u/That_Car_Dude_Aus

Every single week on this subreddit, like clockwork, someone posts the exact same question: "I just got my P-plates and have three grand to spend, what is the best first car I can buy?"

So flagging as a P plater question despite the fact that I was off P plates... Jesus...20 years ago now...

Every single week, the comment section turns into an unhinged debate.

You have people recommending clapped-out Falcons with peeling clear coat, backyard drifters suggesting blown-diff Commodores, and that one lunatic telling an eighteen-year-old to buy a twenty-year-old twin-turbo German wagon because "it only needs a minor service"

It is time to settle this debate once and for all.

Pin this to the top of the board, lock the thread, and delete every future recommendation post: the 1997 to 2002 XV20 Toyota Camry should be at the very top of your list.

It is the greatest, most reliable, and objectively best first car you can buy in Australia. End of discussion.

Let us look at the purchase price reality:

The secondhand market is filled with sellers asking four thousand dollars for an AU or BA Falcon that has spent five years bouncing off the rev limiter in an industrial estate, or someone wants three and a half grand for a VT Commodore with a slipping gearbox and roof lining held up with rusty staples.

And none of the commodores will have a fuel cap, either cos they fell off or Dazza needed fuel for his Falcon to get to work...

Meanwhile, you can hop online and buy an XV20 Camry for under two grand.

Better yet, you are not buying it from a bloke who thrashed it; you are buying it from a retired couple named Keith and Margaret who bought it brand new in 1999.

It will come with woollen seat covers, a knitted tissue box on the rear parcel shelf, and a service logbook stamped with religious precision every six months since the Howard government.

You are not just buying cheap transport; you are adopting a family heirloom of bulletproof Altona manufacturing.

Then we come to reliability, where the Camry completely embarrasses everything else in its price bracket.

Most XV20s are fitted with the 2.2-litre 5S-FE four-cylinder engine, pushing out a modest 97 kW of pure, unfiltered apathy.

It does not care about you, it does not care about how you drive, and it certainly does not care if you forget to check the dipstick for eight months.

Compare that to the other cars people keep suggesting on this subreddit.

A Subaru Liberty in this price range will turn its head gaskets into mayonnaise the second you get stuck in highway traffic.

An early Commodore with an Ecotec V6 will eat crank angle sensors, leak power steering fluid across your parents' driveway, and blow its plastic intake gaskets.

A Holden Astra or MK4 Volkswagen Golf will brick its delicate ECU because the ambient humidity changed slightly on a rainy Tuesday.

The XV20 Camry laughs at all of them.

The 5S-FE is a non-interference engine, which means even if you completely neglect the timing belt until it snaps at 100 km/h, the valves do not smash into the pistons.

You simply roll to the side of the road, install a cheap fifty-dollar belt with basic hand tools, and keep driving for another decade.

You could drain half the oil, replace the coolant with tap water, and it will still fire up on the very first crank every single morning.

Maintenance liability is practically zero.

There is nothing complicated enough on an XV20 to fail.

No fragile CAN bus electronic modules, no expensive sensors that require specialist diagnostic software, and no fragile turbochargers waiting to explode.

The four-speed automatic transmission shifts with the calm, steady pace of a lawn bowler, and it will keep doing so until the sun burns out.

If you somehow manage to break something, every auto wreckers from Darwin to Hobart has forty of these cars sitting in the yard.

Replacement parts cost loose change and can be bolted on in twenty minutes using a basic socket set and an adjustable spanner.

Yes, you will have zero street credibility.

You will not get a nod from the car enthusiasts at the lights.

You will look like an apprentice accountant driving to a tax seminar and be loved by the guys over on r/AusFinance, and your mates in their lowered sedans might poke fun at the plush velour seats.

But while they are standing on the gravel shoulder in the rain waiting two hours for a tilt tray, you will cruise past in ice-cold air conditioning, listening to music through a cassette adapter, with your savings account completely intact.

Stop asking what car to buy. Go buy an XV20 Camry.

So on top of the Friday Finds topic that has been a pretty decent success, on what cars in your area you can find for <$5,000, I thought maybe we make a post each Monday with what we have done to our own cars!

So, how was your weekend?

For me it would be pronouncing Polestar like Molester...as in someone that touches children...

It was funny at the time, but oh god was it bad as the guy was in customer service and the customer wasn't happy.

Doesn't help that our system shortens makes to POLSTR, so I can sort of see how he mentally got there...but still...

What is the best quirk or feature you've found on a car? Or even on multiple cars.

Like for me, finding out that most SUV's with electric tailgates, holding down the tailgate button from the drivers seat will close it (the one on the door/console, not on the remote)

And with a scan tool, most VAG cars since 2016 have adaptive high beams.

If you hold down the unlock button on the keyless remote as you approach the vehicle, it will roll down every window and open the sunroof to vent out hot air. Holding the lock button rolls them all back up. Just like the adaptive high beams, if this is not active by default, it is another feature that can frequently be unlocked in the system settings or with a scan tool.

If you turn off the ignition and leave the indicator stalk clicked into either the left or right turn position, the car will leave the front and rear parking lights illuminated only on that specific side. It is a brilliant safety feature designed to keep the vehicle visible when parked on narrow, dark streets without draining the battery as quickly as leaving the full headlights on.

It is a fantastic surprise to open the fuel filler door and find a factory-supplied ice scraper neatly clipped inside, or to find a full-size umbrella tucked into a hidden, self-draining slot inside the front door panel. These are highly practical Easter eggs built right into the bodywork on vehicles from budget Skodas to high end Rolls-Royces.

On almost every modern dashboard, there is a tiny triangle or arrow right next to the fuel pump icon. This arrow points to the side of the car where the fuel door is located. It is incredibly helpful when driving a rental car or a borrowed vehicle.

When you unclip the sun visor to swing it over to the side window, it often leaves a gap where the sun still hits your eyes. On many vehicles, you can grab the visor and slide it backward along its mounting bar to cover that gap completely.

Many manufacturers route a small air conditioning vent directly into the glove compartment or the center console storage bin. There is usually a small plastic dial inside that you can twist to open the vent, turning the compartment into a cooler for your drinks on a hot day.

Those are just some small weird quirks or features I've found on cars over the years.

What have others found?

Alright legends, it’s Tuesday. The weekend’s grease is still under your fingernails and that mystery rattle you ignored on the drive to work isn't going to fix itself.

Welcome to the Tuesday Tune-Up! Whether you’re a driveway mechanic with a basic socket set or a pro with a hoist, this is the place to talk shop.

Diagnostic Help: Post a video (anonymous please, not your doxxing YouTube channel that tells us who you are, try IMGUR) or a photo of your spark plugs. Let the sub tell you if it’s "sweet as" or "ready to grenade."

Service Wins: Show off a fresh oil change, a successful brake bleed, or the cabin filter you haven't changed since the Rudd administration.

Tool Talk: Did you finally buy that Milwaukee impact wrench? Or did you find a $20 SCA tool that actually works?

The "How-To" Corner: Ask for advice on specific Aussie models.

If you're asking for help, try to include the basics so we can actually help:

1. Year/Make/Model
2. Kms on the clock
3. The symptoms (Is it a squeak, a clunk, or a "bang" followed by smoke?)

Remember: We’re all here to keep our rigs on the road and out of the scrapyard. Be helpful, don't be a peanut, and let’s get these cars sorted.