First car

Killme00

If you had 4000 to spend on your first car, what would you buy? Its for my GF!!

cjt156

For me it'd be a Ford Fiesta 1.25L; in Zetec or Ghia trim level if you can.

Great little car, perfectly balanced, handles really well, engine is eager & reliable, cheap to tax & insure. Easy to service, parts are available everywhere. Decent trim level will give the GF enough comfort. Reasonable mileage and decent service history & I don't think it'll put you wrong.

C_Breeze

are you buying it for her or is she buying it herself ?

IrishPhoenix

I second Ford. Though the Ka is such a cute little car as well and runs on practically nothing!

L-M

I'm a hater of fiesta's(no offence to any1, just not my type), i'd have to go for a 2000 new model Polo.... 1.0l.... Won't loose a penny in the the next year, if u don't get robbed that is...Also insurance wise, dependin on her age, the insurance would be a tad cheaper on the 1 over the 1.25.....

colm_mcm

I'd have to say Yaris.
Or Fiesta. 1.25 (not 1.3)

Definately not a Polo/Ibiza 1.0. too slow even for a learner.

L-M

Polo's prices are gone crazy because of the demand for 1litres... If it's power ur after there's a 1.4... I forgot about the yaris actually...Wouldn't be a bad choice either....

IrishPhoenix

Does she want to overtake? Because if that's a necessary function, forget about the 1L or 1.1's. They have absolutely no power. The demand for them is only because insurance companies charge young guys way more for moving up to 1.3's or 1.4's.

If it's for your girlfriend, she doesn't have to worry about that. Get her something with actual power.

Melion

Try a Micra, my ex drove one for 2 years before she got an Ibiza. Its what i learned to drive in, very nippy little car. Hers was a 93 so im sure the newer models would be even better

colm_mcm

Micras are chronicly uncool though.

djhaxman

Lol, understatement of the year. I know two girls at work who bought Yaris's as their first cars and they never had any problems with them.

Melion

A car is a car, its a grand car to learn how to drive.

zilog_jones

I also recommend a Fiesta. Best in its class back in the day, however it is cramped in the back. Running costs and parts are dirt cheap - I was only financially crippled by mine because I broke the steering rack (hit kerb too hard the first time I drove it) and I had no job at the time (smelly student).

cjt156 wrote: »

For me it'd be a Ford Fiesta 1.25L; in Zetec or Ghia trim level if you can.

Zetec is not a trim level on these until the facelift in 2000 or whenever, though at 4 grand you probably would be looking at them.

Polo is nothing special, the 1.0 litre is chronic compared to nearly everthing else - 1.0 Micra and Fiesta 1.3 (in same class as it's a pushrod) are more powerful.

Won't loose a penny in the the next year

Yeah but used VWs are all overpriced in the first place! My friend has a '98 Polo - nothing but trouble (had to get a new gearbox among other things). I know there were many improvements after the 2000 facelift though.

Does she want to overtake? Because if that's a necessary function, forget about the 1L or 1.1's. They have absolutely no power.

I fully endorse this statement. If she's doing any regular long distance driving she'd need something bigger.

cantdecide

The guys here have heard this rant a hundred times from me but superminis (nothing super about them) are very overpriced, under specced shopping trollies. Anyone learning to drive will find them underpowered and unforgiving to drive. I wouldn't buy a car specifically to learn- I'd just buy a real car to start with.

Nobody will back me on this but look on carzone at all the cars you can buy in your price range and you'll see how little value for money you'll get with the small 'uns.

A close friend bought a '99 2.0 626 for his missus for a grand. She was in the middle of learning in a 1.0 corsa and failed her test. She has since said she'll never drive a small car again. Ditto my mum.

Realistically, first car, lots of miles so comfort is important. Contrary to popular belief, not significantly bigger/ much more to tax/ fuel/ insure/ etc. Don't forget- you will pay a premium up front to buy an "economical" little car.

For €4k I'd buy maybe something like this.

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=814411

Great value funky car.

There's a million good cars out there in your budget and most of them are not superminis. Smallest car taht's not overpriced are the 1.4 ish astra/ civic/ etc etc.

colm_mcm

Classic!

You criticise superminis for being

underpowered and unforgiving to drive

then you suggest a 1.6 Hyundai Coupe! Have you ever actually driven one of these?!

Also, your view that bigger cars are easier to drive defies logic.

E92

Unless you want to go at walking pace, do not buy a 1.0 litre Polo.

A 1.0 Polo is even slower than public transport. I drove one once, never again! It is simply ridiculously slow. I found it to be struggling above 30 mph, and it really doesn't like anything remotely close to a hill. The 1.4 is meant to be a much better engine. A 1.4 will have Power Steering, a 1.0 won't(it only got Power Steering in 00), thats reason enough to go for a 1.4 not to mention the likely superior performance. I actually like those kind of Polos apart from the slowness though. They are a fine car once you avoid the 1.0 litre IMO.

Any car that takes 18.5 or worse, if you go for the ones with the 1043 cc engine(97 and earlier AFAIK), 22.9 seconds to go from 0-100 cant be taken seriously.

At least the 1.4 Polo does the dash in 14.3. Not a rocket, but a big improvement on 18.5 or 22.9 seconds for a 0-100 time.

Anan1

E92 wrote: »

Unless you want to go at walking pace, do not buy a 1.0 litre Polo.

A 1.0 Polo is even slower than public transport. I drove one once, never again! It is simply ridiculously slow. I found it to be struggling above 30 mph, and it really doesn't like anything remotely close to a hill.

This is simply not true. A 1.0 Polo is much slower than that.

colm_mcm

think "broken down bus" slow.

zilog_jones

E92 wrote: »

Any car that takes 18.5 or worse, if you go for the ones with the 1043 cc engine(97 and earlier AFAIK), 22.9 seconds to go from 0-100 cant be taken seriously.

Wow, I never knew they were that bad. Compared to 14.8 seconds it makes my Endura-E seem *fast* :eek:

S.I.R

shopping trolleys are slow... hence why i wanna buy a charade turbo ( 1.0 , little rocket imo )

but still i think the best investment of 4000 would be a corolla 323 or golf ?? maybe a mk2 with decent set-up but haven said that theres lots to choose from so drop a couple of hints and see what she likes...

also if i where gonna be doing long distance traveling... id buy her a Suzuki jimmy or rav4 so she had a decent lump infront of her ( maybe add a roll cage for leaners ?? incase she rolls because every jeep driver rolls at least once )

colm_mcm

S.I.R wrote: »

also if i where gonna be doing long distance traveling... id buy her a Suzuki jimmy

Please tell me you're joking

Stark

I think the whole paragraph was a joke. (I hope).