Tuesday, May 15, 2012 - 02:03 pm, by: Matthew Sharpe(Madmatt)
Don Bagnall wrote on Monday, May 14, 2012 - 02:07 pm:
2006 & later RAV 4
They do seem to be pretty awesome SUV's - hold their value well too, and pretty smart looking too.
We have a 2002 Toyota Voltz as our family car, which is a bit smaller than the 5 door Rav 4 and only FWD (I guess its a X-over or "softroader" or whatever)- had it for about a year and a half now and it's been a fantastic family work horse - 1800cc 1ZZ engine is fantastic - moves along nicely and runs very frugally.
Like anything, don't buy the cheapest one you see, buy the best one you can see. We looked at about 6 of these before choosing the most expensive one - it was 2 years older than the youngest one we drove which was $2000 less, but our one had only 45,000 on the clock and a full service history to back it up, it just felt tighter on the road, the paint and interior were perfect etc.
I suspect that no matter what car you buy, if you stick with this rule, you'll probably get years of good service out of it. Buy something because it's cheap and has a dodgy past, you'll regret it.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012 - 03:09 pm, by: Dave Hart(Davyboy)
I think it'll be a visit to the local agents for Honda and Toyota for some look see and go from there. If not suitably impressed then Ford and Hyundai. Something that's had its first depreciation and low km's. Some of the smaller cc ones may be ok with just the driver & 1 passenger but need to see how good with 5 bums on seats.
Dan McColl Goo Roo Victoria (The Nazi State) Pretty Red Thing and The Black Rattler
Wednesday, May 16, 2012 - 01:28 pm, by: Gary Redman(Gary)
I pensioned off my Soarer and replaced it with a Honda Accord Euro Luxury. It's a beautiful car to drive and the engine is very willing. 4 doors but still got leather and heated seats etc
Wednesday, May 16, 2012 - 10:08 pm, by: Greg Mitca(Pure)
A coffin on wheels is what I think of when I first thought of retirement vehicle.
Anyway, a good condition soarer is a good retirement vehicle - think about it, there is a reason why we are still appreciating our "20 year old car", still.
If you are less needing to go fast, want to save on petrol and want to keep enjoying our beloved soarer then the 3 litre na is a good option. Less mechanical troubles with them as well.
Want 4 door, more room but still want the good lexus build quality, luxury, reliability and value? Then the gs300. The only thing missing with the gs is the lack of a spruce interior option. However there is a bloke in the parts section that will paint your interior for 500 so the spruce option is still within reach.
Joshua Rao Goo Roo WA TT (for sale $5.2k), 97 Blk UZZ31, 97 JZZ30 vvti turbo white manual, 96 vvti turbo manual, Legnum VR4, MR2 sw20, Alfa 156
Thursday, May 17, 2012 - 11:22 am, by: Dave Hart(Davyboy)
The requirement of only needing one car that has 4 doors and 5 seats precludes keeping the Soarer as much as I love it and realise that there still isn't another car out there that can beat its all round ability. Having a '32 has been the best and the worst because having anything else will be a disappointment in many regards.