Cheap / Small / Reliable / New - What to get?

Jimmy Bottlehead

Hey.

My girlfriend's granny is going to be buying a new car soon - I've advised her to consider a used car (even one year old) but she wants a new one.

Anyways, she wants a car that is cheap enough to buy and run. She lives in Belfast, so the budget is about £8,000 - £10,000. It should ideally have good MPG & low to non-existent road tax (some of the cars there are exempt).

Secondly, it should be reliable - she's had a Hyundai Getz and has never had any issues with it in six years apart from door seals and the usual maintenance.

Can you guys give a shout about which cars are suitable and which are particularly worth considering?

I'd nearly drive one myself tbh

Jimmy Bottlehead

Nice, hadn't thought of that! But I've just been informed that it has to be a 5 door. Back to the drawing board...

The current contenders are:

Nissan Pixo
Kia Picanto
Kia Rio
Ford Fiesta

But I'm not sure if I'm missing any from there....

Eric Cartman

considering shes probably doing low miles a small petrol hatchback should suffice.

One of hyundai's i10 / i20 , or the kia equivalent - i think its the rio

cheap enough to buy, really long warranty, cheap enough to service, decent on fuel

Jimmy Bottlehead

Jimmy Bottlehead wrote: »

................... But I've just been informed that it has to be a 5 door. Back to the drawing board...

The current contenders are:

..............

But I'm not sure if I'm missing any from there....

:pac:

Mycroft H

panda

/thread

Farmer Pudsey

If she had a hyundai I get her to get a hyundai again when people are getting on in age and still driving confidance is a big thing what ever car she gets make sure wiper/hazards/indicators/light are all in the same side other wise she will be going around for a couple of months turning on wipers instead of lights or indicators. Not a big fan of older people changeing car makes

Sleepy

Not sure on reliability or owner's experiences but I had a modern Ford Ka as a rental last year and found it actually put a smile on my face. Great fun to drive due to the short wheel-base. Believe it shares it's origins with the Fiat 500...

bazz26

Sleepy wrote: »

Not sure on reliability or owner's experiences but I had a modern Ford Ka as a rental last year and found it actually put a smile on my face. Great fun to drive due to the short wheel-base. Believe it shares it's origins with the Fiat 500...

The Ka is only a 3 door though.

OP, the new Kia Rio is worth a look at, comes with a 7 year warranty too.



Kia and Hyundai are sister companies and the Rio and i20 are pretty much the same car underneath.

Deson

New KIA Rio or Fiat Panda

knowit12

Jimmy Bottlehead wrote: »

Hey.

My girlfriend's granny is going to be buying a new car soon - I've advised her to consider a used car (even one year old) but she wants a new one.

Anyways, she wants a car that is cheap enough to buy and run. She lives in Belfast, so the budget is about £8,000 - £10,000. It should ideally have good MPG & low to non-existent road tax (some of the cars there are exempt).

Secondly, it should be reliable - she's had a Hyundai Getz and has never had any issues with it in six years apart from door seals and the usual maintenance.

Can you guys give a shout about which cars are suitable and which are particularly worth considering?

VW polo... Easy and cheap to run, there not bad looking and extremely reliable. Cheap tax, petrol etc. Parts are also cheap for them.

Stay away from FIAT

Deson

knowit12 wrote: »

VW polo... Easy and cheap to run, there not bad looking and extremely reliable. Cheap tax, petrol etc. Parts are also cheap for them.

Stay away from FIAT

Why?

knowit12

knowit12 wrote: »

.............
Stay away from FIAT

Why?
Do you reckon a new VW is more reliable than a new Fiat?

bazz26

knowit12 wrote: »

VW polo... Easy and cheap to run, there not bad looking and extremely reliable. Cheap tax, petrol etc. Parts are also cheap for them.

Stay away from FIAT

This old chestnut again. You been listining to the man down the pub again. VW are so confident in the reliability of their cars that they only offer a misserable 2 year warranty on them whereas Fiat offer 4 years. And the last time I checked VW parts were not cheap.

dgt

knowit12 wrote: »

VW polo... Easy and cheap to run, there not bad looking and extremely reliable. Cheap tax, petrol etc. Parts are also cheap for them.

