What car should I buy under A$40k?

[1958ST]

Questions of local service are important, but even more what are the road conditions you plan to travel on weekends? all paved high speed, street pave, gravel, dirt, off road? add to your judgment suspension and undercarriage distance from the ground based on the roads you are likely to travel.

 

[B_Marius567]

So I just saw a lovely 2007 BMW 325i in Black with camel leather, woodgrain, stunning 17" rims with 68k km on it. Then I thought about a used Golf GTI. Then I thought about an Audi A4 quatro wagon. Then I thought about a brand new Holden Berlina Sportwagon with free leather & rear camera on 18" rims.

I can borrow about $38,000 and it will be a 5 year lease. What car should I buy? (The car has to be good for work and weekends).

spending $38,000 on a car you will not own seems like a wast of money!!!

 

[NoH8]

I'd go with a Subaru impreza sti or a lancer evolution lots of fun to drive

Very good taste you have sir. I am leaning more and more to Subaru, perhaps for my next car.

It was a bit unfair of me not to say everything I would do with the car, I am a sales rep so I'll be putting stuff in the back, and I also go traveling, camping and visit the beach on weekends.

 

[NoH8]

Good choice - plus patriotic!

Thanks Joll, if I can keep another family man employed for a bit longer in the local car industry I will try to do so.

I am quite happy with my choice, though life is about compromises. I wish it were faster!

 

[NoH8]

Yep
a Holden in Aus ha wise choice
plenty of parts available . kidding
love the Holdens

Mimi Coupe,be good if in the Uk ha
going by the way they make em, on that Megafactories program.

Thanks from across the Tasman. The build quality has improved and they are not so thirsty, but obviously not approaching German levels of quality. I do have to consider the cost of repairs... Some imports are very expensive to insure and repair. My insurance actually dropped when I bought this car!

 

[NoH8]

You could have bought a Yugo and given it a wild $37,950 paint job.

LOL! I once rented a Yugo in LA while I was living there working as a disc jockey. You should have seen the eyes on the security guards at the gates of the record companies! "Do you have an appointment sir???"

Ha ha. Those were good times.

 

[NoH8]

I'm anxious to hear what you have to say about the Holden Sportswagon... There are several members here who know quite a bit about automobiles (I am not one of them) I posted this in another thread. I have had the best luck with Mercedes and Honda.

Hi buddy,
I'm not one of the members who knows a lot about cars. My best friend, (an ex from years ago) knows a lot more about cars and he has a 6cyl Honda Accord as his daily drive and he wants to get a Mercedes C63 (Used) for his next car and he convinced me that I should look at a Mercedes C series (used) for my next car in 3 or 5 years. By that time I hope not to be selling on the road all the time and hopefully will have more of a management job.

The Holden is very practical, has a large comfortable interior, great steering and ride, neutral handling, very low fuel consumption on the highway, quite a bit more in the city. It's got excellent touchscreen audio and a/c controls and iPod integration.

The 3 liter motor is better than I expected but I have to be prepared to rev it to get the power rather than rely on low down torque. Fortunately the gearbox is responsive and kicks down easily and lets the motor rev, especially in sports mode when it feels like a different car. Driving downhill on a rough dirt road I switched to manual and held first gear which made the car very easy to control without using the brake. This 6 speed gearbox is great.

This is a great highway cruiser and it fits all my camping gear and even a small car fridge.

I'm not perfectly happy with leather seating (having only had cloth seating until now) so I'm getting custom made lambs wool seat covers for the front to reduce heat, sweat and for warmth in winter.

Parking is no problem with the reverse parking sensors and reversing camera.

I'm pretty happy so far except I'd like to be driving something faster! I gues we all would right?

 

[NoH8]

Questions of local service are important, but even more what are the road conditions you plan to travel on weekends? all paved high speed, street pave, gravel, dirt, off road? add to your judgment suspension and undercarriage distance from the ground based on the roads you are likely to travel.

Good point, I am on vacation now and have driven on some dirt roads with no problems, up and down hills etc. ground clearance is fine and e manual mode gearbox works great.

Service is easy and cheap cause it's a local brand.

