Best Small City driving Automatic for 4k?

inabina

Hi all
I have a A140 Merc yr 2000 and it has started to give problems. I am spending my time looking for second hand parts.

I like the A140 but anyone have other ideas on what I should get. Budget is 4k.Needs to be an automatic with mileage less than 60k. preferably 1.4 or less. I need something reliable.

Also needs to be 5 door.

Thanks all.

colm_mcm

Prius. Its 1.5 but what harm. You won't get one with under 60k but again its not really that relevant as they're very durable.

bazz26

Peugeot 107:


http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/peugeot-107-automatic/5883356

The 107, Citroen C1 and Toyota Aygo are all the same car built in the same factory. Engine and transmission are made by Toyota. A bit smaller than your A Class though.

colm_mcm

That toyota multimode gearbox is a truly horrible experience though.

bazz26

The OP is fairly limited in this size and price range, most superminis are either MM or CVT.

This isn't that cheap and a bit old school but might do the job:


http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/hyundai-getz-automatic/5834259

colm_mcm

bazz26 wrote: »

The OP is fairly limited in this size and price range, most superminis are either MM or CVT.

This isn't that cheap and a bit old school but might do the job:


http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/hyundai-getz-automatic/5834259

Good call. They started doing the atoz again around 2006 and they occasionally pop up in auto.

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/hyundai-atoz-1-1petrol/5559526

The only interesting thing about these is that you have controls for the rear windows in front of the gear lever and also behind the handbrake

Good old sausage and chips engineering though.

bazz26

Mazda Demio:


http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/mazda-demio-automatic-5-door/5507521

Honda Jazz:

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/honda-jazz-1-3-automatic/5877785

colm_mcm

Is the cvt in those jazzs a bit gammy though? If not, its a great car and won't feel strange after the a class.
Is that demio a JDM model?

bazz26

Demio is definitely a Jap Import so mileage is probably just a random number the guy on the ship thought of. That model Demio was called the 2 here too.

I'd nearly put up with the gammy CVT in the Jazz given the alternatives as gearbox aside the Jazz itself is probably the best of it's type.

Kaiser D

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/nissan-micra-1-2-hatchback-60k-2004-/5820176

Nissan Micra? You probably won't notice much difference in space coming from an A-Class.

And two left field options,

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/daihatsu-sirion-1-0-automatic-5dr-new/5818901

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/2004-daihatsu-charade-auto-12kmiles/5620028

Sirion's are excellent cars, missus has one about a year now and its given no trouble at all. A bit on the small side though.

inabina

thanks all,

what bout this beauty? engine a bit big tho

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Mercedes-Benz/A-Class/A160-ele/37013808885074100/advert?channel=CARS

kupus

When I was doing research on honda jazz I saw a lot of problems with the auto box, enough to say that its not worth it. Great car in manual but not auto.

I tried a lot of cars like the ones above but we settled on a Suzuki Ignis/Jimny, Fiat Panda or a Ren Modus/Nissan note.

I went for the modus its a great little car and the parents love it. It has all the bells and whistles inc full glass sunroof, clima control, great spec considering it was bought in Ireland. Problem is... its too technical for the mother. Even tuning the radio is a chore for her. Shes used to VW and the bare minimum but its easy drive, easy park. And holds a lot more than you would think.
I had to fit a lot of stuff in the modus one day that wouldnt fit in the brothers volvo and still had plenty of space to spare

In hindsight I should have plumped for the panda cos its more bare bones of a car, less gadgets but still the same higher ride. but thats neither here nor there. Shes well used to it now.

So my advice try different cars because its you who is going to drive them and not us.
Panda modus ignis and note are my shouts. but I cant find any on done deal with AT at the moment.
Its not to say they are not around. They are because I looked at a few when I was buying for the parents.

inabina

Is the Panda safe? My mother had a panda. It was like a tin box. We got slagged for how light and cheap it was. The wind caught the door one day and damaged the door hinges!

colm_mcm

The new panda only shares it name with the old one.

