Faults:

My boot recently would not open, got this fixed and now works fine, just aging.

Blows smoke :-(

I have honestly had no other problems with this car! It's been really great:-)

General Comments:

This car has been awesome!! It's my first car and we got it from a car yard! Lucky my dad is a mechanic and he chose a cheap, reliable car.

The Magna sure is a goer!!!.. have had no problems and always starts first time! Never has broken down...

I have serviced it twice, because I want to keep it going as long as I can!

Does blow smoke a bit, which I'm not happy about. Not much I can do. Goes well though.

Faults:

The hood lining came down, but easily fixed with thumb tacks..

Interior drivers door handle cracked. $3 replacement from scrappers..

Fuel flap cable broke. $2 from scrapyard.

Apart from these very minor issues, with good regular servicing it has been a dream car to use as a run around.

General Comments:

Bought a year ago for $600 from the trading post. I knew it was a bargain as soon as I took it for a test drive.

Turning circle of a large truck.

I'm 6'2 and I'm extremely comfy in the drivers seat.

Very poor stereo, but easily upgraded..

Power steering, Air Con, Cruise control still working perfectly!

Quite thirsty for a four Cyl. But I'm an eight man, so it's still pretty cheap in comparison.

Thought it would only last 3 months with 240,000Ks on the clock. (and only paying $500, 11/2005)

One year later and 40,000Ks on, I'm shocked! I only replaced the rear brake pads ($25), fill it with fuel and change the oil periodically.

I had planned to buy a brand new car last year, but the magna refuses to die! So I'm waiting til it does.

Faults:

Right outer CV joint replaced twice.

Alternator replaced at 180000km.

Welch plug replaced at 180000 and 226000km.

Disc brake rotors warped, need machining.

Gum used to seal rear quarter windows has remained sticky and the kids love to touch it, putting black sticky patches over the window and upholstery.

Remote boot release cable snapped at 200000km.

Driver's internal door handle snapped at 210000km.

Clutch replaced at 150000km.

Paint is seriously fading, despite being kept in a carport.

General Comments:

In general, the car has been highly reliable, with only a few minor faults.

The car handles quite well, cruises along the highway with ease, doesn't use a great deal of fuel (7.5l/100km on the highway, 9 or 10 around town). The manual gearbox is smooth to shift and the clutch not too light, so that there is some good feel to the clutch.

The only real problem is that the standard stereo is appallingly bad. The speakers rattle and buzz at anything more than a whisper. A quick trip to the local car radio shop and a bit of fiddling to install new speakers soon sorted this out.

The twin headlights are like a stream of bat's piss- that is they stand out like a shaft of gold when all around is darkness-brilliant (Sorry about the Monty Python quote there!).

My wife and I recently bought a KIA Carnival (to transport our four kids around in) and have kept the Magna as MY car- no trade-in value to speak of. Current second-hand value of about $2500-$3000 makes it a very inexpensive well-built car. If the Magna could seat six in as much comfort as it seats five, I would definitely have bought a nearer-to-new one.