What small car to buy?

rainglow

Hi all,

I'm planning on buying a small car in the next couple of months, and since I don't know very much about them I was hoping for some advice/ answers to questions. I'll be trading in a 00 Punto, 5 door, 1.1 litre engine with just under 19,000 miles.

1. What's a good, fuel efficient small car that still has good boot/ backseat space? I can only afford to add 4 or 5 grand to what my car will trade in for (including an increase in insurance)

A lot of small cars seems to be v expensive (VW's, mini's, beetles) and I heard that French cars (Citroen, Peugoet) are rubbish. Any truth in this, and what's left?!?

I can probably whittle the list down a bit by starting off by saying that I don't like Nissan Micras and Peugoets at all, particularly the 206s.

2. How much can I expect my car to trade in for?

3. What age car should I be trading in for - my mom thinks max 3 years old, preferably 2


Thanks in advance for any advice!

P.S. I searched for a similar thread but the only one dated from 2002 - if there is a similar one I'm sorry

LundiMardi

what's your reason for selling? Trading a relatively new small car for another small car seems a bit pointless. Is the Punto giving problems or are you just looking for a change..

What are you looking for in a replacement besides room.

colm_mcm

the Punto you have will be 1.2 litre (1242cc) I'm presuming it's a base model. you should get around €3,500 - €4,000 as a trade in. that will give you €8,500 - €9,000 to play with.

I'd reccomend a Hyundai Getz. very reliable, highly equipped, and cheap.

Be warned: Everyone has their favourite small car. and any claims that a particular car is bad will be met by a "well i've had mine for 20 years and its never given me any trouble" type response.

This is a generalisation, but european cars are less reliable than Japanese ones. and people who say that french cars are rubbish have a point, but on the other hand, they are usually spacious and well equipped. check out reliability and customer satisfaction surveys for a more independant view.

junkyard

If you need a car with boot space you might consider stepping up to a larger class of car. A lot of the small cars don't have much boot space. I would say your cutting it fine on your budget for the car your looking for. Your Punto, even with a low mileage is worth no more than 3 to 3.5k euros. The market is flooded with secondhand Puntos so values are poor. If you were happy with your Fiat why not consider another Fiat? To move to a Japanese make will cost a bit especially if you want a 2 or 3 year old car. I wouldn't recommend a Citroen or a Peugeot either or an Opel either for that matter. Even though you don't like the Nissan they are reliable. There are some other cars worth considering namely KIA or Hyundai, they're relatively new to the Irish market but they represent excellent value for money and are very reliable. I delivered a new KIA Rio last week to a customer and its almost as good as a Toyota Corolla for about 8k euros cheaper. Good luck with your choice anyway.

rainglow

Basically it's a combination of the car being jinxed, me wanting a change, and my parents offering to help me out with an upgrade now that it's 6 years old.

The car is just jinxed - I inherited it from my Grandad when he died and he either drove at 50mph in second gear or 20mph in 5th gear. The gearbox is a little dodgy....sticks a bit sometimes when putting it into first and occassionally into third, and grinds when being put into reverse. But it's just bad luck really; lots of flat tires, the alarm I got put on kept draining the battery if the car went undriven for longer than a week so I had to take it off, and most recently lime leached from my underground car park ceiling onto it. It was removeable without causing permanent damage thankfully. I also feel like the car is so little that the engine strains at 60-70mph when on motorways and I don't feel very safe in it.

I heard about French cars being dodgy on Top Gear I think. You're right in saying that everyone has a favourite small car but I think it was a UK survey...come to think of that maybe they're just biased against the French

That sucks that it has such a crap resale value even with under 20,000 miles

LundiMardi

why do you need a small car? What's your insurance like? Maybe think of upgrading to a 1.6 saloon or something? Or even trading in for a new punto? I know people have a bad opinion of puntos, but they're grand once you take care of them really.

colm_mcm

I'd say with the mileage it'd have to be worth over €3500 anyway. the Hyundai Getz or Kia Piccanto would be two good choices, they're both reliable, honest cars. and their second hand values are quite low. Used KIa Rios will be old models, and while being cheap they're really shabby and nowhere as good as the 2005 model.

rainglow

Well I was going for a small car because I'm concerned about fuel efficiency (from a monetary and environmental point of view), and because with having so little money to put towards it I couldn't afford a decent bigger car. Plus it's not like I have kids or do a huge amount of driving.

