car question. (1 Viewer)

[rozymisty]

ok so im in the stage of test driving cars.

Yesterday i went to the nissan dealership near by about the Micra. They said i could get a brand new one for $16590 driveaway. I took it for a test today and its quite good. YOu can hear the engine whir when take off and stuff, but it sounds alright for a 1.4l auto, then agian i know nothing about cars so yeah.

Its actually got a good amount of room in the boot and back seats to what you think there would be when you sit in the back. Adequate leg room, but then agian not very often that im going to have pple in the back seat. Good amount of head room. Didnt have the Tacho, but then again it means shit all to me really,

Then i went to look at the Yaris. They had a 08 5 door auto, 1.3l for 17k. I found the boot space a lot smaller than the Micra, and less room overall. I felt more comfy in teh driving position in the Micra. I didnt take this one for a test drive coz they said i could take it myself, even over night (WTF!!) alone but i was like hm well i dont know the area and im only new to driving so eyah, ill just wait.

I then went to Suziki. Drove the Alto first, its only a 1.0l engine which i certainly noticed the engine trying to go up a hill, and the arm room wasnt much compared to the swift. It was a nice and easy to manouver car though. Very little room in the back but once again, im not gng to have many in back. They did have more safety features though, as in more airbags than micra

Then i tested the Swift, 1.5l and i certainly noticed the difference in room you get between than and alto. Certainly noticed power difference and it was smoother too. however that new is going to be $19450 which is more than the 15k i planned for. Im gng to try a used swift coz they are nice.

Going to try a 06 mazda 2 tmw, its got a heck of a lot more boot space, bigger car than the others which may put me off, coz when i was doing the test drive i didnt do parking or anything like that..


So yeah im not likely to get the yaris....which is better though, suziki or nissan?

 

[seremify007]

Sounds like boot space is one of your key concerns, whereas performance isn't. Not sure about safety but as a new driver, I am a huge supporter of active safety (i.e. cars which have inherent good design to help avoid a crash as opposed to ability to sustain/recover from a crash).

Don't forget to try the Ford Fiesta (based on the Mazda2 chassis but marketed very differently), Honda Jazz/City (both recently released/updated considerably but lacking stability control and can be a bit pricey if not on sale), etc...

Based on the cars you have seen so far I probably would've gone with the Yaris for it's drive, it's functional interior (lots of storage spaces), ease of parking, reliability and awesome build quality (the doors have a very solid thud when shutting them!). Ensure any safety pack options are ticked as well. Even if you never end up needing them, they always help maintain resale value.

If it were me in your position, overall I would probably go for the Mazda2 but this car in 5 door guise automatic with safety pack costs around $20k driveaway (a bit cheaper than the Jazz) but it is a very good drive IMO and I found it to be the best car in this category. It's a bit pricier than the others but it should have good resale value.

I'd probably avoid the Suzuki cars because the Alto is a bit too underpowered for anything other than suburban shopping and probably would be horrid in traffic especially with any additional weight (i.e. passengers), and the Swift is a very old car which IMO does not really have anything going for it anymore. It's no longer a class leader.

As for the Nissan Micra, I've had a look at it and sat in them before (friends have it) and it is a very cheerful car. From memory the build quality in the interior was decent. The only thing which I remember concerned me was that I was expecting more safety features for such a new car. Never driven it so can't really comment. Don't worry about lack of tacho- if you are driving an automatic and aren't too fussed about optimal driving, I think it's fine. The car I learnt to drive on had no tacho and I turned out... okayish

ps. Feel free to post up your prices offered by dealers and I'm sure someone on here can help you figure out if it's a reasonable price or not.

EDIT: pps. Woddya know, my 4300th post on BoS was actually a reasonably constructive and hopefully useful one

 

[ClockworkSoldier]

I've always liked the Mazda 3. Maybe you should give that a test?

By opinion, what's the Mazda 3 like?

 

[seremify007]

I've always liked the Mazda 3. Maybe you should give that a test?

By opinion, what's the Mazda 3 like?

