Safest car for €1000

galwayjohn89

What would be the safest car for €1,000?

It would need to be a 5 door hatchback or saloon. Ideally hatch or small saloon.

ba_barabus

2000 Corolla

Mycroft H

Vuzuggu wrote: »

What would be the safest car for €1,000?

It would need to be a 5 door hatchback or saloon. Ideally hatch or small saloon.

Define safest? As in crash safety?

Clean looking Laguna with a new NCT for 800 squid.



http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4947863

galwayjohn89

Yes sorry should have clarified. Crash safety not reliability although obviously reliability is important to!

Mycroft H

Vuzuggu wrote: »

Yes sorry should have clarified. Crash safety not reliability although obviously reliability is important to!

The Laguna I didn't have the electrical gremlins of the later model and had one of the highest crash safety ratings of the day.

Other logical choices for crash safety would be; Saab 900/Saab 95 or the 93, Volvos and big Mercs.

kirving

BX 19 wrote: »

The Laguna I didn't have the electrical gremlins of the later model and had one of the highest crash safety ratings of the day.

Other logical choices for crash safety would be; Saab 900/Saab 95 or the 93, Volvos and big Mercs.

Since age plays such a big factor in safety, would leaving towards a newer small car not be a better bet for €1000?

Mycroft H

Kevin Irving wrote: »

Since age plays such a big factor in safety, would leaving towards a newer small car not be a better bet for €1000?

For 1000 euros your still looking at early 00's Fiestas/Polos/206s etc. Give me a Laguna or a Saab 9-5 of the same age over any of them in a collision.

Kopparberg Strawberry and Lime

Kevin Irving wrote: »

Since age plays such a big factor in safety, would leaving towards a newer small car not be a better bet for €1000?

not really since lately most of the newer small cars are more expensive than the bigger safer cars on the basis small 1.2 engines etc. are more sought after for the tax etc.

The bigger cars like volvos and mercs etc are going a lot cheaper and still have great safety ratings etc.

bazz26

A MkI Volvo S40/V40 perhaps.

JohnBoy26

ba_barabus wrote: »

2000 Corolla

+1 on this.The e11 Corolla has the perfect blend of reliability build quality and safety. It got 3 stars and nearly gained a 4th star ncap crash safety rating which was good for it's time.

I would altough recommend a 99 bugeye model over the 00 model as it has all the features of the 00 model but has the more robust unbreakable 4e-fe engine instead of the vvti unit in the 00-02 Corollas.

ba_barabus

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

+1 on this.The e11 Corolla has the perfect blend of reliability build quality and safety. It got 3 stars and nearly gained a 4th star ncap crash safety rating which was good for it's time.

I would altough recommend a 99 bugeye model over the 00 model as it has all the features of the 00 model but has the more robust unbreakable 4e-fe engine instead of the vvti unit in the 00-02 Corollas.

Mk1 Avensis also had one of the highest crash test ratings back in its day.

I'd certainly recommend one

cianmg

http://www.euroncap.com/tests/ford_focus_1999/34.aspx

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4642965

they go for ever so wouldnt wory to much about mileage safest and most reliable car you can find Laguna only does one well

JohnBoy26

cianmg wrote: »

http://www.euroncap.com/tests/ford_focus_1999/34.aspx

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4642965

they go for ever so wouldnt wory to much about mileage safest and most reliable car you can find Laguna only does one well

The Focus isn't a bad car in 1.6 form however they aren't "the most reliable car you can find", they suffer from niggley issues. A Corolla is certainatly a more reliable car.

cianmg

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

The Focus isn't a bad car in 1.6 form however they aren't "the most reliable car you can find", they suffer from niggley issues. A Corolla is certainatly a more reliable car.

yeah well an alfa remeo 159 has bad reliability but i rather drive in it then a corrola made of tin they are horrible car's and even feel unsafe just from sitting in them

ba_barabus

cianmg wrote: »

yeah well an alfa remeo 159 has bad reliability but i rather drive in it then a corrola made of tin they are horrible car's and even feel unsafe just from sitting in them

Nothing wrong with then other than an over reliance on plastic interiors and bland dynamics

JohnBoy26

cianmg wrote: »

yeah well an alfa remeo 159 has bad reliability but i rather drive in it then a corrola made of tin they are horrible car's and even feel unsafe just from sitting in them

I have news for you, every car is made of tin, even your beloved focus is made of it.

As for the Corolla being a horrible car I have to dissagree..they may be dull and boring but horrible they are not, your beloved focus in saloon form like the one you linked is a good bit more "horrible" than a Corolla with it's pig ugly rear end and cheap looking fake wood on it's dash board and doors.

As for the Corolla feeling unsafe just from sitting in them, well that's just a ridiculous statement to come out with. It's as safe as most of the safest cars in it's class from that era.

dgt

Safest car for under 1000?

Hard to beat this....



Or this S80 with an NCT till Oct...

RandomAccess

Theres a bit of a flaw in this thread.

You are measuring crash safety solely on the ability of the car to withstand a crash, rather than its ability to avoid it.

The latter is arguably more important, and things you would look for in that case would include ABS brakes, stability control, and good quality tyres.

I don't think any of the older cars are going to have stability control but the other two are certainly something you should look for.

Being able to control your car and reduce its speed without skidding before an impact is worth an extra NCAP star in my books any day!

wonski

1000 Euro gives you limited choice, but there is one particular manufacturer always scoring well in NCAP tests. Renault.
Now, the question is - is it safe to buy one these days?

Dartz

You might be able to argue for a Renault Laguna II for that price.... but at that point there's bound to be *something* wrong with it. Still, with a 5 Star rating, it's bound to be the safest.

wonski

http://www.euroncap.com/tests/renault_scenic_2001/83.aspx

No other manufacturer scored so well in 2001...

http://www.euroncap.com/tests/opel_vauxhall_zafira_2001/96.aspx

Some difference there.


http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4891750

Celly Smunt

Laguna certainly holds it's own in terms of safety

Skip to 3:40

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fLg8eQaPyE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdrn0sa9rso

wonski

pmcmahon wrote: »

Laguna certainly holds it's own in terms of safety

Skip to 3:40

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fLg8eQaPyE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdrn0sa9rso

The older model, from bangeromics, didn't do well...
1000 euro limit limits it to older models.

biko

Volvo in my book, make sure to put good tyres on it too.

BrianD3

You'd easily get a Laguna II 1.6 petrol for 1000 quid and if you get a half decent one (not easy at this price level and you need to know what you're at) reliability should not be dramatically different to any other 1000 euro car. Trivial stuff like plug coils and wear and tear items would be the main issues. The engine and 5 speed gearbox are very long lasting. Rust protection is very good which is a factor when talking about 10-15 year old cars.

Car Mechanics magazine recently did a series of articles on the Laguna II phase I (01-05 cars) and concluded that the car is "robust" and "tough" and "would put certain German manufacturers to shame".

A Laguna II is considerably safer than a Laguna I and than most of the other cars mentioned in this thread. Active safety, handling, grip etc, are also good for such a cheap car.

Wicklowandy

I know 3 people that have had Laguna IIs long term (two petrols and a diesel)

The diesel is well a match for a vag tdi when it's working, but that's the problem; it's been some expensive trouble over the years.

The two petrols have been pretty good (coil packs, electric windows and one key card have failed)

For a grand, if safety is the big decider, look for a 1.4 16v 00-03 megane or megane scenic. Common for the budget, safe, not bad to drive, standard abs and from personal and family experience, actually very reliable.

Never thought I'd recommend a Renault to anyone;)