Stay away from FIAT

I'll be very interested to know why. I had a Polo at one stage myself so I know what they're like...

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

Deson

RoverJames wrote: »

Why?
Do you reckon a new VW is more reliable than a new Fiat?

I wouldn't know which is more reliable tbh but I would presume VW is. I haven't driven any new VW but we have a 2010 Bravo and it ain't too bad.

bazz26

Deson wrote: »

I wouldn't know which is more reliable tbh but I would presume VW is. I haven't driven any new VW but we have a 2010 Bravo and it ain't too bad.

Why do you presume it's the VW? Seen the adverts on TV? The marketing folks at VW are very good at that. It's all about perceptions, Fiat's perception in Ireland is poor, whereas Average Joe thinks the likes of VW,Toyota, etc are the pinnacle of motoring.

dgt

Deson wrote: »

I wouldn't know which is more reliable tbh but I would presume VW is. I haven't driven any new VW but we have a 2010 Bravo and it ain't too bad.

There are various threads in motors that document common VW problems eg wear on camshaft buckets, DMF failure, failing oil pumps, injector issues, weird electrics, sensor issues etc... Just search, I'm sure there's plenty more

Fiat got a bad rep in the past but have been terrific since the mid 90s. A well documented issue in recent times is the hg on 1.2 8v engines, caused by not renewing the coolant ever 2 years or wonkey electric steering motors, both of which are found in mk2 Puntos and common as muck.

Deson

bazz26 wrote: »

Why do you presume it's the VW? Seen the adverts on TV? The marketing folks at VW are very good at that. It's all about perceptions, Fiat's perception in Ireland is poor, whereas Average Joe thinks the likes of VW,Toyota, etc are the pinnacle of motoring.

Just from past experiences really. I've got a Bora with just under 300k miles and it ran great. Don't get me wrong though, Fiat are decent cars and will do a fair bit of mileage if treated correctly.

Henry Ford III

Fiesta 1.25 16v. Best in that class by some distance imho.

dgt

Henry Ford III wrote: »

Fiesta 1.25 16v. Best in that class by some distance imho.

And I had one of those too I did like it however some issues did arise...

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

Exhibit C

Henry Ford III

dgt wrote: »

And I had one of those too I did like it however some issues did arise...

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

Exhibit C

Any 15 y.o. car will develop faults don't you think?

dgt

Henry Ford III wrote: »

Any 15 y.o. car will develop faults don't you think?

True, but the gearbox and clutch slave cylinder are common enough wouldn't you agree? Not limited to mk4/5 Fiestas either...

Don't get me wrong, I do like them. Mine was very quiet, not a rattle from it

knowit12

Deson wrote: »

I wouldn't know which is more reliable tbh but I would presume VW is. I haven't driven any new VW but we have a 2010 Bravo and it ain't too bad.

Have driven 2 Fiats and had nothing but problems with both them - was always one thing after another. And it was always big problems like enginee , cluth, gear etc

My mam and sister also drove Fiats - likewise they had nothing but problems. I was the last out of my family to drive one.

NEVER AGAIN - hense why there so cheap.

Never hear of the term : Fiat - Fix it again tomorrow

dgt

knowit12 wrote: »

Have driven 2 Fiats and had nothing but problems with both them - was always one thing after another. And it was always big problems like enginee , cluth, gear etc

My mam and sister also drove Fiats - likewise they had nothing but problems. I was the last out of my family to drive one.

NEVER AGAIN - hense why there so cheap.

Never hear of the term : Fiat - Ferarri in affordable trim

I don't see any problems with Fiats in general.

