Small budget but need reliable car - any advice?

MaryK666

I recently aquaplaned, slammed into the concrete central reservation and had my car written off by the insurance company.
It was an 05 Micra which I mostly just used for tooing and froing to work.
The insurance company are only giving me 3k in scrappage and I'm going to need to buy a replacement car in the next couple of weeks but have no idea where to start.
I've had a look online and there are so many options that my head is melted.
I'll admit that I'm not a petrol head or anywhere close to it. My knowledge of cars is very, very basic. I know where the oil, petrol, brake fluid and water go and I know how to change wiper blades and wheels but that's about it.

I was looking for something with a small engine and compact in size which is not going to let me down as I have to commute from Maynooth to Dublin on a shift work rota.

Can anyone recommend a car that fits the bill?

I've been looking at the Chevrolet Kalos, Chevrolet Matiz, Opel Corsa, Nissan Micra and similar and am getting a few options from a 04 reg and older.
I'd like to know how these types of cars cope with the aging process and if there's any pitfalls or anything specific I should be wary of before I buy.

I'd really appreciate any advice or help to point me in the right direction.

You want reliable? Yaris or Fiesta 1.25, in that order.

Barr

In theory your settlement should be able to buy you the same car you written off. Yiou should not have to go down in years ?

bazz26

You will pick up a Fiat Grande Punto for that sort of money:

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/3450879

Or if you want something even smaller.
Citroen C1:

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/3265940

Peugeot 107:

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/3511483

Syllabus

bazz26 wrote: »

You will pick up a Fiat Grande Punto for that sort of money:

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/3450879

Or if you want something even smaller.
Citroen C1:

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/3265940

Peugeot 107:

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/3511483[/QUOTE]

never seen a worse bunch of cars in one thread before


OP- keep it jap or korean if possible. failing that ford. failing that skoda,seat,vw

french and italian cars are muck

bazz26

Syllabus wrote: »

never seen a worse bunch of cars in one thread before


OP- keep it jap or korean if possible. failing that ford. failing that skoda,seat,vw

french and italian cars are muck

Lol, never read such an illinformed post in one thread before either. You really should educate yourself properly before posting typical Irish pub knowledge.

The Citroen C1/Peugeot 107 and Toyota Aygo are all the exact same car, built in the exact same factory by the exact same people. Maybe we can put a Toyota badge on it so that you can recommend it then? Or stick an Opel Corsa badge on the Fiat Grande Punto, oh wait, GM already did that.

166man

bazz26 wrote: »

Lol, never read such an illinformed post in one thread before either.

Have a read of this post (3478) then Bazz... :pac:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056506575&page=232

bazz26

166man wrote: »

Have a read of this post (3478) then Bazz... :pac:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056506575&page=232

They're all out tonight. Must be a full moon or something?

166man

bazz26 wrote: »

They're all out tonight. Must be a full moon or something?

It's that time of the month again I guess... :pac:

Syllabus

bazz26 wrote: »

Syllabus wrote: »

never seen a worse bunch of cars in one thread before


OP- keep it jap or korean if possible. failing that ford. failing that skoda,seat,vw

french and italian cars are muck

Lol, never read such an illinformed post in one thread before either. You really should educate yourself properly before posting typical Irish pub knowledge.

The Citroen C1/Peugeot 107 and Toyota Aygo are all the exact same car, built in the exact same factory by the exact same people. Maybe we can put a Toyota badge on it so that you can recommend it then? Or stick an Opel Corsa badge on the Fiat Grande Punto, oh wait, GM already did that.

I wonder if the education you speak of so smugly would be along the lines of a qualification in motor mechanics cos I have 1 of them. Or maybe you are referring to hands on exp with the brands I spoke of? 21/2yrs on cit, 3 yrs on toyota and the remaining 9 yrs on pretty much every make common to Ireland. What education do you have in this respect?
In regards the NEWER Toyotas being french, you are 100% correct but I seriously doubt the OP would get one of the newer Toyotas from the stated 3k budget. The toyotas I was referring to were the ones made in japan. And before you hit wikipedia or google i know a lot of the toyotas in europe were put together in turkey and france but i was on about the jap made ones.

I see french, german, spainish and italian cars in for work along the lines of exhausts and suspension problems on a daily basis. I rarely see any jap or korean cars in for anything other than tyres. So in my own personal and professional exp i would not recommend french or italian but i would recommend jap

barura

Syllabus wrote: »

I wonder if the education you speak of so smugly would be along the lines of a qualification in motor mechanics cos I have 1 of them. Or maybe you are referring to hands on exp with the brands I spoke of? 21/2yrs on cit, 3 yrs on toyota and the remaining 9 yrs on pretty much every make common to Ireland. What education do you have in this respect?
In regards the NEWER Toyotas being french, you are 100% correct but I seriously doubt the OP would get one of the newer Toyotas from the stated 3k budget. The toyotas I was referring to were the ones made in japan. And before you hit wikipedia or google i know a lot of the toyotas in europe were put together in turkey and france but i was on about the jap made ones.

I see french, german, spainish and italian cars in for work along the lines of exhausts and suspension problems on a daily basis. I rarely see any jap or korean cars in for anything other than tyres. So in my own personal and professional exp i would not recommend french or italian but i would recommend jap

Jesus wept.

Anyways OP, if you want something to get you by until your next car, I'd check out the bangernomics thread.

If you're going for something a bit cheaper, I would go for a Skoda Fabia. Here's one from 2004 with long NCT etc. Get it for 2k and you should have happy motoring for a long time. http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/3490066

Syllabus

barura wrote: »

Jesus wept.

I know how you feel.

Gurgle

MaryK666 wrote: »

It was an 05 Micra which I mostly just used for tooing and froing to work.

Can anyone recommend a car that fits the bill?

'05 Micra