Ask an expert

Hi Team,

I currently drive a 1993 Toyota Corolla ( 128,000 km ) that my dad bought back in 2002 fresh off the boat.
It hasn't failed a W.O.F ever since and hasn't now. The engine (4a-fe) is still singing , replaced belt at 100k , oil every 6 mth , themostat & coolant last year , brake pads last year.

However, the suspension has been making an awful creaking noise for the past 2 years, especially over speed bumps eventhough it's still fully functional as the testing station passed it ( why ? )

Also on the roof (car is silver) there was a small 1cm * 1cm bubbling which has now cracked and broke so you can see the metal which looks rusty ...so i'm nto sure if rain water especially with the weather like this will make it worse or not.
Autopaint said that the rust might actually be bigger than that concealed under the area covered by the still-good paint. (a full rust treatment will mean taking off windshield ...expensive)

It's a Ceres type which is not the international model, so the car is painfully low....the max height it 1315.

My question is , is it time to sell it. ?

If yes, then in a few months or early next year, i can do that, and i have a max $9000 budget since i'm a recent graduate, i work full time but at graduate rates ....so that's my max budget.

Now I want to get a post 2001 car , preferably a grey-import since NZ new is more expensive...but not opposed to it.

I live out west , near WestGate shopping center , and I work near Khyber Pass Road ...Bus is really only for last resort, especially in this weather and the unreliable aspect of it.

So lots of motorway (though traffic motorway haha) ...so maybe 30% city 70 % HW ....or other way around ? lol.

So what are my options ? Engine size ?

I'm kind of interested to be honest with you at the Mazda Axela ...and Atenza , but I'm not sure of reliability.
The Axela with the 1.5 engine (110 hp ), I understand that the engine is from the Demio , as with the 1.5 corolla borrowed from Vitz/Yaris .......is this really ideal ? Since the Axela is quite heavy for a small sedan, will it be painfully slow in the motorway ? .....
And is there any chance I can get a decent one with that kind of budget ? I read a nz forum where a guy bought one last year fresh off boat @ 104,000 KM and today it still hasn't missed a beat, passed wof...etc.

Please Advice , and sorry for the long rambling post :(

Mike

As your car is now 20 years old and starting to show signs of corrosion, it could well be time to upgrade.
The Mazda3/Axela is a very good model, but I'd prefer to have a 2.0 litre than the 1.5. While the 1.5 will be OK for city driving, it doesn't have the power of the 2.0 for open road use.
For $9,000, you may have to be patient as there aren't many around within that price range, but if you shop carefully and are prepared to wait, you may find a good example within your price range.

Thanks for the quick reply!

As my car is not falling apart completely yet, i can definitely wait and be patient about it.

Can you recommend any other options ? i want to keep the car for at least 3 years possibly 4 or 5.

And if you say the 2.0 is the ideal range ......that means it rules out the Toyota Runx then with the 1.5 ?

What is the fuel consumption of the 2.0 mazda and does it take 91 ron ?

My current car currently is getting 12 km / l ....in the heat of summer (january) it was getting 13 km/l

I'm not saying that a 1.5 litre car should be ruled out, just that a 2.0 litre model may be the preference. Perhaps it would pay for you to drive a couple of different models yourself to see how they might suit you.
Some other models you might consider are the 1.8 litre Toyota Corolla, Nissan Tiida or Honda Civic.
All these cars will return roughly similar fuel economy, which should be approximate to, or slightly better than your current Corolla (12/13km per litre - or in local terminology, around 8L/100km).
They should also all be suitable to run on 91.