[basilmabraham]

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

Yup Mazda's are pretty efficient. My 3 with a 2.5 liter petrol + automatic average around 12 kmpl in the city and 15-16 on the highways.

I would recommend the 3 because it has a larger 2.0 litre engine when compared to the 2 which comes with a 1.5 which I feel is a tad small for Australian roads.

Hey, what are your thoughts about teh Kia Cerato Hatch. It has 7 years warranty and is the i30 on the inside. Any idea about the after sales and road side support, relaiability of the car?

Would it mean more peace of mind?

The Corolla hatch has a puny boot, I now see you suggested the sedan, which is a good option.

I am confused whether to spend around 6 to 10K extra for a small car, or stick to a micro one at around 15k to 18k.

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by basilmabraham

The Corolla hatch has a puny boot, I now see you suggested the sedan, which is a good option.

I am confused whether to spend around 6 to 10K extra for a small car, or stick to a micro one at around 15k to 18k.

Basil, this purely depends on how long you want to hold on to the car for. If you are one who keeps cars for a long term, then its always better to pay that little extra and get the bigger car, as our space requirements and demands only grow over time.

Here is my experience on buying my first car in Australia, which was an ex-rental car from Avis.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/intern...ml#post3893888

I used it for a year and a half before i upgraded to something that appealed to the heart, after all.. you only live once. #YOLO

Let me know in case you need any further details.

[extreme_torque]

Originally Posted by basilmabraham

Hey, what are your thoughts about teh Kia Cerato Hatch. It has 7 years warranty and is the i30 on the inside. Any idea about the after sales and road side support, relaiability of the car?

Would it mean more peace of mind?

The Corolla hatch has a puny boot, I now see you suggested the sedan, which is a good option.

I am confused whether to spend around 6 to 10K extra for a small car, or stick to a micro one at around 15k to 18k.

7 years warranty would not matter much because the requirement is that you service it at an authorized service centre for the duration of the warranty. A micro car will come with a smaller engine and trust me when you drive out of the city and into b-roads you will want that extra power and torque. Between the Cerato and the i30 I will go for i30 primarily because to my eye it looks better. But as I said earlier, the Mazda 3 is a no brainer in the segment even if it is a little expensive. The inbuilt GPS on the Maxx version is a god send too.

[basilmabraham]

Whatever I have been in India, in Australia, it is a new start for me. So little apprehensive about plonking big money on a loan. If heart ruled, its the Mazda 3 all the way.

Thanks Benny and Extreme_torque for the comments. I hope to do some more research during the long weekend and take a decision.

[LTAutoMad]

Originally Posted by basilmabraham

Going slightly off-topic here.

I bought my family along and we are in need of a car. I am thinking of getting a new car considering the current offers.

Any one with any experience in buying cars in Australia please send some tips. I am keeping a budget or around 20K, looking for a hatch, lookng for reliability and lower running costs, automatic only. Any suggestions welcome.

By the way, I passed my Driving Knowledge Test last weekend, now need to schedule a driving test and pass it to get a full unrestricted license in NSW.

Hi basilmabraham, If you are willing to buy second-hand, you will be spoilt for options. $20k can get you any number of good cars just a couple of years old.

Please don't buy a tiny car like the Yaris or Mazda2 - you will outgrow it in no time, especially with family. You will regret it every time you go on a trip.

Aussie-built cars are really good value for money:
Have you considered a 2 year old Camry? Its a decent family car.
Since you are looking at cars like Mazda2, I presume you won't be interested in a large car like Commodore? That's a really good family car, with plenty of power to spare.

Please don't obsess about fuel costs & mileage like a lot of Indians do - here in the overall scheme of things that's not a big deal at all, unlike India. If you do the Aussie average of 15,000 kms/year, the fuel cost difference between say, a Camry & a Corolla, would only be a few hundred dollars, but the space, handling & comfort of the Camry would be worth it.

The big ticket items would be depreciation, maintenance & insurance. By buying second-hand, you let the first owner take the big hit of depreciation.
You will find there is not much difference in maintenance & insurance between a small (say, Corolla) & medium (say, Camry) 4-cylinder car.

