Buying first car - what would you pick?

Elessar

I'd appreciate some advice on this. I will be buying my first car in the next few weeks and have narrowed down my choice to these cars:

VW Polo 1.0L (96/97)
Ford Fiesta 1.2/1.3L (97/98)
Seat Ibiza 1.0L (97/98)

If you were in this position, what would you choose? And why?

I would really like some opinions from drivers who have driven these vehicles, especially the ibiza. I hear that it's pretty much a VW throughout, and cheaper too. I have a budget of €3000 but the less the better (still have to pay the insurance up front fee, tax, possible NCT).

Opinions welcome!

crosstownk

I'd go with the Ibiza. It has a similar engine to the Polo but affords more space. At current age all cars probably have the same depreciation and as the Ibiza is bigger it just makes more sense - to me. Be sure to buy one that has an NCT - at least you'll have no immediate surprises.

John R

It depends on where you are at with your driving. If you are just learning then out of those 3 the Ibiza. Polo is the same car just more expensive due to badge snobbery.


If you have learned already then the Fiesta 1.25 (not the 1.3) would be the my choice, it is a much better handling car and has got a great engine. By far the best driving car in it's class.

ninty9er

I drove the Ibiza, Corsa, Fiesta, Yaris and 206 when I was buying my first car in Feb/Mar. The fiesta was the only one i didn't like the drive of. It was solid but not the easiest to drive and the driving position left a lot to be desired. I liked the 206 the best but it was 1.4 so 5k was out of my league for something that size. Went with the Corsa in the end despite wanting the Yaris as it had the headroom and came in 1.0

Elessar

ninty9er wrote:

I drove the Ibiza, Corsa, Fiesta, Yaris and 206 when I was buying my first car in Feb/Mar. The fiesta was the only one i didn't like the drive of. It was solid but not the easiest to drive and the driving position left a lot to be desired. I liked the 206 the best but it was 1.4 so 5k was out of my league for something that size. Went with the Corsa in the end despite wanting the Yaris as it had the headroom and came in 1.0

What did you think of the Ibiza?

ninty9er

Elessar wrote:

What did you think of the Ibiza?

The size kind of made the 1.0 underpowered but not too much. It was a nice car but I think the particular one I drove was a bad example. I think the clutch was going and the NCT was out. But it was only 3900 and had e/w e/m cd rcl, and alloys. Still wouldn't touch it without an NCT cos the guy was a street corner garage and said an NCT would make it worth 4900. He would have given it to me for 3300 on the day but I didn't have a loan arranged at that stage either.

The 1.4 206 was really really nice though

Copper

I was in the exact same position two years ago with a budget of €4,000. I found that for that kind of money a half-decent Polo or Fiesta was impossible to find.

I stretched myself and bought an 01 Ibiza for €6,800 (28k miles). I figured that it was better to spend €3,000 more on the car initially, rather than ending up having to fork out to repair a cheaper car. Some of my friends bought cars for around €3,000 at the same time, and they kept breaking down on them, it ended up costing them about the same as the price difference just to get their cars on the road (plus the added hassle of having no car and missing days in work to get them repaired).

Brilliant first car, cheaper tax, insurance, and good on fuel, easy to drive in traffic.

VW engine and interior, has'nt got the VW build quality though.

Traded it in a year later for €5,000.

Still miss her

junkyard

If your learning to drive the Fiesta is the wisest choice from a parts and servicing point of view. The 1.25 engine is one of the best in its class by far. I'd say the Fiesta is by far a better handling car than the Polo or the Ibiza and will sell better than the other two when you want to sell it.

ninty9er

BTW I picked the Corsa because it was the best all rounder and I had promised myself I'd buy one if I got the spec. I refused point blank to buy a car without e/w, r/c/l, standard CD. In the end I got a sunroof and e/m too (would never again buy a car without e/m so handy in tight spaces)

junkyard

Watch out for the Corsa's with electric powersteering they are a disaster, almost everyone of them has failed and its expensive to replace.

ninty9er

Mine has EPS alright but I haven't had problems so far and the clock hit 90k today. I've heard of engine trouble alright but touch wood it's been OK except for the NCT emissions fail which is included in the warranty

Elessar

I've heard a lot about how good the fiesta is with the zetec engine. Thing is I think it's one of the ugliest cars on the road, especially the mid-late 90s models. I know I shouldn't really be paying too much attention to the looks if I want a good car for my budget but I can't shake the feeling it's just not for me.

Of course if one came up on a good offer I might buy it. However I'm leaning towards the polo/ibiza atm, can anyone offer more opinions on these cars?

Edit: Suprisingly, insurance quotes were substantially cheaper for the ibiza than polo/fiesta

ninty9er

A late production Pug 205 would actually be an excellent buy.... if you can find one

peasant

At a budget of under 3k just go for the best kept and maintained car you can find. New NCT and a service record is worth much more than the right or wrong badge. Resale value isn't going to differ much on either of these cars either ...especially after you put some inevitable dents and scrapes into it.

Have a look at a few cars, don't buy the first one you see and then pick the best one.

alias no.9

Watch for extremely stiff clutch pedals on the ibiza, I saw a few when looking for a first car for my girlfriend. One guy claimed it was just the cable but I was suspicious it may have been the bearing on the way out. If it was just the cable, he could have had it changed in no time.

Elessar

Hmm, saw a pretty good offer for a fiesta today, has a lot of the stuff I want.

Ah, decisions!

Any more opinions? How is the polo to drive?

Dilbert75

I used to hate the Fiesta (called it the Fiasco for a good while). Then, when my wife was looking to start driving, we bought one from a work colleague. 1996 1.25 Zetec, 5 door. Great nippy little engine, excellent visibility, power steering (not as common on that age of car as you might expect), cheap spares and servicing, reasonable tax and insurance. We sold it after three years of driving €550 cheaper than we bought it. After one banker agreed to buy and then backed out, I sold it to the second guy who called. There were also several others who called after that - I reckon I could have even got a couple of more quid for it.

Verdict: Fiesta - but only in 1.25

dceire

I had a polo for the last year as my first car & it was great! I'm selln it at the moment if your interested, i upgraded to a 00 astra, have a look at the link if u want

Elessar wrote:

I'd appreciate some advice on this. I will be buying my first car in the next few weeks and have narrowed down my choice to these cars:

VW Polo 1.0L (96/97)
Ford Fiesta 1.2/1.3L (97/98)
Seat Ibiza 1.0L (97/98)

If you were in this position, what would you choose? And why?

I would really like some opinions from drivers who have driven these vehicles, especially the ibiza. I hear that it's pretty much a VW throughout, and cheaper too. I have a budget of €3000 but the less the better (still have to pay the insurance up front fee, tax, possible NCT).

Opinions welcome!