Need some help please

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Hey there,

I'm currently in the market for a car. I'm looking for something in the 1.2/1.4 litre size range, and have about 2.5k to spend on it, including insurance/tax.

I went to a couple of places to see cars today (I'd rather buy from a place than a private sale, but could be convinced otherwise, for the right car).

Here's what I looked at.

2001 Fiesta 1.3 €1250 no nct
2001 Daewoo Lanos 1.4 €700 no nct
2000 Civic 1.4 €2200 2yr nct
1999 Focus 1.4 €1750 unknown nct
2003 Kia Rio 1.3 €1950 unknown nct
2000 Polo 1.0 €2500 unknown nct

I'm veering towards the Kia Rio, the place will probably do the nct on it for me, as they offered the Civic for €2200 with 2 years nct on it.

Are they good cars? The insurance is about a hundred quid cheaper than the Civic too, so that's a consideration. I probably couldn't stretch to the Polo for the price.

I'm a bit hesitant about the Focus because of the age of it, which is another reason I'm thinking about the Kia Rio.

I'm not decided either way yet, so would like some opinions.

Thanks

Big Nelly

Better off putting up mileage as well, I wouldn't mind about how old/new a car is but what mileage is on them

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Big Nelly wrote: »

Better off putting up mileage as well, I wouldn't mind about how old/new a car is but what mileage is on them

Thanks for that, don't know how I forgot.

2001 Fiesta 1.3 €1250 no nct 83k

2001 Daewoo Lanos 1.4 €700 no nct 102k

2000 Civic 1.4 €2200 2yr nct 100k

1999 Focus 1.4 €1750 unknown nct

2003 Kia Rio 1.3 €1950 unknown nct 93k

2000 Polo 1.0 €2500 unknown nct 89k

I can't find the Focus on the website at the moment

Big Nelly

First off I wouldnt be dealing with North Road Motor Company, my mate bought a car there and I bought one after him, both of them after we checked into them where clocked. A number of people also I have talked to have found they have clocked the car. So mileage from NRMC I would question.

If it was me I would be going for the Honda but would be looking to get a couple of hundred off that price.

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Big Nelly wrote: »

First off I wouldnt be dealing with North Road Motor Company, my mate bought a car there and I bought one after him, both of them after we checked into them where clocked. A number of people also I have talked to have found they have clocked the car. So mileage from NRMC I would question.

Thanks for that info, wow, I won't go back there.

Big Nelly wrote: »

If it was me I would be going for the Honda but would be looking to get a couple of hundred off that price.

It's on the website for 2350, but he offered it to me for 2200, you think lower again? Even with a 2yr nct?

What's your opinion of the Kia?

johnos1984

Des wrote: »

What's your opinion of the Kia?

Did you drive it?

They are nothing like modern Kia's. Reliability isn't great, it drinks petrol and it very very slow.

Avoid I'd say. If you want something cheap and reliable yet boring why not a Hyundai accent

John Mason

Big Nelly wrote: »

First off I wouldnt be dealing with North Road Motor Company, my mate bought a car there and I bought one after him, both of them after we checked into them where clocked.

I would have assumed all dealers clock cars, i bought a car from cloughran motors and that was also clocked

Lavattack

The civic is the only one with an NCT at the moment. Dont buy any car without an NCT for 12months is my advice. The civic is over priced it sounds like. Can you post the specs of it?

I sold a 01 TDI(red D and I) with 120k on it(not clocked) 3 months ago for 1750. Its a buyers market. you will be able get a 00 civic with decent milage and NCT for circa E1400 if you look hard enough.

Lavattack

lol the 01 TDI was a passat sorry left that out

teaspach

Hi OP,

Buying privately is riskier but if you know what you are doing it's the only way to go in my opinion. Dealers have to add a premium to the price so you are paying more for not a whole lot more piece of mind. i have always bought privately. I bought a 99 Golf with 70k miles on it in 2008 for €2500. I bought it from adverts.ie. Here are a few things which I always check when buying a car:

