City Car - Confused - €8000 - HELP

Turty3 · 01-06-2011 9:39am #1

I need to upgrade my car (currently driving a 13 year old micra) and I've been reviewing sites for the last few months - I'm more confused now than when I started so I'd appreciate some help.

I've looked at safety records, expert reviews, driver reviews and dealer sites. There's so much to consider that I'm very worried I'll make a bad choice. I'm based in Dublin and drive mostly within the city, occasionally heading west on the motorways.

I don't want a large engine and want to stay within the €156 road tax bracket. I've been looking at two to three year old cars (mainly Nissan Micra, Mitsubishi Colt cos they seem reasonable) but I can't make up my mind what to focus on.

Any tips or suggestions???

Graham_B18C · 01-06-2011 9:48am

Yaris always gets great reviews, also if you weren't worried about space what about an Aygo?

stevenmu · 01-06-2011 10:21am

Ford Fiesta is a great little city car that does surprising well on the motorways. Very reliable and nice to drive with 1.25 petrol engine.

BostonB · 01-06-2011 10:29am

Why do you want to upgrade. Just to have something newer, safer? Does the current micra need a lot of work>? Do you want something bigger for the occasional motorway journey. Otherwise you are not going to beat a Micra of that era for low running costs.

coolbeans · 01-06-2011 10:58am

Graham_B18C wrote: »

Yaris always gets great reviews, also if you weren't worried about space what about an Aygo?

new

To be honest the Yaris is very much an also-ran these days. The Fiesta, new Polo, Mazda2, Renault Clio etc all represent very good little cars. If you're in the city DO NOT get a diesel. They really need to be doing a lot of high speed (100km/h +) driving to stay reliable and the extra expense would be hard to justify.

BostonB · 01-06-2011 11:06am

coolbeans wrote: »

....If you're in the city DO NOT get a diesel. They really need to be doing a lot of high speed (120km/h +) driving to stay reliable.

Not much good in Ireland if that was the case.

coolbeans · 01-06-2011 11:28am

BostonB wrote: »

Not much good in Ireland if that was the case.

Typo, 100km/h +. Anyway, the point stands.

JimmyCrackCorn · 01-06-2011 11:29am

Having driven the 1.25 fiesta i absolutely hated it.

Brakes massively over servo assisted meaning I couldn't feel anything through the brakes other than on or off.
The steering was also massively over assisted again no feel
In a cross wind car felt all over the place.

cojomo2 · 01-06-2011 1:16pm

OP,

I have access to a colt, and have driven it on and off for the last couple of years. It the 3 door version, 1.1l

Its a great little car, has a nice engine note , and it a fair bit nippier than other similar cars I've driven(hyundai getz).

Both the getz and the colt are very very reliable in my experience...having driven both, the colt has a much nicer feel to it..

BostonB · 01-06-2011 1:53pm

coolbeans wrote: »

Typo, 100km/h +. Anyway, the point stands.

You're talking about the DPF problem AFAIK you can still buy non DPF diesels.

BostonB · 01-06-2011 1:55pm

I had a getz as a hire car. Its the worse car I've ever driven.

Theres not that many 1.0 anymore. The Aygo, Peugeot 107 and Citroën C1 are.

coolbeans · 01-06-2011 2:02pm

BostonB wrote: »

You're talking about the DPF problem AFAIK you can still buy non DPF diesels.

I'm guessing that the OP is doing lowish mileage from what they've told us. I can't see the justification for a diesel at all. A small petrol is far better suited to the type of driving outlined.

coolbeans · 01-06-2011 2:13pm

Something like this might suit.

