Car for €2,500? Suggestions/opinions

byte

I'm currently on the search for a small car in the region of €2000 and €2700. I would be looking for a car around 1200cc due to cost of insurance & tax. What make/model would be the best to go for?

I am shortlisting to the following:
VW Polo
VW Golf (afaik smallest engine is 1.4)
Opel Corsa
Skoda Felicia
Citroen Saxo
Renault Clio

Which would be the best to look out for? Is there any I should avoid? I don't want a Fiesta nor a Fiat.

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Will be my first car!

mike65

byte I dont suppose you're in the sunny South-East by any chance? I have a 1996 Opel Corsa 1.2 going for your sort of money...avoid the Fiat Punto. Oh yeah its a solid car, no frills of any sort but very reliable and cheap to run which is what you need.

Mike.

byte

Hi Mike65, I'm sadly not in the South East. Opposite end of the country even! Pity!

I'm indeed looking for someting between 1.0L and 1.4L. I would like a Golf but as the smallest is 1.4L, the insurance would be even more expensive, so I may settle for Polo, unless anyone has reasons for me not to settle for Volkswagen?

I intend to get a car that's already NCT'd and I'm wondering if buying from a dealer would be better than private seller

Too much to think about..

Redshift

Go for the Golf if you can but the Corsa is fairly Bulletproof once it's been looked after.

mike65

Oh well!

As for private v dealer on a car for that money your proberly not going to get much of a guarentee if any, the other hand buying your first car from a private seller is riskier. You'll need some helpful soul who can stop you having your head turned by a nice paint job and some alloys! I guess for the money you talking mid 90s so a VW Golf will be overweight and underpowered with 1.4 (a notoriously car). The Polo will not be the nice current model but the smaller one, but thats okay if you're keeping the engine size as small as poss.

http://www.parkers.co.uk/choosing/car_reviews/main_review.asp?model_id=450

http://www.parkers.co.uk/choosing/car_reviews/main_review.asp?model_id=356

Mike.

byte

Thanks for the replies. I have heard that the 1.4L Golf was sluggish alright. Those are handy reviews mike65. Thanks for the link. I notice that the Polo seems a good buy but the Saxo is unreliable so that's it out. I want a reliable car.

So that probably brings my shortlist to Corsa, Felicia, Polo, Clio.

ToxicPaddy

Id go for the Corsa or Polo, both very reliable cars, the parts for the Corsa will be cheaper..

There is one car you are forgetting and its a great little car, the Fiesta, anyone who has owned one from 1990 - 1996 will tell you they are fantastic little cars, run on a sniff of petrol and you can get parts, both new and second hand very cheaply..

They were one of the biggest selling cars around europe and in Ireland for that period of time and there should be 1000's on the market at the moment..

You could probably get one up to about 1996 with reasonable mileage for up to about €2500..

If your not keen on the Fiesta, Id say the corsa is your best bet as VW parts are expensive..

Tourist

Corsa as polo will come with mad mileage at this sort of price, maybe solid car but parts are hard to get

padraigmyers

If I was you I would go for a '94 or '95 Corolla hatchback,
they are a nice-looking car,
roomier than anything else on the list,
nippy 1.3 engine,
should be able to sell it for only a little less than you bought it for in a years time,
there are loads out there so 2nd hand parts should not be a problem,
its a Toyota so it'll be well-built and reliability won't be a problem.

I drove one of these (a '95 one) for a year as my first car, and it was perfect, sold it
for only €700 less a year later, never had a problem with it, highly recommended.

My mother now drives one as well (same model), and she had no problems with it
either, my brother, who is a mechanic, drives the 20valve version (which is one very
fast car) and he has never regretted that purchase.

Just one thats definetly worth considering, and you should be able to find one for that
sort of mnoey in pretty good condition.

nellieswellies

I drive a 96 carolla HB and have never had a day of trouble with it its got 80k on it and its still solid as a rock, I fully intend to drive this car until the day it dies (or fails NCT on a catastrophic level).
Im hopefull that I'll get another 80K out of it with regular servicing and not much else.
On another note I was in a Diesel Carolla taxi it had 380k kilometres on it.

byte

Well I'll be going to look at a 1996 Polo tomorrow. Its a 1L White 3 door with new shocks, tyres, brakes and just after coming out of NCT passed. There is 64k on the clock. They're selling for €2800 but it's negotiable. I'd expect to get it for €2600 if I were to buy.

Is this a good price for a Polo? It's certainly the cheapest I've seen and I've browsed through quite a few now!

