what to buy for a second car?

[ebv8]

well its really a 5th car but anyway
my trusty 91 vitara is not loving life and i need a reliable car to get to work
I have an 05 Adventra (wifes car)
BA GT (weekend car)
HX Kingswood (Project car)
Vitara (will be parked up and stored)

so i'm after a boring FWD commuter car with 4 doors but i get bored easily
i have had a WT Fiesta and its was slow and boring (handles good though)
plus it needs to fit a baby seat and baby stuff, so light cars out of the question

so i have a budget of $8-$12k
and no more than 140,000km and no older than 2008
so short list is
CJ Lancer VR-X 2.4 Manual
Mazda 6 2.5 Manual
Focus 2.0 Manual

which one out of those would be the go? (not sure about the focus)
or any other cars in my range worth considering

plus i do freeway km's so i want something that goes ok so all the cars i have picked have 125kw or more

sorry this is not meant to be a Hulk thread

[buggo]

What about a Mazda 3 MPS? It might be on the pricier side but there's a couple that fit the bill with a bit of haggling on price.

Here's a 2008 listed for $13k

And this is a bit pricier, but is the face lifted model which looks pretty good. Only 85k km. Never hurts throwing in an offer.

[ebv8]

i was trying to steer clear of the hero model, mainly because i'd want to mod it and i already have the GT. but yes i'd love one
however i have heard that the service intervals for the mazda turbo's is too long and they cook the oil and cause wear....(CX7's did this and killed engines and turbo's)

XR5's are pretty cheap too but i want to keep it simple and semi fuel efficient (10l/100km or under)

[Sabantien]

Your shortlist is all manual, does that mean autos are out? If not...

Did a search in your area based on your specs.

This Camry Altise is a little above 12k but with some haggling it'll probably drop within your range. http://www.carsales.com.au/dealer/de...2941285/?Cr=59 Should be comfortable and reliable.

Or there's a Mondeo http://www.carsales.com.au/dealer/de...3257761/?Cr=68

Ecoboost Falcon http://www.carsales.com.au/dealer/de...3127812/?Cr=48

Or if you want smaller/sportier Golf GT. http://www.carsales.com.au/dealer/de...318807/?Cr=100

I know personally I prefer an auto on a commute, but it really depends on what your commute is like.

[ebv8]

i prefer manual and my commute is pretty short (20km a day)
but i do trips up to Syd every week (120km) but i do that in the Adventra
even the short trip and GT and Adventra use about $50 a week in fuel
the old Vitara is about $25pw when it starts that is

i can get an FG XR6 manual but i already have a Falcon and i'd want to always mod it but i should consider one

[Franco Cozzo]

Save $12K and drive the GT

$12K buys lots of fuel.

[ebv8]

last time i drive the GT and parked in a carpark i got a door sratch, plus the GT is going to last me till i die so its limited use, i do park my car in view of my window and i have seen the vitara get hit a few times but it has a bull bar and tow bar. a mate drives his GT everyday and its f'kd, mines staying mint!
the wife needs the Adventra with her and the kingswood will just be historic rego'd

[290GTP]

I guess you can never have enough cars.

[BLUEYBA]

How about a 4th gen Subaru Liberty???

[ebv8]

don't really need another AWD but i did find a nice wagon with low km's for the right money up in the central NSW coast...

[BLUEYBA]

Originally Posted by ebv8

don't really need another AWD but i did find a nice wagon with low km's for the right money up in the central NSW coast...

they are a nice car. A lot better than I thought they were with plenty of room.

[fordomatic]

I'm going with the Lancer. I bought a ZH Outlander with 135,000km 4 months ago for $10,500 and it is an awesome little car. I drive to the snow every weekend and it eats up the km's and is super comfortable. I'm really impressed with the Mitsubishi, sure the build quality isn't the best but it just feels like it will never stop, great little car. Good fuel economy too.

[BENT_8]

Originally Posted by fordomatic

I'm going with the Lancer. I bought a ZH Outlander with 135,000km 4 months ago for $10,500 and it is an awesome little car. I drive to the snow every weekend and it eats up the km's and is super comfortable. I'm really impressed with the Mitsubishi, sure the build quality isn't the best but it just feels like it will never stop, great little car. Good fuel economy too.