A new one is definitely out of the question I think in terms of a $15k budget. Really high quality interior and very well designed. Drive is great and the engine is preppy which is good for city driving. The car inspires confidence and I think the new model continues the trend of it being a class leader.

The previous model Mazda3 is a great car as well but not sure if there are many in the $15k range... and it sounds like OP wants a brand new car.

 

[astroe]

I have a feeling that the Micra is going to age very quickly, given it's rather unique design.

I agree with the near-new used car idea, I mean look at these for example.
I was having a browse for a first car for myself as well.

2008 TOYOTA COROLLA LEVIN SX ZRE152R Private Cars For Sale in NSW - carsales.com.au

2007 MITSUBISHI LANCER ES CJ MY08 Cars For Sale in NSW - carsales.com.au - carsales.com.au

2008 MAZDA 2 NEO DE Series 1 Private Cars For Sale in NSW - carsales.com.au

The Corolla and the Mazda 2 have under 10,000 kms! Like whoa.

 

[philphie]

your prospective micra in a couple of years will look like an 80s ford escort

 

[rozymisty]

Thanks guys that was handy advice, which is what i need.

Out of the 3 that ive test driven so far, id say the micra.

the only reason ive looked at the new one, is coz when i turned up at nissan the guy asked me my budget and he said well why get a 2nd hand one a few years old when you can get a brand new car.

The yaris was a 2nd hand one (2008, registered feb/08), $16990 driveaway.

Micra new was 16625 including some alarm thing, kickplates, and boot protection.

swift was 19480 driveaway new....which is out of my budget.

As long as i get a decent car then im happy. I will test drive that 2nd hand Mazda 2 tmw, and then go to a few other car yards if i have time. Got sunburnt from walking around a lot today, no wonder i was so thirsty! Hate not having a car to get around to the car yards in lol.

Stupid brother wont help with advice either....

Id naturally prefer to get a car under 15k since its my first one.


This is the mazda 2 that im going to look at tmw
Discounted Used Mazda 2 GENKI, For Sale, Indooroopilly, 2006 Mazda 2 GENKI DY10Y2

my only concern is that ive heard mazdas are really expensive to service.....

 

[astroe]

This is the mazda 2 that im going to look at tmw
Discounted Used Mazda 2 GENKI, For Sale, Indooroopilly, 2006 Mazda 2 GENKI DY10Y2

my only concern is that ive heard mazdas are really expensive to service.....

$15,990 drive away? Are you kidding me? HAHA.
A tad overpriced perhaps.

That's the last generation model, it only scored an "alright" 4 star ANCAP rating.
You can easily get the latest model Mazda 2 (5 star ANCAP) for around your budget.

You can even get the equilivant model in the latest generation, for the same price, and still have lower kilometres - although it's a manual.

This.
and This.

I'm not too sure about the servicing, but it's a relatively cheap, small, Japanese car - so I'm sure it'd be reasonable.
If reliability and low servicing costs are your main concern, go for a Toyota.

 

[seremify007]

The only thing I want to add about the new car vs. used car is that;
a) New cars have dealer warranties and often include discounted servicing and free roadside assist (i.e. if your car has any issues or breaks down somewhere in Australia, they will come find you and fix it up or give you another car/hotel/etc to stay at, etc...). Whilst some used car dealers offer this, it greatly pushes up the price of a used car to the point where there's no point buying used.
b) Near-new cars do NOT always have all the benefits of the dealer warranty from when the car was new as it may be non-transferable.
c) Used cars can be a pandora's box in terms of issues which you were not able to identify yourself. Unfortunately if buying private (rather than from a yard or dealer which is considerably more expensive and as noted above, kindof defeats the point of buying used if it's near-new) then you are on your own if something goes wrong... this could prove very costly but that being said, cars like the Yaris have historically had low level of issues so they should be reasonably safe buying private.

I personally have been a new car fan where possible because it makes life that much easier and one less thing to worry about. At the end of the day, our cars help us earn our money and to me, that is something I don't want to cheap out on if it's a key part of my livelihood.