 

[nudeyorker]

I'm pretty happy so far except I'd like to be driving something faster! I gues we all would right?

Thank you. Next time I'm in Australia I'll see if I can rent one and take it for a test run. I do drive something faster but rarely have a chance to actually open it up.
Me ke aloha!

 

[rbkwp]

Thanks for the courtesy response re my post, appreciated as it seldom happens LPSG ha true

 

[gymfresh]

The build quality has improved and they are not so thirsty, but obviously not approaching German levels of quality.

Great choice on the Holden. Sounds like it fits your purposes best. GM's been doing a much better job of quality control across its divisions.

I have had the best luck with Mercedes and Honda.

Every car I've owned has been made by Mercedes or Honda (Acura). They're just a good bet for quality, performance and reliability.

 

[NoH8]

Great choice on the Holden. Sounds like it fits your purposes best. GM's been doing a much better job of quality control across its divisions.



Every car I've owned has been made by Mercedes or Honda (Acura). They're just a good bet for quality, performance and reliability.

Yeah, I checked out the brochure for the new Mercedes C Series, and it's hard not to fall in love. It's just a little bit small for my purposes at the moment but I hope to get one in a few years if I can get off the road and move more into management. I do a lot of country driving at the moment but I'm longing for a more urban "cosmopolitan" lifestyle in a couple of years.

(I might have to meet the right man to make that happen! By the way, I love your name GymFresh, you sound like you just stepped out of the shower, all wet and glowing!)

Thanks,

 

[_yayme]

Very good taste you have sir. I am leaning more and more to Subaru, perhaps for my next car.

It was a bit unfair of me not to say everything I would do with the car, I am a sales rep so I'll be putting stuff in the back, and I also go traveling, camping and visit the beach on weekends.

Haha I love awd cars I'm actually picking up an impreza wagon the bugeye one it's my favorite body style

 

[B_Marius567]

you can save a lot money if you buy a used car less then a year old with low miles.

I bought a used 9 mouth old nissan for $11.000 with 7000 miles and saved $6.000 I had it ten years and I still drive it.

 

[vince]

Yeah, I checked out the brochure for the new Mercedes C Series, and it's hard not to fall in love.

The body is nice, but that dashboard is not. I was at the dealer a couple weeks ago and sat in both the C and the E series. What they have done to the interiors is sad. And the E body's rear end is so stodgy looking. It's nearly as bad what Chris Bangle did to BMW.

Under 40 grand I agree about the Impreza. Totally a fun car to drive. The Holden looks nice in a wanna-be-Audi kind of way. The Hyundai's are getting better and the Kia is nice as well. A business acquaintance took me to lunch in his new Kia something and I thought it was great. Kind of like it was made by Samsung!

 

[NoH8]

you can save a lot money if you buy a used car less then a year old with low miles.

I bought a used 9 mouth old nissan for $11.000 with 7000 miles and saved $6.000 I had it ten years and I still drive it.

Yeah sure, I'd buy German used, so my next car in 3 years will probably be Mercedes about 2 years old.

 

[NoH8]

The body is nice, but that dashboard is not. I was at the dealer a couple weeks ago and sat in both the C and the E series. What they have done to the interiors is sad. And the E body's rear end is so stodgy looking. It's nearly as bad what Chris Bangle did to BMW.

Under 40 grand I agree about the Impreza. Totally a fun car to drive. The Holden looks nice in a wanna-be-Audi kind of way. The Hyundai's are getting better and the Kia is nice as well. A business acquaintance took me to lunch in his new Kia something and I thought it was great. Kind of like it was made by Samsung!

I have to agree about the dash. Especially the first of the new C series, the dash was disgusting. The E series does have a big bum, like a diaper that is in need of changing.

And now that Chris Bangle is no longer doing BMW styling I'm still waiting for them to get back to the beauty of the old models.

Yes I think we all agree on the fun quotient of the Impreza, it's on my radar for my next car if I can get off the road and into management so I don't need so much load capacity.

You have perfectly pegged the looks of the Holden, both inside and out, as wannabe Audi. Trouble is I have a wannabe Audi salary at the moment!

Love chatting with you knowledgable petrol heads.