1. Look in the boot. Take out the boot mat and examine the spare tire and check the condition of the little kit, the jack and any other bits and pieces. This is very reliable indicator of whether a car has been clocked or not. Modern cars rarely need a tire change. If the jack looks like it's had plenty of excercise - walk away.
2. Use a magnet to check the panels in the front and side and at the rear. This will alert you to filled body panels, and whether the car has been crashed.
3. Start the car. Put it into top, and lift your foot. It should cut out immediately, otherwise you have a gammy clutch.
4. Drive the car in a straight line and brake hard. It shouldn't veer wildly to the left or right.
5. Make sure the car is cold when you start it. People try to cover up the age of the car by starting it before you get there - especially true of diesel cars. Defective heating plugs makes for a hard cold start.
6. Ask for the last couple of NCT certs. They record the mileage - see if that's a fair match for what's currently on the clock.
7. Look for wear in the steering. It shouldn't pull too much to right or left. Check the steering wheel itself also.
8. Look at the brake, clutch and accelerator pedals. They don't wear out too quickly.
9. Check for wear on the drivers seat next the door
10. Open and close all doors. Check around the edges for mismatching panels.
11. Check for oil coming from the sump.
12. Open and close all windows
13. Turn on and off all lights, indicators, windscreen, horn etc.
14. Check the rear view mirror on a cold start. If you see a cloud of black smoke that means the sleeves around the pistons are worn, and oil from the sump is making it's way to the top of cylinder and being burnt in the head. The car is burning oil - avoid. Needs major overhaul.
15. Lift the bonnet and look at the engine. Does it look like it has a hard life? Missing panels, overheating, oil leaks.
16. Check the drives which transfer power from the engine to the wheels.
    You can get to them by turning the front wheels all the way to the right and then left. Look inside the wheel, and see if there is any rubber missing, or signs of wear.
17. Run the car and let it idle for a while. Keep an eye on the temperature guage.
18. Open the boot and check for damp patches. Water plays havoc with electrics so be careful here.
19. Check the condition of the seat belts front and rear.
20. Check all the paperwork. Previous owners on the Vehicle Licensing Certificate, NCT certs. Ask about the history of the car.
21. Last but not least, how does it feel? Does it feel well looked after, or dodgy as a €6 note.

Note down any problems you find, and then slash the asking price by a thousand euro. NEVER pay the full amount. There will always be something you miss and you will end up shelling out in the next 6 months. Clocking is impossible to cover up in my opinion. There is always a dead giveaway. 10k miles wouldn't make much difference either way, but they are usually trying to cover about 50k miles.

Good luck!

Lavattack

teaspach wrote: »

Hi OP,

Buying privately is riskier but if you know what you are doing it's the only way to go in my opinion. Dealers have to add a premium to the price so you are paying more for not a whole lot more piece of mind. i have always bought privately. I bought a 99 Golf with 70k miles on it in 2008 for €2500. I bought it from adverts.ie. Here are a few things which I always check when buying a car:

1. Look in the boot. Take out the boot mat and examine the spare tire and check the condition of the little kit, the jack and any other bits and pieces. This is very reliable indicator of whether a car has been clocked or not. Modern cars rarely need a tire change. If the jack looks like it's had plenty of excercise - walk away.
2. Use a magnet to check the panels in the front and side and at the rear. This will alert you to filled body panels, and whether the car has been crashed.
3. Start the car. Put it into top, and lift your foot. It should cut out immediately, otherwise you have a gammy clutch.
4. Drive the car in a straight line and brake hard. It shouldn't veer wildly to the left or right.
5. Make sure the car is cold when you start it. People try to cover up the age of the car by starting it before you get there - especially true of diesel cars. Defective heating plugs makes for a hard cold start.
6. Ask for the last couple of NCT certs. They record the mileage - see if that's a fair match for what's currently on the clock.
7. Look for wear in the steering. It shouldn't pull too much to right or left. Check the steering wheel itself also.
8. Look at the brake, clutch and accelerator pedals. They don't wear out too quickly.
9. Check for wear on the drivers seat next the door
10. Open and close all doors. Check around the edges for mismatching panels.
11. Check for oil coming from the sump.
12. Open and close all windows
13. Turn on and off all lights, indicators, windscreen, horn etc.
14. Check the rear view mirror on a cold start. If you see a cloud of black smoke that means the sleeves around the pistons are worn, and oil from the sump is making it's way to the top of cylinder and being burnt in the head. The car is burning oil - avoid. Needs major overhaul.
15. Lift the bonnet and look at the engine. Does it look like it has a hard life? Missing panels, overheating, oil leaks.
16. Check the drives which transfer power from the engine to the wheels.
    You can get to them by turning the front wheels all the way to the right and then left. Look inside the wheel, and see if there is any rubber missing, or signs of wear.
17. Run the car and let it idle for a while. Keep an eye on the temperature guage.
18. Open the boot and check for damp patches. Water plays havoc with electrics so be careful here.
19. Check the condition of the seat belts front and rear.
20. Check all the paperwork. Previous owners on the Vehicle Licensing Certificate, NCT certs. Ask about the history of the car.
21. Last but not least, how does it feel? Does it feel well looked after, or dodgy as a €6 note.

