What is a reliable cheap $5K car to drive around Australia?

[shanegtr]

For a 2wd I'd stick with a ford falcon. Generally fairly reliable mechanically and if anything does go wrong, parts are plentiful and reasonably price and nearly any mechanic can fix them easily. The vast majority of taxis are falcons over the commodores for a reason.......

[evolution]

Something like this could be a great option?
https://www.carsales.com.au/private/details/Volkswagen-Transporter-1998/SSE-AD-4540808/?Cr=3
Auto, RWC + 7 months rego, 198k kms
Talk them down $500 and use that to build a bed base, chuck an ebay awning on the side, a water tank under the bed etc and would make a great backpacker rig

Cheers
Nick

[Raym]

On stalkerbook free camping thingy I hope I know how to do this

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=773917382755288&set=o.231581690282317&type=3&theater

[BeeGee]

still looking for the right car for the girls.

This BF Falcon wagon popped up on Gumtree and it looks perfect with all the camping gear....Except LPG

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/perth/cars-vans-utes/ford-falcon-station-wagon-2006-lpg/1139001904

I don't think LPG would be a good idea for backpacking around Australia due to 1) LPG availability 2) reliability - just something else to go wrong.

Happy to be proven wrong on the LPG front though. I believe the factory fitted LPG wagons have a good reputation.

[kylarama]

Happy to be proven wrong on the LPG front though. I believe the factory fitted LPG wagons have a good reputation.

Mixers can leak or the stepper motor craps out. If it's done over 200K, chances are it's been replaced already. If not allow about $800 to replace. Other than that they're pretty bullitt proof. No backfire or overheating issues like the dual fuel jobbies. Taxi Technology.

My only concern with dedicated gas would be availability in regional or remote areas. The upside is thanks to 115 litre capacity, their range is pretty good. You'd get 900+km doing hwy stuff.



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[Paddler Ed]

We ran a Mazda E2000 that was LPG/Petrol and found it wasn't too bad getting fuel out into regional QLD and NSW, but we tended to use the LPG as an extra large jerry can.

The bigger problem was that to run well it needed at least 95 as petrol which became a limiting factor.

Interesting options I've seen recently (QLD and TAS):
Toyota RAV4
Honda HRV

Now both of those may be worth a look at, smaller engines but hopefully Japanese sewing machine reliability.

[BeeGee]

I think the LPG falcon I linked above is LPG only so no backup petrol.....


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[tryagain]

still looking for the right car for the girls.

This BF Falcon wagon popped up on Gumtree and it looks perfect with all the camping gear....Except LPG

I don't think LPG would be a good idea for backpacking around Australia due to 1) LPG availability 2) reliability - just something else to go wrong.

Happy to be proven wrong on the LPG front though. I believe the factory fitted LPG wagons have a good reputation.

I don't think availability would be too big of an issue when you only have a 2wd, might require a little planning but as it won't go as far off the beaten track you wouldn't be venturing as far from LPG. It doesn't necessarily mean something else to go wrong as it looks like a dedicated LPG so it's just instead of the petrol system you have an LPG system.
I knew of a taxi company trying to sell a dedicated LPG Falcon a few years ago and it had over 600,000km's on the clock, the manager who I knew said apart from wear and tear it hadn't had anything major go wrong but they were moving to hybrids so were selling it.

The plus would be fuel economy, I remember reading about this years ago and might be of interest to you.

http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mellor.nsf/story2/7E71D69E408BC1B5CA2571DA000712CE

[tryagain]

Also one of the comments here

I had a nov 2009 factory dedicated gas falcon as a taxi ,retired her start of 2012 , Original motor done 768,000 ks , Gearbox was the only rebuild at 572,000 ks ,

[fergy]

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1391220331136871/permalink/1834843533441213/?sale_post_id=1834843533441213&rt=11

this is a good vehicle

[Bird]

Personally I think you'll be looking for the next 100 yrs if your looking for the *perfect car* on all fronts + cheap + 8/100klms..

[terravista]

$3500 less negotiation skills for a Volvo Wagon. Not as big as the Falcons etc, but supposedly good economy on the highway, safe, and the brake lights will probably work.

https://www.carsales.com.au/private/details/Volvo-V70-1998/SSE-AD-4370980/?Cr=32

[Merts]

$3500 less negotiation skills for a Volvo Wagon. Not as big as the Falcons etc, but supposedly good economy on the highway, safe, and the brake lights will probably work.

https://www.carsales.com.au/private/details/Volvo-V70-1998/SSE-AD-4370980/?Cr=32

A 20 year old turbo petrol European car, with 270k in the clock, and electric everything. What could possibly go wrong?

