Car Options up to 15k

[BzzzzR]

Right I may have a new job shortly and will be given a 15k car allowance (per year) so I will be looking for the following

-Good (ish) fuel economy ie 500-600ks per tank
-space to fit car seats
-look good from standard
-Bit of power when required
-Mod cons
-2000 or newer
-Manual

Have thought the following would be a good start, but would like suggestions and advice if you have owned them in the past etc

-Honda Euro R 2000-20001
-Toyota Feilder Z
-Altezza
-Mazda3 or mazda6



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[Alex B]

15k per year...any reason you wouldn't lease something new?

[rollaholic]

15k per year...any reason you wouldn't lease something new?

this

also, giz a job

[iOnic]

I'd pick the Mazdas out of that list. The Honda will be the quickest of the lot but has lots of common problems. Research them and if they are things you can live with, it will put many grins on your face. The Mazdas are good too and depending on spec can have a bit of wick too. I prefer the interiors in the Mazdas but I do like the Recaros and honeycomb trims in the R - not crazy about the layout though.

I found the Fielder quite bland and the performance (6spd Z edition) really wasn't enough to make up for it. It felt like they took a normal Corolla and added subtle touches and a nippier engine. To me, it didn't give you the feeling of driving something special that you get when you hop out of a Sir-T and into a Euro-R. Altezza Z is much nicer but performance could do with a wake up. Rear wheel drive though so very nice handling.

All of this is just my opinion from having looked at the above cars recently and settling on one of them. I have different tastes to you/others no doubt so bear that in mind and decide for yourself once you have tried them.

[thornz]

Legacy 3.0R
Ticks all the boxes, apart from manuals can be hard to find.

[Al]

15k per year...any reason you wouldn't lease something new?

Because $15k isn't enough to lease a new car?

[AE82 FXGT]

If you get one of the Mazdas make sure its a sp23/25 anything but the LF 2.0 motor! (not that it's that bad but the other motors will shit on it easy)

If it's a Mazda6 make sure it has a service history and that the oil was changed at or before the service interval, stay away from anything without that (so that means all import Attenzas).

[Zitchu]

WRX wagon?

Otherwise agree with thornz, the BP Legacy's are really nice.

[Bling]

I have no idea on pricing, but lease a Mazda 3 MPS

[BzzzzR]

Legacy 3.0R
Ticks all the boxes, apart from manuals can be hard to find.

How good on gas? I had a imprezza 2.0 na as a company car previously but was horrible on gas

[BzzzzR]

I looked at lease but all the kias, hyundais etc are pretty ave performance wise although they are well spec'ed on the inside.

15k per year will mean I can get something worth 25ish over 2 years, but would like to stay away from lease so i can own the car and try and make some money since I am not paying for it in the first place.

Honda euro R, dont like the interior, feilder z like for the space, mazda cause I can get something newish?

Thought caldina gt but really want a manual,

[CelicaGT8]

Corolla

[thornz]

Legacy 3.0R
Ticks all the boxes, apart from manuals can be hard to find.

How good on gas? I had a imprezza 2.0 na as a company car previously but was horrible on gas

Mines the 5speed tiptronic one.
On my daily driving which is 50/50 open road and town driving I get around 10.2L per 100km. On a long open road trip its doen around 8.2L per 100km cruising around 110-120kmh.

If you have a heavy foot, it will suck the gas though. When I first got and was a bit heavy on teh gas, in stop start town traffic it was horrendous, around 14L/100km

If you can find a manual, they come with the 6 speed box, so should be even better I would think on fuel.

[wde_bdy]

15k per year...any reason you wouldn't lease something new?

Because $15k isn't enough to lease a new car?

Last time I looked was only $600 to $800 a month for something decent.

Callum

[Bling]

Turbo Altezza

[snwtoy]

I'd hit something like this:

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-ca ... 694223.htm

[rollaholic]

yeah good plan, you'll want to make full use of that 15k p/a to keep it on the road

also, 320, ew!

[Elmendorf]

If you look at Euro's steer clear of autos. Otherwise cheap to maintain (mine cost less than the Corolla, Starlet, MR2 or Mondeo to service) and you get a late model car for a reasonable price.

Just wish the Moronawatu had better options for buying cars as I would happily have bought another euro last month.

[thornz]

If you look at Euro's steer clear of autos. Otherwise cheap to maintain (mine cost less than the Corolla, Starlet, MR2 or Mondeo to service) and you get a late model car for a reasonable price.

Just wish the Moronawatu had better options for buying cars as I would happily have bought another euro last month.

I'd go the other way.
Wife has a manual Euro, and when it had gearbox problems, it cost a small fortune to get fixed as there is next to no manual gearbox parts/used boxes in the country......

Comes down to personal experiences, and TBH, I wouldnt touch a used Euro again, unless it had a watertight warranty.

[RunningRich]

SO you have $30k over two years.

Check out the Ferrari 400i on trademe