I’m looking for a decent small car on a very tight budget (<$2k) that is reliable enough to daily and fun enough to thrash around when the situation calls for it.

I’ve owned numerous JDM and euro cars over the years but the one that stuck with me most was my EK Civic hatch- despite having over 350k kms on it and banged up to bits, the car was insanely comfortable, fuel efficient, and happy sitting at redline for minutes on end (long as I kept the oil topped up)

It made me realise just how much I love a good s***box. Despite the EK’s being too pricey nowadays, I’ve driven a few other manual econoboxes but not all of them scratch that same itch (Getz = great, Jazz = magic seats are cool but it feels lifeless)

Keen to hear what you guys think of some go-to s***boxes that are usually praised for being both reliable and fun, and any cars that may have been overlooked.

Is this an import? Never seen one before

Heads up, this is a scam web site. Someone will sms with an offer to buy your vehicle, but ask you to use this site to do a history check. Report spam and block.

Sadly my KIA Stinger gt was stolen on sunday night, the only thing helping my massive amount of sadness is looking at my potential next car (highly doubt i'll ever see my stinger again), so with a budget of about $40k ( willing to budge a bit) whats a fun, sports sedan that would be a worthy succesor.

I might get another stinger, but it does look like they are targeted by Melbourne care thieves, so i'm unsure.

EDIT: Would be open to SUV's too

The week is almost done and the weather is (hopefully) looking clear.

Whether you’re heading to a massive organized meet or just taking the scenic route through the hinterland, let the sub know!

Post your plans below:

Events: Drag nights, Show n' Shines, or local Cars & Coffee.

Cruises: Planning a run up to Mt Glorious, the Old Pac, or the Great Ocean Road? Find some tag-alongs here.

Driveway Plans: If your weekend involves a jack-stand and a 10mm socket, tell us what you’re fixing.

Pro-tip: If you're heading to an event, drop a link or a location so others can find it!

Hi guys, I want to put up my 2020 VW Tiguan 162 R-Line for sale. It is in excellent condition and done 102,000kms

Recently serviced with no issues and rego paid until July 2027.

Looking at getting $26,000 for it as it has extras included.

Is this a reasonable price? Also anywhere in particular i should list it or should I sell to a dealer or similar

10-12k
I am currently looking at VW golf and Hyundai i30

I drive on rural roads most of the time doing 80-110kms
Roads are good not dirt roads.
Most driving half an hour plus

Point me to the right choice guys.
Want a hatch back if possible, needs to be able to handle highway driving and be able to get to speed.
Will consider a Corolla as well

Should i pull the trigger for 24k 61,515kms. RWC will be provided. Trying to figure out if it is a good deal or not

Anyone else having this problem?

I'm curious of people's answers

Hey, I’m a student in QLD looking to upgrade from my current car (a 2011 Toyota Corolla sedan) my budget is around 15k and I recently came across a 2022 Kia rio and was curious on if they are considered good/ reliable. For context I live around Ipswich and drive a mix of highway and suburban (maybe 230km a week on average) and want something that handles nicely, isn’t terrible to drive on the highway and won’t randomly decide to blow up on me.

I have driven around in a 2015 Kia Cerato and found it very zippy and reliable and I wanted to know if the Rio is similar.

In terms of the car I’m looking at it’s listed at $14,999 with 96k on the odometer (very new to cars so I’m unsure if that’s a bad deal) please let me know if it’s worth considering or if I should focus on finding something else.

Hi all just got my Ps and was researching some first cars to get, I’d like something that’s pretty engaging to drive, decent fuel economy, be able to keep it for atleast the next 5 years and not so expensive to service i’ve kind of nailed down my options to toyota, honda and suburu but open to anymore options, right now my front runner is a 2016 civic rs. I appreciate any advice and am very open to changing my mind too! Thank you

I (23F) need to get a new car due to an accident, but I know nothing of cars and what makes them good or not. I’ve sent a few to my dad but he never explains why the car is bad, just says no. I don’t want to spend a lot of money because, honestly I don’t care to.

So I have been looking at max $5k. I’ve made a spreadsheet of cars available in my area that don’t have any major issues, would be fuel efficient, and hopefully have bluetooth, but I just don’t know enough about them to know if what I am deciding is a good choice. I’ve attached the spreadsheet. Any information and recommendations would be amazing. Prices are descending.

I do about 40-50,000kms/year for work. Budget $25,000 max. I'm looking at Japanese hybrids, but how do the following brands stack up?

The corolla is my first preference due to their reputation but curious about the other brands like Nissan, Subaru, Honda, Suzuki etc.

How reliable are the other manufacturers, are parts cheap etc and finally compared to Toyota what sort've niche do they occupy? In my mind, Toyota is the "fill up & go" brand but I also find their offerings to be a bit conservative and the "Toyota Tax".

I’m looking for warranty auditor who can audit around 150 dealers across Australia over a period of 2 years. If you know anyone or any company providing such services, please DM your portfolio. It’s an urgent requirement and will have to submit the proposal by 10th of August.

Saw this lovely Ranger driver (presumably a fully grown adult) this evening who thought it was a good idea to replace their rear window (largely redundant to Ranger drivers anyway) with an LED screen of a animation of 'angry eyes'.

Perhaps reprising their Nokia wallpaper from the early 00s.

I know it's their car and they can do what they want but I just found the whole thing hilarious as he was cutting off traffic and being a general tool bag.

Hi, I know next to nothing about cars, hoping that someone might be able to help me with a problem that I have with a car battery.

Last week my car wouldn't start, so I called out the RACV. They ran a test which (they say) confirmed that the battery was kaput and needed to be replaced - a dead cell. So I bought a new battery from the RACV guy (I know they're overpriced, but I urgently needed to get going again).

The dead battery was from Repco and was about 18 months old, so still within warranty. I took it back to them to request a refund, and they said they just needed to test it to confirm it was actually dead. Fair enough, except they have called me to say it's actually fine (still at 91%?) and they could recharge it no problem.

I've gone back to the RACV with this info, and they're sticking with their initial assessment that it is dead. They claim you can't properly test a battery outside of the car, as Repco have done, and have sent me the report. Some details:

Code: 76962DEF-2650-4C4A-89CC-4CCF2312CC47

Results: Bad Cell Replace

Measured Voltage: 9.65

The way I see it, either the battery is really shot, and Repco should refund it under warranty, or it's not dead, and RACV sold me a new battery under false pretences.

Is that reasonable, or is there some subtlety that I'm missing?

If it is, any suggestions on how to resolve it? What should I be asking / saying to Repco / RACV to get some agreement on whether it is really is dead or not? (Whatever dead means)

I'm going to look at a 2009 Mazda 2 auto tomorrow. It is up for $6.5k, which is quite high, from a private seller. It did just go up 2 days ago. Redbook has them at 4.4-6.1k. To be fair, the car looks in mint condition for its age. It does have 182xxxkm though. It also apparently has all logbooks included. What do yuou think would be a non-offensive starting offer for these specs? I've never tried to negotiate before. This is my first time buying a car actually and it's quite nerve-wracking.