Getting a new car :) need advise

[Bedlam]

We are going through much the same at the moment. We bought a tarago when we had the 3 dfc's and now want to sell 2 cars to by one. We are thinking a Camry - very economical, not yet decided though. My 2 DD's drive I30's good safety  wise. Always hard to choose,no one wants a lemon.

[BeezeeBee]

Dede, I have a Mazda 3 hatchback. Love it! Suited us well when the boys were little. It's starting to get a little cramped now that there are growing up. Will have to get another one eventually.

Good luck with your shopping. Fun

[dede]

I going to test drive some cars this week to get an idea on what's going to suit. That should help if I can check them out for size and comfort.
My sister has a Mazda 3 diesel and my mum has a Holden Astra diesel, they both love them

[Deeau]

I don't want to step in where I shouldn't but my husband and I run a mechanical workshop so I do get to see it from the other side of the coin.
If you are looking for trouble free motoring, avoid anything European, ( that includes the Cruze ) look at, Subaru and Toyota and the Hyundai ( the i30 is a great car )  the Subaru  and Hyundai both have great diesels the Subaru Forester Diesel may be a good size car for you coming from a mini van. Our workshop does specialize in Subaru and Volkswagen's ( and we work on other stuff too ) unfortunately I can't really recommend late model VW's for reliability, they are lovely to drive ( and cheap )  but are plagued with electrical problems.
The new Hyundai's have come along was and the ones that we work on so far have been totally trouble free. Subaru's have always been trouble free.
Hope this helps
Dee
PS. Sorry if I have trod on toes...I can only give my opinion on what I see on a daily basis at work

[BeezeeBee]

Good feedback, Deeau. Ta

[judydawn]

We need this sort of honesty Deeau and where better to get it from than a mechanic's point of view.  This is why we listened to our personal mechanic.

[gertbysea]

Thank you deeau. This info is very helpful.

Gert

[EmeraldSue]

Deeau, you have just echoed what my mechanic recommended, with the exception of Honda. DH has a Honda and I have a Toyota  corolla, and neither of us have had any mechanical problems with them, and have been very happy with them for a number of years.
Dede, I wish you all the best in finding a car that suits your needs.

[dede]

Deeau I appreciate the advise. My poor brain is hurting thinking about it, I'm so confused lol.
I had a look at several cars today but nothing stood out. Going to have another look tomorrow with a friend and see if anything might suit. I though buying a new car was supposed to be exciting not stressful and I don't trust car salesmen (well a lot of them anyway)
Will keep you all posted

[cookie1]

DD had many years of trouble free motoring with a Corolla.

[dede]

Yeh can't beat the good old corolla
I have had pretty good run with cars except for a commodore wagon we once owned that was a complete lemon. Had nothing but issues with it. We found out later from a local police man that it had something like 14 owners. Must have been a lemon straight off the factory floor.

[dede]

Seen the strangest thing yesterday while at car lovers washing my car.
There was a guy washing his car (not strange you think) well it is when he's washing the inside of his car with a high pressure hose
Why would anyone do that?

Maybe someone threw up inside the car Mandi and this was the only thing he could think of to get rid of the smell  

[JE1202me]

Our mechanic also warned us to steer clear of the European cars, and when we bought our 2007 subaru outback 2years ago he was most impressed.  the Subaru's are also very economical, we tow a Cavalier camper trailer and whilst it would be wonderful to have all the grunt of the bigger klugers etc (that pass us on the highway towing massive caravans) I baulked at the amount of petrol they would use on the school and supermarket run in town. the only thing might be the size of the back seat is a little tight for 3 adults, we only have 1 preteen so no problem.  A number of friends have the forrester ranging from early 2000 models to late 2010 all very happy.  They tend to hold their value well too.  - all in to the mix. I wish you well, it can be a mine field, we had to choose quite quickly and were fortunate with our Outback being on price and available at the time.

[dede]

I think I found my new car today a 2010 Ford Fiesta turbo diesel. As soon as I got in it I felt comfortable and safe, and after a test drive I was convinced this was the car. The asking price was $15990, I got the car salesman down to $15500 and I also get either a $500 fuel voucher, $500 Coles Myer gift card of a $500 BBQ. Think I will go with the Coles Myer card.

The fuel consumption is an average of 4.4L per 100klm which is the best I have seen. The reviews are really good too. (My Kia carnival has an average of 12.1L per 100klm)
Overall I'm happy with my hopefully soon to be new car.

I took a friend with me, and after looking at several other cars, taking  a couple for test drive and being refused a test drive on a Hyundai i20 unless I was going to purchase the car today (very rude car salesman) we both agreed that the Ford Fiesta was just perfect, and being Turbo Diesel it will suit me perfectly.

[gertbysea]

Well done Dede. Good choice. Nice Chrissy present.

Gert