Quick car question: Mazda 323 (96) Any good? Or Nissan 240sx

Yi-Long · Post by **Yi-Long** » 21 Aug 2007, 20:44

I'm thinking of buying a 2nd hand car and came across a nice Mazda 323-F 1.5i glx for about 2500 euro.

Now, I'm not a car person, so I'm hoping anyone here knows a thing or 2 about it. I've done a LIL research and it seems many people say Mazda is VERY reliable and all that...
Anyone had any experience with driving one, or knows how it handles etc?

Yi-Long · Post by **Yi-Long** » 23 Aug 2007, 15:52

I came across this car as well.
A Nissan 240SX,

seems like a nice car, although it's an automatic instead of a stick, and has 2 doors instead of 4... plus it's from 93 so reasonably old. Only 119000 on the meter though (unless it's screwed with)

Yi-Long · Post by **Yi-Long** » 24 Aug 2007, 16:05

I skipped on the option for the Nissan. It's an imported car, so if anything goes wrong you're screwed for parts, plus it's usage is a bit much, so it would be too expensive to really drive it places. Usage was 1 litre for 8-10 km's. That's too expensive when you pay 1,40-1,45 for 1 litre.

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 25 Aug 2007, 09:51

Have you considered Toyota's? They're reportedly a very reliable brand and hardly ever breakdown.

Don't even consider German cars on your budget (you're unemployed, yes?). I.e. BMWs are expensive to maintain.

the68monkey · Post by **the68monkey** » 25 Aug 2007, 17:17

I don't really think I can help you much, being overseas and all. I don't know what, if any, differences there are in cars made by the same manufacturer. I also don't know the cost of repairing certain models in Europe, as opposed to the U.S. (For example the Volvo is an excellent choice in the U.S., but will cost a fortune to have repaired.) I can tell you to avoid American cars.

They're great on luxury, but very low on quality. Personally, I've been loyal to Toyota and Honda for the past 20 years. First car I bought was a Honda, and it was fantastic in quality and gas mileage. I drove a Toyota Camry for years after that and loved it so much that I just bought another one. The only bad experience I've had is with a Volkswagen, which had one minor problem after another, until I finally just donated the thing to charity!

Good luck with you car shopping, Yi. I can direct you to a U.S. car ratings site if you'd like, but as I said, not sure if it will apply to European cars of the same make.

Edit: American site: Kelly Blue Book Ratings:
http://www.kbb.com/kbb/ReviewsAndRatings/default.aspx

Yi-Long · Post by **Yi-Long** » 26 Aug 2007, 19:11

EvaUnit02 wrote:Have you considered Toyota's? They're reportedly a very reliable brand and hardly ever breakdown.

Don't even consider German cars on your budget (you're unemployed, yes?). I.e. BMWs are expensive to maintain.

I've looked at Toyotas in my price-range (2000-3000 euro), but not been totally impressed yet. But I'll keep looking and if a nice one comes buy, I might pick it up.

I'm not gonna buy a western car. Too expensive and not as reliable as japanese cars. I'm still unemployed yeah, but as I need healthinsurance for my medical insurance, I was forced to bum from the goverment (which I hate, as it will look bad on my resume once I become 'dictator of the world!') so I'm now on wellfare

But they promised me they'd try to find a fitting job where they would take my medical problems into consideration. So I hope that will work out.

The good thing is, that for some dumb-ass reason when I have this wellfare, that in my category they start the wellfare 1 year BEFORE I applied for it. Some rule which I dont understand, and I objected to it as I really dont NEED the money... but the guy on the phone assured me it was just the rules and I could do with the money what I want...

thinking of just packing my bags and emigrating ASAP to Hong Kong and go see asian doctors about my problem, as western science isnt really helping much (clueless), but my girl isnt too keen on it all.

Yi-Long · Post by **Yi-Long** » 26 Aug 2007, 19:19

the68monkey wrote:I don't really think I can help you much, being overseas and all. I don't know what, if any, differences there are in cars made by the same manufacturer. I also don't know the cost of repairing certain models in Europe, as opposed to the U.S. (For example the Volvo is an excellent choice in the U.S., but will cost a fortune to have repaired.) I can tell you to avoid American cars. They're great on luxury, but very low on quality. Personally, I've been loyal to Toyota and Honda for the past 20 years. First car I bought was a Honda, and it was fantastic in quality and gas mileage. I drove a Toyota Camry for years after that and loved it so much that I just bought another one. The only bad experience I've had is with a Volkswagen, which had one minor problem after another, until I finally just donated the thing to charity!

Good luck with you car shopping, Yi. I can direct you to a U.S. car ratings site if you'd like, but as I said, not sure if it will apply to European cars of the same make.

Edit: American site: Kelly Blue Book Ratings:
http://www.kbb.com/kbb/ReviewsAndRatings/default.aspx

Thanks Bobbi

I'm really not much of a carperson myself. I only started driving last year when I was finished with my education and had to first solve my medical problems...
I really enjoy driving and all that, but I dont know shit about cars

I'm learning, obviously, but it's certainly not a passion of mine

Plus driving a car is fucking expensive here in Holland. We pay 1,40-1,50 for 1 litre of gas (benzine)!
I'm sure it's much cheaper in most other parts of the world. It would be nice if they could find a way to make cars more efficient or other means of fuel...

I looked at the 2nd hand toyota camry which you like and recommended, but it seems big and it's a little out of my price range.

At the moment, I'm really looking at a cheap japanese car which is also fuel-efficient, and I'm really liking the look of the mazda 323 (95-96)

If I come across another good looking cheap car, I might consider that. Also, my best friend recommended me to search for cars that also have a gas engine, so I can drive on either benzine, or gas, which is MUCH cheaper.