Unless you are getting a significant discount buying used, I would avoid it especially since you are looking at near-new models. You're better off bargaining hard at your local dealership to get the price you want... I'd say a new Yaris in 3dr could probably get down to somewhere near your budget.

ps. Avoid the old (boxy) Mazda2. Not a great car. And you're right- Mazdas aren't cheap to service or maintain... the parts can become quite pricey to obtain but newer models which are more popular than the old might be a different story.
pps. New Ford Fiesta may be a rebadged Mazda2 (of the new generation) but it should still drive well. Might be underpowered in auto though from the reviews I've seen.

 

[rozymisty]

After talking with a friend who's a rally car driver, she said not to get a micra coz they aint safe, and she'd got with the swift. However she said given thtat ive only driven a few times since ive got my licence, it may be a good idea to get a really old corolla and use that for a few years while i get my experience and stuff.

So yeah tomorrow im going to maybe go and look at them and go from there.

 

[seremify007]

After talking with a friend who's a rally car driver, she said not to get a micra coz they aint safe, and she'd got with the swift. However she said given thtat ive only driven a few times since ive got my licence, it may be a good idea to get a really old corolla and use that for a few years while i get my experience and stuff.

So yeah tomorrow im going to maybe go and look at them and go from there.

Rally car driver as in someone who races in rally competitions, or someone who drives/owns a car which is considered a rally car?

Either way, the Swift isn't a bad car but it's quite outdated in terms of safety specs (on the non Sport model) and performance (that, and the whole 'rally edition' stuff is a bunch of bull; there is nothing in common between the road and the rally car apart from the name and the exterior panelwork). That being said, the Micra isn't that much better considering it's a newer car but like the Swift, it lacks features like disc brakes all round (i.e. drums in the rear; like the Tiida).

Swift (technical) specs: Suzuki Australia | Swift S | Specifications
(REMEMBER the Swift Sport has alot better safety features than the standard)

Micra (both standard and "City Collection"/upspec model) specs: http://www.nissan.com.au/webpages/s...Spec_sheets/MIR0083_MicraA4 specs July 09.pdf

Either way, I agree with your friend that maybe a used Corolla if you can get it for a decent price might be a better option.. but I wouldn't be spending too much since a new car isn't that much more and you get a lot more peace of mind.

 

[ClockworkSoldier]

Only problem about a new car for your first car is that you're paying a lot for a car when you're very unexperienced.

I agree with going with something that is safe, that has adequate saftey features and all, but there's no guarantee that you won't make a mistake (there is a high possibility that you might), especially when you've only had your license a few months.

Untill you've had six months to a year on the road on your own, I'd say go with a used car. You can get a decent dealer warranty if you shop in the right places, or if you buy something like a used mitsubishi that's one or two years old, there's a good chance that there will be warranty left over. Do research on the car first though, sometimes the warranty is not transferrable.

I've seen a friend with a brand new 2009 Toyota Yaris accidently side-swipe a parked car. $2000 for a new mirror... Whereas if you did that in something a little older, parts would be accessible and therefore cheaper.

XD.

 

[Azamakumar]

I bought a brand new bike, dropped it about 3 weeks after I got it and then wrote it off after 2 months. Provided you don't mind a few battlescars here and there you won't lose too much money on it. Until you factor in depreciation, I say in 3 years they any one of those cars won't be worth half what you're going to pay for it.

Regardless, I had to make the same choice and chose new. You just need to make sure you're really happy with the car, which is a hard judgement to make until you've been stuck with it for a while.

 

[seremify007]

Keep in mind that even though a lot of reviewers and forum posters (e.g. us) will see things differently, it all comes down to you and which car you find best suits you. If it wasn't for that final personal-judgement-factor, then there would only be a single 'best in class' car everytime and rationally, that would be the car everyone bought. When I bought my Civic FD1 (the current gen Civic with a 1.8L engine), I felt it was awesome and that it was perfect for my needs (in terms of performance and practicality)... and I grew with it. Some reviewers hated the handbrake location or the LCD speedo, but I liked it and not meaning to use the same overused expression again, grew into it.