New or Used Car? Oz or Japanese?
Feb 4th 2009, 11:46 am
#1
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New or Used Car? Oz or Japanese?
I was checking a few motoring sites.... it appears used cars go for quite a bit of money in Australia. Is it really worth the hassle going for a used car at all? Are Australian made cars good value, compared to Japanese ones?
Feb 4th 2009, 12:19 pm
#3
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Re: New or Used Car? Oz or Japanese?
Don't know really, but I have a 1992 Holden Barina. I bought it 18 months ago for $4k and have only had to get the brake pads replaced so far. Not bad I don't think
Feb 4th 2009, 12:45 pm
#4
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Re: New or Used Car? Oz or Japanese?
it depends what type of car you want,
we have 3 cars at the moment and i can recommend them all
funnily enough none are sold in the UK.
small, Nissan Tiida.
Large saloon, Holden Commodore.
SUV / 4WD Toyota kluger
Dont go Land Rover (parts very pricey)
we have 3 cars at the moment and i can recommend them all
funnily enough none are sold in the UK.
small, Nissan Tiida.
Large saloon, Holden Commodore.
SUV / 4WD Toyota kluger
Dont go Land Rover (parts very pricey)
Feb 4th 2009, 3:12 pm
#5
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Re: New or Used Car? Oz or Japanese?
Nissan Tiida will be too small for us. I know Kluger, its the Highlander. Please tell me a little more about Holden Commodore... reliability, efficiency etc. Is it nice to drive?
Feb 4th 2009, 7:58 pm
#6
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Joined: Mar 2005
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Re: New or Used Car? Oz or Japanese?
Cheap to run, however there are many choices of Commodore out there.
Some Japanese cars are great, Honda and Toyota do great cars.
Feb 4th 2009, 8:03 pm
#7
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Re: New or Used Car? Oz or Japanese?
I drove a Holden Commodore (rental) for a few weeks last year. Big car, smooth, brakes were a little too good for my liking compared to my own car, felt a little cheap inside though. To say it had such a large engine (approx 4 litre I think) the fuel economy was excellent.
Would I drive one again? Yes.
Would I drive one again? Yes.
Feb 4th 2009, 10:52 pm
#8
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Re: New or Used Car? Oz or Japanese?
It depends what you want. Cars do depreciate slower in Australia for sure, so it will depend on what model you are looking at really.
Most Australian cars are large and comfortable, good for cruising, but they can be a bit crappy inside, both in design and aesthetics the Aurion being an exception because it is more Japanese inspired. They do seem to be very robust, they just don't have the 'soft touch' plastics of newer Euros.
For the price you can certainly pick up some excellent used Aussie cars, because they are mainly bought by fleet buyers there are a lot of Commodores, Falcons and Aurions etc that are being sold at almost 1/2 price and only a year old. The Mitsubishi 380 is also very cheap for what it is.
Jap cars do hold their value better but IMO they are second to none in terms of reliability.
BTW - Ford only makes Falcons in Australia, Focus and Mondeo are made in Germany. Holden makes the Commodore in Australia, Astra from Europe, but nearly every other model in it's range is now Korean.
And in the current climate you can knock a minimum of 10% off the advertised price - in fact make stupid offers because it really is a buyers market.
Most Australian cars are large and comfortable, good for cruising, but they can be a bit crappy inside, both in design and aesthetics the Aurion being an exception because it is more Japanese inspired. They do seem to be very robust, they just don't have the 'soft touch' plastics of newer Euros.
For the price you can certainly pick up some excellent used Aussie cars, because they are mainly bought by fleet buyers there are a lot of Commodores, Falcons and Aurions etc that are being sold at almost 1/2 price and only a year old. The Mitsubishi 380 is also very cheap for what it is.
Jap cars do hold their value better but IMO they are second to none in terms of reliability.
BTW - Ford only makes Falcons in Australia, Focus and Mondeo are made in Germany. Holden makes the Commodore in Australia, Astra from Europe, but nearly every other model in it's range is now Korean.
And in the current climate you can knock a minimum of 10% off the advertised price - in fact make stupid offers because it really is a buyers market.
Feb 4th 2009, 11:47 pm
#9
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Re: New or Used Car? Oz or Japanese?
As for type of car it depends on what sort of driving you'll be doing, what sorts of roads, and how much you'll be carrying. Fuel prices have been varying wildly, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if they shot up again - so bear in mind fuel economy.
Personally I wouldn't go near an Australian car, and only drive Japanese cars: Honda, Toyota or Mitsubishi. I've got a Honda CRV myself and it's fantastic.
I think the Kluger is 2wd only, so basically it's a people carrier made out to be a truck. If you want a decent big 4wd, then Toyota Prado's are very good. As previous post said Mitsubishi 380's are excellent, although the previous model (the Magna) was said to have some issues with the auto gearboxes - but I expect they've sorted that.
