First car for the missus

astrofool

I've been the driver in the family for a few years now, and the better half wants to start driving, looking for a first car for her, and any suggestions from people in here,

Budget: Up to €3,500
Needs to be reliable, easy to drive, likely keep it for 3-4 years, and then sell it on/trade it in.

Supermini sized car, min year: 2003

Been looking at:
Corsa
Fabia
Polo
Fiesta
Ibiza

Also been looking at the Meriva (big Corsa), usually a bit cheaper cos of the "big" engine (1.6l), not too bothered on the higher tax, and milage won't be a big worry (i'd reckon 6-10k km a year max).

jaffa20

Micra, polo or fiesta i'd say. Or maybe 1.6 focus if she wants something bigger.

colm_mcm

Best car for that money in that class is the yaris.
Aim for a post-03 facelift model as they have abs
They rarely give trouble, they're simple, good on tax and fuel
The boot is small enough though.

Compton

fiesta 1.25

Compton

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2113984
http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2196006
http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2136210

etc..

Compton

colm_mcm wrote: »

Best car for that money in that class is the yaris.
Aim for a post-03 facelift model as they have abs
They rarely give trouble, they're simple, good on tax and fuel
The boot is small enough though.

yaris's are generally overpriced

colm_mcm

Anything for a few grand that you can keep for 2 years and get back pretty much what you paid for it isn't overpriced.
Are puntos and 307s underpriced?

From a cost of ownership perspective, there's no comparison.

astrofool

colm_mcm wrote: »

Best car for that money in that class is the yaris.
Aim for a post-03 facelift model as they have abs
They rarely give trouble, they're simple, good on tax and fuel
The boot is small enough though.

Boot is too small in the yaris, no buggy room (+ we'll have child seats in now and again).

careca11

astrofool wrote: »

I've been the driver in the family for a few years now, and the better half wants to start driving, looking for a first car for her, and any suggestions from people in here,

Budget: Up to €3,500
Needs to be reliable, easy to drive, likely keep it for 3-4 years, and then sell it on/trade it in.

Supermini sized car, min year: 2003

Been looking at:
Corsa
Fabia
Polo
Fiesta
Ibiza

Also been looking at the Meriva (big Corsa), usually a bit cheaper cos of the "big" engine (1.6l), not too bothered on the higher tax, and milage won't be a big worry (i'd reckon 6-10k km a year max).

best bet is to look in counties Cavan/Monaghan , they have the cheapest prices when it comes to cars.

late last year I got a 2006 Opal corsa in Cavan 2 years NCT , new tyres , Break discs for €4,000, was excellent value ,

same spec car and year in louth was 6800 and 6500 in dublin

Viper_JB

Slightly alternative option....

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2168343

johnos1984

Viper_JB wrote: »

Slightly alternative option....

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2168343

A very good recommendation those Pandas are

astrofool

Again, I reckon the problem will be boot size due to buggies

Links posted by shblob look decent, anyone got any experience of a Meriva? Is it worth the extra hit in tax? (due to the 1.6)

Compton

out of the small cars I wouldn't go for opel, theres not too much good said about them and I've heard about problems in them.

keppler

Have you considered nissan..... there are alot of them for sale, especially almera's and they're keenly priced too!

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2190850