Which Car????

-Leelo-

Hi Folks

Finally getting rid of my old death trap of a car, and getting something newer, say an 03 - 05, can anyone recommend a good reliable car? No bigger than a 1.3, will have a new baby in Feb so need something thats not gonna let me down in the middle of no-where with a screaming nipper.

Any advice will be mucho appreciated

HungryJoey

The main question - What's you budget?

Hj

-Leelo-

Sorry, thought I'd mentioned that. Prob between 10,000 - 12,000

cantdecide

You have a big budget there leelo, I think you're angling at a supermini. If I were a new dad, the last car I'd want to put my baby in is a little supermini.

Wouldn't this be a more suitable family car?
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=696329

louie

the engine size will limit your options but if you go up to 1.4 you could look into VW Golf.

-Leelo-

cantdecide wrote: »

You have a big budget there leelo, I think you're angling at a supermini. If I were a new dad, the last car I'd want to put my baby in is a little supermini.

Wouldn't this be a more suitable family car?
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=696329

Hmmmm, I know this is such a typical woman thing to say, but that car is kinda blokey

mack1

I know you said 1.3, and that used to be quite a standard engine size, but not any more - most manufacturers have increased the size of their smaller engines and the old 1.3 favourites now come with 1.4 engines - things such as:
Ford Focus
VW Golf
Toyota Corolla
Honda Civic
etc etc etc

For what it's worth the Focus is the dogs - pure and simple! None of those listed will let you down in the middle of nowhere who, especially the Japs! Take drive of each and see what you like!

If you REALLY do want somes smaller then its Yaris, Fiesta, Polo etc stuff - I like the Yaris outta that lot - also the Polo!

YOu mentioned you have a baby so you might want to look at one of those semi-sorta-MPV things, Opel make one, Agila or something, meant to be pretty clever - cant offer anything more tho, dont know much about them!

Cosmo K

You have a big budget there leelo, I think you're angling at a supermini. If I were a new dad, the last car I'd want to put my baby in is a little supermini.

I'd rather buy a supermini with a 5 star safety rating, then an 15 year old japanese design with only a 1 star safety rating. Or in other words, a death trap.

Buy a focus, lots of space, the 1.4 zetec is way better then the VW 1.4, and a good satey rating.


Ford Focus:
http://www.euroncap.com/tests/ford_focus_1999/34.aspx

Mitsubishi Lancer:
http://www.euroncap.com/tests/mitsubishi_lancer_1998/38.aspx

HungryJoey

4-Star safety rating is fairly average, tbh. If you wanted a good safe car, look for a 5-Star nCap rated car. When it comes to super-mini's there isn't a whole lot that can offer this, but as suggested before I'd be leaning more towards a 1.4 hatchback if you can afford to run and insure it. There are plenty of these with a 5-Star rating.

Hj

cantdecide

UMMM-that's the old one. This one is only around since 2003.


It represents much better value, more practical car compared to equivalent Yaris- which is intended to be used in cities.

What kind of use will the car get Leelo? (the most frequently forgotten question when speaking about superminis)

Cosmo K

There isn't much difference between a 98 and a 2003 Lancer, basically just a heavy facelift.

vengeance52

id pick either focus or a corolla. good safe bet IMHO

Masada

Buy a focus, lots of space, the 1.4 zetec is way better then the VW 1.4, and a good satey rating.

ID be more inclined to go for a civic 1.4 from around 01-05, maybe coz i have one but what better advice can ya get that from current owners.,lol, theres loads of space in them and the engine is really powerful compared to a lot of 1.4s, it handles very well and its a pretty safe car to crash in, (wouldnt wanna tes me on that though).,lol
I know some people that have had focus's and there very sluggish compared to the golfs. civics and astras etc.,

Cosmo K

Agree on the civic, although a bit dearer to buy, nice car

mack1

vtec wrote: »

I know some people that have had focus's and there very sluggish compared to the golfs. civics and astras etc.,

Not compared to a golf they're not!
Besides, ALL 1.4s are sluggish - anyone who has even a passing interest is something that is not would not be considering a 1.4L engine! I doubt she is too pushed over 10bhp either way.

Henry Ford III

Do you know you could buy a brand new and unused Toyota Aygo 5 door Aura 1.0 for €11000? It'd even have a 3 year warranty

bazz26

Seat Leon:
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=827623

Skoda Octavia:
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=726915

TychoCaine

bazz26 wrote: »

Seat Leon:
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=827623

Skoda Octavia:
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=726915

Big boot in the Octavia too

bazz26

TychoCaine wrote: »

Big boot in the Octavia too

37% of all threads on this forum would support that statement too.

E92

mack1 wrote: »

I know you said 1.3, and that used to be quite a standard engine size, but not any more - most manufacturers have increased the size of their smaller engines and the old 1.3 favourites now come with 1.4 engines - things such as:
Ford Focus
VW Golf
Toyota Corolla
Honda Civic
etc etc etc

For what it's worth the Focus is the dogs - pure and simple! None of those listed will let you down in the middle of nowhere who, especially the Japs! Take drive of each and see what you like!

The Focus won the German TÜV award for quality and reliability more than once, so the Focus should be fine. Just avoid the early ones.

Its the best car of those mentioned by a mile. A 1.6 Ghia would be a tasty motor, so long as you can live with the Godawful fake wood.

The 02-07 Corolla is a nice ccar too, I normally don't have much in the way of positive to say about Toyotas, but the interior feels better put together than a Golf to my mind anyway(and it will be a lot more reliable too). If the OP must have a small engine, the Corolla's 1.4 has only a fraction less power than most 1.6's of the time(97 bhp), so I would expect that the car would be lively for a 1.4.