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G'day Guys- Been reading through this site and trying to pick up some good tips on buying a small car to drive into work and back for the next year. My wife has a company car (a RAV) so I'm looking at something small which will keep the fuel bills low. I reckon I'll only need the car for 18 months as we will be doing our OE then. My budget is $6-7k and resale and economy are important. The other thing is being a bigger fella I don't want to get one of those tiny cars like the older Vitz or the March- just looks weird to me. I've spent two weeks looking, test driving cars and speaking to dealers. Here are the choices I've come across
1) Daihatsu Sirion/Toyota Passo: I like the Sport version of this and there seem to be a few NZ new examples around. Like the high driving position and the fact that you can get a newer model passo cheaper than a Vitz. My concern is that fact that Daihatsu are no longer in NZ and the reliability of the import Passo ( is it CVT?). What do you think the resale will be like?
2) Mazda Demio. These seem okay to me - bit of an ugly back. There are a few on the market which have done between 80-95kms for under $7k. A couple of the dealers I spoke to say they dont import the version before 08 as it is hard to sell. Certainly the examples I've seen on Trademe from private sellers seem to have been there for over 6 weeks. The demio doesn't seem to have the same zoom zoom appeal of the Mazda 3 or the newer 2
3) Hyundai Getz- Car seems basic and most examples are NZ New. Price is okay but they run a cambelt and most sellers who have not changed this even though the car is older than 5 years. Just worried that the cambelt/water pump/ tensioners might add about $700 to the cost of the car.
Leaning toward the Passo/Sirion but keen to know your thoughts
Pat
These three are all fairly popular models, and the reality is that you'd be relatively safe with any of them as these small, economical cars are in high demand, so resale shouldn't be too much of a problem.
1) Sirion/Passo: I wouldn't worry too much about Toyota deleting the Daihatsu brand in NZ. Basically, the running gear is all Toyota, the Sirion has been a popular model and parts shouldn't be an issue. Early ones were belt driven and some of the import models ran a CVT, but to our knowledge, the later ones sold new in NZ had 4 speed auto and a chain. Therefore, if you can find one with this combination, it would be perhaps the highest on the list.
2) Mazda Demio: I understand what you mean about the rear end styling, but remember, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and not everyone would agree with you. We hold the Demio in high regard and I wouldn't completely rule out a good low mileage example. I wouldn't worry too much about dealers not bringing earlier ones in as Used Imports, as this applies to most of these cars as older ones won't meet the current import emission standards.
3) The Getz is arguably the most modern looking of these three and has been quite a success for Hyundai. If you go for one of these, either ensure the cambelt has been done or take it into account with your negotiations.
As I said, any one of these would be OK, with the real advice being to try to find a good, low mileage, well kept and maintained example. All things being equal though, if pushed to make a call on the order of preference, it would probably be in the order you have listed them.
Cheers mate
I've found a few passos which are $6500 but the NZ New Sirions are priced at $8-9k. The kms are much the same except the Passos are 2005 models while the Sirions are 2006+. Any reason to spend the extra money on a Daihatsu? I'm just worried because most kiwis don't know anything about daihatsu but will readily buy anything badged toyota!
You're right about New Zealanders having a love affair with the Toyota badge. People will buy some of their older models that were very ordinary and in some cases weren't even real Toyotas, just because of the reputation.
I'd have no problem whatsoever about the Toyota Passo, as long as it's not the CVT version.