Holden Barina run outs are selling for $13,000 ORC until the end of August (available at $1K less than the advertised price of $14K)
Holden Australia - latest offers and information on new and used Holden cars

This seems like exceptionally good value for a new car, so I'm giving it some thought.

I currently own a 1990 Mazda 121 that I purchased outright for $4,000 a few years ago. Apart from a new set of tires earlier this year, it's been mechanically reliable and probably costs around $4,000 a year to keep (including petrol, insurance, registration and repairs). The Barina would cost around $7,350 a year to run (including car repayments of $73 a week, insurance, registration, petrol, and servicing). If it were packaged as a company car, it should only cost me an extra $65 a fortnight. The benefits of buying a new car would be that I could get one that is white that would feel a lot safer than the dark blue car I currently own, and I would feel a lot more confident about its reliability.

Being extremely conservative when it comes to spending money like this, I would appreciate any advice that can be offered on whether my calculations seem about right, and if in fact the Barina is a decent car and good value at $13,000.

A basic Subaru Impreza is beginning to sound more appealing with much better safety and performance ratings... plus they're a nice looking car. If 2007 models become available at around $20k in a few weeks time, I might go that way instead... so please disregard my earlier post :)

Or there's this 2006 model Impreza that if I could get down to $15k would be great and young enough to lease... okay, I'm going to stop now :)

2006 Subaru Impreza I, GX. - AutoWeb Used Cars