Need help with buying a family car!

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prejoh

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Hi everyone

I really need help with buying a second hand family car. My budget is a R 115 000 as I am returning to South Africa and need to buy two cars.

The purpose of the car will be for my wife to drive around with our first child but needs to have the capacity to grow with our family (aiming for 3 - 4 kids). This will also be the primary vehicle for long trips and holidays.

Now my dilemma, I don't know much about cars and have only every purchased VW. The problem is that VWs are really expensive and don't meet my needs. After doing quite a bit of research I have narrowed down my search to the following 3 vechiles.

Nissan Livina Acenta 1.6
http://www.nissan.co.za/en/web/models/LIVINA RANGE/home/hpage.htm
Totoyta Avanza 1.5 sx
http://www.toyota.co.za/VehicleRange.aspx?vehicleRangeId=9
Honda Jazz 1.5
http://www.honda.co.za/main.aspx?id=188

So this is where I need your help, I am trying to get the best balance between
Engine Size,
Safety
Running costs (i.e. services, parts, etc)
Modern car features for a second hand car.
Boot size
Dealer service and support
Resale value

I would appreciate any recommendations regarding the cars above and would value the input of owners with these cars already. My biggest concern around the Nissan Livina and Honda Jazz is running costs and resale value.

Also if there is another car in this budget price range that I have somehow completely missed please let me know?

Thanks for your time.
 
honda jazz!
pity you wont find a newer facelift model for R115k though..but the reliability and versatility is unrivalled!
avanza is a no no.. livina looks ok...esp taht off road looking one!
 
The Avanza is tall and skinny i.e. it looks like a sardine can that has been turned on its side. Get one of the other two, or look at a Subaru Legacy or Forester. Whichever way you cut it, R115k will not get you much of a family car unless you buy something relatively old.
 
i quite like the nissan livinia very practical and not bad looking at all. the jazz just seems to small when you compare it to the other two. the toyota is good value for money but arent they high risk ? i could be wrong but get an insurance quote to verify
 
Well you'll struggle to find a car review that doesn't say that the Jazz is great. It's won numerous surveys, including J.D. Powers for 6 years in a row. You really can't fault it, and those "Magic Seats" really are incredibly useful. Don't know about the other 2 or how they compare.
 
I am swaying more towards the Honda Jazz. The problem is finding one - the good buys seem to picked up almost immediately.

For those of you who own a Jazz - can you please let me know how much the service costs?
 
No comparisn. Honda Jazz FTW

Only Pro of the Avanza is that its a 7 seater, think the Nissan Grand Livina is a 7 seater also.

With Japanese reliability, u cant go wrong. All the best of luck in your search.
 
Do keep in mind that the Jazz, size-wise at least, is comparable to something like a VW Polo - even if it's rather differently packaged. From the three possibilities you mention, the Nissan is probably the best, but R115k can buy you a fair variety of cars depending on your willingness to look at something a bit older.

The Avanza is an unmitigated flippen disaster. Don't even test-drive it.
 
You'd be surprised how much can fit in the Jazz, those magic seats fold completely flat you can fit a full sized desk in their that would not fit in the back of my previous Bantam with canopy, doubt you could do that with a Polo.

Even with 5 adults in it is comfortable.

Best of the small hatches by far, pity about the styling though.
 
what im talking about:
5HondaJazzFitcareview.jpg
 
prejoh said:
Hi everyone

I really need help with buying a second hand family car. My budget is a R 115 000 as I am returning to South Africa and need to buy two cars.

The purpose of the car will be for my wife to drive around with our first child but needs to have the capacity to grow with our family (aiming for 3 - 4 kids). This will also be the primary vehicle for long trips and holidays.

Now my dilemma, I don't know much about cars and have only every purchased VW. The problem is that VWs are really expensive and don't meet my needs. After doing quite a bit of research I have narrowed down my search to the following 3 vechiles.

Nissan Livina Acenta 1.6
http://www.nissan.co.za/en/web/models/LIVINA RANGE/home/hpage.htm
Totoyta Avanza 1.5 sx
http://www.toyota.co.za/VehicleRange.aspx?vehicleRangeId=9
Honda Jazz 1.5
http://www.honda.co.za/main.aspx?id=188

So this is where I need your help, I am trying to get the best balance between
Engine Size,
Safety
Running costs (i.e. services, parts, etc)
Modern car features for a second hand car.
Boot size
Dealer service and support
Resale value

I would appreciate any recommendations regarding the cars above and would value the input of owners with these cars already. My biggest concern around the Nissan Livina and Honda Jazz is running costs and resale value.

Also if there is another car in this budget price range that I have somehow completely missed please let me know?

Thanks for your time.
Click to expand...

Honda Jazz 1.5 is the best of all 3, cause of tons of boot space with collapsable seats and everything and very spacious inside.

Plus Honda has best service record and very good petrol usage my car has gotten as low as 5.78l/100 km

Umm the running costs are very low on any Honda and Service costs, since the rarity of something breaking on honda is very low
 
Last edited:
I know its not one of your selected cars but.
Get a Hilux Dbl Cab. legend 35 should be round about that price.
If it has less that 150k km on it is still viable as we replaced our legend 35 on 500k km engine never gave any problems. Hilux FTW family camping trips will also be a whole lot smoother with a canopy :)
 
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