Cars

[Marcg868]

Basically new part time job calls for the use of a car i need to get one.

Got a budget of £1000 maximum.

So was thinking of the usual suspects

VW Polo 1.2 or 1.4
Vauxhall Corsa B
Ford Fiesta

Don't want a Saxo tho they are horrible. Or any other suggestions. Needs to be reliable and not bum rape for insurance. The above ones come in at £600 TPFT.
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JACK, MISS YOU LOADS YOU LEGEND.

[DEN MONKEY]

[Andy C]

Saxos are horrible but you wouldnt mind a Corsa ?!

I spent £1500 eariler this month of a peugeot 106. It was a showroom model (has lots of extras like PAS,, e. mirrors, C/locking, sunroof etc) and only had 38k on the clock (1 lady owner from new too!).

If your only spending £1k then a 106 could be a good bet IMO (though they are basically saxos, as I thought I wouldnt mind anything that wasnt a corsa as they are death ugly).
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99 RS125 --> 02 SV650s --> 03 Speed Four --> 92 RXS100 --> 93 CB400sf --> 01 CB600f Hornet

[Harold_Shand]

It doesn't matter what it is when it's a cheapie. Just get the lowest miles, best service history, newest, cleanest you possibly can that meets your needs and is within your budget.
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BCF's 6th favourite poster 2009-2010

Harold_Shand's theory might be the best explanation.

[KevTM]

^ a few weeks back i was looking for a cheap car under £800. I just looked for a good balance between the newest, low mileage, best condition, cheapest to run car. I ended up with a 2000 Mk2 Punto 1.2, 50k FSH (every 3k), 2 owners, immaculate inside and out! (seriously) £750.. not too bad...


Swapped that for a 2000 Honda Accord 1.8 though still in excellent condition and lowish mileage, just not as "showroom" as the Punto.

The Punto was great though, for a little car I was quite surprised how it drove. Problems with them though can be sticky starters, electric steering can go, no sure what else but you never really see a "bad" one on the road and I dare say parts will be plentiful anyway.

[MarJay]

[stinkwheel]

Something Japanese would seem to fit the bill on account of how they never wear out.

I'd go for a nissan micra if you just want a random car that won't give you any bother. For £1000 you'll pick one an older up with 30-40k miles on that's only ever been driven to the paper shop once a week at 45mph and has been washed and polished every sunday.

They are pretty much indestructable.

Proof
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Flip]

[hellkat]

My daughter is selling her Corsa for around about that amount, if you are interested.

Its a nice little car, nothing wrong with it ... but she's been offered to buy a Beemer at a decent price, so obviously she's looking to shift the Corsa before she can pick the Beemer up, LOL

Anyway, blah blah
See my post in the Stuff for Sale section.
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Not nearly as interesting in real life.

[Harold_Shand]

The wifes micra has done 70,000 it was brand new when she bought it 2002 for a little over £5,000. It's needed pads, discs, a couple of bulbs, tyres and a stone rinsed the radiator. If I could only manage to get over the fact that it's a Micra...

Saying that, the 1.6 sport version was infront of me sometime ago and made mincemeat of a tasty bend and then left my 1.8 mazda 323 behind
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BCF's 6th favourite poster 2009-2010

Harold_Shand's theory might be the best explanation.

[ms51ves3]

[Poseidon]

3 years ago I picked up a 1.8 dieseasel Fiesta on a T plate ('99 i believe) with 70,000 miles on the clock, 2 owners, good condition, PAS, CD for £600 from an auction (bawtry to be precise). had it for 2 years and sold it for £800! It was dirt cheap to run, cheap to insure and after spending £15 on new gloplugs it never let us down!

If you know what your looking at auctions are a goldmine! (oh and corsas are shit!)
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1977 Honda CG125
2002 Ducati Monster S4 (currently restoring)

[Kickstart]

[crazymotorbik...]

Hey,

I agree with everyone, do not get a Corsa. I bought one and within an hour i knew i hated the car and had to get rid of it (Yes i did have a test drive)

Next year im trading it in for a Fiat Siecento?sp?. Cheap, cheerful, economical and relaible. For 1k you can get yourself a nice model.

Depends if you mind image though personally I don't give a crap what anyone thinks about what i drive. I had the Cinquitenio ?sp? before and it was the best thing i've ever driven. So much fun and cost so little to run. I do miss that car

Cheers,
Shaun R.

[ms51ves3]

[Poseidon]

[Kickstart]

Hi

The Arosa isn't related with the Seicento.

Seicentos cost peanuts to insure. The basic Seicento SX is group 1 insurance while the Sporting is only group 3. The basic Arosa is group 2.

My sister had a Seicento sporting (now traded in with the scrappage scheme and probably cube shaped). Decent enough on petrol, small and light. Biggest problem was that it ate clutch cables (they are a doddle to change and dirt cheap from Fiat, cheaper than the local motor factors). It is a known issue. Problem with this one (which isn't uncommon) is that the clutch thrust bearing wears groves in the clutch, so as you press the clutch is has to move out of the grove. Makes the clutch heavier and results in the cables going. New clutch fixes it (and they are cheap new).

Only other real problem was the habit of the handbrake mechanism to stick, making the handbrake heavy. Easy enough to free off.

Neither of these are likely to leave you stranded. Clutch cable can be changed at the side of the road if you really want to, although it snapped when my father was driving it and he just stopped the engine as he came to a halt and moved off using the starter motor and did clutchless changes.

All the best

Keith
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[Poseidon]

I bow down to your excellence and stand corrected oh great one!

Did a bit of research and it seems the arosa is closer to the Lupo. Also found something quite comical on Parkers:

[AngelGrinder]

Why does everyone automatically assume the small hot hatches are the cheapest? They are normally more expensive in my experience than something slightly better, insurance is also no difference - you can thank the chavs for ruining your little hot hatches insurance deals!

My dad just picked up a 99 plate Vauxhall Frontera Sport, 2.2 petrol engine, 60,000 miles on the clock... £1025

I drive a 98 1.8 petrol astra, that's worth about £800.

My point is - don't just limit yourself to the usual suspects...you could actually get alot more car for your money!
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Currently Riding - 2002 Aprilia RSV1000 Mille

[Misc]

If i was going to spend £1,000 on a car, it'd definitely be a 96-01 VW Passat. They look good, fairly modern, very modern for £1,000 & i hear nothing but good things about them.

I'd avoid a VW Polo if you're tall, the chair doesn't go back far enough.

[mooserx]

[Kickstart]

[Poseidon]

[Cigaro]

One thing to watch out for with Micras is that according to my mechanic friend certain years of Almeras and Micras suffer from a problem with the cam chain, and when it needs replacing it's an engine-out job.

Just FYI

[Robby]

As others have said, get anything cheap that you can insure, although avoid Rovers for obvious reasons. You may well find a big saloon is cheaper to insure than a small hatchback.

Escorts are a good bet. I don't know how you are with spanners, but I prefer to buy a car for 300 quid and spend 300 more doing everything to it. That way you know there's nothing wrong with it.

Remember that pre-2001 cars under 1.55L are about 60 quid a year cheaper to tax.