Unfortunately, you need a car to buy a car, i.e. run around looking for one! Especially secondhand. Since you are new to the country, try to buy from one of the major dealers, who have a reputation to protect. Avoid the small, independent car yards, many of which are shonky / shady (unless you have an experienced person to guide you). Same with private sellers - you can get good bargains or lemons.

You will pay a premium for second-hand Mazda3 - consider equally good cars like Focus & Lancer, which will be much cheaper. The regular Accord is cheaper than the smaller Accord Euro.

[basilmabraham]

Thanks guys for the awesome insights. I am planning to visit few showrooms over this weekend. Planning to see some second hand and demo also from big dealers.

The Honda Jazz, Hyundai Accent, Hyundai i30 are in consideration. Wife is keen on getting Mazda 2 Maxx sedan.

What is the opinion on Skoda cars here? They are offering 1℅ comparison rate with no deposit. The Rapid wagon and Octavia seem good. Any thoughts on service and reliability. Heard parts would need to come from Europe adding to delays.

[LTAutoMad]

Originally Posted by basilmabraham

What is the opinion on Skoda cars here? They are offering 1℅ comparison rate with no deposit. The Rapid wagon and Octavia seem good. Any thoughts on service and reliability. Heard parts would need to come from Europe adding to delays.

Skoda is considered an "orphan" brand here, a stigma from their terrible Communist days' reputation. Never buy it new - the depreciation on Octavia / Superb etc is 50% in one year! A great buy second hand as a 1-2 year old car.

[praveen_n]

Why don't you take a look at Hyundai Tucson or kia sportage?they are reliable and the resale values are also great in Australia

[extreme_torque]

Originally Posted by LTAutoMad

Skoda is considered an "orphan" brand here, a stigma from their terrible Communist days' reputation. Never buy it new - the depreciation on Octavia / Superb etc is 50% in one year! A great buy second hand as a 1-2 year old car.

I had infact decided on a demo Skoda Octavia Ambition with Tech Pack before I went ahead with the Mazda 3.

Reasons:
1. Bigger NA engine. The Skoda had a 130 bhp 1.4 Turbo vs Mazda 2.5 NA with 185 bhp
2. Gearbox Reliability (VW DSG is notorious even in Australia)
3. Paddle shifters in Mazda vs No paddle shifters in Skoda
4. BOSE Audio system in Mazda vs 6 Speaker in Skoda

That said, if I was in the market today, I would have looked at the new Superb very seriously. It is a fantastic buy and loaded to the gills.

[basilmabraham]

Guys,

The eofy deals are raining. I am getting a decently loaded Holden Trax Active for 23990 drive away. Holden also offers a three year free service.

Mitsubishi ASX is at 25000 drive away.

Both automatic with decent kit. I think these cars will ensure that I can use them for long time without worrying too much about maintenance.

Any thoughts/preferences? Any other choices in this price range?
I'm totally confused, any guidance would help. I think too many choices is worse than too few.

[LTAutoMad]

Originally Posted by basilmabraham

Guys,

The eofy deals are raining. I am getting a decently loaded Holden Trax Active for 23990 drive away. Holden also offers a three year free service.

Mitsubishi ASX is at 25000 drive away.

Both automatic with decent kit. I think these cars will ensure that I can use them for long time without worrying too much about maintenance.

Any thoughts/preferences? Any other choices in this price range?
I'm totally confused, any guidance would help. I think too many choices is worse than too few.

Hi Basil, As everyone has said, please avoid the micro cars - just not suited for Australian long term use with a growing family.

The EoFY is still 8 weeks away - the deals WILL get sweeter, especially at the very end of May (if you cam wait that long).

I just looked at Mitsubishi's EoFY deals - ASX auto is at $25k, but if you can afford that, aren't you much better off spending a bit more and getting the Outlander auto advertised at $28k? Both are 2WD, of course.

Btw, whatever deals they advertise, you can still bargain hard. Try multiple dealers to see who will offer more.

I recently bought a new Commodore SV6 & saved substantially by searching all Holden dealers around Melbourne - check the websites of individual dealers, you can get big discounts on brand new cars they register & then sell as "demos" (to meet their quotas / bonuses). The dealer told me they are not allowed to advertise those in external websites like carsales. Check the "demos" of each dealer, especially at the very end of the month.

[LTAutoMad]

Originally Posted by LTAutoMad

The EoFY is still 8 weeks away - the deals WILL get sweeter, especially at the very end of May (if you cam wait that long).

