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Old 11-03-2013, 08:11 PM   #1
BrownDog
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Which One? BA Astina Hatch or Hardtop?

Oooookay, so i finally landed an Electrical Apprenticeship [wooo fricken hooo] and i wannna sell the Astina i have and buy a bettter one, which one is better the hardtop of the hatch?

pros/cons of each?

thanx guys
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Old 11-03-2013, 09:30 PM   #2
marcs_sp20
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It'd be great if we had photos & info of these said cars...
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Old 11-03-2013, 09:33 PM   #3
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i think you have misunderstood me lol, i meant out of other people experiences, havent actually started looking yet
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Old 11-03-2013, 09:50 PM   #4
marcs_sp20
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I think you misunderstood putting the thread in the wrong section

Moved for ya, which model Astina, im guessing BA??
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Old 11-03-2013, 09:52 PM   #5
BrownDog
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whoopsi, my bad, thanx for that.

yeah the BA
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Old 11-03-2013, 10:13 PM   #6
ross
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BD, if stylish is your aim, then hardtop must be your game
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Old 11-03-2013, 10:39 PM   #7
Rupewrecht
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If you want to mod the look of it, Hatch - as there's more stuff available for it.

Otherwise they're pretty equal really. The Hardtops are ~20kg lighter. Hatch has a more usable boot, as the Hardtop has a narrower boot opening.

It really comes down to which you prefer the look of.
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Old 11-03-2013, 10:45 PM   #8
Mad Mat
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rupewrecht View Post
The Hardtops are ~20kg lighter.
YER baby HardTop FTW
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Old 11-03-2013, 10:54 PM   #9
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love my hatch WAY more than the hardtop. however with the front mat has, the HT looks great. whatever it is, as long as it's white :P

tbh though, why not upgrade to something newer?
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Old 11-03-2013, 11:10 PM   #10
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tbh though, why not upgrade to something newer?[/QUOTE]


BLASPHEMY!!!

The time to mod a ba is now. For years all ive heard from wreckers is "they're a good little car dont break down much" and its been fairly hard to locate parts cheaply for this reason.
Getting to be 15 years old now they are starting to turn up at wreckers in droves.
Going newer than jan 97 means airbags and all that other crap they load cars down with now.
Its a good car model to pick if your'e a young bloke on an apprentices' wage and want to get something cheap on the road.

Relatively unique but well supported thanks to those mx5 nuts, its easier to get ripped if you were searching for say early rexy parts or god forbid a silvia (if you could find a virgin one)

In reality most astinas have led comfortable low k churchy lives and now with a market value of around 4k are ripe for the picking for modest wage modders.
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Old 15-07-2013, 10:14 PM   #11
Exodus323
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Ahhhhh..... Hatch!! Be cool .. Mmhmmm
Sorry rupe
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Old 16-07-2013, 01:12 AM   #12
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Well I'll be the old man here and say. Why jump off a cliff if you can't see where your going to land.

Reason I say is what's so wrong with your current Astina ?

I've been looking at a mix of 2nd hand and Auctioned runners (cars coming from dealers to trade and Fleet cars ) 90% of the trades go to wreakers including many Ba's as noted and Many others even just 10 year old are turning up because they aren't clean and nobody wants them.

But okay you have your apprenticeship. Maybe just settle first. before you go off unless your BA is a total waste.

(wise old man off)

As for hardtop or hatch. I think they are both little **** box shopping trolleys. Built for short little Asians. the only person who could reverse park the dam thing with out needing to take off seatbelt, was my mother and half brother. All the white people in my family hit there head on the A-pillar and we aren't tall.
Of course the reason we bought it and not a hatch at the time and even when they were new. was because my mother didn't like the HIGH rear bum it cuts visibility.
Of course as Noted the boot on HT - hard to get golf clubs in. it's Weird my Mx-6 has similar design except because it's more square it's not a problem. My issue with the hatch is High Lift load. So if you are using it on job sites- if that's your type of apprentice job you do. - site to site and need to use your car the BA hard top will be better but well actually Toaster mechanics only need a multimeter and a few pliers and junk. They always borrow the man tools from real Fitters and the rest. So not a real issue. but I know you can't fit a decent sized Tool box into a hardtop boot it's got no height. Same goes for carrying bags to the airport etc.
this is where hatch wins- you can lay it all flat and sleep in it when on a long trip to find a runaway teenager looking for her biological father. You can do MORE in the back of the hatch I think, then in the hardtop. But neither is great if both people are say 5-10 in height.

And yes S3 has black interior nicer, but I think the S1-2 has better quality fabrics and some vinals have better feel.


Yeah I like the Hardtop I had. Liked not loved. I'll never own another one because IMO better cars but, as they say Eye of the beholder. Which is you?
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Old 16-07-2013, 07:33 AM   #13
project.r.racing
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Hatch or hardtop. No real difference other than boot and outer sheel cosmetics.

Hatch seems to be more common, so easier to get hatch specific parts.

I'd tend to agree with some of the earlier comments about age of the cars. Buying a newer car would be a smart idea. but there are a few older gems out there.
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Old 16-07-2013, 04:01 PM   #14
Clean_Cookie
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for 3k you can have a hatch which will is simply awesome in the hills... but in saying that adding coilovers, bracing, rear sway bar, semi slicks and a decent driver behind the wheel in any 90s hatch would probably handle just as well - if not better (thinking an EG civic etc). waiting for the bikers to go around the corner really pisses them off haha.

or buy mine when I get my project done.
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