Best car to buy on a 30k budget

[gordo]

Hi guys,
I would like to get your guys opinions on what is the best car to buy with a 30k budget. like for a first car. It should be judged on reliability, cheapness of parts, risk of theft and fuel consumption. what do you guys think would be the best choice?

[rfnel]

I'd recommend that you drop by an auction (like Burchmore's) and get a feel for what you can buy in your price range. Once you've identified a couple of cars in your price range, read up on their reliability, cost of parts, etc.

If you find a car that you'd like to bid on, take a buddy who knows about cars along to have a look at it. You buy voetstoots, and the untrained eye might miss a few small issues.

Good luck!

[Dave A]

On a small budget like that, how you buy is probably a big factor as Riaan suggests above.

My only other comment is it's probably better to buy an older car with low milage than a newer car with high milage...

[AndyD]

I think the cheaper cars like older Toyota conquests and corollas are more likely to be stolen than a R150000.00 BMW or Audi. The cheaper cars that won't get stolen would be an old Renault or Peugeot but they're expensive to repair. I would be wary about buying at auction if you have no experience, there's lots of pitfalls and traps to fall into, you need an expert rather than a buddy.

[Pap_sak]

It's definitely more on the condition/previous owner than on the brand, IMO. Would definitely not be looking at bmw, audi's and merc, and although you can buy them at low prices fixing them will cost you more than they are worth.

We had a R35K budget about 4 years ago to buy a better car...my only wish was that it had air-con. We ended up buying a 2004, high milage 140k at the time, fixed up code 3, fiat palio 1.6 el. Drives well, no problem with engine and gearbox, air con fantastic....but other (small) parts have failed regularly...heater, one window winder, light, c/locking - none of which I have bothered fixing. Not sure if I would recommend it, but has (so far ) served us pretty well and are cheap. I bought it because a courier I know has been using UNO's for ages and recons the gearbox and engines where fantastic - had lot's and sold them when they got to 300K.

[wynn]

Check out Gumtree as well

[tec0]

I recommend VW just be very careful some City-Golfs are good others are crap so make sure it wasn't in an accident and look for rust. Mechanically they are easy to fix easy to do a engine replacement and very easy to keep them running they don't ask for much. Normally you can get them for R24000 "in good condition" and you can spend the rest on whatever the car needs" I do recommend a good alarm system AND tracker... For the golf.

[gordo]

what about hyundai elantra j2? it has 280000 on the clock and its R24000

[rfnel]

what about hyundai elantra j2? it has 280000 on the clock and its R24000

I speak under correction, but a mate of mine had a old Hyundai Accent and the cost of parts were through the roof. I'd recommend that you phone around for quotes on parts before you buy anything.

Although Pap_sak advised against buying a BMW or a Merc, I've seen a lot of them in the classifieds with sky-high mileages. If nothing else, it would seem like they're reliable (just an observation). I have a family member with a 1990's C Class Merc with 400K+ on the clock which is still going strong. Just stay away from the E36 3 Series BMW's - crooks love 'em.

[Just Gone]

Check out Gumtree as well

I would not buy a car from Gumtree ............ or be VERY carefull !!

I have just bought a second hand car for my son - my budget was also R30 000 - I had to up it to 50 - could not find anything reliable out there - You can get a good Reno Clio for 50, but watch out because at 100 000km you need to have the cam replaced and it costs quite a bit - my mechanic advised me to stay away from them. I bought him a Corsa lite ....... beautifull little car - very clean and runs like a dream and services and maintenace is cheap.

[Dave S]

I was also in this position not too long ago (August). We had a budget of R50K and had to find a cheap, reliable, consumption wise car for my University Son. We found a Hyundai Atos 1.1 GLS with 25000Km, 2006. As my wife has exactly the same year and model (with the same mileage), we knew what to look for. These are great little cars if you can still get a good one, but you will need to look around and examine the vehicle closely.

[tec0]

You can always see if there is something for you at Burchmores. I also dislike the idea to buy a car as is at an auction because you know you don't always get what you want and just buy a lot of problems. The last time I was at a car auction there were a lot of VW Polo's going for reasonable prices most of them came from car rentals.

If your back is against the wall and you ran out of options I would recommend having a close look. Just take a "mechanic friend" with you as you can easily buy a lot of trouble. So take care be careful.

Come to think of it some banks also have auctions so it is worth doing a search.