Need a comfortable car (6-8K max)

bigpinkelephant

Hi,
I am looking for a reasonably priced car that is a very comfortable drive and cheap to maintain. I bought a 1997 Punto 1.2L for silly money when I started learning to drive 6 months ago. Now that I have passed my test I would like to upgrade. The Punto is grand except when I am doing 120KPH it starts shaking- seems to have only been designed for city driving which doesn't suit road trip fans like me! I have my eye on a Seat Ibiza or Ford Fiesta maybe- can anyone recommend anything else? I am 22 with no kids but that doesn't mean I want to be cramped into a little 1L Micra! The car also has to be cheap to maintain and reliable. The Punto costs €25 in petrol a week.

Thanks

SV

Seat Leon 1.4 signo..
sorted

Esel

bigpinkelephant wrote: »

The Punto is grand except when I am doing 120KPH it starts shaking..

Are your wheels balanced? This is a typical symtom.

bigpinkelephant

esel wrote: »

Are your wheels balanced? This is a typical symtom.

Yes, got it done 4 weeks ago along with 4 new tyres.

colm_mcm

Hyundai Coupe a bit too "brokeback" for you? you should be just able to pick up a 2002 new model for that money

Tropheus

bigpinkelephant wrote: »

Yes, got it done 4 weeks ago along with 4 new tyres.

Might be tracking then. Even a Punto should be rock steady at these speeds. I owned a couple and had no problems.

x in the city

a saaaaaab is meant to be heaven for your ass.


seriously serious.

ShayK1

A comfortline 1.4L VW Golf?

http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Volkswagen/Golf/1.4-comfortline./726662/

bigpinkelephant

ShayK1 wrote: »

A comfortline 1.4L VW Golf?

http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Volkswagen/Golf/1.4-comfortline./726662/

It's nice but 00 is a bit old and the Seat Leon is more or less the same car anyway.

sickami

a ford focus.. 1.4
a opel astra pre 2004 can be got in 1.2
a vw golf
a vw polo 02 or up
a skoda fabia/octavia

paddyblue

You should get a 3/4 yr old Focus with relatively low milage for that money. I'd recomment the 1.6 petrol. The Focus is a great all rounder, very solid, very reliable & low maintenance costs generally

wingnut

Comfort on road trips = get a 00 Mondeo. Better quality car and will probably be cheaper than the others. Small bit more in petrol but dirt cheap to get anything done to it (apart from the clutch mind)

Marcus.Aurelius

Ford Focus are nice, but too small and bouncy for long runs. Ford Mondeo 01-03 can be got for around 6-8k.

Ford Mondeos in white are unpopular and go for chicken feed. This 05 is going for 7 grand. 2 litre engine range is very good and lots of power. Watch out for clutch and air con issues as well as front suspension links etc.

http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Ford/Mondeo/LX/943558/

Mazda 6 petrols are also very good, but their diesels have been reported as troublesome.

Drive as many different cars as you can, even a few drives in similar models, to get a feel for what you do and don't like, its very worthwhile

quarryman

maoleary wrote: »

Ford Focus are nice, but too small and bouncy for long runs. Ford Mondeo 01-03 can be got for around 6-8k.

Ford Mondeos in white are unpopular and go for chicken feed. This 05 is going for 7 grand. 2 litre engine range is very good and lots of power. Watch out for clutch and air con issues as well as front suspension links etc.

http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Ford/Mondeo/LX/943558/

Mazda 6 petrols are also very good, but their diesels have been reported as troublesome.

Drive as many different cars as you can, even a few drives in similar models, to get a feel for what you do and don't like, its very worthwhile

that mondeo screams ex garda car to me.

SV

quarryman wrote: »

that mondeo screams ex garda car to me.

It is, definitely.

Marcus.Aurelius

Mileage is too low and the car is too straight. Garda cars are kept till around 120-180k before being sold.

No repeater marks on the lower front wings, no marks on the roof from the light bar, no marks on the dash from radio holders or on the top of the dash for light bar/siren control panel.

It's a bit unlikely. Genuine Mondeos just don't sell in white for this very reason. They are not popular.

SV

maoleary wrote: »

Mileage is too low and the car is too straight. Garda cars are kept till around 120-180k before being sold.

No repeater marks on the lower front wings, no marks on the roof from the light bar, no marks on the dash from radio holders or on the top of the dash for light bar/siren control panel.

It's a bit unlikely. Genuine Mondeos just don't sell in white for this very reason. They are not popular.

These cars are up for sale at this mileage the whole time, in white always.
90% of the time they will say "ex state cars"

If not, go and see one in person, you can see where the stickers were on it.

