First Car

Stay away from French cars, when they break, they break properly and will cost an arm and leg to get sorted. Hyundai is a common car but trust me parts are not cheap if it breaks. My moms Getz had overheating issues and 1 water pipe was over R1000 to replace.

I had a 98 Mazda 323 midge for approx. 7 years with minimal issues and I did not look after that car LOL.
My wife drives an 04 Fiat Palio 1.2 8v which she has had for approx. 11 years now, besides routine maintenance, it has snapped the cambelt twice with bent valves and its had a clutch replacement due to age about 2 years back, my father in law also has a 1.2 palio with close to 400k on the clock and still going strong, motor was redone at approx 300k though but he didn't maintain it hence the failure, im sure he ran it with no oil and it started knocking. Just stay away from the 16v versions are they tend to give issues.

Honda's can be reliable but people want ridiculous prices for clean ones that have been well maintained.
I currently have a Nissan 1400 which is probably the best car ive ever owned. So long as you have decent security fitted and don't park in dodgy places, you should be fine with one of those but 40k may be a bit light in the budget for a really decent condition one, they have gone up in value over the last few years.
 
1) My vw had its engine opened (2011) under warranty. P.O.S gti
2) My Fiesta ST (2008) gearbox poof (warranty)
3) my toyota conquest did 300 000kms. bulletproof
4) My renault has been my most reliable, most powerful car, doesnt use a drop of oil (unlike my ST and GTi) and gets hammered daily
5) my bro's old megane is now 15 yrs old, and just goes
6) my bro also has a Disco 3 V8... had it for 9 years. total repair bill of R25 000 over past 9 yrs...

Each person has their own story.

so the problem the OP has that the entire list of cars he suggested will be expensive if they in good condition. you might actually be better off with a Getz/Atos or something
 
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Chun_li said:
Has anyone owned or driven this model Ballade? Of so how is it compared to a Jetta/fox or Corolla
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We have that as a family car in 91, was lekker. But I dont see a lot of them on the road anymore.
My first car VW Jetta 3 was very decent. Try to get a CSL which is a 1.6, should give you decent fuel consumption and plenty of spare parts available
 
Gtx Gaming said:
DOHC version for life!

I think they pretty hard to find through :(
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They are they are even more expensive than the ballade pictured below (if it's in the same condition or better)
 

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Terence1983 said:
Stay away from French cars, when they break, they break properly and will cost an arm and leg to get sorted. Hyundai is a common car but trust me parts are not cheap if it breaks. My moms Getz had overheating issues and 1 water pipe was over R1000 to replace.

I had a 98 Mazda 323 midge for approx. 7 years with minimal issues and I did not look after that car LOL.
My wife drives an 04 Fiat Palio 1.2 8v which she has had for approx. 11 years now, besides routine maintenance, it has snapped the cambelt twice with bent valves and its had a clutch replacement due to age about 2 years back, my father in law also has a 1.2 palio with close to 400k on the clock and still going strong, motor was redone at approx 300k though but he didn't maintain it hence the failure, im sure he ran it with no oil and it started knocking. Just stay away from the 16v versions are they tend to give issues.

Honda's can be reliable but people want ridiculous prices for clean ones that have been well maintained.
I currently have a Nissan 1400 which is probably the best car ive ever owned. So long as you have decent security fitted and don't park in dodgy places, you should be fine with one of those but 40k may be a bit light in the budget for a really decent condition one, they have gone up in value over the last few years.
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Fiat's and French cars seem to be decent with mechanical reliability but other than that
 
I have a toyota tazz 1.6i with 510 00km and not a single days trouble. Normal maintenance and she will be good to you.
 
PhireSide said:
Old round shape Hyundai Accent

@Zuner had a legendary one with well over half a million kilometers on the clock
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can definitely recommend the Hyundai. i had a 1999 Accent 1.3xs, i sold it at 545000km only cause i wasn't using it anymore. she was a workhorse and a half. still miss that car.
engine opened once for valve stem seals, had factory rings even factory discs and rear drums/shoes. all wheel bearings were factory too. i used 5w40 (thin oil) fully synthetic oil and it didn't even use or leak oil. drove it long distance and peak jhb traffic everyday. each clutch lasted 250k km, also used that car to learn mechanics.
 
So as previously mentioned given your budget.

I would look for:
1. Fiat Palio 1.2- Friend has one that is over 250 000km, actually just redid the motor and still going strong.
2. Hyundai Accent 1.3xs- as per Zuner
3. 323 midge
4. Toyota Tazz or Conquest if you can find one
 
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