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Hi, we are looking to buy a hatchback that could fit a pram in the boot. We looked at the Toyota Yaris and Ist, but we aren't sure if they would fit a pram (we haven't bought our pram yet). We did find a honda civic 2003 for $5500 but the dog and lemon guide says to avoid VTEC engines if they have over 120,000 km on the clock. We have also looked at the Honda fit, but I have seen a few of those broken down on the motorway so am a bit suspect. We have also found a 2005 Nissan Note and a 2006 Nissan Tiida, but they would stretch our budget a bit.
For the $6000-7000 what model/year and mileage would you expect to get? We would like some options for different car brands. I had a holden that I purchased for $7000 that cost me a fortune to constantly repair, want to avoid that again. Just want some realistic expectations of what we will be able to afford, so we don't get something that is cheaper than it should be for a reason (ie it's crap)
Many Thanks for any help

In this price range you are likely to buy a car with more than 100,000km and year ranging from 1996 to 2002. Some prams are large and take up a lot of boot space while others fold up compact and are easier to store in the boot. The Honda Jazz/Fit are known to have CVT transmission failures and are better avoided. The Toyota Yaris and Ist boot space might be a bit small, otherwise they are good cars. You should consider Nissan's Pulsar, Toyota's Corolla/Run X/Allex, Mazda's Familia/SP20 or even Hyunda's Elantra. A good service history will be a plus and try to find a car with low mileage if possible.

It might be a good idea to shop for a pram that folds up nice and compact.

If you have a large pram you might be better off buying a wagon.

Thanks for your advice. After having a look online and at dealerships, we have decided to increase the amount we will pay. We have found a 2004 Mazda Axela for $8990 (125,000km) and a 2002 Toyota Runx for $10350 (70,000km), but we got them to go down to $9500. We have test driven them both and they seem good and both have nice quiet engines and all the fuild colours and levels look good. Do those prices for the year and kms seem reasonable? They are both new japanese imports from dealers. Before we buy we will get an AA check, but only want to pay for one. Which would you prefer the older more expensive toyota with lower kms or the newer cheaper mazda with more kms?

Age vs mileage and one model vs another will always be a dilema that there is really no right or wrong answer to.
Essentially, the Mazda Axela is a particularly popular model among private buyers as it is stylish, good to drive and enjoys a good reputation for reliability, but the Toyota also has a great reputation.
Personally, I prefer the Mazda from a driver's perspective, however, in this instance the one you're looking at is almost twice the mileage of the Toyota, so I'd go for the lower mileage Toyota.