Marcus.Aurelius

ClioV6 wrote: »

These cars are up for sale at this mileage the whole time, in white always.
90% of the time they will say "ex state cars"

If not, go and see one in person, you can see where the stickers were on it.

ex-state does not mean ex-garda.

A few departments have fleets of Mondeos. White is cheaper than metallic.

zilog_jones

Isn't there supposed to be black trim going along the doors? Just googling pictures of Mondeo LXs - they all have this trim, but all the Garda ones are sans trim...

Marcus.Aurelius

I don't think so....

But I'll look into it all the same.

bazz26

zilog_jones wrote: »

Isn't there supposed to be black trim going along the doors? Just googling pictures of Mondeo LXs - they all have this trim, but all the Garda ones are sans trim...

Mondeo got another mild facelift in late 2005, new rear light cluster and the side mouldings on the doors vanished.

colm_mcm

who'd buy a white 2.0 petrol Mondeo LX? unusual combination.

bazz26

colm_mcm wrote: »

who'd buy a white 2.0 petrol Mondeo LX? unusual combination.

Nobody would overtake you on a motorway though :pac:

Marcus.Aurelius

bazz26 wrote: »

Nobody would overtake you on a motorway though :pac:

Exactly, that's great!! I'd only buy one in white for the same reason!!

colm_mcm

this is true. it does raise some questions about that particular car though. a 2.0 LX petrol MOndeo isn't something a dealer would usually stock, and would have to be a special order. I can't see someone waiting for this awful combination of big engine, lowest spec, rubbish colour.
It screams "state owned", and the seller also has another car for sale, which suggests car trader posing as a private seller.

TestTransmission

ShayK1 wrote: »

A comfortline 1.4L VW Golf?

http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Volkswagen/Golf/1.4-comfortline./726662/

31,000 miles and a new clutch?? :D

SV

Actually...scrap what I said about the Leon..

http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Audi/A3/Ambiente-Leather/1050091/

bigpinkelephant

What year should I go for? When do cars get "Old?" Does it depend on the type of car?

I know mileage is meant to be more important but would I really be better off with a 8 year old car with 50K miles rather than a 5 year old car with 70K miles?

bazz26

bigpinkelephant wrote: »

What year should I go for? When do cars get "Old?" Does it depend on the type of car?

I know mileage is meant to be more important but would I really be better off with a 8 year old car with 50K miles rather than a 5 year old car with 70K miles?

Don't judge a car too much by what the odometer reads, mileage is not an accurate indication of use. For example a car owned by a granny who drives 2 miles a week grinding gears, burnt out the clutch and never serviced will not be a better purchase than say a company car driven up and down motorways which has been serviced on time.

Judge each car on current condition, verifiable service history and maintenance receipts. That will give you an indication of how the car was cared for.

bigpinkelephant

bazz26 wrote: »

Don't judge a car too much by what the odometer reads, mileage is not an accurate indication of use. For example a car owned by a granny who drives 2 miles a week grinding gears, burnt out the clutch and never serviced will not be a better purchase than say a company car driven up and down motorways which has been serviced on time.

LOL I will avoid all the 1993 Toyota Starlets/Nissan Micras- "1 careful lady owner from new!!!!".

I saw a lovely 05 car in an ad, it has 120K miles but it has been serviced every 4 months which works out at about every 10K miles which I believe is the standard amount. Would this car be an OK buy despite the high mileage?

What is the general mileage "lifespan" of a car? Most people I know won't get a car with more than 100K miles.

icecube

get the audi, by far the most comfortable car i've ever driven in and pretty quick too(compared to a punto atleast )

Volvoboy

maoleary wrote: »

Ford Focus are nice, but too small and bouncy for long runs. Ford Mondeo 01-03 can be got for around 6-8k.

Ford Mondeos in white are unpopular and go for chicken feed. This 05 is going for 7 grand. 2 litre engine range is very good and lots of power. Watch out for clutch and air con issues as well as front suspension links etc.

http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Ford/Mondeo/LX/943558/

Mazda 6 petrols are also very good, but their diesels have been reported as troublesome.

Drive as many different cars as you can, even a few drives in similar models, to get a feel for what you do and don't like, its very worthwhile

Theres also one other thing about that Mondeo, the reg plates.

All Garda cars have steel plates, this one has shiny plastic ones and have a dealer logo on the bottom of them.

bazz26

Volvoboy wrote: »

Theres also one other thing about that Mondeo, the reg plates.

All Garda cars have steel plates, this one has shiny plastic ones and have a dealer logo on the bottom of them.

It's quite common for garages to change the plates on a trade-in to ones with their logo at the bottom.

ShayK1

jackncoke wrote: »

31,000 miles and a new clutch?? :D

I just grabbed the first link to a comfortline golf I found under 8K.
I didn't read the small print