Dealers are trying desperately to sell cars at the moment, so there's some great deals, but if you haggle in earnest then you can get much better deals.
Personally I wouldn't go near an Australian car, and only drive Japanese cars: Honda, Toyota or Mitsubishi. I've got a Honda CRV myself and it's fantastic.
I think the Kluger is 2wd only, so basically it's a people carrier made out to be a truck. If you want a decent big 4wd, then Toyota Prado's are very good. As previous post said Mitsubishi 380's are excellent, although the previous model (the Magna) was said to have some issues with the auto gearboxes - but I expect they've sorted that.
Dealers are trying desperately to sell cars at the moment, so there's some great deals, but if you haggle in earnest then you can get much better deals.
Feb 5th 2009, 7:40 am
#10
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Re: New or Used Car? Oz or Japanese?
It depends what you want. Cars do depreciate slower in Australia for sure, so it will depend on what model you are looking at really.
Most Australian cars are large and comfortable, good for cruising, but they can be a bit crappy inside, both in design and aesthetics the Aurion being an exception because it is more Japanese inspired. They do seem to be very robust, they just don't have the 'soft touch' plastics of newer Euros.
For the price you can certainly pick up some excellent used Aussie cars, because they are mainly bought by fleet buyers there are a lot of Commodores, Falcons and Aurions etc that are being sold at almost 1/2 price and only a year old. The Mitsubishi 380 is also very cheap for what it is.
Jap cars do hold their value better but IMO they are second to none in terms of reliability.
BTW - Ford only makes Falcons in Australia, Focus and Mondeo are made in Germany. Holden makes the Commodore in Australia, Astra from Europe, but nearly every other model in it's range is now Korean.
And in the current climate you can knock a minimum of 10% off the advertised price - in fact make stupid offers because it really is a buyers market.
Most Australian cars are large and comfortable, good for cruising, but they can be a bit crappy inside, both in design and aesthetics the Aurion being an exception because it is more Japanese inspired. They do seem to be very robust, they just don't have the 'soft touch' plastics of newer Euros.
For the price you can certainly pick up some excellent used Aussie cars, because they are mainly bought by fleet buyers there are a lot of Commodores, Falcons and Aurions etc that are being sold at almost 1/2 price and only a year old. The Mitsubishi 380 is also very cheap for what it is.
Jap cars do hold their value better but IMO they are second to none in terms of reliability.
BTW - Ford only makes Falcons in Australia, Focus and Mondeo are made in Germany. Holden makes the Commodore in Australia, Astra from Europe, but nearly every other model in it's range is now Korean.
And in the current climate you can knock a minimum of 10% off the advertised price - in fact make stupid offers because it really is a buyers market.
Feb 5th 2009, 1:05 pm
#11
BE Enthusiast
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 740
Re: New or Used Car? Oz or Japanese?
It depends what you want. Cars do depreciate slower in Australia for sure, so it will depend on what model you are looking at really.
Most Australian cars are large and comfortable, good for cruising, but they can be a bit crappy inside, both in design and aesthetics the Aurion being an exception because it is more Japanese inspired. They do seem to be very robust, they just don't have the 'soft touch' plastics of newer Euros.
For the price you can certainly pick up some excellent used Aussie cars, because they are mainly bought by fleet buyers there are a lot of Commodores, Falcons and Aurions etc that are being sold at almost 1/2 price and only a year old. The Mitsubishi 380 is also very cheap for what it is.
Jap cars do hold their value better but IMO they are second to none in terms of reliability.
BTW - Ford only makes Falcons in Australia, Focus and Mondeo are made in Germany. Holden makes the Commodore in Australia, Astra from Europe, but nearly every other model in it's range is now Korean.
And in the current climate you can knock a minimum of 10% off the advertised price - in fact make stupid offers because it really is a buyers market.
Most Australian cars are large and comfortable, good for cruising, but they can be a bit crappy inside, both in design and aesthetics the Aurion being an exception because it is more Japanese inspired. They do seem to be very robust, they just don't have the 'soft touch' plastics of newer Euros.
For the price you can certainly pick up some excellent used Aussie cars, because they are mainly bought by fleet buyers there are a lot of Commodores, Falcons and Aurions etc that are being sold at almost 1/2 price and only a year old. The Mitsubishi 380 is also very cheap for what it is.
Jap cars do hold their value better but IMO they are second to none in terms of reliability.
BTW - Ford only makes Falcons in Australia, Focus and Mondeo are made in Germany. Holden makes the Commodore in Australia, Astra from Europe, but nearly every other model in it's range is now Korean.
And in the current climate you can knock a minimum of 10% off the advertised price - in fact make stupid offers because it really is a buyers market.
