Need a family car urgently!

[Bennoz]

Not to mention autos require costly oil flushes.

How much do places charge for an auto transmission fluid change....?

1 x Case of beer.

[Sidekick84]

Thanks guys for all the support, am feeling a tad lost atm.

I would love to learn manual, i have driven a manual in my early days (one or two lessons from) and in fact my first driving lesson was in a 22 seater bus (manual but driving around in circles in 1st gear lol i think i was like 15 or 16 haha)

But maybe a lesson or two would be good

Keep the ideas coming guys love the input

[Lawso]

Not to mention autos require costly oil flushes.

How much do places charge for an auto transmission fluid change....?

1 x Case of beer.

1x bottle of auto transmission fluid.

total cost, about 70-80 bucks

[Sidekick84]

^

Mrs has a new late model lancer - its a tip and goes pretty hard - give an fto a run for its money in a manual, yet is surprisingly economical, i think our record is 700 odd km's of city driving on a single tank - being the new variable mivec its not half bad to drive. also 4 door with a bit of room, i recommend it if thats what youre after - very reliable (considering before she met me it went a good 150km without a major service and the ABS light on for about 30km (women )) and still runs strong

Thanks Taz, I laughed when you mentioned your mrs car haha

[Astron_Boy]

The difference being that most people on Aussiemagna drive their cars like Commodores.

Even commodore transmissions go wrong when they're driven the way Commodore owners drive.

Proper care and maintenance puts auto transmissions on par with manuals, and always have in my opinion.

I hear of more clutches going wrong that transmissions dying due to age.

Put the same amount of abuse through an auto as a manual and one way or another they will die.

I like to think of the Example of the Astron and the Lawso.
An Astron owned a lovely manual transmission, one day he sold it to a Lawso.
Said Lawso killed said transmission in a 1/3 the time of the Astrons ownership.
Rabbit Stew was served for Dinner.

[Bennoz]

[shadowarrior]

ROFL!!

Manual isn't hard to learn specially since you already know how to drive a car. It will take some practice, more than just 2 lessons. Everyday driving around with it for couple of weeks will get you in the groove. I started learning on a manual recently..I didn't even know how to drive cars before that Spent time on learning about clutch control and slopes, and it's smooth as cake now.

If your son is 3, I think you can easily get him to sit on the back seat of the FTO.

The other cars around your budget would be the Lancer, Magna, Sonata, Statesman and 318i. Or you can go for an old model Pajero.

There are plenty of Alphas on sale on carsales in your budget, but their selespeed gearbox is known to be unreliable. Servicing/fixing them costs a ton, too much of a hassle unless you are an Alpha fan and have good mechanical skills/knowledge to work on the car yourself.

[Sidekick84]

ROFL!!

Manual isn't hard to learn specially since you already know how to drive a car. It will take some practice, more than just 2 lessons. Everyday driving around with it for couple of weeks will get you in the groove. I started learning on a manual recently..I didn't even know how to drive cars before that Spent time on learning about clutch control and slopes, and it's smooth as cake now.

If your son is 3, I think you can easily get him to sit on the back seat of the FTO.

The other cars around your budget would be the Lancer, Magna, Sonata, Statesman and 318i. Or you can go for an old model Pajero.

There are plenty of Alphas on sale on carsales in your budget, but their selespeed gearbox is known to be unreliable. Servicing/fixing them costs a ton, too much of a hassle unless you are an Alpha fan and have good mechanical skills/knowledge to work on the car yourself.

I wouldn't be able to fix it myself (i would like to learn though)....Would the Alpha be alright in the manual?

[PHIL069]

I looked at buying an Alpha 156 for my misses a while back and found out they have become so cheap because owners couldn't afford to have them serviced or repaired.
Simple parts are bloody expensive.

[Sidekick84]

^ I was wondering why they were so cheap, but that makes sense

[shadowarrior]

I looked at buying an Alpha 156 for my misses a while back and found out they have become so cheap because owners couldn't afford to have them serviced or repaired.
Simple parts are bloody expensive.

Same. Had thought of buying a 156 some time back. They drive beautifully when they run....but they spend 80% of the time getting something fixed. And every auto shop we called to get some quotes on parts you would change as regular wear and tear; on the Alphas' they were at least 3-4 times more than what I would pay on your average Japanese made car.

Specially in Melbourne, found so many early 20's picking up Alphas and selling them in a rush cheap once the harsh reality of maintenance cost hits them.

[spetz]

Not to mention autos require costly oil flushes.

How much do places charge for an auto transmission fluid change....?

Some autos need special fluid which is not cheap.
To give you an idea, a Magna/Verada would cost about $300 to do this flush, give or take.
A friend just yesterday got his W203 C200K transmission flushed, needed some new part, gaskets etc.... almost $1,000....
Don't listen to Lawso about a bottle of oil and a carton of beer. This is why he destroys everything he gets his hands on


Astron Boy,
I don't think everyone on aussiemagna abuses their car. And look at the 90s range of Honda autos. You're pretty much guaranteed to have a failure.
And yes, a manual may need a clutch a few times in it's life and an auto can go the life of the car without ever needing anything, but it's a gamble either which way. I prefer spending $500 on a clutch after having months of warning that I will need it, than be stuck on the motorway one day having to tow my auto car and fork out 2+ grand for a rebuild.

Keep in mind though I am more talking about high mileage cars here (because of the 6K budget). If the car is new or near new of course an auto is reliable

[Bennoz]

Don't listen to Lawso about a bottle of oil and a carton of beer. This is why he destroys everything he gets his hands on

That was me doing it for a case of beer & a bottle of oil.

Oh & if some mechanic tried to charge me 300 bucks for a tranny fluid change, I'd punch his f**ken lights out. Period.

[Lawso]

Don't listen to Lawso about a bottle of oil and a carton of beer. This is why he destroys everything he gets his hands on

That was me doing it for a case of beer & a bottle of oil.

Oh & if some mechanic tried to charge me 300 bucks for a tranny fluid change, I'd punch his f**ken lights out. Period.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
this

[spetz]

That was me doing it for a case of beer & a bottle of oil.

Oh & if some mechanic tried to charge me 300 bucks for a tranny fluid change, I'd punch his f**ken lights out. Period.

And I am sure you did a fine job

$300 is for an auto flush, including oil (considering it is a flush, it needs a lot of oil), gaskets, filters, labor etc.
I haven't paid this, but on the aussiemagna forums $300 seems to be the acceptable rate for this job

[Sidekick84]

Hey guys just found this one...is it too cheap...http://www.tradingpost.com.au/Automotiv ... 4002330351

[spetz]

Seems pretty decent especially for the price.

[Sidekick84]

Also this one http://www.tradingpost.com.au/Automotiv ... 4102339171

[spetz]

FYI, the Magnas didn't get the 5 speed auto like the Veradas.
Only Sports and VRX models got the 5 speed auto

[Sidekick84]

^^^ Ok cool thanks

I am going car hunting today around town, wish me luck as I not very confident there is going to be anything haha.