Nothing major with the cars once looked after. Sounds like they were mistreated and abused with the old "its a Fiat, it'll breakdown, I won't bother" attitude :rolleyes:

Not being very specific on what went wrong either, "engine" could be anything... :rolleyes:

Deson

knowit12 wrote: »

Have driven 2 Fiats and had nothing but problems with both them - was always one thing after another. And it was always big problems like enginee , cluth, gear etc

My mam and sister also drove Fiats - likewise they had nothing but problems. I was the last out of my family to drive one.

NEVER AGAIN - hense why there so cheap.

Never hear of the term : Fiat - Fix it again tomorrow

Yes I have and its just bullsh*t. Every car will have problems regardless of the make. If a car is serviced correctly and on time you'll have no problems with it.
Although the majority of Irish people fail to do so..

Henry Ford III

dgt wrote: »

True, but the gearbox and clutch slave cylinder are common enough wouldn't you agree? Not limited to mk4/5 Fiestas either...

Don't get me wrong, I do like them. Mine was very quiet, not a rattle from it

No idea, but Fiestas consistanly appear is the "best used buy" recommendations of various media.

Generally good to own, drive, and not too expensive to maintain.

I reckon a Fiesta is out of budget for the OPs criteria.

Eric Cartman

knowit12 wrote: »

VW polo... Easy and cheap to run, there not bad looking and extremely reliable. Cheap tax, petrol etc. Parts are also cheap for them.

Stay away from FIAT

waiting for that one to come up, tbh VW and fiat would both be at the bottom in terms of brand reliability out of every car listed here

Deson

RoverJames wrote: »

I reckon a Fiesta is out of budget for the OPs criteria.

Maybe a bog standard one?

EDIT; Nope, nothing there.:o

knowit12

QUOTE=dgt;77906146]I don't see any problems with Fiats in general.

Nothing major with the cars once looked after.
Sounds like they were mistreated and abused with the old "its a Fiat, it'll breakdown, I won't bother" attitude :rolleyes:

Not the case at all - I am a true believer in getting your car serviced at least every 6 months. Every time I did bring it to get serviced there would be a fault or something needed replaced.


Not being very specific on what went wrong either, "engine" could be anything... :rolleyes:[/QUOTE]

Deson wrote: »

Yes I have and its just bullsh*t. Every car will have problems regardless of the make. If a car is serviced correctly and on time you'll have no problems with it.

That's true , but there is cars out there that are going to cause more problems then others.

Although the majority of Irish people fail to do so..

Just speaking on my , and my family experience on driving a Fiat.
Not gonna lie at the start I taught it was my driving, but have had NO problems with the VW and driving that almost over a year and a half.

Opinicus

Had to do it, sorry.

dgt

knowit12 wrote: »

Not the case at all - I am a true believer in getting your car serviced at least every 6 months. Every time I did bring it to get serviced there would be a fault or something needed replaced.

6 months, 6 months??? Regardless of what car you have, you should be checking it everyday... Prvents alot of things going wrong y'know

I think you were all unlucky and bought dogs of cars as opposed to decent examples, a lot of Fiat owners in Ireland just don't bother looking after their cars.

That does not give one the right to slate an entire brand mind you. I haven't slated VW or told people not to buy one despite the issues I have heard and experienced now have I?

Opinicus

knowit12 wrote: »

Every time I did bring it to get serviced there would be a fault or something needed replaced.

That's kind of the idea of a service.

Deson

To answer the original question, Toyota Aygo or the VW Up! (I think it only comes a a 2 door though)

knowit12

dgt wrote: »

6 months, 6 months??? Regardless of what car you have, you should be checking it everyday... Prvents alot of things going wrong y'know

You shouldn't have to check your car EVERYDAY.. That's a bit extreme. Others as well as myself im sure don't have the time to be under the bonnet of their car every morning.

I think you were all unlucky and bought dogs of cars as opposed to decent examples, a lot of Fiat owners in Ireland just don't bother looking after their cars.

So myself, mam and sister all drove Fiats - we where all unlucky , where we ?

That does not give one the right to slate an entire brand mind you. I haven't slated VW or told people not to buy one despite the issues I have heard and experienced now have I?

Im entitled to an opinion - and just giving my nemours amount of experience with Fiat.

