Hey guys and girls.
A question for those of you that drive other cars as daily family runabouts.
We are looking at picking up a family car for our selves as the trusty old Ute is soon no longer going to suit our needs.
My question is what sort of family cars do you guys drive?
Whats the best value for money family car out there on the market?
We Looked at the passat but the general maintenance cost on new Volkswagen's is a killer.
Any other suggestions out there?.
Moving is a Bitch😂
I like Mitsubishis Myself...
250,000 kms with no problems on My current Lancer..
Lancers are good car.. and not too expensive..
I also like the Outlander by Mitsubishi..
Mitsubishis have good warranties and on road service..
A nephew just bought a Tucson...
has 8 years warranty....
another Nephew bought a holden Captiva...
and you have already found out about service prices...
Subarus are Good cars but the services on them were a killer 10 years ago...
Most cars out there are Very Good these days...
but I have heard there are lots of problems with Commodores [kept under wraps]
New cars are getting so complicated that Expensive servicing is common on cars like the Passat etc..
best of luck
LEE
- Helping keep Air Cooled VWs on the road - location: SCONE in the Upper Hunter Valley - Northern NSW 320 kms NNW of SYDNEY---
Yep, servicing is a killer but you can legaly get your car serviced at any licenced motor mechanic without voiding the warranty and that saves heaps, of course that dosn't help if your vehicle requires special equipment to do the service so you have to watch that. We have had Soobs for the last few cars and can't praise them enough, my present work vehicle is one of the Generals products but not all that happy with it, think I'll look elsewhere next time. Our Soobs have not been purchased as new vehicles but with very low k's on the clock, save a motza that way. In the end there are not too many lemons out there these days, depends on just what type of vehicle you want, sedan, wagon, hatch the choice is bewilderind but you don't need us to tell you that. Good luck in your search, there are some real bargains out there at the moment.
I dream of a day when a chicken can cross a road without being asked for it's motive!
My wife has a 2005 Bora which we are very happy with. My daughter has a 2002 beetle and her husband has a similar model Passat. All these cars were bought 2nd hand, and mostly we don't have them serviced at our local VW agent, but at our local mechanics shop, and don't find it too expensive. My brother has a 2007 deisel Jetta that he bought new. I think he gets it serviced at the VW dealer, but he hasn't complained about service costs.
From your ole' mate Jeff
we have a kia reo bloody great car and takes 4 as stated service can be done by ultra tune mine is a 2007 a very goog year has electric e4verything
my daughter has a hyundi and getting 300000klm without a problem ilike korean valu for money
👍👍😂🙅🥷😬🤓
There are plenty of good, near-new VWs available nowadays. I agree with Jeff - stay with VWs.
2001-on Passats (previous B5 or B5.5 model) are large and comfortable, and can be serviced by any VW workshop. If you don't need something that big, a Jetta or Bora has plenty of room for five people, and a bigger boot than a Commodore, Falcon or Magna and with half the fuel usage. The Golf is the same as the Jetta/Bora inside but with a hatch rear rather than a boot. The Golf's rear is larger than a Mazda 3 or Corolla boot.
If you need something larger than a Passat (big family?), go with a T4 Caravelle. The 5-cylinder ones are Audi-engined and sound great. They are fast and comfortable. The newer T5 Mulrivans are best with TDI engines - 350 Nm is three times what '70s Kombis had.
Volkswagen out-sells Kia in Australia nowadays, as it should, and at current rates will overtake Hyundai in 2010. That speaks for itself. Volkswagen also sells more cars nowadays in Australia than Subaru. There is no reason to buy anything other than a VW.
buy a subi wagon
or hilux twin cab 4wd it drives just like a car. So you can use it for work, to go shopping then take it to the beach on the weekends.
Then you could join the 'Subi' or 'Hilux' forums and car clubs instead.
Volkswagens, new and old, do all of that and more, in much greater style.
Pulsar hatch 4 door, late 90's early millenium 1600cc 4 cyl.
Flippin awesome. Can nab a good one for less than $10gs with low K's, runs on the smell of a rag, easy to drive, and NOT gutless. So economical, heaps of spares. Its a nissan too, great quality. I have mates who each own one. One has the sedan, the other, the wagon, both 1.6 ltr, we have had the car full with 5 adults and luggage and it still manages to fly. I borrowed one for a week, it was a ripper.
I neva had a great reputation with them before till i drove em, and i tell ya what, one of the best small cars i have driven (in all areas of economy, bang for buk, parts, reliability rada rada rada)....
