Best Large Cars of October 2008

Even though many large cars are edging towards the $32,000 limit (I guess they're realising that they'll be even harder to sell in the future thanks to rapidly increasing oil prices), Honda Accord still remains the only choice in this segment.

#1 Honda Accord

Base Model RRP: $29,990

Pros:

• Only large car under $32,000


• Comes with bunch of extras standard

Cons:

• Made in Thailand

Best Medium Cars of October 2008

The Kia Magentis has been bumped up in price slightly (although this may change when their October offers are posted up), however this still doesn't alter the fact that the Kia Magentis is best value for money when it comes to this segment.

#1 Kia Magentis

Base Model RRP: $23,190

Pros:

• Ridiculously low price


• Alloy wheels standard


• Alarm standard


• Full size spare


• ESP standard


• Excellent warranty

Cons:

• Kia's poor resale value


• Metallic paint extra

#2 Mazda 6

Base Model RRP: $27,990

Pros:

• Same price as a Sonata, but...


• Made in Japan


• ESP standard


• Full size spare

Cons:

• Premium unleaded recommended


• Alloy wheels extra

#3 Ford Mondeo

Base Model RRP: $29,990

Pros:

• Safest in class


• Alloy wheels standard


• Metallic paint standard


• ESP standard

Cons:

• Bit pricey


• Bit thirsty with fuel


• Space saver spare

Best Compact Cars of October 2008

Hardly any changes in this category either with Mitsubishi still just in the lead thanks to a reasonable price and ESP standard.

#1 Mitsubishi Lancer

Base Model RRP: $20,990

Pros:

• Safe


• Made in Japan


• ESP Standard


• Excellent warranty

Cons:

• Space Saver spare

#2 Subaru Impreza

Base Model RRP: $24,990

Pros:

• Safe


• Made in Japan


• Subaru resale value


• Metallic paint standard


• ESP standard


• All-wheel drive

Cons:

• Space Saver spare


• A bit pricey


• Poor fuel economy

#3 Toyota Corolla

Base Model RRP: $20,990

Pros:

• Safe


• Made in Japan


• Full size spare

Cons:

• Metallic paint extra


• No ESP option

Best Light Cars of October 2008

No changes in this category for this month - Prices have remained the same and so have the options.

#1 Toyota Yaris

Base Model RRP: $16,390

Pros:

• Safe


• Made in Japan


• Petrol miser


• Full size spare

Cons:

• No ESP option


• Metallic paint extra

#2 Mazda 2

Base Model RRP: $16,500

Pros:

• Safe


• Made in Japan

Cons:

• ESP extra


• Space saver spare

#3 Fiat Punto

Base Model RRP: $19,990

Pros:

• Safe


• Full size spare

Cons:

• Metallic paint extra


• ESP not available option on 5 door model


• A bit pricey

October News

Before announcing the best choices for October 2008 (and there hasn't been much change at all), I thought I'd go through the news in terms of car deals/sales in Canberra this month:

- The Chrysler Sebring now has an alarm included as standard

- Dodge are running a deal where the Caliber and Avenger get free alloys.



- The new Holden Barina is now available so the price is up to $15,990, however no new technical specs have been posted on the website yet.

- The Holden Viva's price has been reduced to $16,990

- The Holden Astra now doesn't include alloy wheels as standard

- The Holden Epica has dropped in price from $27,990 to $25,990

- The Hyundai Elantra has dropped from $19,990 to $17,990

- The Hyundai Tucson has dropped from $24,990 to $21,990

- The Jeep Compass (which is almost identical in specs with the Jeep Patriot) has
been added to the evaluation database

- The Toyota Camry is on special: An Altise Auto will go for $27,990

- The Suzuki SX4 S Sedan has been reduced to same price as base model ($19,990)

- The new Renault Koleos compact SUV has been added to the evaluation database.

- Painting costs are extra on Mazdas so evaluation database has been changed
accordingly.

- Citroen, Fiat, Kia and Peugeot failed to post October Offers in time so prices
quoted are normal RRP for these manufacturers.

Buying a New Car - How much does it really cost?

At first glance, a car might not seem too expensive when looking at it's base Recommended Retail Price (RRP). However, what some people fail to consider are the other costs like dealer delivery, statutory charges and extras that the dealer will inevitably try to sell you.

Canberra Toyota has been helpful in this regard in that they give you the cost of statutory charges and dealer delivery.

So let's use their figures as an example.

Let us say that we've decided to purchase a Toyota Yaris YR 5dr 1.3.

Base RRP = $16,390

The base RRP doesn't include metallic paint or the safety pack (the latter probably being pretty worthy of consideration since it's a light car).

Metallic Paint = $300
Safety Pack = $750
New total = $17,440

Now onto the extra charges. As we can see from here, this is what you can expect to pay extra:

Dealer Delivery = $1,495
Establishment Fee = $60
Insurance = $30
Annual Registration = $608-777 (The figures have actually increased for the ACT. Since a Yaris has a tare weight of 1,000kg this means that it'll cost about $630 to register)
Stamp Duty = 3% (for a Yaris as its price is below $45,000 - I'm also assuming this applies to the revised price after you've added extras) = $523

Therefore the final total is $20,178

"But wait there's more!"....

Most dealers will try and convince you to purchase other extras like paint protection, window tinting and rust proofing.

Doing a bit of research on this I've discovered according to the NRMA, window tinting is nice, but unnecessary, paint protection is usually adequate on new vehicles nowadays (but if you want to do it you can do so at a fraction of the price dealers charge) and rust proofing is just about useless. So if you can, try and resist the urge of spending on these extras because they can easily add an extra $1,000-2,000 to the price of your vehicle. If you want to do paint protection, apparently spending about $200 on a DIY kit will suffice.

New Cars and Facelifts for September

Suzuki Grand Vitara

Apparently the new generation Vitara is already here but it doesn't look like the site has been updated to reflect that - Features include new engine sizes and ESP standard and other safety features standard across the range.

Holden Barina

The Holden Barina has already had its 2009 model released however they're still offering the older Barina (at a reduced price) so until this transition is made, the older Barina shall remain the reviewed car.

Renault Koleos

Renault is releasing its first SUV in Australia. Interestingly, it's actually made in Korea though (I don't believe there's been a French branded car in Australia that's been sourced from Korea before).

Fiat Punto

A Fiat Punto facelift is to occur in September-October.

Kia Picanto

A micro-car by Kia may be introduced September-October called the Picanto

Kia Magentis

An upgraded version of the Magentis is coming in September-October. This could be why the Magentis was sold for so cheap last month.

Peugeot 107

A micro car by the French manufacturer is expected to arrive September-October.

Toyota Yaris

A facelifted Yaris is expected to arrive September-October.