Oops, typo - at the very end of JUNE (if you can wait that long),

[basilmabraham]

Originally Posted by LTAutoMad

Oops, typo - at the very end of JUNE (if you can wait that long),

Thanks mate. I am not in a big hurry. Will wait and search for few more weeks before committing.

What is the general opinion on Holden?

[Jeeper1941]

Originally Posted by basilmabraham

Guys,

The eofy deals are raining. I am getting a decently loaded Holden Trax Active for 23990 drive away. Holden also offers a three year free service.

Mitsubishi ASX is at 25000 drive away.

Both automatic with decent kit. I think these cars will ensure that I can use them for long time without worrying too much about maintenance.

Any thoughts/preferences? Any other choices in this price range?
I'm totally confused, any guidance would help. I think too many choices is worse than too few.

Please don't buy either of these cars. They will have terrible resale values when the time comes to sell them. The build quality of the Trax is also not stellar, I drove one as a rental in New Zealand a few months ago, and halfway through the rental, the digital speedometer just went on the fritz, it just went off, and just would not come back on - no matter what I did, and there is no backup/analogue speedometer in the Trax, so I had to drive looking at the speed on my GPS unit, it was a terrible experience. The car was brand new (had done just 2000km), it was replaced by the rental company with a Rav4.

The ASX, even though it is a decent crossover, still lags behind the class leaders (the Nissan Qashqai and the Mazda CX-5) for efficiency, performance and quality. It's not as luxurious inside, with a cheap-feeling interior, while it's not as good to drive either. I don't know if you have driven an ASX but sitting behind the wheel would make you realize how cheap the ASX really is. It oozes a complete lack of any intention by Mitsubishi to give the paying customer a quality interior/dash that at least looks half decent.

Like others have suggested go for a used sedan - like a Camry. The build quality is decent and it will also have reasonable resale value. If you are looking at a crossover, then consider VW or Mazda, they are better built and will definitely have better resale value than either Holden or Mitsubishi.

As far as Holden goes, for me personally, there is nothing in their lineup (apart from the Commodore) that makes me want to visit a Holden dealership. No wonder they are being beaten by their biggest rival, Ford.

[LTAutoMad]

Basil, I would never say any particular brand is good or bad - each has good models & terrible models.

If you ask any Indian, I will guarantee 90% would recommend Toyota!
I have been here for a fair while and have always had a Holden Commodore or Ford Falcon as the family / commuter car. I just love their powerful engines (nothing beats cubes!), acres of space, rear wheel drive and the sheer comfort of their long wheelbases. I have had good experiences with both and have cycled through a number of them as we do very high mileage.

Holden had a big success with their European Astra, but a few years ago some GM bean-counter had the wise idea of replacing that with a Korean one, as part of cost-cutting. Holden brought out an entire range of GM-Daewoo crap (to put it mildly), all of which failed miserably. Trax is one of those GM-Daewoo models.

I agree that the Commodore is the only Holden worth having in their current line-up. I was joking with a Holden sales guy that he better start looking for a job come 2017 when Commodore production winds up!
But, Holden seem to have learnt their lesson & are bringing in the European Astra again.

Resale is a big issue ONLY if you plan to replace your car in 2-3 years. If you plan to keep it for 10 years, it becomes a non-issue. As you know, there is not much difference between an old C-class & S-class!

The problem with the microSUVs like Trax, ASX, Ecosport, CX3 etc is that by the time they get loaded with all the mandatory Aus safety features & an auto gearbox, their price here hits $25,000+- that's Camry territory! Personally, I just can't see the value in one of those , when for 10-20% more, you get the pick of their larger siblings like X-Trail, Outlander, CRV etc. (2WD base models). In the same vein, I am unable to fathom people paying $45,000-$50,000 for the top models of those.

Have you considered Novated Leasing? Because of the tax benefit, you can buy / maintain a much better car for the same post-tax monthly outlay.

I said this before - to me, your best bet now is to buy a 2-3 year old Camry (you can get it at the same price as a 2-3 year old Corolla) that has taken its full depreciation. Once you have settled down, you can sell it in 2-3 years & you won't lose much. Have you driven a Commodore? The incremental fuel costs are not as much as you think they would be.