Can anyone recommend a good first car for a young female driver - Up to $9K

[krzysiek]

Hi everyone,

A friend is looking at buying a first car. She is young and on her P plates. The ideal car is a small one that is cheap to run - you know the type.

She has around $9K to spend on it. Do you guys have any ideas on a good, reliable and fuel efficient car that can be had for that price?

We're looking at a 4 cylinder of some sort and the rest is really in the open. Please say what you recommend and I will look in to it. I have no idea when it comes to small cars!

Thanks, really appreciate any input!

[xisled]

A VN commo that is slapped on its back. Only joking.

I would say a corolla, yaris or a swift.

[The Yeti]

Can't go wrong with a corolla

Even a later Hyundai isn't a bad car any more

[Fiesta_Man69]

Late model Hyundai, Corollas great but overpriced, Suzuki Swift.

Or save $ and get a 1.5 Festiva from the late 90s, can't kill em

[Struggo]

Hyundai Getz

http://www.carsguide.com.au/buy-a-ca...searchOffset=0

Hyundai Accent

http://www.carsguide.com.au/buy-a-ca...searchOffset=0

Mazda 3

http://www.carsguide.com.au/buy-a-ca...searchOffset=0

[sgt_doofey]

Anything on LPG will be the cheapest to run fuel wise.

[DRU842]

Bought my daughter a 2004 Ford Fiesta and both of us have been happy. Very solid on the road for the size of vehicle and 4 star for me, small, economical & manual for her.

[FrogInASock]

Magna. No jokes please, I have had two Magnas over 12 years, the second on dual fuel for 8 years now, and neither have missed a beat. Much underrated cars.

[nuthin' fancy]

Yaris

[GA_0009]

I might get punished for this.. FORD Laser or fiesta?

[Linkachu]

Corolla, easy to maintain, repairs arent to much, punchy motor in a manual if you ever need to get up n go.
Lowered, 5 spoke 18s and they look sexy as hell in a hatch

[Ford_The_Win]

As said earlier Magnas are great cars, very robust, safe and can be had for way less than 9k. I wouldn't go for a Camry because the build quality is worse than Magna, based on the Camrys I have driven.

Hyundai Getz are great zippy little cars that are cheap but don't do that well in safety so maybe a Corolla, Pulsar or Fiesta. Any small/midsize 4 cylinder car with a Japanese badge on it should do just fine, I'd avoid the European makes. And don't let her buy a Commodore or a Falcon.

[svo supporter]

Toyotas have a great reputation for relibility and economically cheap to run....

The Toyota I'd tend to steer away from is the SV21 and the first model Camry (can't remember the model)....

Good luck with the hunt

[bingoTE50]

Subaru Liberty , Mazda 3 are just in that price range with higher k's , ours has 175k and still great. Hyundai Getz are good in 1.6 , late model have ABS,stability and traction control with bluetooth ,usb .

[chookaradley]

Early to mid 2000s Hyundai Getz, Accent, or Elantra. Have worked on these cars for years and they provide excellent value for money, and are very reliable. Theses cars are also very well equipped and cheap to maintain.

Cars like Toyotas and Hondas are of course very good also, but because of there excellent resale 9k may not be enough to get one under 10 years old with low kms good sv history.

[ebxr8240]

IFFF you can stretch the budget to have stability control with front, side airbags ..
Subaru where one of the first to have these features..
Get all the protection you can !!! Second hand cars can be overpriced for what you can get new these days ..At Least have a look Korean cars are o/k except for what G.M sell...

[LG17]

Mazda 3 pushes all the right buttons and as a bonus, females seem to love them.

[Struggo]

Originally Posted by FrogInASock

Magna. No jokes please, I have had two Magnas over 12 years, the second on dual fuel for 8 years now, and neither have missed a beat. Much underrated cars.

Agree, best Aussie made car until the FG arrived,

http://www.carsales.com.au/car/dealer/MITSUBISHI/MAGNA

[gtxb67]

from my personal observations, some small cars can actually feel bigger than an suv
because of how high you sit and the great visibility, our rav4 feels smaller than a corolla and a yaris of the same vintage
the yaris in particular did not impress me because of how far back you seem to sit and how long and low the bonnet is. for a new driver, trying to park that in a full car park would not be much fun

i am not suggesting that she look at a rav4, but maybe check out everything from small to large cars in the price range. for sure, fuel usage is an issue, but she needs to be comfortable seeing out of it too and sometimes a small car does not feel that small from the inside

[AC/DC]

My BA Falcon with 105000k on it ! $8000.

Good strong, safe car and easy, cheap to fix !

[galaxy xr8]

Ford Laser.

[Tommie]

Problem soon for me too. Am thinking of a good ol Bronco for each of my girls. But in reality am thinking a newish Camry with airbags. They seem to be reasonably cheap and should be trouble free..

[In Focus]

You'll have to sift out Protons and Chery's, and insert your state, but this isn't a bad start.

http://www.carsales.com.au/all-cars/...00&sort=~Price

[Itsme]

Ford laser (KN or KQ models) or Mazda Protege...... Very reliable cars.

[Mr Hardware]

I'm gonna say Honda Jazz - fastest NA in its class with the 1.5L VTEC, best fuel economy, reliability, nice interior, timing chain motor.

[Super Roo 1970]

Originally Posted by Mr Hardware

I'm gonna say Honda Jazz - fastest NA in its class with the 1.5L VTEC, best fuel economy, reliability, nice interior, timing chain motor.

I have a friend with a newer one of these, around 3-4 years old. And yes they go very hard for a small car.
But the big "BUT" is they cost a lot when you need to service or do repairs on them. Even something as simple as the battery must be swapped at a dealership, it has to be done a particular way or it can cause catastrophic mechanical issues.

[Mechan1k]

So many good options and choices out there on the 2nd hand market.
We really are spoilt for choice now when it comes to quality vehicles ... never used to be like this really.

So many options.

Get a short list .... and then "let her" drive them and see which one feels the best to her .... it's better that she feels comfortable dricing the car in the first place ... gives that little bit more confidence when driving.

[Franco Cozzo]

You can pick up 2009 WS Fiestas for around $9K now, great first car.

[4stanger]

I was in this situation 3-4 years ago, where used car lots were selling small 4 cyl. hatchbacks (corolla & lasers) about 8 years old for $8-$10k and private sellers weren't much better,I originally settled for a $10k cap. To make matters worse, princess was very picky! Eventually through some haggling we got a new base model Hyundia Getz manual for less than $13k, for the extra couple of grand you get the 5 year warranty and piece of mind about the cars history. Unlike the used cars that were around $10k with 80000+km and wondering if they had been in a flood, up & down the beach or been repaired in a panel shop.

[XP6]

Cant go wrong with a Focus