used. I was speaking to an owner, he said at the end of the day Falcons made a better profit than a Prius. Its not all about fuel consumption.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bigbjorn