I am thinking of buying a second hand car. I have a budget of £2-3000 and in return demand reliability and comfort. I do not want a car that sits in the garage all the time, or that is expensive. Furthermore, I want good fuel economy and a simple engine that I can work on myself.
I was thinking of the Toyota Carina E 2.0i. Is this a good car and what fuel economy do current owners get from such a car? I have seen 50,000 mile fsh Carina's for around my price bracket. What other alternatives are there?
Any thoughts will be appreciated.
Gregory
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Mazda 626, about 96/97 model is a good alternative and, I think, a better car. You could even pick up an Executive at that price if you looked around for a private sale. It comes with leather and fully loaded. Sunroof and aircon!
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I did look into the 626 but they aren't very reliable. I have heard of many problems including trans failures. Many disatisfied customers from my research. The carina offers reliability in return for a poor image.
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Mazda 626 not very reliable? according to what research?
They have done consistently well in the J D Power survey - for example the 2001 survey (1999 cars) -
"It's 13th place is earnt through superb reliability and build quality"
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You probably won't be interested in a 2.0 Mondeo, either then.
Okay, they may not do brilliantly in the surveys, but the cars themselves are so cheap, as are the parts, and there is such a selection of mechanics who know them and a range of cars to choose from until you see a mint example that the Mondy might well have the edge.
It's also a much more capable car than anything Japanese at this age, except possibly the new Primera from 96 on.
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Primera is a *much* better car than Carina/626. You can get older ones within the price you mentioned.
Avoid the diesel. 1.6i is surprsingly lively and the 2.0i is a great engine. The breathed-on version in the GT is amazing.
There are 3 different suspension set-ups: standard, slightly sporty (Si oir SRi) and sport (GT). The middle one is arguably the best compromise, unless you're a boy racer.
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Kind of thing?
Low mileage, FMDSH, good spec, within budget.
tinyurl.com/i9dd
tinyurl.com/i9di
Both are proper dealers with websites and land line phone numbers, you'll just have to go to the dealer homepages for them.
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Nissan Primera is not bad in terms of reliability. But then the toyota carina offers the same thing and both have the taxi image.
The question that crops to mind is that what MPG figures do primera 2.0 do. Also, what are parts prices like in comparison to the toyota?
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"The question that crops to mind is that what MPG figures do primera 2.0 do. Also, what are parts prices like in comparison to the toyota?"
very similar. Is 1 mpg a major factor in your buying decision?
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I think that you have been misinformed. My own experience is one of total reliability and I am on my second. The Mazda also comes top or near in many surveys, including the warranty providers who rate it top. The american built 626 sedan had many problems because of build quality in Detroit. A particular weakness was indeed the automatic transmission which the yanks love so much. The Mondeo comment is also somewhat off the mark as the bodies, parts etc are similar.
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Interesting that of the several company Mazdas I drove (all 929's, very luxurious if a trifle gutless) none had auto trans and indeed auto wasn't available in the Mazda at least till early 90's, in the Mid-East anyway. I would choose a Mazda any day over its comparable Nip compatriots for reliability. That includes the battered 1994 323F we still have somewhere out the back like most people for "bad number days" in Manila when somebody has the wrong license plate for that particular day.
This thing last got serviced in about 1998, had a new battery last year, one new tyre and a new radiator cap, plus some new Freon in the a/c from time to time. Mileage about 154k I think, it was a cheap bank loan default repo, has never failed to start, stop, do what it's supposed to do. The radio gave up way back but that's all. Plus it still looks natty enough to be mistaken for a 924...
All of the above would have spent their lives in far more demanding road, traffic and climatic conditions than Europe, so I think that says it all.
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"I have a budget of £2-3000 and in return demand reliability and comfort."
Amusing that you demand reliabilty, when even new car buyers hope for same.
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I am thinking of buying a second hand car. I have a budget of £2-3000 and in return demand reliability and comfort. ...... Any thoughts will be appreciated.>>
My thoughts: It seems your heart is set on the Carina and you are only looking for people to confirm your choice. Stick with the Carina.
You worry about mpg - that is meaningless unless you tell us the mileages that are involved. With average mileage, your main costs are likely to be fixed costs (mot, tax, insurance, routine maintenance).
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"Nissan Primera is not bad in terms of reliability. But then the toyota carina offers the same thing and both have the taxi image."
The Carina and Primera *are* different: the Carina is soft and comfortable and the Nissan is harder-edged and more sporty. Fuel economy is as close as makes no odds.
I tend to agree with eMBe's comments (above): if you fancy a Carina, go for it.
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I think the transmission problem camos from the www.c********.org ; where virtually every owner reports pronlems with the auto box. Strange thing is every owner seems to be North American; strange no UK owners have reported the problem.
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Not strange really. The UK ones were built in Japan and the US ones by Ford in Detroit! The reliability went out of the window and seems to have upset the america punters. They must have lost a lot of business in the States. The www is covered in complaints from angry motorists.
Regarding previous comments; I also think that you have your heart set on the Carina so, since it is a perfectly reasonable car, I concur. You should buy it and be happy.
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