What car do you drive?

The Garage
#101

Probably time for an update…

I ended up selling the Verada. It needed someone with more time and better facilities to complete the rebuild, and I needed the garage space.

The Mitsubishi 380 is doing well. It’s been worked on a bit since I bought it - new water pump, timing belt and tensioners, top and bottom end engine seals, platinum spark plugs, drive belts, emission control purge valve, an injector clean, a transmission service, front and rear brakes done, a wheel balance and alignment, and switched to Penrite HPR-10 synthetic oil. I fitted a strut brace as well, which made a small but appreciable improvement during some harder cornering.

The exterior could use some attention, like a decent clean up, replacing the headlights and driving lights, and tapping out a couple of minor dents. The interior isn’t bad, but if I came across some nicer seats, I’d swap them in. I’d also considered replacing the standard head unit, since it’s limited for connectivity, but for now it does what I need it to do. (I’m not too interested in CarPlay, Android Auto, or anything touchscreen. Something “Eyes Free”, or controllable without breaking concentration would be preferable.)

The 3.8L V6 is a little heavier on fuel, but nowhere near as bad as I expected, and it certainly isn’t lacking in power and responsiveness off the line. It’s still so much fun to drive.

IMG_7365_S
IMG_7365_S1280×960 326 KB

#102

You are not alone…
I hate SUV’s, particularly when parked next to one & have to reverse out:unamused:

1 Like
#103

Thanks to everyone for the above info / comments! :slight_smile: Greatly appreciated.

Wife’s determined to at least test drive the Fiat, so doing that today. Trying to find a Sorento and or CX9 in our budget to test drive as well, as they look pretty descent. Ideally wanting under 100,000km and newer than 2014 but those combinations are tough in a $20k budget via a dealer. (Just don’t feel confident buying private, even though I’ve not had great luck with dealers either).

#104

I prefer the styling of most sedans to most hatchbacks but I’ve been outvoted every time (1 me to 1 SWMBO) when it comes time to buy a family car :slight_smile:

#105

I now drive a Mazda 2 (2013), pretty reliable small car that I bought second hand couple of years ago. Was going to get the Mazda 3 but i can’t justify a bigger car as it’s just me anyway! Although i sorta “own” the passenger seat of Benz SLK200, can’t fit anything in it at all :roll_eyes:

1 Like
#106

I still find my Corolla Sedan very functional, though it does depend what you’re carrying. I’ve brought 2 Billy bookcases and some other furniture back from Ikea in mine. I’m often carrying a lot of smaller items which a sedan can cope wiht better than my Sister’s corolla hatch (For example).

The ultimate thing for functionality was the tradional Australian station wagon, which was by far the most functional of all, sadly it is pretty much dead now. The Falcon wagon was left to die a slow death and Holden reduced the boot space for looks with the sport wagon (although that was still pretty good.

1 Like
#107

Government Auctions are also pretty good. My family have bought 6-7 cars from Pickles in Sydney over the last 20 years and they’ve all been great.

#108

I have looked at the Corolla sedan, the car is medium sized but has good rear leg room (much better than the hatch). I had a 2016 Camry as a work car and that was a good on the highway but a little large for my needs around town. As much as I dislike them as a concept small/medium SUVs are just so damn practical.

1 Like
#109

The Corolla hatch has a stupidly small boot IMHO. My Mum and Sister have the previous gen (2013 and 2015) models and the new 2018 onwards model has an even smaller boot.

The 2020 Corolla Sedan looks to be very good - all the positives of the current sedan (big boot, good interior room etc) but with a much better engine, transmission and better styling - similar to the great reviews the new hatch is getting.

People do like SUVs for the heightened driving position. I’ve rented an ASX and a Qashqai in Queensland while on holidays and appreciated sitting a bit further up but overall preferred my car :man_shrugging:

1 Like
#110

I’ve always been a hatchback fan, and used to drive warm/hot hatches up until recently. I wasn’t much of an SUV fan until I test drove a few when we got our CX-5. Now I understand the appeal! I do occasionally miss the handling/performance though :wink:

1 Like
#111

In that price range the.cx-9 would be roomy but too thirsty.
Maybe a Santa Fe highlander or sorento platinum under $20 k would be extremely good value.

