Another which car..

Dooom

Shall shortly be buying my first car. Only have about a €1000 to spend on the car itself, have insurance sorted out aswell.

Anywho, I'm just asking if any of the following cars have any horrible attributes that I should steer clear of, or if anyone has any experience in them. They're all abouts the 1.3/4 mark.
The one's I'm looking towards are:

Mitsubishi Colt, Lancer and Mirage (if I can find one, all 1.3's)
Nissan 100NX (I think I'm dreaming there though) and Pulsar
Opel Astra
Renault Clio
Citroen Xsara
Toyota Corolla
Rover 214
Peugeot 106 and 306

If I could find a carvan version of any of the above it'd be more the better. Apologies for thinking out loud, I've done a decent bit of research on the above cars, but I'm just looking to see what you folks' opinions' are.

mloc123

The only cars on that list you'll get for €1000 are:

-Astra
-Clio
-Rover

natnif

ok...french cars tend to have fairly dodgy electrics so if your looking at renault/peugeot/citroen make sure EVERYTHING works!
rover - depending on which model it is they can be ok.some of them had honda built engines...put the rover built engines pop head gaskets like they are sweets!
opel astra isn't a bad choice but the build quality wasn't as good as some others-check engine mounts!
100nx - don't know much about this car but will you get 1 for a grand?
corolla - bulletproof,uninspiring driving. if you want reliability buy it, if you want fun, look elsewhere!
colt - the early 90's ones were decet so you should be ok there....

I'm selling my cynos for €1500 if your interested?it's a 1.5 coupe...let me know if you want more details

pontovic

A car you get for €1000 might have a low initial cost but you could end up spending loads on it if any repairs need to be done. If I were you I would budget for slightly higher than that. You might feel the pinch initially but it will be worth it in th end. For €1000 you could buy an old Passat from 1993. Nice car, but you could find a fault with it that would cost more than the car itself is worth to repair.

cargrouch

In my experience, and I have engaged in a bit of bangernomics, corollas don't come down to 1000 until they are completely knackered. I think you might be better looking for a starlet.

Nissan sunny/pulsar would be a good bet from my experience. There's actually quite a lot of them from 93-95 floating around, a lot of them look in good condition. The only major cost with them is if the timing chain needs replacing - def more than the car would be worth. Just don't buy one with a worn chain and you should get enough miles off it to get your licence, build no-claims-bonus and save for a newer car.

Not a carvan, but there is a hatchback version. The 4 door version is more common though.

maidhc

You shouldn't foget the Ford escort!

The 1995 facelift version was a huge improvement over the previous few models. They are quite cheap now since they look a bit dated and if you scout around you should be able to pick up a bargain.

You will find a Corolla too if you wait long enough.

zoomdog

can only really talk about 100nxs here
if you are looking for one..prices in Ireland are well inflated ..
best bet is to consider importing from the uk
vrt is around 300 euro mark
ebay is probably your best bet for searching ..

faults with the car ..
well primary is as with any car of this age group .. the dreaded rust devil
rust mainly appears under the side skirts .. round the battery tray
also when checking the car have a look see under the rear turrets and also inside the carpet around the rear turrets..

hop onto 100nx.com and have a browse around and see for your self ..
have bought 2 myself in ireland and both are well below par for the prices I paid
my ole 92 carb was recently written off due to a rearender .. and currently drive a 94 injection .. mpg is running around the 44 mark at present on the inj where as the carb at best ran at 38 mpg

any questions feel free to mail me ..
best of luck in your search if you are still searching