[willsken]

I am looking to buy a reasonably (read as cheap as possible) small safe car. Its purpose is twofold. One, my son will use it to learn to drive (he's not getting his mitts on mine! :p) and also mum and dad will use it when they come to stay. It was fine the last time they were here as I had a broken leg so couldn't drive. It's my intention not to have a broken leg next time they come, so they will need their own car, I really don't like sharing. :D

Any ideas? I've looked on Trade Me and a few jump out, but not many.

[Tia Maria]

I was told my Honda Vitz gets a good safety rating, check out this thread:

www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=17532

If you can get your hands on a book called the Dog and Lemon, it has safety records for lots of vehicles, most car dealerships should have a copy, maybe the library also:

http://dogandlemon.com

Also, this site comments on safety for new and used cars:

www.whatcar.com

Also this link is quite good:

www.rightcar.govt.nz

The only thing my Vitz, (I think its a 2001 model), doesn't have that I would like, is curtain airbags.

Hope that helps!

Cheers

Tia

[Nick88]

Do you mean a Honda Fit? The only car I can find called a Vitz is a Toyota. The Honda Fit is the Jap market name for the Jazz, which is just the car I would recommend too.

However the single most important factor in car safety is the weight of the car, the deceleration forces acting on the occupants in a light car involved in a crash are much higher than those in a heavier car. I deliberately went for slightly heavier cars (over 1600kg) when we chose for that very reason. Failing that, the ANCAP rating system is a wonderful tool.

[Tia Maria]

Sorry, I meant the Toyota Vitz (sometimes Echo or Yaris).

We also looked at Honda Fits/Jazz, which is probably why I got them mixed up! :o

Cheers

Tia

[willsken]

Well that's a coincidence. I have a Toyota Vitz and mum has the Honda Jazz in the UK! :yes May need to look at both those and look into the older versions.

[James 1077]

Don't bother with a small car - get something big and thirsty.

If you aren't going to be using the car all that often then the premium that you pay for a small car (due to it being fuel efficient in these $2.20 a litre days) isn't worth it.

Big, thirsty cars are selling for peanuts now due to everyone wanting something small and frugal and, due to them being big, they are normally safer as well.

Our car is a Falcon estate with a 4l engine. Big thirsty thing it is but as we only use it once a week it really doesn't matter!

Other benefits are that if you make your son pay for the petrol he uses then he'll drive more responsibly and efficiently and that once he's learnt to park a big car he'll have no problems whatsoever with anything else. This is definitely the case with me as I learnt to drive in a Nissan Patrol and so parallel parking anything smaller than a tank can almost be done with my eyes closed!

[Tia Maria]

James 1077 - I bet you like 'Pimp my ride'!

Cheers

Tia

[James 1077]

James 1077 - I bet you like 'Pimp my ride'!

Cheers

Tia

I love it! :D

Honestly though having a small fuel efficient car only makes sense financially if you use it a reasonably large amount.

If you hardly ever use your car then you are better off getting something that may cost more to drive but costs much less to buy due to its inefficiency (the extra petrol cost being substantially less than the decreased purchase price).

And big cars are more fun anyway! :D

[willsken]

And big cars are more fun anyway! :D

While I personally agree 100% ...... I don't want him to have too much fun!! :p

[bob_the_engineer]

To quote Jerramy Clarkson

A 4x4 is like a nuke, once one person has one, nobody is safe without one!

Remember safety ratings are done in classes, and every other car in NZ is a 4X4.

Choosing a car for my wife was easy, biggest 4x4 I could find, sure its not cheap to run, but the wife is priceless :)

Bob

[Nick88]

I agree Bob, that's why I got the Honda Odyssey for my wife to cart the kids around in. I was one of the first vehicles to get a 6 star rating on the Japanese crash test system. It is also over 1600kg, another big factor. We have already decided that our next vehicle will be a Landcruiser.

[Mels]

To quote Jerramy Clarkson


Choosing a car for my wife was easy, biggest 4x4 I could find, sure its not cheap to run, but the wife is priceless :)

Bob

aawww sweet :yes

Mels