Older Petrol Cars Recommendations 2L or less

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#3351504 8-Mar-2025 15:59

+1 for Mazda 3 / Axela.

I am on my 2nd one, went from an 07 to a 14 model. Many family and friends have them also, up there with Corolla with reliability if maintained properly.

I would make sure if you were buying one that it has theft protection, many of the jap imports do not.

Another thing to note would be if it had a spare tyre or just a tyre repair kit, still not that hard to keep a spare in the boot though.

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#3351507 8-Mar-2025 16:18

Buying a 2nd hand hybrid import is a risk, especially at $6k IMHO.

Is there any guarantee on the battery ? How good is the battery ? How much to replace the battery in a years time when it fails to do anything useful ?

We were recently looking for another car around $6k mark, was pretty hard to find anything decent that wasnt over 20 years old. We ended up paying $8k for a 2015 Nissan Wingroad with 100k on the clock in tidy condition.

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#3351509 8-Mar-2025 16:53

xpd:

Buying a 2nd hand hybrid import is a risk, especially at $6k IMHO.

Is there any guarantee on the battery ? How good is the battery ? How much to replace the battery in a years time when it fails to do anything useful ?

We were recently looking for another car around $6k mark, was pretty hard to find anything decent that wasnt over 20 years old. We ended up paying $8k for a 2015 Nissan Wingroad with 100k on the clock in tidy condition.

It was a 2015 aqua with 130,000km / 166,000km (depending on where you read) that was proposed.

That's a car that is less than half way through it's lifespan...

To answer your questions:

Private sale of a used import: No guarantee on the battery
How good is the batter: Highly likely to be fine, but can easily test with Dr-prius, or taking it to specialist (I did the latter before buying my hybrid)
You are making the assumption that the battery is going to fail in a years time. This is highly improbable, but if it does, one can put in a reconditioned battery for $1300: https://autoxpress.co.nz/hybrid-batteries

Yeah, lower end of the car market remains expensive, despite depreciation returning with a vengeance post pandemic on middle and upper bits of the car market. Pity anybody shopping in that segment at the moment.

On the $6k price, this has more to do with a combination of the flood of supply from Japan (they were the most popular car for a number of years that are now prime used import age), and impact's on depend from their association with being stolen, as opposed to anything inherently wrong with the car.

On the theft risk think this is a really big deal:

The example aqua is a turn key start. These do not have a factory immobilizer, and it is extremely well know that they can be started with a pair of vice grips and a screwdriver...
Many insurance companies will completely refuse to insure these due to the level of losses they have seen in the past.
Even if you purchase a push start version, or have an immobilizer retrofitted, comprehensive insurance is still very expensive compared to other cars without the theft association. This is due to the number of these that get windows smashed, steering columns etc damaged by prospective theif's, before they work out that they can't get it started and abandon stealing the car.
Because of this, they are quite underpriced. If you always park in secure locations, and are OK with third party only insurance, there is a deal to be had. But if you want comprehensive insurance and / or park on the street, avoid this model.

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#3351518 8-Mar-2025 17:47

Oh and a word of warning for anyone looking to buy a "too good to be true" car privately from the Kumeu region.... friend bought a work van from someone out that way for a good price... all went well until the arse of it became totally rusted 18 months later and failed WOF. Turns out it had been flooded during the cyclone and cleaned and on sold. Previous owners don't want anything to do with it, so my mate has since had to buy yet another vehicle.

During my hunt for a car, I found one on TM that seemed too good to be true in Kumeu. Had been on for about 3 months, and multiple people viewed in person going by the Q&A, but noone had taken it. And the seller was avoiding answering any questions about its history... so I'd suspect same potential issue.

So in short, make sure you do your checks, mechanical and paper regardless what it is :)

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#3351520 8-Mar-2025 17:53

the turners auction i linked, when i clicked CGA status, they all have CGA

https://www.turners.co.nz/Consumer-Law-Information/

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#3351834 9-Mar-2025 22:42

A lot of it comes down to what you want in a car.

People are quick to point to corolla's. They are not a bad choice, but they sure command a price premium over other brand, meaning OP will likely end up with a 2002 - 2006 shape car. Those cars are all getting towards their 20th birthday, so age related failures will start cropping up. Of course when it comes time to sell, people the corolla badge makes things a lot eaisier (I sold mine within 24 hours of listing).

I basically had a white one of the below with 250,000km on it that I sold about 3 years ago. Seems values have continued to increase since then.