Note down any problems you find, and then slash the asking price by a thousand euro. NEVER pay the full amount. There will always be something you miss and you will end up shelling out in the next 6 months. Clocking is impossible to cover up in my opinion. There is always a dead giveaway. 10k miles wouldn't make much difference either way, but they are usually trying to cover about 50k miles.

Good luck!

Very well wrote and I will add do the figure 8 as tight as possible(as in fully lock wheel) and listen for knocking. If you hear knocking the bearings are shot and you will be able get a few more quid off the motor.

colm_mcm

johnos1984 wrote: »

Did you drive it?

They are nothing like modern Kia's. Reliability isn't great, it drinks petrol and it very very slow.

Avoid I'd say. If you want something cheap and reliable yet boring why not a Hyundai accent

You know the Rio and accent are essentially the same car, yeah?

Guy:Incognito

Is anything near 2k not going to put you over budget? Tax is going to run you 3-350 and insurance that again at least (probably triple that when the insurance company get wind that itll spend half its life in and around tolka park :-) )

colm_mcm

Lavattack wrote: »

Very well wrote and I will add do the figure 8 as tight as possible(as in fully lock wheel) and listen for knocking. If you hear knocking the bearings are shot and you will be able get a few more quid off the motor.

This would show up knackered cv joints?

Lavattack

colm_mcm wrote: »

This would show up knackered cv joints?

Im not too sure but I did have a knocking when steering when my CV joint was gone in a passat I had. If it gets to the stage where its knocking while driving normally it needs fixing. A second hand CV joint will suffice in most cases fyi as when a car is scrapped a perfect CV joint is normally sitting there.(just incase you are gonna shell out for new one)

Maybe some-one with more experience with CV joints can help you better after I post

johnos1984

colm_mcm wrote: »

You know the Rio and accent are essentially the same car, yeah?

Yes but for some reason the Rio wasn't built as well.

Many parts inside were the same but I'm not sure if the 1.3l engine was a Hyundai unit.

C4Kid

I'm going slightly off topic here for a second,

I did have a knocking when steering when my CV joint was gone in a passat I had.

I have a 2000 Golf, which hit a kerb at somestage on the Right Front wheel., Everything is fine it was checked before purchase and in a service a month ago.

When I accelerate hard at about 80 KM/H it starts to vibrate and the wheels have been balanced but no luck. In the last week the odd time when the steering is near full lock there is a slight bang, or knock as stated.

I'm guessing the CV is shot ?

Tragedy

My dad had an 04 Kia Rio 1.3 LX from 2005 to 2008, I had it from 2008 to 2009. Clocked up 80,000 miles between us.

1) Engine is terrible
2) Gearchange is terrible
3) Extremely reliable aside from a few issues that come up again and again (knock sensor)
4) Big boot and decent space in the rear considering it's only a hatchback
5) Fairly decent on petrol
6) Make sure it's a facelift(generally 04 and on) Rio as it improved engine, consumption, gearchange and ride. If it has chrome around the front grille, it's pre facelift.

I sold an 04 Kia Rio 1.3 LX two years ago with 96,000 miles for €1,850. It had a FSH, had just been valeted, had 11months tax and a years NCT - and I struggled to sell it at that price.

_blank_

OK, I'm now looking at Private Sales.

What do you think of these?

00 Honda Civic €1,100 122k

00 Honda Civic €1,600 94k

Lavattack

C4Kid wrote: »

I'm going slightly off topic here for a second,



I have a 2000 Golf, which hit a kerb at somestage on the Right Front wheel., Everything is fine it was checked before purchase and in a service a month ago.

When I accelerate hard at about 80 KM/H it starts to vibrate and the wheels have been balanced but no luck. In the last week the odd time when the steering is near full lock there is a slight bang, or knock as stated.

I'm guessing the CV is shot ?

Yes mate that sounds to me like the CV joint is gone.

Be careful of who you take it to ok. Its a bit of an awkward job to be fair as wheel, brakes, discs all have to come off but if you go to scrapyard youl get a perfect one for E30-40 and id you have a mate that knows their way around a car get him to do it as some garages charge like up on 200 to fix it. I had mine done for E90 including buying the new CV joint.

Also if it goes all that will happen is youl hear the engine rev out. I suggest getting it done before it goes tho (unlike me)