[Bird]

A 20 year old turbo petrol European car, with 270k in the clock, and electric everything. What could possibly go wrong?

[terravista]

With a high kilometre turbo Saab 9.3 I had a few years ago.......... nothing serious and almost nothing at all over a couple of years.
With a decent inspection process I'd back a Swede over an Aussie car any day of the week.

[Sixtys Guy]

4 cylinder camry station wagon or a van of some sort.

Exactly my thoughts.... late 90's early 00's wagon. Cost 2-3K, cheap as chips to run and reliable.

[Merts]

With a high kilometre turbo Saab 9.3 I had a few years ago.......... nothing serious and almost nothing at all over a couple of years.
With a decent inspection process I'd back a Swede over an Aussie car any day of the week.

And if something does go wrong whilst they are travelling, pretty much everything about that great Swedish car will be a liability.
Parts availability and cost.
Mechanics who have experience working on them.

Sorry mate, but in my opinion, for a couple of backpackers doing 20-30k around Australia, suggesting that Volvo is really bad advice.
The suggestions others have made of much more common models is obviously the smart way to go.

[terravista]

Sorry mate, but in my opinion, for a couple of backpackers doing 20-30k around Australia, suggesting that Volvo is really bad advice.
The suggestions others have made of much more common models is obviously the smart way to go.

That's the good part of Australia.
Everyone can have an opinion, no matter how ignorant that opinion is.
Cheers

[Merts]

That's the good part of Australia.
Everyone can have an opinion, no matter how ignorant that opinion is.
Cheers

Yep. That was exactly what I was thinking too.....

[edz]

Found the solution https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQGvXx4rfUY   

[terravista]

Yep. That was exactly what I was thinking too.....

Yep. but my ignorance is based on having experienced ownership of European turbos with a couple of Saabs, and we have a high kilometre Volvo the same as the one in the ad in our driveway. I wouldn't hesitate taking it on a long trip after a service.
In my experience, most people who complain about high cost of parts and poor reliability have little first hand experience.
Trust in vehicles is always a big risk, and first hand knowledge of the vehicle does not necessarily help. I have had breakdowns in Aussie cars more frequently and with less kilometres than Euro vehicles, plus the safety and comfort is better.
But it is a choice, and in this case opinions were asked, and opinions were given.
Cheers

[Merts]

Surely you will concede that getting parts for a 20 year old, relatively uncommon vehicle is going to be more difficult than getting them for a very common one, like a falcon or a commodore?

Anyway, you've made your suggestion, and I've said why I think it's a bad idea. The OP I'm sure will make his own mind up about it.

[Paddler Ed]

I used to have a Volvo V70, 2000MY, that I bought in 2007 with 183,000 miles on it. Apart from some wear and tear items (1.5 sets of tyres) the only major expense I had was a new radiator, as, like so many European cars, it had plastic end tanks. I broke it for spares in 2012 after laying it up in 2010 with 225,000 miles on it.

Would I buy one here? Yes. Would I recommend others to buy one? No.

I'm lucky, I know the guys well in the Volvo scene here well, but I'd not suggest to anyone else to jump in and buy one.

Also harder to sell, as the market is more limited.

[Banjo16]

I've driven LPG Taxis for approx 10 years,both dual fuel & dedicated gas. A good dual fuel with injected gas,not vapour ,would be my choice only due to availability of gas in remote areas.
As someone said the Falcon 4lt is pretty much bulletproof, oil & filters when needed.

[kylarama]

No doubting euro cars can do high miles and be reliable.  Sooo nice to drive too, but they can also be horrendously expensive to repair when things go wrong.  My mates workshop can tell plenty of horror stories of euro cars costing more to repair than the owner paid.  Re-mortgage and personal loans to fund it, not to mention waiting weeks or months to source suitable 2nd parts, depending on how common the car is.  X5 BMW’s got real popular when the 2nd hand price got down to 30K and then unpopular once the bills started coming in.

In this case for BeeGee, we need to keep in mind the girls have a small budget to buy a car, not to mention an even smaller budget for potential repairs.  We also don’t know their mechanical knowledge or mechanical empathy.
A simple spilt cooling hose might not be a big deal to most of us on here, but for them stuck on the side of the road not knowing what to do.  So they push on limping it to the next town, not wanting to be 2 young girls stranded in the outback with no reception.  By then more damage is done like a head gasket or cracked head etc.  Same thing with an auto going into limp mode.  2nd gear on the rev limiter down the hwy to the next town…  I’ve seen that once or twice.

Worst case. A good 2nd hand BA/BF long motor can be sourced for around $300 and any half decent mechanic should be able fit it in less than 4 hours plus a few consumables.  4 speed auto, probably the same and maybe similar case for a Commondore or Camry.

KISS