My 9-5 job provides me with a new car every 3 or so years, and just before Christmas my boss mentioned to me that when I get back from my long service leave in February I can sort out my new car… Oh yeh!!

I’ve been looking around for the last couple of months in an effort to check out what’s in the market, and more importantly, what’s within my price range which is around $40,000.00 Australian dollars.

My shortlist is a mixed one so far, I’m a big fan of the following vehicles;

• Dodge Nitro – Diesel
• Jeep Wrangler 4 door – Diesel
• VW Golf GT – Petrol
• Subaru Forester XS – Petrol

All 4 vehicles have enough space for me, though the Golf is a little on the small size, they’re all reasonably good with their fuel economy and they’re all within the range of my budget.

Now here’s where all of you can help me. If you own any of the above vehicles let me know what they drive like, what their service costs are like, whether you’ve had any problems with them, etc. Leave a comment and let me know about your experiences..

If I’ve missed any vehicles that you think I should be considering then leave a message and let me know as well, I’d be interested in hearing anyone and everyone’s thoughts on the whole new car purchasing thing.

Cheers and Thanks!