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Hi
My dad is looking to purchase a new car to replace the unreliable 97 ford xr6 he currently owns. He is used to driving big cars, however I would like to convince him to try something smaller as he only ever carries two people max including himself in the car. He did want something that would perhaps be capable of towing a small (tinny) fishing boat. His max budget is more or less $10,000, and for that a car now older than 2004 with less than 130,000kms. What would be a suitable car..he was looking at a mazda 6/atenza or similar, which is fine, maybe I think it would be best for a slightly smaller car, so whats one that is reasonably cheap to run, reliable and easy to maintain and is a nice and smooth and safe car to drive (especially on open roads as that is what he travels on each day to work)
Many thanks

Hi there,
The Mazda Atenza would be a perfect choice, the 2004 2.0ltr sedan/wagon is valued around the 10k mark. It's a larger car and should to a tinny without too much trouble.
Your budget is currently the limiting factor. A higher budget would open up the possibilities
to the smaller suv market.