Choices

bazz26

Hey folks, my younger sister is looking at buying her first car so I have agreed to do the rounds with here tomorrow. She had a few in mind, eg. Ford Ka, Nissan Micra, Opel Corsa, VW Polo and Toyota Yaris so you get an idea of the theme here. She is a student so here budget is around €4k (€4.5k at a stretch for the right car). 1.4 litre max for insurance purposes as she is 22 on a provisional with 12 months named driver experience.

I recommended the Fiesta but she doesn't like the look of them so is having none of it. She has pretty much ruled out the Ka as it is too small inside, she is not gone on the Micra because of it's Nody looks, the Opel Corsa is iffy as her cousin had a 2003 one and it broke here heart but it seems to be the front runner at the moment. The Polo and Yaris are seriously overpriced, anything looked at within budget have been rough or unloved.

I found this however and we are going to have a look at it tomorrow:
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=778977

Seems a bit pricey imo but hope to haggle the price down to maybe €4.6k for a straight sale if the car checks out.

Just have a few questions regarding the Puma. I know it is basically a Fiesta with a pretty body but I'm just interested in knowning how the 1.4 Zetec engine stands up to 100k miles? Do they have a timing belt or timing chain as I have heard that some Ford Zetec engines have one or the other. Anything else bad I need to know about the Puma?

Still hope to convince her to look at the Fiesta 1.25 too though.

colm_mcm

nice car. Will there be a big warranty with that, and will they be giving it an intensive service? Only then would I pay €4600 for it. it is an 8 year old car after all.

unkel

bazz26 wrote:

She has pretty much ruled out the Ka as it is too small inside

I'd have thought there's not that much of a difference between Ka / Puma / Fiesta in terms of space inside?

All of those are sound first car choices imho. Bit of a premium for the Puma, but might be worth it for her

bazz26

colm_mcm wrote:

nice car. Will there be a big warranty with that, and will they be giving it an intensive service? Only then would I pay €4600 for it. it is an 8 year old car after all.

Indeed these are questions that will be asked. According to carzone the NCT is also due next month so they will need to sort that to. I have a feeling though they maybe hard to budge as I have had dealings with them before. My sister likes the Puma but I have warned her not to be blinded into paying too much.

BTW I'm running with the premis that the car is almost 9 years old and the mileage is approaching the magical 100k mark. Wish me luck.

bazz26

unkel wrote:

I'd have thought there's not that much of a difference between Ka / Puma / Fiesta in terms of space inside?

All of those are sound first car choices imho. Bit of a premium for the Puma, but might be worth it for her

She has already sat in a Ka and found the interior very restrictive which put her off it but yes I cannot image the Puma being much better inside being a coupe design.

Kimbot

Pumas fetch mad money for what they are.

Also look at Colts, Corolla's, Mitsubishi Mirage 1.3 (96 onwards) is a nice car aswell.
http://www.usedcars.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=783021

Similar to the linked one but 1.3 enggine would be ideal.

bazz26

Yep, she has looked at the a 1999 Colt but they seem to be expensive too and most have very basic spec. But it is still on the list. The Corolla is out as our old man had one of them so they are not cool for to a 22 year old. The 3dr Corolla is also very expensive. Civic is also out as she would have to go back to a 1997/1998 model on her budget. The Focus also looks to be out as anything within her budget has 100k+ miles on them and look jaded.

Esel

Skoda Fabia. Dont get the 1.4 8 valve though - gutless is not the word.

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=search&MakeID=28&xMakeID=28&ColourID=&xColourID=&ModelID=246&xModelID=246&Doors=&BodyID=&Engine_Min=&Year_Min=&Engine_Max=&Year_Max=&Price_Min=&Price_Min_integer=Minimum+price+entered+was+not+an+integer.&CountyID=&xCountyID=&Price_Max=5000&Price_Max_integer=Maximum+price+entered+was+not+an+integer.&BusinessID=&xBusinessID=&IsPrivateSale=&FuelID=&Mileage_Max=&Mileage_Max_integer=Max+mileage+entered+was+not+an+integer.&SortBy=MakeAsc&MaxRows=100&InsertPeriod=&ResultFormat=&submit=Find+%3E%3E

Kimbot

bazz26 wrote:

Yep, she has looked at the a 1999 Colt but they seem to be expensive too and most have very basic spec. But it is still on the list. The Corolla is out as our old man had one of them so they are not cool for to a 22 year old. The 3dr Corolla is also very expensive. Civic is also out as she would have to go back to a 1997/1998 model on her budget. The Focus also looks to be out as anything within her budget has 100k+ miles on them and look jaded.

