Ask an expert

Hi there,
My wife and I are considering buying a Suzuki Baleno station wagon 2000 - manual.
We are looking for a reliable, cheap to run family station wagon. I have read the forums and seen other sw's recommended - corolla etc, but they are a bit more expensive etc. We don't need all the bells and whistles etc.

Could you please tell me of any known problems with this car and maybe the positives as well?

Thank you very much

The Baleno has a good reputation for reliability. As you allude to, it's nothing flash or fancy but has no real known major issues.
The Corolla does tend to hold its value very well due to the solid reputation for reliability, but there are other models (perhaps a little less well known) that are also good and reliable - the Suzuki included.

Hi there,

Thanks for the info - the car actually sold soon after I wrote the above post. Anyway...

Our family are looking for our first station wagon. We have a few months before it is needed so are taking our time and looking for one that fits what we want: reliable, fuel efficient, less than 120,000Km, around $5000, manuel, towbar can be fitted, documented service history and preferably NZ new. Cars for this price etc seem to be 1998 - 2002 models. A few pop up every now and then that fit the descriptors...We are actually probably going to have to purchase while still overseas (trademe) so will definately get an AA check - anything else you would recommend?

After reading some of the forums you have suggested staying away from CVT, direct injection, D4 and GDi engines. We are also staying away from legnums, wingroads, accords, hondas and mondeos as they are suggested to be high risk.

The cars we are currently considering are: Toyota corolla, carib / Mazda any model / Nissan sentra, avenir, primera / Mitsubishi lancer, liberio / Suzuki Baleno

Are there any other historically reliable models (1998-2002) you think are worth considering (Ford/Hyundai/Mitsu). Any from the above list we shoud remove. We have time so are just trying to make the best choice for our $.

Thank you very much for your help.
Nic

Hello Nic,
Most of the models you suggest would be fine. It's good that you are prepared to consider most makes and models provided they are not in the high risk category.
As you seem to have a good understanding of things to avoid, you should be able to find a good reliable car if you are patient.
There's nothing you've mentioned that we'd remove (bearing in mind no CVT's - especially Primera). Other Nissan models including Pulsar are good too.
Corollas are great if you can find one in your price range, as are the larger Caldina. You've said Mazda any model - and we'd agree that the 323/Familia or even the bigger 626/Capella would be fine.
Basically, stay with mainstream Japanese brands and you should be fine.

Thanks very much for your help

hi there,
Found a 95 Mitsi libero for sale with very few kms and in what seems to be great condition. Would you consider these cars reliable? It was imported - what do you think the chances are of the clock having been rewound?
Thanks for your help.

These were OK although would not be at the top of our list. Obviously, with an older vehicle there are no guarantees and it wasn't unheard of for this model to suffer oil leaks and some transmission problems, computer problems etc.
Depending on when it was imported, it's hard to say about the mileage being genuine. Generally speaking, it's less of a problem today than it was a few years ago - but again, there are no guarantees, especially if there is no service history from Japan (which, in most cases, there isn't).

Hi there.
Thanks for that. How similar are they too the lancers? Often when I try and find out info about them lancers come up instead.
Basically the histroy suggests they are not as reliable as the toyotas/mazdas - is that correct?
How important would you consider low kms to be when puchasing - this particular car has done less than 70,000 where as the toyotas I am considering have done kms in the low 100000kms.
Thanks