Buying a new car .. suggestions?

[ihavelift]

Hey guys.

Well my st205 finally got sold and I finally got my licence back. The days of spending money on cars are a bit behind me and now I am looking for a decent 4wd wagon, manual or auto (probably auto as I get the feeling I would be spending more money with a manual 4wd .. eg clutch etc).

On my list that I am looking at are:
carib
legacy (non turbo 2L, not 2.5) - bit iffy on this if anyone has some comments go ahead
caldina (but prices on these all seem to be a bit high for what you get)

If anybody has any suggestions let me know, could stray away from 4wd but it's been a while since I've looked at buying a car without knowing exactly what I want.

My basic needs are: reliable, tough (in terms of having a durable engine as I may be living up in the snow next year), economical (although I just came from owning a worked st205 so that's a bit subjective), spacious, hopefully doesn't look like a pile of shit, comfortable and around probably no more than the $6k mark.

If anybody has any words of advice or ideas fire away, just getting a few opinions from people who are more knowledgable than I am. Thanks guys

[deaf_rattle]

dont get the legacy, you will wake up every morning wishing you could shave your balls with 80grit sandpaper instead of owning a legacy.

[cogent]

[Mr Revhead]

Why do you want 4wd? And what is your budget?

[thornz]

Why do you want 4wd? And what is your budget?

My basic needs are: reliable, tough (in terms of having a durable engine as I may be living up in the snow next year), economical (although I just came from owning a worked st205 so that's a bit subjective), spacious, hopefully doesn't look like a pile of shit, comfortable and around probably no more than the $6k mark.

[Mr Revhead]

whoa skim reading FML

[Alex B]

2L Legacy = the most gutless thing on earth, you would need at least the 2.5

[ihavelift]

Haha yeah sorry about the length of OP but it was to prevent questions such as that haha ...

Why do you say that about the legacy? I did some research and found that blown HG are a problem but only on the 2.5L really as it is just a bored out 2L shortblock and the HG is too thin to cope.

Is the legacy really not a good option? What's the reliability of Carib's like?

Any other suggestions of cars I could be looking at would be a help

[Leon]

Carib and Corolla's are super reliable if they've been well looked after.

I had a 4AFE 101 series Corolla wagon and a 4AFE 110 series wagon both with north of 200,000km on the clock that didn't use oil between oil changes and just got on with the job.

Yet my BZT wagon (blacktop 20v) has just had new big end and main bearings fitted at 169,000km.

Service history counts for lots.

[tiny2009]

How about a 2jz altezza wagon? if you can stretch the budget?

[rollaholic]

legacy can be ok if you find one thats been (really) well maintained, as long as you dont mind it being a bit gutless and a bit thirsty. can probably get a fairly late model one for 6k, which the same cant be said of caldinas.

[ihavelift]

2jz use way too much gas for what I am after.

That suzuki tr-4 that was for sale on here was up my alley actually. Damn haha

[thornz]

If you can find a 3.0 Suby wagon, grab one. I have a 04 3.0R wagon, and it goes great, good amount of power and heaps of torque. From most reports the 3.0 H6 motors are near enough bulletproof.

[rollaholic]

are you sure it uses too much gas? look up some numbers imo. remember it depends what you are using it for too - big engines can suck gas if you plant the foot, or if you spend a long time in traffic idling. but they can be fairly efficent cruisers too.

i'd choose the altezza over your other options myself, but 6k aint gonna get you far.

[gurutasker]

I will admit I love my 3L Outback when it comes to handling snow & ice. If you're going for a wagon 4WD (and not a utility type 4WD), then I really think the Subaru wagons do have a bit of a monopoly on their snow performance.

On the really solid days when there's a lot of snow falling or icy conditions, if you're still up on the mountain you'll see they are the dominant wagon left in the car park.

However, I will agree that one of the reasons I went for the 3L was to stay away from the HG issues, and the painful lack of power of the 2L.

[gurutasker]

are you sure it uses too much gas?

My 3.0L Outback only gets 10-11km/L, but I'm hoping a bit of maintenance might get me some slightly better figures.

One downside of the H6 engines thought, they run on 95, not 91.

[thornz]

are you sure it uses too much gas?

My 3.0L Outback only gets 10-11km/L, but I'm hoping a bit of maintenance might get me some slightly better figures.

One downside of the H6 engines thought, they run on 95, not 91.

Thats much better than me, I must have a heavy foot, on the dash trip computer, I've avaeraged bang on 9km/L over the 7000kms I've put on it

[ihavelift]

Insurance is another thing that makes me want a non turbo 2L (max) ... or 2.5L legnum at the most, don't know much about them but if the 2.5L is that GDI nonsense I will be steering well clear.

The suby 2L has an average of 8.7L/100km, and the 1G-FE altezza wagon the same. But the subaru is 4wd, and more within my price range.

Is the EJ20 engine really that lacking in reliability? Does anybody know about the legacy auto vs manual transmission? (Of course I love manual, but thinking cost here, and suitability for Auckland traffic).

Power and performance really is playing a minor role in all of this, 6 months without a licence has made me realise that a fast car can come much later in my life once I can afford something REALLY fast

[ihavelift]

If I can stretch the budget what is the general consensus on one of these? http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-ca ... 343555.htm

[mjrstar]

If it was me I'd be looking at something cheap and cheerful like this:

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-ca ... 189035.htm