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=778904

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=750553

pburns

bazz26 wrote:

She has already sat in a Ka and found the interior very restrictive which put her off it but yes I cannot image the Puma being much better inside being a coupe design.

I have a cousin who's about 6'2'' and 18 stone. He's quite comfortable in the Ka and regularly does long distances...

oleras

Was in the same situation a few weeks ago bazz, younger brother started driving, was shocked at what main dealers were charging for 99 and 00 fiesta. Found a small crash repair guy who buys from the trade and sells them on, got him a nice clean 99 fiesta with 32k on the clock for 3k, perfect starter car. If you want his name PM me.

Henry Ford III

Puma is a smashing car. Great fun. Not quick in 1.4 form but still a good choice.

Simple to service and inexpensive too. Reliable also.

Any chance you'd spend a w/e abroad and import one? Better choice and value and lots around.

missmatty

I recently got a 01 Fiesta around 47k, perfect nick, passed nct flying colours a few weeks after i bought it. Very comfy and i like it, even though i wasn't mad either like your sis on the look of it. I told a local garage man that my parents know what I was looking for and i got it for a good bit less than similar cars on carzone (i paid 4.8k and on carzone same year same mileage was from 4.5k up to 7k).

So how about looking locally?

bazz26

Thanks for all the suggestions guys, plenty of food for thought there.

I drove the Puma and it is nice if a little cramped (to be expected), not going to set the world on fire but it is perfect for her. Unfortunately the garage will not budge on €4800 with a 2 year NCT, which simply is more than we were willing to spend on it.

Had a look too at a 00 Micra, the price was right but there was rust down at the bottom of the rear door/wheel arch where there was damage from some sort of accident.

Also looked at a 99 Peugeot 206 but it was expensive and she found the driving position very awkward indeed, comfy seats though and nicely speced.

Off to look at a Corsa or two this afternoon (perish the thought).

Tabnabs

I owned an early 90's corsa a few years ago (2001-2003) and it never missed a beat. Used it when moving house and got all sorts of boxes and things in the back. I'm 6'3" and never had a problem with space inside. It never failed its NCT's and I still see it out on the road now and again. A real little work horse that has lots of good memories for me. Cheap to tax and cheap to run. Thumbs up for the corsa.

JohnCleary

A 3dr corolla (5dr looks naff) or a colt would be my choice for your budget.

Generally don't give hassle, easy to work on, easy to service etc.... would defo be my first car choice

um7y1h83ge06nx

What about a Nissan Almera hatchback?

I bought a 1.4L Saloon one 1999 from my father as my first car. Grand, reliable, enough of room for stuff.

The older model is supposedly more reliable than the new one.

Here's a one in Cork, saloon: http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=795355

Hatchback in Kerry:
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=778525

A nice clean '99 hatchback with 72k miles for less than €3K:
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=715739

harry12

You should look seriously at the Yaris again. Its well designed, stable and she will be higher up in the seat.

missmatty

How tall is she? I'm 5'0 and i learned to drive in a Yaris and I hated it. Wasn't so much the height of the seat more the positioning of the pedals. Just my opinion tho.

RobAMerc

got to be the puma ( but watch that insurance ) the companies seem to think they are some sort of rocket ship because thay are a coupe.

fiesta and ka are great little drivers but the Ka was lumbered with the crappy 1.3 ohv engine thats a bit agricultural.

I don't think I have to say what I think of the Almera, Yaris and Micra - drive them and you'll see why.

colm_mcm

SEAT Ibiza 1.4? should get an 01 or 02 with change from €5k

bazz26

Folks, just to follow up on this. She is collecting her new car today.

It is a 2000 VW Lupo 1.0 litre. The car has 90k miles and has power steering, twin air bags, central locking, cd player, alloy wheels and a manual sunroof.

Car is being bough through our family mechanic and it is being sold at trade price (ie no warranty). It has been thoroughly checked out by himself who has been our trusted mechanic for many years and all that needs replacing is a rear left side suspension bushing. It has a few scuffs on the paint work around the front wheel arch but in fairness it is an almost 8 years old car. It is NCT'd until next June and has 4 almost new tyres.

I have driven the car and it is surprisingly nippy for only 55bhp. It's a doddle to park as the p/s is very light and the interior is spotless. No electrics but they are not a show stopper to be honest.

Not a fan of VWs to be honest mainly because I think people tend to value them above what they really are but I think at €2,500 you cannot go wrong. Not the Fiesta I wanted her to get but at least it's not a Corsa. So overall we are pretty happy with the car and price.

Thanks for all the suggestions.