Advise on a new/demo small/midsize car arround 20k

starkersEB · 13-12-2010, 05:18 PM

As the title says. My wifey is looking for a mediumish car with a 20k limit to spend.

Suprisingly the MY11 KIA Cerato is the top of our list at the moment, but im still a little wary of the brand. The ammount of kit standard plus 5 year unlimited warranty is the main thing getting it over the line at this stage.

We arent too fussed about brands. Mostly looking for a good warranty, decent space for future family, decent power with economy and the mod cons you expect but arent added extras like alot of companys like to leave out of their advertising!!

Oh and it needs to be pretty

Any tips would be helpfull as I like to got to as little amount of dealesrships as I can!!

Cheers

Franco Cozzo · 13-12-2010, 05:43 PM

Kia Cerato hatch is very good

Auslandau · 13-12-2010, 05:44 PM

If that car ticks your boxes and are not worried about brand name, Hyundai and Kia have gone in leaps and bounds over the years and a Cerato are not a bad car especially for the price .... better than the Daewoo offerings under the Holden banner where you are paying for the name more than what the car offers.

NAFairlane · 13-12-2010, 05:57 PM

as Auslandau said, there are some great cars around for that money if you arent too fussed about brand. Although saying that, for about the 21k mark you could get a brand new mitsubishi lancer which are a fantastic car its just about every way, your even talking toyota corolla territory which are also a great car. If i were in your position i'd be grabbing a drive of the new hyundai i30 which i hear great things about especially with some of them doing less than 5l/100km

Paxton · 13-12-2010, 05:59 PM

Lancer, Focus and i30 are good cars for the money.

The Mazda3 is overrated, as is the Corolla.

Glen 5150 · 13-12-2010, 06:24 PM

Corolla, Corolla, Corolla!!!!!! The 5 yr warranty on the Kia wouldnt tempt me at all sorry, and i'd try and grab a 2010 plated Corolla early in the new year for your budget. In three years time nobody will want the Kia and their resale is shocking and you'll do an absolute fortune. Hyundai i30 is a contender and as a manufacturer they have improved greatly, but so has everybody else.
If you don't like haggling with price, can i suggest hiring a broker and they do all the leg work for you. There always doing deals, so they know exactly what your going to get for your $20k from their data base.

Good luck with it.

Franco Cozzo · 13-12-2010, 06:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 5150gk

The 5 yr warranty on the Kia wouldnt tempt me at all sorry, and i'd try and grab a 2010 plated Corolla early in the new year for your budget. In three years time nobody will want the Kia and their resale is shocking and you'll do an absolute fortune. Hyundai i30 is a contender and as a manufacturer they have improved greatly, but so has everybody else.
Good luck with it.

You advise not to buy Kia, yet you suggest Hyundai, which owns Kia and they share platforms and engines.

Kia and Hyundai have come a very long way, this isn't the 90s anymore.

Also look into the new Nissan Micra, comes with a lot of features for under $20K.

Glen 5150 · 13-12-2010, 06:33 PM

Didnt suggest Hyundai Damo but said was a contender for what they wanted. Thread said something about needed to be pretty for the mrs, and that is a nice looking car. Sorry mate but i'm just boring, and in my opinion Toyota are the best value cars on the market, with resale, safety, reputation and reliability. Especially the Corolla.

Franco Cozzo · 13-12-2010, 06:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 5150gk

Didnt suggest Hyundai Damo but said was a contender for what they wanted. Thread said something about needed to be pretty for the mrs, and that is a nice looking car. Sorry mate but i'm just boring, and in my opinion Toyota are the best value cars on the market, with resale, safety, reputation and reliability. Especially the Corolla.

Agreed, but Toyota is the white goods of the automotive industry haha, over priced for what you get.

Paxton · 13-12-2010, 06:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 5150gk

Didnt suggest Hyundai Damo but said was a contender for what they wanted. Thread said something about needed to be pretty for the mrs, and that is a nice looking car. Sorry mate but i'm just boring, and in my opinion Toyota are the best value cars on the market, with resale, safety, reputation and reliability. Especially the Corolla.

Do you work for Toyota by any chance?

