teepee
07-06-2010, 10:10 PM
Hi guys
Thanks for keeping up such a great resource for those in need!
I'm looking for a car (currently don't have one: moving house + drive to station + pregnant wife = need something to drive!) I've wandered into Astinaland via Corollacity and Pulsarville. Basically I started asking some mech eng mates what a fun, reliable, cheap and efficient car was, and the universal answer was "try a Japanese hatch". After a lot of web searching and a bit of poking around on carsales.com.au I discovered the BA Astina, and I think I'm onto a winner.
Sooo... I'm going to try to not just ask for broad advice, cos there are lots of threads out there and I was asked to search before posting when I registered :D And I'm not going to ask if a hardtop or hatch is better cos that'll just descend into chaos. I haven't decided which I prefer yet - just love the low profile headlights! Unless there is a big difference in backseat and boot space - any thought on this?
Anyway, what I'll do is put down what I think, and I hope you'll tell me if I'm saying something stoopid. I'm what you'd call a google mechanic. I generally know what it's called and what it does, but not what it looks like or how to fix it ;)
I'm looking at a BA11P3 (which I think is what carsales calls a BA series 3?). Manual, of course. I'm going for this one in particular cos in the short to medium term there won't be any time or money to look at mods :)
I know the P1 (series 1?) has a larger transmission and driveshaft, but I think the generally lower kms and less wear might make it worth getting a younger model for what I need. (not 100% on this bit). Not sure what difference the larger tran and DS make to longevity.
I don't need the extra vroom the 2.0L would give. From the sounds of it the 1.8L are pretty fun to drive, and I'm not going to be thrashing it anyway. I just want something with a bit of go if I feel like it, and that's fun to put round a corner.
I understand the major services are big things to check (and to do if there are no records - timing belt and others. Any specifics here?) Someone mentioned a while ago that the clutches tend to go at about 150k. And also that the tappet cover gaskets and distributor o-rings are common (and cheap) causes of oil leaks. I haven't found any other info on common problems (apart from references to the "standard FWD issues", which I take to be CV joints and other steering related stuff - suggestions welcome!). Are there common issues with brakes in these models? Or any other big things I haven't found? Do some of the paint colours tend to wear badly?
From what I've seen I think I should be able to get a reasonable BA11P3 on the road (RWC + other bits and pieces) for $6k. Am I in the right cricket ground there?
Thanks for your help. If you have any other advice or suggestions please let me know!
Thanks for keeping up such a great resource for those in need!
I'm looking for a car (currently don't have one: moving house + drive to station + pregnant wife = need something to drive!) I've wandered into Astinaland via Corollacity and Pulsarville. Basically I started asking some mech eng mates what a fun, reliable, cheap and efficient car was, and the universal answer was "try a Japanese hatch". After a lot of web searching and a bit of poking around on carsales.com.au I discovered the BA Astina, and I think I'm onto a winner.
Sooo... I'm going to try to not just ask for broad advice, cos there are lots of threads out there and I was asked to search before posting when I registered :D And I'm not going to ask if a hardtop or hatch is better cos that'll just descend into chaos. I haven't decided which I prefer yet - just love the low profile headlights! Unless there is a big difference in backseat and boot space - any thought on this?
Anyway, what I'll do is put down what I think, and I hope you'll tell me if I'm saying something stoopid. I'm what you'd call a google mechanic. I generally know what it's called and what it does, but not what it looks like or how to fix it ;)
I'm looking at a BA11P3 (which I think is what carsales calls a BA series 3?). Manual, of course. I'm going for this one in particular cos in the short to medium term there won't be any time or money to look at mods :)
I know the P1 (series 1?) has a larger transmission and driveshaft, but I think the generally lower kms and less wear might make it worth getting a younger model for what I need. (not 100% on this bit). Not sure what difference the larger tran and DS make to longevity.
I don't need the extra vroom the 2.0L would give. From the sounds of it the 1.8L are pretty fun to drive, and I'm not going to be thrashing it anyway. I just want something with a bit of go if I feel like it, and that's fun to put round a corner.
I understand the major services are big things to check (and to do if there are no records - timing belt and others. Any specifics here?) Someone mentioned a while ago that the clutches tend to go at about 150k. And also that the tappet cover gaskets and distributor o-rings are common (and cheap) causes of oil leaks. I haven't found any other info on common problems (apart from references to the "standard FWD issues", which I take to be CV joints and other steering related stuff - suggestions welcome!). Are there common issues with brakes in these models? Or any other big things I haven't found? Do some of the paint colours tend to wear badly?
From what I've seen I think I should be able to get a reasonable BA11P3 on the road (RWC + other bits and pieces) for $6k. Am I in the right cricket ground there?
Thanks for your help. If you have any other advice or suggestions please let me know!