Fix it again tomorrow wasn't just made up by myself you know

Deson

So myself, mam and sister all drove Fiats - we where all unlucky , where we ?

No. You just didn't treat your car well.

dgt

knowit12 wrote: »

Fix it again tomorrow wasn't just made up by myself you know

I think you have misread my earlier posts, a lot of Irish Fiat owners just don't bother looking after them and you have all ended up with crap. There are plenty of happy Fiat / ex Fiat owners on here

No time to check under the bonnet every morning? Rubbish. That's a 1 minute check at most. Any decent motorist does this before their journey in the morning. Pure laziness.

Opinions are opinions at the end of the day and you sure are entitled to express them. Doesn't mean their right mind or unbiased you...

knowit12

Deson wrote: »

No. You just didn't treat your car well.

yeah that must be it - we all treated are cars crap.. we wern't out under the bonnets every morning looking out for issuies pffff ..
4 Fiats - all went to sh*t and gave serious problems but it was nothing to do with the car was to do with the "treatment"... Your spot on...
PMSL !

Henry Ford III

RoverJames wrote: »

I reckon a Fiesta is out of budget for the OPs criteria.

Range starts at STG£9500 new, although a lightly used minter could be had for considerably less.

Deson

knowit12 wrote: »

yeah that must be it - we all treated are cars crap.. we wern't out under the bonnets every morning looking out for issuies pffff ..
4 Fiats - all went to sh*t and gave serious problems but it was nothing to do with the car was to do with the "treatment"... Your spot on...
PMSL !

I doubt you kept yours 'mint' though. If you did you wouldn't have all of those 'engine' problems

knowit12

dgt wrote: »

I think you have misread my earlier posts, a lot of Irish Fiat owners just don't bother looking after them and you have all ended up with crap. There are plenty of happy Fiat / ex Fiat owners on here

Fair enough

No time to check under the bonnet every morning? Rubbish. That's a 1 minute check at most. Any decent motorist does this before their journey in the morning. Pure laziness.

People who have the time to do this have to much time on their hands. Once a week i'd agree with, but not everyday. Completely ridiculous - have never heard of any one doing this.

Opinions are opinions at the end of the day and you sure are entitled to express them. Doesn't mean their right mind or unbiased you...

True

cc

knowit12

Deson wrote: »

I doubt you kept yours 'mint' though.

Yep I did - not over obsessively though. Serviced every 6 months , cleaned quite frequently. And driven with care - even avoided using the back roads going to work as they where all bumpy and chunks taken out of the road.

Jimmy Bottlehead

A Fiat won't be ruled out - the 500 did extremely well, and with a 4 year warranty Fiat are obviously pretty confident in their product.

dgt

Henry Ford III wrote: »

Range starts at STG£9500 new, although a lightly used minter could be had for considerably less.

Delivery costs included?

Cionád

+1 for the Fiat, preferably the 500, but the new Panda is great too.

The Kia Rio would be my 2nd choice.

voojeq

you can say same thing about fiat and vw

my dad had a 1.4 golf had to sell it some rattle developed in the engine, also needed new injectors after 8 months ( 5 year old golf 4 )

my colleague from work bought BRAND NEW vw golf 1.6 in 2003, since then he had nothing but trouble, electrics windows were working randomly, couldnt start randomly, the dealer he bought the car off kept slogging him off with warranty repairs until warranty ran out

id like to hear more stories about the superior vw please

Deson

voojeq wrote: »

you can say same thing about fiat and vw

my dad had a 1.4 golf had to sell it some rattle developed in the engine, also needed new injectors after 8 months ( 5 year old golf 4 )

my colleague from work bought BRAND NEW vw golf 1.6 in 2003, since then he had nothing but trouble, electrics windows were working randomly, couldnt start randomly, the dealer he bought the car off kept slogging him off with warranty repairs until warranty ran out

id like to hear more stories about the superior vw please

Like I said, every car gives trouble. Some quicker than others.
I've got a Bora with 275k on the original engine.