I wouldn't consider Toyota great value at all. Their cars are dearer than their competition, and they have less in them. The Hyudai i30 is probably the best value car in that market. They are better made than some of the 'Japanese' cars (especially the Civic), and are actually a nice car to drive, in comparison to the Corolla, which is like watching paint dry.

As Damo said, this isn't the 90's. Corolla hasn't excelled at anything since then. Ford are having a special deal on the Focus, where you can get a brand new Focus LX for 22,990 (but will be cheaper with haggling and discounts). Focus is still the drivers car of the lot.

Franco Cozzo · 13-12-2010, 06:40 PM

Agree on the Civic too Paxton, its not worth its stupidly high price, its the "Honda tax".

Auslandau · 13-12-2010, 07:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big Damo

Agreed, but Toyota is the white goods of the automotive industry haha, over priced for what you get.

Yes ........ Cars for A to B only with no little niceties, the Corolla and Nissan Tida would have to be the most boring and over priced cars of the century. If a fridge could have wheels this would be them.

cheek · 13-12-2010, 07:40 PM

What about a new imprezel? I would think they'd have alot better resale and plus they are awd :P
http://www.discountnewcars.com.au/su...-suba10cz.aspx

Ford_The_Win · 13-12-2010, 07:43 PM

I'd be looking at the Lancer or Corolla over the Kia for resale value alone. The Kia will be worth nothing in 5 years whereas the others will still command a fair price. Not including the fact that my uncle's Kia Carnival caught fire when it was a year old.

Resurrection · 13-12-2010, 07:46 PM

Are you asking for advice or looking for somebody to advise you?

My advice is get a Mazda 3.

kevino · 13-12-2010, 08:56 PM

New Fiesta sedan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

starkersEB · 13-12-2010, 10:54 PM

I did just find this which would be a nice buy too bad were not looking just right at this time and its pushing the budget slightly.http://www.jarviscars.com.au/demos/s...ice=1174&Go=Go

thanks for the comments.

Corolla NO I understand resale but just no

I reckon ill focus (pardon the pun) on focus i30 cerato and lancer. there are some good deals out there atm too spoilt for choice!

On the resale comments, we thought the same about the wifes soon to be sold MY06 getz, she bought at 65000 for $10k 3.5 years ago now has 110000ish and similar ones are selling bettween $7500 and $9000! even if we got the lesser id be bloody happy with that. So I suppose in 5 years when we do go to sell the KIA (if thats what we chose) bandwagon may be running nicely like Hyandai is now, just a thought.

starkersEB · 13-12-2010, 10:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Resurrection

Are you asking for advice or looking for somebody to advise you?

My advice is get a Mazda 3.

Both thats why I spelt it like that

starkersEB · 03-03-2011, 11:14 PM

Not that anyone may care, but we decided on the MY11 lancer sx sportback. We got bluetooth, mats, tint and black mica paint. Driveaway $22000 brand new. ATM demos arent even worth looking at with the 2010 build runout sales. Just waiting for delivery sucks!!!

We looked at most other brands arround the 20ish grand mark and the Lancer trumped them all in our eyes.

The Kia was nice but still felt Kiaish and to upgrade to get alloys and other little bits and pieces would have cost more than lancer anyway

The Focus as we all know is a very nice car but just felt dated compared to Lancer and once again more pricey.

I loved the Zetec Fiesta but just too small.

Subaru Impreza was the best car of the bunch especially with the runout model with full leather nice alloys etc... but a few of grand too much.

Mazda3 not enough kit for price.

Corolla well its a corolla!!

Anyway long story short. long warranty, capped servicing, free roadside assist, decent amount of kit and IMO pretty nice looking. The lancer is the best small/mid sized car to buy at the moment for 20ish grand (if I had 25ish grand I would say the Impreza)

Smoke Pursuit · 03-03-2011, 11:30 PM

Mitsubishi Lancer... Its got some gadgets, a decent name and a 10 year drivetrain warranty.. plus free alloys / spoiler at the moment.

Brazen · 04-03-2011, 01:15 AM

We have a little Fiesta 5 door and it has been a fantastic car so far, drives like a go-cart and is great on the dirt roads around here.

