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Hi Jack,

My partner started a new job which involved 3 days of driving around the Waikato every week. We have an auto 97 Pulsar SRV wagon which has two airbags. It has done 200, 000kms but it has been regularly serviced by each owner including us. Its in pretty good nick. One thing we have concerns about is the level of safety given that the car was built in an era where reliability was valued over safety.

She's looking at spending $5k on a new car but I'm not sure whether you'd be able to get a safer car for this amount as we'd be looking at something which is late 90s. What are your thoughts on this and do you have any recommendations on cars which are safe AND reliable? I've seen some VWs with side airbags for this price range but their reliability record is woeful. Are we better off just running the Pulsar into the ground given its reliability?

Thanks

The reality is that anything you find in this price range is unlikely to have any more safety features than the current Pulsar she is driving. Perhaps the best option would be to stick with that for the time being until the budget allows for a more modern (say, 2005 on) car that is likely to have improved safety features.