Buying a small car. Any suggestions?

[pleccy2000]

We're looking to buy a small car. So we've test driven and short listed:

Toyota Vitz RS - 2001, $10,500 (74000km)
VW Polo - 2001, $7300 (60,000km)
Suzuki Swift - 2007, $14,500 (8500km)
Suzuki Swift - 2006, $14,000 (10,000km)

All have 1.3 automatic engines

And we can't decide! The polo is the cheapest (And what we had in London). However a couple of people has said that Euro car pats are harder to get and not all garages can service them? That leads to to believe that Japanese cars are the way to go here in NZ?

Does anybody own any of the cars above? I'm looking for a small car that won't depreciate too much over two years.

Also Any opinions on owning a european car?

[gil]

we've got a similar aged Polo and it's been very reliable.

[pleccy2000]

we've got a similar aged Polo and it's been very reliable.

They are good cars aren't they. Can i ask, have you found servicing /parts easy?
Thanks

[Syed]

I am interested in Vitz as its interior is cool. Search Trademe, 2005 model is around 15000.

[gil]

It's been serviced by the place we got it from and WOF'd by a local garage and not had any problems yet. There is a VW dealership here if we need it, touch wood we haven't.

Gil

[dilanium]

We have an Echo (Which is the same thing as the Vitz) they are amazing. I definitely recommend.

Plus toyota parts are relatively inexpensive comparatively.

[BadlyDrawnGirl]

We drove a Honda Concerto while we were there and we totally loved it - had an awesome engine, and great mileage.

[Silverwing86]

... the Honda Jazz (Fit if imported) ?

Honda and Toyota are considered to be the most reliable and best value for money for the small car category by Consumer Org. NZ and the Honda Jazz is an incredibly versatile car. With the magic seat system you can create more space in the back than in the Honda CRV ! It also has very good fuel economy and is comfortable to drive.

NZ new Honda Jazz'z also hold their value very well because of Honda NZ's policy to stick to the prices (no bargaining, which is a bit of a pity when buying, but well worth it when it comes to selling later on !).

I've been driving one for well over a year now and I'm very happy with it. So much so that I traded it in for the new model in December, an even better drive and a lot of useful extra's (a.o.; cruise control, climate control, USB connection for I-pod - which means the steering wheel controls can be used for it, etc.) !

Good luck !

Cheers,
Silver

[Big Puku]

Another vote for the Vitz - we imported our own low-mileage one from Japan last year and it's been great (saved a couple of $k over TM prices too).

Friend is having issues with Renault servicing locally (plus the local Renault dealer has just gone into liquidation which doesn't help), although usually parts availability on European models isn't a problem - it's just the price of them!

[ljrobin]

We bought a Toyota Yaris, the new version of the Vitz. It's only a 1300cc engine, but it sure does have enough power. It is our "around the town" car, so with 2 kids, me as a new left hand driver, and the "horrendous" drivers in CHCH we went for a car with airbags all over the place, it has 9! I love it. Toyota was having a promotion at the time we bought it, so we purchased at a good price.