advice on car purchase

subway

hi, hope this kind of post is allowed here...

im looking a buying a car as ive just gotten a new job.
ive budgeted about 7000eu to spend.

im looking for a saloon type car with reasonable boot space.
im looking for about a 1.4 as this will be my first car under my own name.

the type of car ive been looking at is a vw bora or skoda octavia.
my questions are basically -
are there any other options i should be looking at?
what kind of year/spec/mileage should i be expecting for that money?

i would rather buy through a dealer for securty reasons but will happily go private if there are good options.

and finally, can someone recommend a mechanic service that will look a car over for me?

thanks

AsphaltRisin'

Look at ford focus 1.4, people bitch about their fuel economy being lower than others but they're a good litle yoke to drive. Nicer than most of the rest of them. I've driven about 7 of them and have seen how they fare over the years as i work with a fleet management company so i see problems/ issiues as they arrive.
You'd be looking at 99/00 focus in goo dnick for that money.

also where are you based roughly? (to se if i could suggest a mechanic)

subway

im north dublin, but would be looking at cars in the general dublin area

3ps

I don't care what it says on carzone etc but a 6-7 year old Focus shouldn't cost €7000!!!!!!

ballooba

You'd have a lot more options if you bumped up to 1.6 litre.

Most saloons would be underpowered with a 1.4?

colm_mcm

If you like the Bora and Octavia, consider the Leon and Toledo. both have Audi style dash and tasteful interiors. not as obviously "budget" as Skoda.

1.4 sized cars are fine for those who aren't bothered about going fast, and there are plenty of 1.4 cars on the market.

subway

well, i have my motorbike for going fast
the car is for day to day living, not getting across the length of m50 in 35 minutes regardless of traffic....


im not "badge" man, if it does the job and is reasonable well built and good looking ill drive it.
im looking at a fabia over on adverts.ie right now. http://adverts.ie/10814
its smaller than what i planned but the price seems good and insurance is dirt cheap.

i had a look at the toledo, and engine sizes start a bit above what im after so my choice is limited,
the leon is nice too, prices seem to start a bit higher than the skodas but give pretty much the same spec, but ill keep an eye out for a decent one.

on the fabia above, is that a decent car for the price?

colm_mcm

it's nearly 6 years old. I wouldn't think it's great value. not considerably cheaper than an Octavia - which it should be.

subway

cheers,
ive spotted a couple of octavias on the auto trader that im going to follow up on.

colm_mcm

Here would be some of my personal favourites:

'00 Honda Civic 1.4 SRS saloon
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=509872
very reliable - decent image

'01 Mazda 323 1.5 GLX
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=534773
it's old spec 01 (1.5 instead of 1.6) but these GLX models are very well specced, aircon, traction etc.

'01 SEAT Leon 1.4S
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=518817
nice looking car, low mileage, my favourite of the VAG cousins

'01 Toyota Corolla 1.4 Terra Liftback
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=546724
Ultra reliable if old skool wheels, massve boot!