I don't need a HUGE amount of space; just as much as the Punto has. I see so many cars that I could barely fit a big ole suitcase in if I was going to the airport, moving apartment etc.

I guess I was hoping that I could get something nicer than the Punto if I traded in, but maybe I'm better off just hanging onto it and using it until it drops dead on me in ten years time! I guess I just wanted a new car because my parents offered me the opportunity - thanks for all the advice guys

Boo....I wanted a foxy little convertible

zod

can't go wrong with a yaris .. boot is small untill you fold the back seats down

leeroybrown

I wouldn't necessarily discount a slightly larger class of car on the basis of fuel economy. A slightly larger car with a slightly larger engine could deliver very similar fuel economy and be a lot less strained at motorway speeds.

bazz26

My first choice would be the Ford Fiesta 1.25 litre. They are a solid car, very nippy and are relatively roomie for the size car they are. They are quite good to drive too.

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=316529

Might be a struggle though to find one with your budget but you never know.

Also as already mentioned the Hyundai Getz. They are 1.1 and represent excellent value and are very well equipped.

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=299679

You would probably get a better trade-in allowance for the Hyundai than the Ford as the Getz doesn't seem to have the same image as the Fiesta.

colm_mcm

agreed. the Fiesta drives well, the 1.25 wngine is super-sweet and parts and servicing are cheap. Finding a good cheap new model Fiesta isn't easy though and equipment levels on the LX model aren't great

Ginger83

The Colt in my opinion wouldn't be a bad choice. 1.3L, light so fuel shouldn't be to much of a concern and very reliable from what I know from friends who have them. They should not be too hard to come by but I think the insurance companies are a little hard on them depending on your age. Best of luck with it

colm_mcm

The same Colt that was launched in 1995 (or five years before the guys current Punto was)?

pontovic

Here are some suggestions

Don't restrict yourself to a small engined car because of concerns over fuel efficiency. Yuo won't be spending that much more on petrol if upgrading your engine size. Think about it, a small engine has to struggle more to get upto speed and thus may use more fuel. A bigger engine has to do less work.

Some cars::

Volkswagen polo, especially one built after the year 2000. They have many improvements built into them over their older counterparts, such as power steering.

Toyota yaris. Spacious and nippy and cheap to insure

Seat ibiza, same as polo,

VW polo saloon, 1.4l engine cheap to tax and insure.

Seat Cordoba, same as vw polo saloon.

colm_mcm

pontovic wrote:

Here are some suggestions


VW polo saloon, 1.4l engine cheap to tax and insure.

Seat Cordoba, same as vw polo saloon.

jesus! they're terrible cars! he'd be better ofdf with the Punto!

Ginger83

To be honest I would suggest you have a look at a slightly larger car. A small car would not stand a chance in an accident. You see what happens them in a crash, they crumble like a tin can. On the other hand you might feel a lot safer in something that would absorb a bit of an impact

Big Balls

LundiMardi wrote:

what's your reason for selling? Trading a relatively new small car

6 years? New? Right.

colm_mcm

Ginger83 wrote:

To be honest I would suggest you have a look at a slightly larger car. A small car would not stand a chance in an accident. You see what happens them in a crash, they crumble like a tin can. On the other hand you might feel a lot safer in something that would absorb a bit of an impact

You suggested a Colt a while ago, a car with two airbags if you're lucky! and very poor side impact protection.

most small cars in his price range will have better safety features than bigger, older cars.

bennyx_o

Get a Smart car. Small, fun, and cheap to run. €16 for a full tank of petrol.

colm_mcm

could you tell me where you can get 33 litres of petrol for €16?

Supercell

More importantly where can you get your credibility back when your mates see you in one of them?!!, unless you're a girl, I suppose they think they are "cute" cars.

colm_mcm

Longfield wrote:

More importantly where can you get your credibility back when your mates see you in one of them?!!, unless you're a girl, I suppose they think they are "cute" cars.

and more than a little over-priced!