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/toyota/corolla/listing/5198231636

Mine was the 1.8L auto. Rated at ~8L/100km on 91RON. As with all non hybrid / non EV's, consumption in heavy city traffic is way higher.

Biq question are what are OP's needs:

Will as subcompact do? If so, your money will go further:

Toyota build, 2 years younger, and massively less KM than the corolla I linked to above:
https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/daihatsu/sirion/listing/5161758861

These are quite interesting. Fairly massive interior space for exterior size, powered sliding door on the passenger side, two conventional doors on drivers side, completly flat floor. And you can get a 2014 for the same asking price as a 2006 corolla.
https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/toyota/porte/listing/5086950544

martyyn

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#3351844 10-Mar-2025 07:24

k1w1k1d:

Nothing European. Too unreliable and expensive to repair.

That old chestnut. Biggest myth in the NZ.

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#3351908 10-Mar-2025 08:57

martyyn:

k1w1k1d:

Nothing European. Too unreliable and expensive to repair.

That old chestnut. Biggest myth in the NZ.

Doesn't take much searching to identify that this is a widely held fact, premium cost of parts being one contributor. That's not saying there aren't plenty of European vehicle owners that have experienced nothing but exceptional reliability, or Japanese vehicle owners that have had nothing but trouble and spent a fortune, but on average European vehicles fail more often, and cost more to maintain, than their Japanese or Korean counterparts, especially ones that are slightly older.

Example: 2024 Most Reliable Vehicles - U.S. Dependability Study

For people wanting a slightly older, basic, dependable vehicle, Toyota always tops the list.

Lazy is such an ugly word, I prefer to call it selective participation

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#3351961 10-Mar-2025 09:20

Euro brands were deemed expensive back in the 90's, mainly because parts were scarce in NZ and the shipping was a killer. These days, most parts and cars themselves are generally available, may be 3rd party parts, but will do the job. So costs have dropped in owning one.

If your mechanic though wants to charge a "Euro" fee, well, thats a different topic :D

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#3351964 10-Mar-2025 09:38

I've owned BMW's for 30 years, all the engines 4's, 6's, 8's, 10's, 12's and EV. Cars from the 80's to new. Moderated forums here and overseas.

I've owned the single most financially ruinous engine, according to the internet, the M70 V12, faultless. I'm three years into the second most financially ruinous engine, according to the internet, the S85 V10 M5, again faultless.

Parts for any of the four I currently own can be ordered and delivered from overseas in under a week.

Comments like the one I referred to are the reason I recently picked up a 2011 320d for my daughter with full service history, 200k klm, heated leather seats, airbags everywhere, sat nav and bluetooth for $800, no one wanted it. The cheapest Corolla I can find to match is $7k with none of those extras.

But yeah, Euros are unreliable and expensive.

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#3351981 10-Mar-2025 11:32

You know what you're doing. Most people when there is an issue with their car will rock up to a mechanic and say fix it please. In which case, yes Euro stuff will be more expensive.

martyyn

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#3352003 10-Mar-2025 12:17

That's because your mechanic is ripping you off, not because the car is more expensive. It's also why this myth continues to exist, people repeat it without knowing whether it's actually is true or not.

If you buy any item, for whatever the price, the first time you see it, at the first place you go to, you will be taken advantage of. That says more about you than it does the expense of the item.

See the comment from @xpd "If your mechanic though wants to charge a "Euro" fee, well, thats a different topic :D"

Anyway, I shouldn't have said anything. Keep thinking they are expensive and leave them all to me :)

lxsw20

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#3352008 10-Mar-2025 12:35

My father was a mechanic all his life, working on both European and Japanese - ill stick with his opinions around it, which I've already shared.

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#3352011 10-Mar-2025 12:50

A big chunk. Is labour cost. In a Japanese car, it's very simple, so things fail less often to start with. With a European, they are over engineered, and complex. So they fail more often. And more difficult to diagnose. What when you want to change a part, in a Japanese car you can reach the part with your bare hands. Sometimes with a European you have to take apart the entire car to get to a $1 part.

If you get 3rd party parts for a BMW it's cheap. Same with a Japanese. If you want a genuine part with a BMW it's expensive. But same with a Toyota. Their genuine parts are not cheap either. But easier to diagnose and fix.

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#3352689 11-Mar-2025 19:11

jandal160165:

Hi trying to update my knowledge.. I am stuck in a Nissan cam chain groove (Primera or Sunny). I need a new budget car near $4K or $5K .What is out there these days that is pretty bullet proof? thanks over to you

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