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Home / New Zealand

Car Buyers' Guide: Sub $10k cars

By Jack Biddle
NZ Herald·
7 Sep, 2013 05:30 PM3 mins to read

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Hyundai Getz

Hyundai Getz

Lots of reliable budget cars out there but insist on new warrant

The dilemma: Philippa's faithful old Sentra is about to give up its fight, so she's shopping around for a second-hand car under the magic $10,000 - although she'd rather just spend about $8000.

"My old faithful '93 second-hand Nissan Sentra is on its last legs," she writes. "My main concerns are reliability and longevity, although I'm aware I should probably add safety to this list." This is always a tough task, balancing three key things that used car buyers look for - but even for under $10k there are options out there that can keep Philippa rolling with a bit of peace of mind.

After working "purely on advice from well-meaning friends as I have absolutely no clue about cars", she'd rather steer clear of European brands.

In your price range you are never going to achieve an even balance between reliability, longevity and safety. Unfortunately safety is the one that often takes the back seat if low overall running costs are high priority. You can still add a couple of non-negotiable safety features, however, such as anti-locking brakes and multiple airbags to the shopping cart when searching. In addition, any vehicle is made safer by having the mechanicals such as brakes, suspension and tyres in good condition.

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For this reason alone, always make sure you insist on a new warrant of fitness (issued within the last month) as part of any sale agreement. Do not sign any agreement saying you will accept a vehicle with a current WoF (more than one month old).

Yes, European cars in this price range can be more expensive to own, but don't forget they are often kitted out with more features and driver comforts, hence more to go wrong.
The budget: Under $10,000

The shortlist:

Hyundai Getz 1.4 litre (2009)

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Hyundai Getz
Hyundai Getz

Toyota Echo/Vitz (2005)

Toyota Vitz
Toyota Vitz

Nissan Pulsar Euro (around 2003)

Nissan Pulsar
Nissan Pulsar

Driven recommends

The Hyundai Getz and the Nissan Pulsar would be where we would concentrate the search initially.

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Looking for a new car but need help? Contact us at driven@apn.co.nz

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