#112

I spend part of my time in the Philippines and part in Australia, a couple of months ago I decided I needed a better car over here for me and the family so I bought a 2018 Toyota Innova. We don’t get this model in Australia but it’s rear wheel drive and built on the same global platform as the Hilux and Fortuna. This variant is fitted with a 2.8 liter turbo diesel and a 6 speed automatic, has 3 rows of seats and fits 8 people (It’s got more space in the 3rd row than the SUVs which is the main reason I bought one. Ignore the abandoned house behind it, our place is err slightly better maintained lol.

image
image2851×2138 2.7 MB
image
image2851×2138 2.84 MB

1 Like
#113

http://www.jeffwignallford.com.au/media-files/inventory/74862733-c6d6-42cc-96a2-1070cf461001/91b947e1-27c7-4788-adf5-b7eb7267237a/large-image.JPG

cough

We err, got a good price. And my wife completely understands the car needs to be flawless in performance or I’ll be saying “I told you so” until one of us dies. :sunglasses:

Ultimately after searching through the sub $20k price range for 7 seater SUV cars that were under 5 years old, and under 100k km, this was the best we could find, at $17k with a very generous trade-in on our Zafira. We would have needed another $5k-$8k to get a Sorento / CX9 / etc with similar age/miles.

On the bright site - loaded an old iPhone up with every song in our collection, and it sits hidden in the middle console as a wireless jukebox via the U-Connect entertainment system, thanks to the USB point in there.

3 weeks later… Still happy with the car. Long drives are going to be bliss with the in-car DVD system and 3 wireless headphones…

1 Like
#114

My two. One looking awful and not in a drivable state - the other mid-restoration. 2001 AU Series II and a 1969 XW Futura.

trout
trout1024×646 319 KB

Resized_20190214_153105_6543
Resized_20190214_153105_65431024×498 148 KB

2 Likes
#115

Regrettably, my much beloved Mitsubishi 380 was in an accident on Friday night.

I’d gone for one last visit to my local video shop, which was open late on Friday to clear their remaining stock, and parked in the shopping centre rooftop carpark as usual. Some context here; the car park has a steep ramp leading up to it with a sharp 90 degree bend immediately at the bottom.

I left sometime before closing, around 10 PM, and on returning to the car park, noticed it was myself and perhaps one other left (store owners, maybe). The car park lights were on, but the lights toward the street and ramp were out. So I left, descended the ramp, rounded the sharp corner -

- and smacked hard into a chain across the car park exit. It scraped the paint off the bonnet, tore off one wiper arm, scratched and pitted the windscreen, and severely scratched the A pillars, roof, C pillars and boot lid as it whipped up and over the roof.

Hindsight is 20/20. I wish I’d decided against going there that night. I queried some of the people I know that work in the centre, and it’s not an uncommon occurrence. Poor night visibility, the sharp and sudden bend, and no visible sign stating the car park closing times apparently often causes problems. Further compounded by my own incorrect assumption that the car park would remain open if a business in the complex was still trading, and its fate was sealed.

An independent assessor considers it an economical write-off. Structurally sound, but the cost of repairs exceed its market value. It needs a replacement windscreen, wiper arms, and a full exterior respray to correct the cosmetic damage. The headlights are broken, but those needed replacement anyway. That said it remains serviceable, and I drove it home without issue.

As common as the 380 is, this one remains my pride and joy; it’s been brilliant from day one and continues to be even now. Perhaps it defies all logic and reason, but I’ve decided to restore it. I have support from people both in the industry and at Mitsubishi, so I’m confident I’ll be able to put it back together.

As for the cost… lets not think about that right now. Something tells me I’ll be selling all of my remaining computers and equipment to cover some of it though.

1 Like
#116

Ouch. Sorry to hear that. As someone who drives a car old enough to vote worth absolutely nothing that I work on myself, I cannot say I disagree with your choice.

#117

Glad to hear that you weren’t injured, @iMic! Lucky the chain wasn’t a bit tighter…

I too appreciate the rather insane call to empty your wallet in the name of a car. Insurance companies just look at numbers, which can be pretty disheartening sometimes.

#118

You’re not wrong, if the chain were somewhat tighter the windscreen almost certainly would have given out, and I would probably have a different haircut right now.

Thankfully the damage appears to be superficial. The frame and panels are straight save for a couple of minor dents, the broken wiper arm has been reattached, and the windscreen is still safe for now. The passenger side headlight doesn’t work, but there’s 12v present at the connector and the bulb is open circuit, so that was either coincidental timing or the jolt finished it off.

But I took it for a drive yesterday, and it performed like a thing of beauty, even if it looks a little worse for wear.

I’ve already had a replacement windscreen quoted at $470 fitted, but I’m thinking of finding a genuine one used if possible. I’ve booked it in to a paint shop on Wednesday for assessment, then I’ll know what to expect. A little nervous, if I’m honest.

1 Like
#119

When I had a bird attack (a crow flew into me), I was, shockingly able to order the parts (including windshield) directly off of Amazon Japan and have them shipped to my mechanic. The modern marvels of the internet.

#120

I’m no expert, but imagine some panel shops would just fill the dents with filler, which wouldn’t be a good solution long term. But to get the dents properly smoothed out will be costly. It’s why cars get written off when they are hail damaged. It’s too costly to repair them…