I've still to look at Felicias and stuff, and have to visit the local car dealers.

I am not considering Fiesta's as I hate them!

DMC

byte, if you are just starting out driving on your own, then you cant go wrong with a Corsa. Tis what I did

byte

Yeah, I realise Corsa is good car and parts are easy got, but where I live, they're too common, and I want to be a bit different if possible. Though if I come across a Corsa at the right price, I'd go for it!

Speaking of Corsa: The Grundig stereo uses a seperate LCD panel on the dash. If I were to change the stereo (coz they're crap) does the LCD on the dash continue to show date and time, or will it show nothing?

sci0x

Click here for Car Buyers Guide

byte

Thanks for the link. I'll take a look at that site now...

Chimaera

byte: what have you got against the Fiesta? For the kind of money you're spending, they're an ideal choice: lots of them around, so you've a good choice; cheap to run (1.3 should give 40mpg no bother, parts and servicing are cheap too once you stay away from main dealers); insurance will be low too. They are also very reliable.

Post 96 ones had the handling sorted too by the same guy who did the Mondeo and Focus.

I've heard a lot of bad stories about Corsa reliability, and would be very slow to go near one. Polo is a decent car, but expensive to buy and run by comparison with the Fiesta or Corsa.

As was suggested already, it would be no harm to take a look at a mid 90's Corolla - they'd be in that price range. Very reliable and cheap to run. Will take interstellar mileages too.

I'm likley to be shopping myself too in the near future, though going to stay under €2000. My shopping list is: Honda Civic 1.4, Toyota Corolla 1.3, Nissan Sunny 1.4, or an outside bet on an Audi 80 1.6TDi. Insurance will be a deciding factor for me too though, which will probably rule out the Audi unless the diesel economy can make up the difference.

John R

Originally posted by byte
Yeah, I realise Corsa is good car and parts are easy got, but where I live, they're too common, and I want to be a bit different if possible. Though if I come across a Corsa at the right price, I'd go for it!

Speaking of Corsa: The Grundig stereo uses a seperate LCD panel on the dash. If I were to change the stereo (coz they're crap) does the LCD on the dash continue to show date and time, or will it show nothing?

The clock should still work. Changing stereos on those cars is a bugger though, the whole thing is custom fit. BTW the continuous power and ignition power wires are switched on opels.

Corega

Originally posted by byte
I'm currently on the search for a small car in the region of €2000 and €2700. I would be looking for a car around 1200cc...

A Robin Reliant or a Lada. Luxury at it's foremost.

Sparks

In the same boat myself byte, and the choices seem to come down to a Renault Megane, a Fiesta, or a Skoda. (Don't dismiss skodas, they're pretty much all VW parts with a funny badge now).

mike65

Originally posted by Chimaera
byte: what have you got against the Fiesta? For the kind of money you're spending, they're an ideal choice: lots of them around, so you've a good choice; cheap to run (1.3 should give 40mpg no bother, parts and servicing are cheap too once you stay away from main dealers); insurance will be low too. They are also very reliable.


I've heard a lot of bad stories about Corsa reliability, and would be very slow to go near one.

Not to get into a Ford v GM debate but in my experince the Corsa has a much better driving position, my sister owned a few Fiestas
and the off-set of the pedals and steering wheel was pronounced,
maybe its something you get used to but the Corsa by comparison is very straight, easy to live with.

My '96 example never missed a beat the only time I lifted the bonnet was the check the oil and water. V reliable.

Mike.

byte

Well just to finalise, I finally got my car! I bought a 95D 1.2L Opel Corsa (white which will be hard to keep clean). It was by far the best car I had seen out of approx 25 cars. It has 62k on the clock which isn't too bad for car its age. It is NCT'd until June '05 and taxed until end of December. The asking price was €2500, but I bid him down to €2100 and with the money I saved I bought a Pioneer DEH-P7500MP head unit, which is very nice!

mike65

byte, you got yourself a good deal there....25 cars!!!!!? I'd not have the patience.

Mike.

DMC

Nice one! Happy motoring!:D

byte

Thanks guys!

mike65, I didn't have the patience to be honest! Only for I'd a guy with me to look at cars who really likes doing that! He is mechanically minded and I had him check out the cars to see if they were OK.

I had my eyes on a 98 Ibiza 1.4L but sadly, the oil cap had white scum on it, meaning the oil and water was mixing. Plus it was in a smash before it was spruced up again (which the garage person tried to deny).

Anyway, I hope it gives me no bother!;)