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Question of the Day: What is the ultimate French toast topping?
Car purchase...
- Thread starter medicnick83
- Start date
Pornolio
Expert Member
Hmmm yes buying a car has many different angles you gotta look at.
If your budget can afford it... Aircon + Powersteering is a definate MUST have. Once you have it, you wont know how you ever survived without it. Pref. a 1600cc upwards like mentioned earlier
As for your choices, I had quite a few cars over the years, and I can tell you one thing. I had german cars and japanese cars, and where the german car makers dominate on the thick rigid bodywork + nice interior styling, the japanese engines are rock solid. My opel/s gave me so much crap on mechanical issues I dont think I would ever buy one again. I had 2 x Opel Kadett 200is's. So the corsa would allready be in my dangerbooks with regards to reliability.... Perhaps they are waaaay better than the kadett's, but I cant say that I have owned a corsa yet.
The toyotas, I have had 4 of them over the years, and hell they are pretty much indestructable. Even through my student years when I could break anything, the damn toyota as basic as it was, never gave me one day worth of trouble. Suppose it also depends if your car has been to proper dealerships for services... as soon as el-cheapo backyard mechanics start working on any car, it pretty much starts going bad.
If your budget can afford it... Aircon + Powersteering is a definate MUST have. Once you have it, you wont know how you ever survived without it. Pref. a 1600cc upwards like mentioned earlier
As for your choices, I had quite a few cars over the years, and I can tell you one thing. I had german cars and japanese cars, and where the german car makers dominate on the thick rigid bodywork + nice interior styling, the japanese engines are rock solid. My opel/s gave me so much crap on mechanical issues I dont think I would ever buy one again. I had 2 x Opel Kadett 200is's. So the corsa would allready be in my dangerbooks with regards to reliability.... Perhaps they are waaaay better than the kadett's, but I cant say that I have owned a corsa yet.
The toyotas, I have had 4 of them over the years, and hell they are pretty much indestructable. Even through my student years when I could break anything, the damn toyota as basic as it was, never gave me one day worth of trouble. Suppose it also depends if your car has been to proper dealerships for services... as soon as el-cheapo backyard mechanics start working on any car, it pretty much starts going bad.
orin76
Expert Member
Anything with an Engine capacity of less than 1600 that has an aircon = Fail
Aircon is a bitch on Power. Only time I really get to use it now is on my Bakkie. Don't even feel it with the V6. On my 1600 I could use it but never did because of the power loss
Is the power loss really that bad? If aircon causes a 60kW car to become a 45kW car, you should still be able to move at the speed traffic is moving (which for me is normally about 5 km/h on Witkoppen).
Jokes aside, I just wonder why it's such an issue. Does it significantly affect normal driving or is it only an issue for street racers?
Pitbull
Verboten
You can actually feel the loss of power if you turn it on while driving. And your car will have a problem pulling off from a standing start. The loss is significant. On My bakkie I don't even know it's on
. And the above example was my 1600 Polo before I replcaed the engine. When I replaced the engine I had the Aircon removed (There was no space for it 
). I don't want to know what it does to a 1300 car
I can't feel the difference between aircon on/off in my Dad's 1600 Corolla but I've done some mods to my Corsa 1.4 (branches/exhaust, not noisy type/272 cam/chip) and even with aircon on I still beat the Corolla all the way to 140km/h (haven't tried going further really).
I still feel the aircon tho.
@Pornolio: Was that the Kadett 200iS GSi 16V?
I still feel the aircon tho.
@Pornolio: Was that the Kadett 200iS GSi 16V?
I don think the 200is ever had gsi badging...
Yeah actually I was thinking about the GSi 16V S.
Either way those engines are supposed to be incredibly reliable, weird that he hard problems.
Pornolio
Expert Member
Gnome : Was 98 / 99 model shape. Its the 2 litre 8 Valve models. When it drove, it was an amazing car, but my fiance at the time also had one, and the same things that broke on my car, broke on hers... same with my friends one... things like the clutch arm snapping off, top gasket blowing 4 times, heater radiator blowing up making my interior car carpets all soggy smelly and wet, electronic failures, engine cutouts, dash alarm lights coming on something is wrong with the electrical system etc etc etc. And the car was only serviced with opel agents, never ever put any pirate aftermarket parts in, damn that car was a nightmare.
gdiza forget these fools 
come with me ....i'll show you my tata
she's in your price range (2nd hand or demo) comes with warranty and p/s aircon etc
i can tell you she's pretty zippy for a 55kw car and very versitle ...i moved house using her (her seats drop back and then up again giveng you plenty of space) ...
just my 2cents worth
/runs away/
come with me ....i'll show you my tata
she's in your price range (2nd hand or demo) comes with warranty and p/s aircon etc
i can tell you she's pretty zippy for a 55kw car and very versitle ...i moved house using her (her seats drop back and then up again giveng you plenty of space) ...
just my 2cents worth
/runs away/
orin76
Expert Member
I used to drive a Corsa 1.6 GSI (my fiancee now drives it) and I currently drive a Honda Civic 1.8. On both cars, I did feel the aircon, but the effect was only a problem if I was driving aggressively. With the aircon on, my acceleration was still reasonable and I could maintain 120km/h on highways without issues.