Before getting a Fiesta, we were seriously considering a Focus as its a Ford, great car and good value. The Mazda 3 was also driven but we couldnt get a worthwhile changeover on the old Escape we were trading in.
So you would be happy with a Focus or Mazda 3 as they are both good cars. We didnt look at others mostly due to no local dealers, the Cruze could be had by a local dealer but I hate the look of the thing. I had ridden in one though and it felt as solid as an Audi and the interior was much better than the Focus or Mazda 3. It weighs more than a VN Commodore though, so probably why it feels like a bank vault.

Now the series II Cruze looks a million times better than the one I was considering and is now Australian made. In my mind its a no-brainer in getting the Aussie Cruze as the car has had its ride/handling done by Australians. You drive any late model Falcon, Commodore, Caprice, Territory etc, and they are simply the best driving cars in their class. Plus being a local car you will be supported by parts etc as the years go on. Plus you get all the warm and fuzzies of supporting the local car industry, a feeling which doesnt wear off.

If your considering the Focus bear in mind a new one is coming out. Also Renault has a new small sedan called the Fluence which I assume you could get good deals on.

Paxton · 04-03-2011, 07:43 AM

Brazen - the Cruze is Australian assembled. Not much of it is actually made here.

Brazen · 04-03-2011, 09:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paxton

Brazen - the Cruze is Australian assembled. Not much of it is actually made here.

half its retail value is from here, plus its locally assembled and it has significant design and engineering done here. No other small car comes close.

BrisVegas · 04-03-2011, 09:16 AM

consider a new or current shape Fiesta. Excellent drivers car and very safe. Lots of convenience gadgets too, I especially like the blue tooth hands free phone and mp3 player.

You could get an 09 Fiesta Zetec for $18k easily. I'm selling (sadly) mine shortly for that.

Josh_XC · 04-03-2011, 10:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DASH GT

Mitsubishi Lancer... Its got some gadgets, a decent name and a 10 year drivetrain warranty.. plus free alloys / spoiler at the moment.

Yeah I second the lancer, cannot go wrong with 10 year drivetrain warranty

prydey · 04-03-2011, 12:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by starkersEB

Not that anyone may care, but we decided on the MY11 lancer sx sportback.

not sure if people missed this bit but it seems a decision has already been made.

starkersEB · 04-03-2011, 11:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by prydey

not sure if people missed this bit but it seems a decision has already been made.

Yeah mate thats right, deposit is down hopefully we get delivery within the week. Cant bloody wait, even if I wont be driving it much and its only a little ol lancer, but neither of us have ever had a brand spanker before

waggaclint · 05-03-2011, 05:38 PM

Good pick on the Lancer, great warranty, a friend of mine has one and loves it, im sure your wife will be happy....

Jason[98.EL] · 06-03-2011, 07:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by starkersEB

Not that anyone may care, but we decided on the MY11 lancer sx sportback. We got bluetooth, mats, tint and black mica paint. Driveaway $22000 brand new. ATM demos arent even worth looking at with the 2010 build runout sales. Just waiting for delivery sucks!!!

We looked at most other brands arround the 20ish grand mark and the Lancer trumped them all in our eyes.

The Kia was nice but still felt Kiaish and to upgrade to get alloys and other little bits and pieces would have cost more than lancer anyway

The Focus as we all know is a very nice car but just felt dated compared to Lancer and once again more pricey.

I loved the Zetec Fiesta but just too small.

Subaru Impreza was the best car of the bunch especially with the runout model with full leather nice alloys etc... but a few of grand too much.

Mazda3 not enough kit for price.

Anyway long story short. long warranty, capped servicing, free roadside assist, decent amount of kit and IMO pretty nice looking. The lancer is the best small/mid sized car to buy at the moment for 20ish grand (if I had 25ish grand I would say the Impreza)

Great buy mate

my brother has a 2011 model as well and he loves it he live out of town on a property and it is brilliant on fuel.

they use that over their Ford ranger all the time

because of the fuel or should i say lack of fuel use

well done on the purchase and hope you guys enjoy it

Jason