Best Dirt Cheap Cars of July 2009

The limit is still $16,000 but this time around there's actually more than one choice.

#1 Hyundai Getz

Base Model Estimated Price: $13,990

Pros:

• Safer


• Excellent warranty


• Alarm included


• Full size spare

Cons:

• None

#2 Kia Rio

Base Model Estimated Price: $13,490

Pros:

• Excellent warranty


• Full size spare

Cons:

• Not as safe

#3 Holden Barina

Base Model Estimated Price: $15,990

Pros:

• Safer

Cons:

• No alarm

Best Medium Cars of July 2009

When there's only one candidate there is only one choice

#1 Kia Magentis

Base Model Estimated Price: $20,190

Pros:

• Ridiculously low price


• Alloy wheels standard


• Alarm standard


• Full size spare


• ESP standard

Cons:

• Kia's poor resale value

Best Compact SUVs of July 2009

With the Tucson slightly cheaper than the Sportage there's now an even better reason to buy it.

#1 Hyundai Tucson

Base Model Estimated Price: $22,640

Pros:

• Safer


• Alloy wheels standard


• Full size spare


• ESP standard


• Alarm standard

Cons:

• No alloy wheels standard

#2 Kia Sportage

Base Model Estimated Price: $22,990

Pros:

• Full size spare


• Alloy wheels standard

Cons:

• No ESP Standard


• No alarm standard

Best Compact Cars of July 2009

The new Holden Cruze joins the mix with an impressive 5-star ANCAP safety rating to give the Hyundai i30 a run for its money. The only Japanese contender is the sharply priced Suzuki SX4.

#1 Hyundai i30

Base Model Estimated Price: $19,990

Pros:

• Safe


• Full size spare


• Alarm standard


• Great warranty


• ESC standard

Cons:

• No alloys standard

#2 Holden Cruze

Base Model Estimated Price: $24,060

Pros:

• Full size spare


• Safe


• ESC standard

Cons:

• No alloy wheels standard


• No alarm standard

#3 Suzuki SX4

Base Model Estimated Price: $19,990

Pros:

• Made in Japan

Cons:

• Space Saver spare


• No alloy wheels standard


• No alarm standard

Best Light Cars of July 2009

With the discovery of discountnewcars.com.au, I'm thankfully able to start reviewing again. Looks like in reality, that in terms of light cars, none of them have a 5-star ANCAP rating (at least the base models don't anyway). This month we see the Toyota Yaris, Suzuki Swift and new Ford Fiesta vying for first place.

#1 Toyota Yaris

Base Model Estimated Price: $16,990

Pros:

• Full size spare

Cons:

• None

#2 Suzuki Swift

Base Model Estimated Price: $17,490

Pros:

• Full size spare

Cons:

• None

#3 Ford Fiesta

Base Model Estimated Price: $20,010

Pros:

• None

Cons:

• Space saver spare

No car reviews for June

Well there's going to be no car reviews this month. Thanks to the ACCC legislation regarding component pricing, many car manufacturers in a panic have taken their prices off the websites. That means it's impossible to get an idea of how much cars cost anymore, without actually visiting dealerships. However, there was a clarification stating car databases like Redbook and GoAuto should not be affected by this when they show "manufacturer prices" - so if the manufacturer websites do indeed not end up showing prices ever again, the only course of action is to use one of these car database sites, which I'd rather not.

New legislation to effectively introduce all prices as driveaway

Some new legislationis about to come into effect that in essence will force car dealerships to advertise all their car prices as driveaway - i.e. it'll include such things as CTP insurance, dealer delivery and stamp duty into the charge. While this may be a good thing (it'll make my job in comparing car prices much easier!) it may also be bad thing for both car dealerships and car purchasers that like to haggle, since will there be much leeway to do so with a mandated minimum price set?

EDIT:

Oh and just in case anyone was interested, here's the ACCC's manual that explains what's going on.