(ô_!_/ô) (ô_!_/ô)
69' baja: kombi box, thing spindles, irs, disc front, type 3 rear drums, 2 inch lift kit, 31x10 rears. 👍
New engine in process: 94mm p&bs, 74mm C/w chomol Crank, 35.5x39 SP heads, turbo. Wierd combo, hopeful torque monsta!
Thanks guys. We are going to take a look at the Volkswagen Tiguan 147 TSI. So i guess we will see what happens there on the weekend😁
I'm not a big fan of the softroaders. but these look well priced for what you get.
Moving is a Bitch😂
For a family car I suggest you look through this list:
http://www.ancap.com.au/results/5star/
A few VWs to choose from.
When we had to replace our family car a few years back we went for a Renault Laguna wagon, as it was the cheapest 5 star rated wagon wtih air bags in the back (no point surviving a side impact if your kids don't) It has been a reliable & efficient car, problem was maintenance was a bit pricy, half due to incompetent dealer service and the other half due to scary parts prices (gasket for rocker cover - ~$300 - you can't buy just the gasket, you have to replace the rocker cover with its "special" sealant) You can pick them up from aorund $5k at the moment, but I'd budget a maintenance bill of around $2k per year.
Peugeots are generally safe and maintenance isn't ridiculous, and resale value is very good. Don't get the early 307s though, terrible build quality.
Another vote for Soobies - reliable & safe.
I'd just shortlist a few models & then wait for them to pop up in the auctions - they are getting pretty cheap at the moment.
I bought a `99 VW Passat. It has the 1.8 turbo and gets awesome fuel economy. 5.7L/100km on the highway. In the 8's around the suburbs. I service it myself which is quite cheap 🙂
Wes -
www.offroadvw.net - 200HP Quad Cam V6 in a VW Baja - with climate control...
🙂
www.taylorcycles.com.au - My DH MTB racing brothers shop.
i love twin cab utes, Hilux, Rodeo, Navara - so resourceful - sucks alot of fuel, unless you go diesel.
I always use my dual cab for its build purpose - though you do acquire more friends with a ute.
None the less i love it. Maybe not so keen on the 4cyc versions
VW Jetta is awesome its even got a bigger boot than Falcodore's!
Greedy cant believe you trust your life in a Korean piece of crap one accident above 60kph and see you later!
We've got a V70T Volvo. 125+kw on tap. Pulls and tows well. 11-12 L/100km around town, 7 L/100km on the highway. Plenty of space being a wagon, with sleeper pulling torque. Plus the added bonus of those extra seats up the back. 1999 model, leather trim, electric seats, all nowadays from about 12k.
Hilux Dual cab !!
had 9 hilux's so far, still got 4 at the moment, cant break 'em...... and believe me i have tried
save your VW for the weekend / special times
very comfortable & great resale value 😊
Step up to get out !!!
The trouble with a lot of other cars, especially asian cars is that the wipers put the blinkers on, and the blinkers wipe the windsceen. What is the go with that?
From your ole' mate Jeff
Well Jeff, I think you will find that is quite common for cars in Australia.
I'm going to give my opinion on family cars here, and some people may not like this, but I don't really care.
Mazda make an extremely good product and i think the 3 is a great long distance and town car. There is very few things that you can fault on them. I am a jap car person to some extent, toyota's are very highly rated amongst mechanics, a very reliable car, just like the honda product. I cant say anything good about holden at all.
I love VW's but they are not hugely reliable, and they are old cars, some times I miss driving new cars. Oh yeah, I worked at a Mazda dealership for a year, and I drove alot of mazda's and other cars in that time.
We just sold our '89 Caravelle after 11 years of owning it (as we are past the kiddie seat and pram stage of parenting) and replaced it with an '02 V6 Passat, it is a beautiful car to drive, has electric everything and much better on fuel than the Caravelle.
It was $54,000 when new and we picked it up for $14,000 with 98,000K's
I also went a bit silly when looking for a replacement car and looked at 05'and later Commadore wagons with around the same K's and I must say they drove like steaming piles compared to the Passat.
And I didn't ruin my record of not owning anything but VW's since my 1st car 30 years ago.
FAHRVERGNUGEN;
Description of a pleasurable sensation,
Experienced when a car and it's driver are in mutual harmony, A unique driving experience, Pleasure, Satisfaction,
A feeling experienced by Volkswagen Drivers.
Hilux gets about 10-11ltr/100klm around town and a bit less on a trip. has heaps of get up and go when you want to use it.
Mick058 wrote:i love twin cab utes, Hilux, Rodeo, Navara - so resourceful - sucks alot of fuel, unless you go diesel.
I always use my dual cab for its build purpose - though you do acquire more friends with a ute.
