What would you get for approx 1k?

Pythia

I'm thinking of maybe getting a car in a few months.
I'd probably only have about 1k-ish to spend and would be looking for nothing more than a 1.4.
Could anyone tell me what I could expect to be able to afford?
I'm not looking to buy right now as I said, just want a general idea of what I should be looking at.
Thanks!

cormie

Don't get a 1.4 anyway. Get a 1l, ok, I know you're female so insurance wont be that much more on the 1.4 but you may as well spend as little as you can on your first car. Get an oul banger, give it whatever abuse you need to while your learning how to drive and you wont be so concerned with the horribleness that is conking out and the car bouncing all over the place. Get maybe a 92-95 ford fiesta/nissan micra/opel corsa/vw polo/suzuki swift. Older cars are probably better to learn how to drive in anyway, you'll probably need to maintain it more and you wont have power steering and all that. If you're reversing out of a parking space near a wall it wont matter if you scratch it off the wall either (I did that:p). I'm going away to Spain Jul 3, I'll rent you my 91 1.1L fiesta for 2 months for €500.

mike65

Agree with Cormie, something with a very small engine which can be scrapped or sold for buttons when you are ready to move up a class.

Mike.

zod

not bad http://www.carzone.com/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=433724


taken from http://www.carzone.com/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=search&sortby=YearDesc&maxrows=100&Price_Max=1250&GroupID=738

cormie

I think you'd be better off looking in the buyandsell, carzone/carbuyerguide.ie are mostly advertisements by dealers, who will be making a 30-50% mark up on what they bought the car for, meaning you're likely to get it 30-50% cheaper off a private seller. Buyandsell is free, which means you'll see a lot more bargains. I got my car off the FS Motor Forum here which is that bit safer than the buyandsell... maybe.

bazz26

Agree, your better off buying privately. Dealers are not going to give warranties with cars in this price range so there is no saving in buying from a dealer.

As already stated stick with something small in the 1.0 to 1.2 litre bracket for insurance purposes. Look at cars like Micras, Corsas and Fiestas, cheap to buy, cheap to maintain and easy to sell on again probably for the same money you paid for it. Depreciation levels out on these cars at this stage of their life.

Be aware though that some of these cars can also be money pits so have the car checked out by a good mechanic first and if it has a current NCT then all the better.

Dilbert75

Out of that Carzone list, I'd look at http://www.carzone.com/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=446218 Wouldn't pay much more than €750 though

Only drawback is Mazda parts are generally a bit more expensive than the more common cars (Ford, Toyota, Opel, etc)

colm_mcm

older Mazdas tend to break less than Opel and Ford, so parts prices arent really an issue.

cantdecide

look everyone, i'm not looking for another bloody fight here, but here is my two cents and i will not reply to anything posted after this....... 96/97 primera 1.6. lotta car little money. jap reliabilty. saloon comfort. *good* economy. great value. good creature comforts. good disposability...in the buy and sell, about a grand. i know which one i'd go for.

maidhc

cantdecide wrote:

look everyone, i'm not looking for another bloody fight here, but here is my two cents and i will not reply to anything posted after this....... 96/97 primera 1.6. lotta car little money. jap reliabilty. saloon comfort. *good* economy. great value. good creature comforts. good disposability...in the buy and sell, about a grand. i know which one i'd go for.

I'd agree actually. For 1k your money will go a hell of a lot further on a large old family car than a Fiesta.

I reckon it is better to learn to drive in a big car too. You just have to make the extra effort to be able to park properly and so forth.

unkel

cantdecide wrote:

96/97 primera 1.6. lotta car little money. jap reliabilty. saloon comfort. *good* economy. great value. good creature comfort

Reliability, me arse. That Primera was built in the UK. Had I known that, I would never have bought my Primera. Electrical problems, battery and alternator gone and CV joints too. Bloody expensive on a nearly new car. Good thing I moved to high-end old reliable German cars with big engines nearly 6 years ago. Not a bother since

cargrouch

1.4 Nissan Sunny. My two cents:) Reliable and runs on air! timing chain rather than a belt, so if the chain is in good condition when you get it then you should get years out of it.

Unless you drive it into the ground it will alwaysdo as a second car or pass it on to someone else starting off when you move up.

If you want small, I reckon an old Corsa could be your best bet, based purely on price. Have never driven one.

zilog_jones

unkel wrote:

Reliability, me arse. That Primera was built in the UK. Had I known that, I would never have bought my Primera. Electrical problems, battery and alternator gone and CV joints too.

I'm surprised there's not more import Primeras around (I don't see many anyway) - the ones sold in Japan are still built in Japan (same goes for the other Nissans also built in Sunderland).

Also, if you still want to go for a small car, a Starlet will probably be a good choice too. They seem to never die - it's quite scary how many late '80s examples (the boxy ones) I still see on the road.

Max_Damage

Late 80's / early 90's Micra (boxy type). Cheap and chearful. They'd go forever aswell.

Pythia

Thanks for all your helps guys. I might be able to get my hands on a 1.2L( I think!) 94D Polo from a relative which would be excellent. Looks like the one in this googled pic. http://www.azupload.com/members/beeblebrox5000/Car.jpg
Starting my lessons next Saturday so beware!

cormie

If you can get it for free, that's great:) 94 shouldn't be too bad either, Polos are built well. The difference between a 1 and a 1.2 for a female shouldn't be that much either so you may as well go for it:) Good luck with the lessons. Make sure the teacher knows what they are talking about, if you're unsure of something they say, if it doesn't sounds right, ask here. Check it they make the handbreak stick "click" when he's pulling it up all the way, or if he pushes it in and pulls it up smoothly with a final click at the top (the right way). Or if they put on their main lights even during the day to increase visibility etc etc.