I was going to say Outlander to replace a Vitara, weve had our 2013 model for 3 months now, done 5000k's and its been faultless and efficient, excellent vehicle to be honest.
Or an ASX.

[OzriderXR8]

Have a look at the Hyundai Elantra , make sure it's the current shape.

We've had one for the last 4 years, great car.

[Joel.]

Bought a 2013 Focus Sport a few months back. Loving it. Handles great, very easy to drive around town, in the twisties and on the highway. Feels very solid with little wind/road noise. It hasn't got alot of power but it has enough for all everyday situations and a little fun in the tight stuff. Fuel has been great. I am averaging 6.3L/100km so far, mix of highway and town.

[Revolver]

The awesome track commodore you started building. "Project Mang".

& Drive the GT daily. Use it & enjoy. Don't keep it fresh for the next guy...

[ebv8]

Originally Posted by Revolver

The awesome track commodore you started building. "Project Mang".

& Drive the GT daily. Use it & enjoy. Don't keep it fresh for the next guy...

project mang... that went to a new owner near Newcastle for hill climbs, he sent me an update a few months back. i enjoyed playing around with it at the time, gave me something to do and waste time at work buying parts for it, he ripped off the supercar kit and changed up the paint

i'm not selling the GT EVER!!


on another note my boss is selling his 2010 territory TS with 60,000km for about $9k....should i even consider it?

[Giant Cranium]

Grab it

[Swordie]

Mazda 6 sounds good. There is also Honda Accord Euro.

[FERG_51]

The cars you mentioned in the first post are all good cars, Mazda probably the pick by a small amount. LZ Focus in manual is a great car but may be over budget.

[StefD]

provided that TS is in good nick id snap that up... 9k is decent for that...

[ebv8]

just asked him he wants $10k now, its always been garaged and white, he reckons its the best 2010 terri out there, its a TX RWD 4sp just with 7 seats
a mate just bought a 2010, 110,000km Limited Ed for $9k so don't know if $10k is worth it?? its still a bit bigger than what i was after but i'd probably enjoy driving the territory better than those FWD cars....
i'm in no rush i'll try and cut him down to $8k

[Junkyard-Dog]

Hyundai i-30's are surprisingly good. That's what I would get if I was after some more white goods.

[.:4:.]

My wife used to have an 03 2.3l mazda 6 (I know your looking for a newer one) but for comparison sakes, compared to my fairmont, interior space wasn't bad, the boot was big enough, pretty cheap to run, had enough go (no rocket ship, but with 4 adults in it and a bootload, it didn't struggle), cheap to run, never had any mechanical issues. The only niggle was sometimes the radio display wouldn't work, but a thud above the screen sorted that out. She sold that for a cx9. Lovely car but a pig on fuel, sold that for a g6 ecoboost which still ticks all the boxes and we haven't looked back

[StefD]

Originally Posted by ebv8

just asked him he wants $10k now, its always been garaged and white, he reckons its the best 2010 terri out there, its a TX RWD 4sp just with 7 seats
a mate just bought a 2010, 110,000km Limited Ed for $9k so don't know if $10k is worth it?? its still a bit bigger than what i was after but i'd probably enjoy driving the territory better than those FWD cars....
i'm in no rush i'll try and cut him down to $8k

sure it ain't a manual but territory is nice to drive. OT but my wife drives our 2013 TX daily, when the 4 of us go somewhere I drive and I quite enjoy it... Half contemplating actually buying a Focus/Mazda 3 hatch for her and me taking the terri... which considering I am contemplating whether I fork out for XR8/ST Focus is not normal...

[Sabantien]

I know you mentioned having had a Fiesta already, but a Fiesta ST might make it that little bit more fun to drive if you can find one for the right price. (Unsure how it'd go with child seats in the back)

[Swordie]

How about FG on LPG?

[ebv8]

i showed wife a few Lancers on our drive up to sydney last nights and she likes them, they are decent size without being too big. she did see an evo and say what about that one....
need something with 4 doors unfortunately otherwise a fiesta ST or even an XR4 would be great fun
next week i'm looking at the Territory just to see if its as good as he says

[Sabantien]

There you go. Permission to buy an Evo.

That will be a fun drive to work.

[SumoDog68]

After FWD commuter car - buys a Territory :-)