None the less i love it. Maybe not so keen on the 4cyc versions
I love my Navara dual cab,the kids love it when they want something carted around,but whinge like all get out about the padding on the rear seat.I haven't noticed any problem in this area as i drive most of the time. A great all purpose vehicle.
I would only drive German car and this is the proof:
Guy survived with a broken patella and a few scratches.
Safety is why I went for the Passat. It's a 99 model but still has side air bags and other good stuff for the era.
Wes -
www.offroadvw.net - 200HP Quad Cam V6 in a VW Baja - with climate control...
🙂
www.taylorcycles.com.au - My DH MTB racing brothers shop.
rose wrote:buy a subi wagon
or hilux twin cab 4wd it drives just like a car. So you can use it for work, to go shopping then take it to the beach on the weekends.
Sorry Rose.
We use to own a 94 forester. after going through warranty problems over an over again with it. We vow never to buy subaru again.
😠😬
We have also owned a 96 Toyota Hilux, which we traded in last year on a V8 Diesel Land cruiser ute.
I have to say the Cruiser leaves the hilux for dead in a lot of ways
😎Moving is a Bitch😂
Jen you will love the VW Tiguan. It is based on the Mk5 Golf platform, so it is a strong, reliable and good looking machine. It won the NRMA Best Car award for Best Recreational 4WD last year.
The name 'Tiguan' came from a German magazine competition, where Auto Bild magazine asked its readers for name suggestions. 'Tiguan' comes from joining two German words, Tiger and Leguan (Iguana). Some of the other unsuccessful names were Nanuk, Rockton and Namib.
There are three models in the Australian range to choose from, all of which have 2.0-litre four-cylinder engines and VW 4Motion 4WD. They are all 5-star EuroNCAP rated for safety, and all come with ESP, ABS, Brake Assist, cruise control and Auto Hold. The TDI already meets the strict Euro V emissions standards.
125TSI petrol - 125 kW / 280 Nm. 6-speed manual or 6-speed auto. From $33,990
103TDI diesel - 103 kW / 320 Nm. 6-speed manual or 6-speed auto. From $36,690
147TSI petrol - 147 kW / 280 Nm. 6-speed auto only. From $42,990
When you say trusty ute do you mean the Kombi ute? I have owned my Kombi microbus 2ltr over 25 years and though it does not have the safety features you are after like air bags it has certainly performed the job of being the family car as well as the work horse. Only problem I have had with it is that having 8 seats, its generally me that taxi's everyone. But a better all round car I could not think off.
,but whinge like all get out about the padding on the rear seat.
So what model is that, I had a Navara twin cab 4wd long time ago, spent endless hours trying to get the squeek outa the back seat, spoke to several other owners of simmilar vehicles and all said they had given up on the same problem, just had to live with it, padding was hopeless as well but front seats ok.
I dream of a day when a chicken can cross a road without being asked for it's motive!
Big difference between a 96 hilux and a v8 cruiser
🤪
and also a huge difference between a 96 hilux and a 2007 hilux
🤪
If you can affort a v8 land cruiser ute just go out and buy a lancruiser wagon.
JEN056 wrote:rose wrote:buy a subi wagon
or hilux twin cab 4wd it drives just like a car. So you can use it for work, to go shopping then take it to the beach on the weekends.
Sorry Rose.
We use to own a 94 forester. after going through warranty problems over an over again with it. We vow never to buy subaru again.
😠😬
We have also owned a 96 Toyota Hilux, which we traded in last year on a V8 Diesel Land cruiser ute.
I have to say the Cruiser leaves the hilux for dead in a lot of ways
😎
rose wrote:Big difference between a 96 hilux and a v8 cruiser 🤪
and also a huge difference between a 96 hilux and a 2007 hilux 🤪
If you can affort a v8 land cruiser ute just go out and buy a lancruiser wagon.
Yes. There is a big difference between the cruiser and the hilux. The cruiser suits our property needs more so then the hilux..
As for wanting a cruiser wagon. well that doesn't suit my needs at all.
🙅 They are to big and heavy on the fuel, to much of a pain in the ass for a tinny person like me to maneuver in the city.
😊
Plus I'm not quite ready for the soccer mum title just yet.
😂Moving is a Bitch😂
post 80's crusiers are lame. Bring back the old school!!!!
I love how everyone gets so sad when there is something faulty on a new car and it needs a warranty part. Awww... so sad. Its not a big deal, every car company has warranty issues, every car company has recalls and upgrades. Try finding out what a Mazda 2 rear hub upgrade is, then you will laugh at what goes on with new cars.