On the issue of Corsa vs Uno vs Citi. I vote for the Corsa. I have no experience with Kadetts, but my Corsa is now in its 8th year and the engine is still lively and the car is fun to drive. The only problems I've experienced with the car have been with some water valve which had to be replaced and some issues with the battery. Neither problem is hugely expensive to fix (<R700 for each).
On the issue of Corsa vs Uno vs Citi. I vote for the Corsa. I have no experience with Kadetts, but my Corsa is now in its 8th year and the engine is still lively and the car is fun to drive. The only problems I've experienced with the car have been with some water valve which had to be replaced and some issues with the battery. Neither problem is hugely expensive to fix (<R700 for each).
Damn dude, that's terrible! Haven't had engine trouble with a Opel yet but I've had some problems with the car cutting out on my ex GSi. Was a bit of a mission to fix (as in trying to figure out what was wrong) but when it was working again the car was back to 100's.
3G-Spot
Well-Known Member
Okay, so I passed my drivers today! w00t w00t!
It's time to think about getting a car...
Now, clearly I need to save for a deposit, and I'm keen on getting a Toyota Tazz or a Opel Corsa (those are my 2 main choices at the moment as I've driven in them - the Tazz being the number 1 option)
What else must I need to know as I embark on this adventure.
I know I probably need to take someone who knows cars (my girlfriends father has volunteered for this job) but what else.
Please guys, give me advice so I know...
Probably won't start looking for at least 2/3 months, but now is a good time to start this adventure by getting to know what I should.
Conquest 160i RS, 1996, 221000km, R24 000
Call Diana 083 940 6508
LCBXX
Honorary Master
Jong laaities soek altyd karre wat kan JAAG.
Pity they can only afford crap that cannot JAAG and then go and "mod" it with branches and drainpipe exhausts etc, that make it sounds like its JAAG-ing but only makes them look like idiots
My respects to gdiza - at least he's looking at something sensible and mentioned nothing about "souping his sled up". Get something with an aircon (bugger the "power-loss on a 1600" crap) - the A/C will prevent you from driving with the window down and your arm out holding the roof between the A & B pillar.
Now if only he can stop with all these "feelings" threads...
Pity they can only afford crap that cannot JAAG and then go and "mod" it with branches and drainpipe exhausts etc, that make it sounds like its JAAG-ing but only makes them look like idiots
My respects to gdiza - at least he's looking at something sensible and mentioned nothing about "souping his sled up". Get something with an aircon (bugger the "power-loss on a 1600" crap) - the A/C will prevent you from driving with the window down and your arm out holding the roof between the A & B pillar.
Now if only he can stop with all these "feelings" threads...
Pitbull
Verboten
Hehe, if you get a car with potential why not
Also doesn't mean it'll be loud, my car makes less noise than the standard 
3G-Spot
Well-Known Member
Sure, you can...
Pornolio
Expert Member
@ Gnome - Yes it was quite a car that made a imprint in my mind. The scary thing is, the other day before I bought my Lexus... I had my mind set on the new Audi A4, I really, really, really, wanted one, but that damn german engine thing in the back of mind kept telling me do some homework / research.
Soooo the best thing to do is to speak to other Audi owners. To be honest the feedback I got back from there was nothing short of shocking.
The worst however was when I went to a audi dealer ( not mentioning names though) and I asked the sales guy... "honestly, I know you are a sales guy and you will tell me anything to sell me one of your audi's, but just how reliable are these cars, I have heard horror stories ? " His response : "So what if they break every now and again, you have an excellent motorplan... wont cost you a cent if something goes wrong... " That was enough for me to say naah screw it, go with the flimsy bodywork japanese cars that you know are robust on the engines.... Its not about how good your motorplan is... really, thats the least of your worries.
I know I am sounding like a japanese car fanboy, and really I am not trying to put you off from buying any specific brand... but do your homework before buying a car. There is so much information online / other owners you can get advice from. I am not saying all german cars are bad, but the ones I had experience with, bleh... maybe I just got all the dud's.
Soooo the best thing to do is to speak to other Audi owners. To be honest the feedback I got back from there was nothing short of shocking.
The worst however was when I went to a audi dealer ( not mentioning names though) and I asked the sales guy... "honestly, I know you are a sales guy and you will tell me anything to sell me one of your audi's, but just how reliable are these cars, I have heard horror stories ? " His response : "So what if they break every now and again, you have an excellent motorplan... wont cost you a cent if something goes wrong... " That was enough for me to say naah screw it, go with the flimsy bodywork japanese cars that you know are robust on the engines.... Its not about how good your motorplan is... really, thats the least of your worries.
I know I am sounding like a japanese car fanboy, and really I am not trying to put you off from buying any specific brand... but do your homework before buying a car. There is so much information online / other owners you can get advice from. I am not saying all german cars are bad, but the ones I had experience with, bleh... maybe I just got all the dud's.