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The $5,000 dilemma

18 July, 2017

If you’re anything like us here in the office, you’ll spend a good chunk of your time imagining what car you’d buy in any given scenario. The Powerball winners garage makes for a good afternoon of daydreaming. So does thinking about finding a daily that could be used on track days without blowing the insurance premiums out of the water.

But let’s start with a question for the ages, an old favourite: what would you buy with $5,000 cash? We put the $5k dilemma to a few of the team and here’s what they had to say:

Jaden Martin — Staff writer at NZ Performance Car

Subaru Legacy RS wagon (BF): There’s not a lot in the realm of 5k that still has an ounce of fun left in it without being thrashed beyond its usefulness. To be fair an RS wagon is probably no exception to this, but hey, they seem to soldier on like champs and still look cool as hell with a slight height adjustment and a properly suited set of wheels — plus who could resist giving it a squirt out on gravel back roads in the middle of nowhere?

Lachlan Jones — Staff writer at NZ Classic Car

Volvo 850R Wagon: Anyone remember the only wagon to ever compete in the BTCC in the 1990s? This is it. And now they’re as cheap as chips but still a blast. I love the box like dimensions that somehow enhance the styling. Quick, comfortable, practical and cool. 

Ashley Webb — Editor of NZ Classic Car

MG Midget: Why? Cause it’s the only bloody thing I can think of that costs $5k and a lot of fun at an affordable price.

Todd Wylie — Editor of NZV8

Ford Pinto wagon: Simply because I saw one for sale recently and thought it was just so ugly that it was awesome. The seller only wanted around $5k from memory, which was stupidly cool for what could be a great little daily driver.

Connal Grace — Assistant editor of NZV8

BMW 318i (E30): For the modest price of $5k, the world of second-rate used cars is your oyster, and after much deliberation, I’m choosing a BMW 318i (E30) with a manual transmission. I’ve always wanted to own an E30 BMW. They look good, drive well, and I really need to write something here before I change my mind. 

 

Honourable mentions:

Peugeot 309 GTI — The 205s less popular non-identical twin. The reality is that he’s just as good and a touch more practical. Sure to start spiking in value like the 205 soon enough.

Suzuki Samurai — Bugger all power and a propensity to cock a wheel at a sniff of wind or a 40 degree corner at over 25km/h but these things weigh less than a Labrador and go just about anywhere. Weekends of fun to be had.

Jeep Grand Cherokee — A good number of them are used by passionate 4×4 fans and adventurers who keep the maintenance up to date and fix issues as they arise. The bulletproof 4L engine appears to be a survivor as you keep looking after her. Proportions are just right and even the interior has aged well.

Toyota GT Starlet — A brilliant starting point for any budding car enthusiast. Small, economical, reliable and quick enough to put a smile on your dial.

The other Q car

12 August, 2026

Say the word ‘bond’ to anyone in the street and around 80 per cent straight away think of pop culture’s least-secret secret agent. The other 20 per cent may think of the wad of cash required to secure a flat or hire equipment that one gets back providing the fixtures and fittings stay much as they were.
However, mention ‘bond’ in specialist classic car circles and people will spin a very different yarn. If you dig deep enough, you will find an eccentric British carmaker that, throughout its 23 years in business, spawned some quirky and charming little cars.
The company was founded by Paul Sharp in 1922 under the name of Sharp’s Commercials Limited. However, the company did not start producing cars until 1948. The first car to carry the Bond name was the Bond Minicar. A three-wheeled, soft-top, two-cylinder eco car, the Minicar was a big hit at the time as the desire for an economical urban runabout that didn’t attract four-wheel car tax was strong in post-war Britain. All in all, 34,285 Minicars were produced over 26 years in a variety of variants.

Lunch with Bill Leckie: An Imp’s tale

6 August, 2026

Seeking limelight is part of Bill Leckie’s DNA, but when I asked him if anyone had written about his career and the cars he created, he didn’t think so. Even so, I was delighted when he agreed to sit down with me over a pie and coffee to reminisce. I started by asking how it is that someone who is so fanatical about F1 only ever raced saloon cars? Well, we’ll get to that, but where did things start? “I went to Cornwall Park Primary School and then to Remuera Intermediate where I became good mates with Geoff Perry, son of the legendary motorcycle racing legend Len.” Geoff Perry was 23 and on the edge of stardom when he was killed in a mystery air disaster over the Pacific in 1973. “We used to race around his backyard on a cutdown motorbike. It was friendly competition that I suppose helped hone our racing instincts. There was never much between us and so, by 11 or 12, I had a definite leaning towards speed.”