BostonB · 01-06-2011 2:25pm

I drive an old 1.0 as a city runabout. Someone else in the family has an older diesel a 1.3CDTI Astra , which gets vastly better MPG around the city and is much better for the occasional spin down the country. AFAIK it doesn't have a DPF either. At the end of the day it will come down to total running costs, tax, insurance, depreciation, servicing costs, as to what is cheaper to run.

coolbeans · 01-06-2011 2:32pm

BostonB wrote: »

I drive an old 1.0 as a city runabout. Someone else in the family has an older diesel a 1.3CDTI Astra , which gets vastly better MPG around the city and is much better for the occasional spin down the country. AFAIK it doesn't have a DPF either. At the end of the day it will come down to total running costs, tax, insurance, depreciation, servicing costs, as to what is cheaper to run.

It's a hard case to make a more expensive diesel work out cheaper than a petrol over the distances mentioned. The tax will be more or less the same, the fuel costs will be lower for the diesel but how long will it take for that to offset the purchase price? There will be no difference in insurance and if the car is kept for a long term as was the case with the OP's previous car then the petrol will almost certainly be more reliable and require less servicing.

coolbeans · 01-06-2011 2:36pm

Here's a Clio that ticks all the boxes.

coolbeans · 01-06-2011 2:40pm

...and a Fiesta

Some have mentioned the Colt but it's pretty outdated these days. I'm sure it's a fine car but I'd be inclined to go for what I've suggested. I've never driven the Hyundai or Kia equivalent so can't comment.

Turty3 · 01-06-2011 3:04pm

Thanks for the input folks, I appreciate all comments.

I do minimal mileage (less than 6000 per annum) and mostly in the city so really a small petrol engine seems most sensible.

The micra has been a fantastic car but there are several rather expensive fixes needed and a floor that's almost completely rotten through so it's time to say goodbye. I've been offered a trade-in up to €1000 on it so I'm going to use that now before my feet hit the tarmacadam!

Clio's looking strongest now...

coolbeans · 01-06-2011 3:09pm

Turty3 wrote: »

Thanks for the input folks, I appreciate all comments.

I do minimal mileage (less than 6000 per annum) and mostly in the city so really a small petrol engine seems most sensible.

The micra has been a fantastic car but there are several rather expensive fixes needed and a floor that's almost completely rotten through so it's time to say goodbye. I've been offered a trade-in up to €1000 on it so I'm going to use that now before my feet hit the tarmacadam!

Clio's looking strongest now...

you could get a Mazda 2 for 8000, I just picked that one cos I was lazy. Just go to carzone.ie or another site.

BostonB · 01-06-2011 3:10pm

coolbeans wrote: »

It's a hard case to make a more expensive diesel work out cheaper than a petrol over the distances mentioned. The tax will be more or less the same, the fuel costs will be lower for the diesel but how long will it take for that to offset the purchase price? There will be no difference in insurance and if the car is kept for a long term as was the case with the OP's previous car then the petrol will almost certainly be more reliable and require less servicing.

I've found the costs of insurance and tax to be dearer on a 1.3. Not much but it all adds up if bean counting. But the cost of depreciation on any newer car is going to wipe out any saving over the existing car. Also there's simply less to go wrong on a old Micra compared to newer car. Your not going to be fixing electric windows if you don't have any. Hence my question why upgrade if there's nothing wrong with the current car, if cheap motoring is the objective.

If you're looking for better comfort, safety, etc, then focusing on the car tax might not be the right thing to do.

BostonB · 01-06-2011 3:12pm

Turty3 wrote: »

Thanks for the input folks, I appreciate all comments.

I do minimal mileage (less than 6000 per annum) and mostly in the city so really a small petrol engine seems most sensible.

The micra has been a fantastic car but there are several rather expensive fixes needed and a floor that's almost completely rotten through so it's time to say goodbye. I've been offered a trade-in up to €1000 on it so I'm going to use that now before my feet hit the tarmacadam!

Clio's looking strongest now...

Fair enough.

keithclancy · 01-06-2011 3:32pm

Your in that 10% that could do with an Electric car.

30k handy

?

bazz26 · 01-06-2011 9:32pm

City Car - Confused - €8000 - HELP

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