Prius is definitely one of the best used cars you'll find. And it's very economical, probably more economical than most 1.0L cars with over twice the power and over twice the size.

If it has a decent service history, you can't go wrong.

Check all recalls were done.

it needs inverter and engine coolant change done at 100,000 miles, this is tricky and recommended only at a Toyota garage. You really don't want air in the cooling system of a prius. It also needs a very specific coolant available afaik only from Toyota.

Transmission oil is recommended too at 100K miles also but not part of the schedule but it's recommended due to independent studies carried out on the oil. The gearbox houses the electric motor.

Really the biggest service of the prius is the coolant every 100,000 miles.

inabina

Thanks all for your advice. prius a little large, would the yaris or other smaller Toyota be just as reliable?

colm_mcm

1.6 corolla auto is very reliable.

inabina

Also friends say Honda would be a good option. Any thought on Honda?

The older 99-05 Yaris is a very reliable car, the older 4 cylinder engines are smoother and IMO much better than the 3 cylinder dirt that's in small cars these days.

The 1.0l as with any 1.0l is really only suitable for town or country road use on the motorway above 100 kph they are not very economical and they struggle on motorway inclines and are noisy on the motorway.

Th 1.3 is a far better engine in the MK I and II if it has to be a 1.0l then go for the older 99-05 Yaris.

inabina

Thanks mad lad. What u think of this one
http://www.carzone.ie/search/Toyota/Yaris/AUTO-LOW/37613818370144000/advert?channel=CARS

colm_mcm

Those 1.0 models have a horrible clunky gearbox. The older pre 03 1.3 auto is much better.

inabina

inabina wrote: »

Thanks mad lad. What u think of this one
http://www.carzone.ie/search/Toyota/Yaris/AUTO-LOW/37613818370144000/advert?channel=CARS

If it's the cvt automatic and not the automated manual it would be ok but the manual would offer better economy than the cvt about the same for the automated manual, (I don't know what Toyota call them )

The mileage is low, but it could have been an elderly person driving to the shops or could have been doing school runs.

as always get someone to check the car out for you.

The automated manuals get poor reviews for being very jerky.

Colm is right about the clunky gearbox in the 1.0L but I found that after you get used to it that it isn't so bad.

But I would go for the 1.3 if you can find it, you will go mad with the 1.0L on the motorway it buzzes like mad and no stereo drowns it out. But they are a cracking little car around town or up to 100 kph.

If the prius is too big that's fair enough but it really is leaps and bounds above the yaris.

colm_mcm

The only CVT yaris for Europe is the current yaris hybrid.
The older mk1 yaris has a regular torque convertor as in the old starlet/corolla and the facelift models all have the MMT (later called multimode then MM) gearbox.

Aside from being clunky and unpredictable (downshifts into first at low speeds going up hills for example) owners treat them as normal autos and use the accelerator to balance them on hills wearing out the clutch, then you have the gear and clutch actuators which seem to need recalibration every Tuesday.
I sold a few of these and genuinely felt bad for the buyers when they came back with problems.
The only application anywhere near bearable with this box was the corolla 1.4 D-4D.

OP I wouldn't go with an auto in a low power car, they are always revving high with the slightest tip of the accelerator because they think you need more power.

trust me autos work best with higher power engines, unless you can have manual control but a torque converter is very thirsty.

Check this out.

colm_mcm

Link not working here

colm_mcm

This sirion has the 1.0 toyota engine but a good ole normal gearbox

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/daihatsu-sirion-1-0-automatic-5dr-new/5818901

Its a bit of a dogs dinner to look at but its very clean.

working now ?

Gael23

The toyota MM transmission is useless so avoid

colm_mcm

Deleted User wrote: »

working now ?

I just get 44000 cars

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Toyota/Yaris/SOL-M%23C-/201324215449049/advert?channel=CARS

Working now ?

colm_mcm

It's not very automatic though is it

That's mental it works in the beginning but after a while the link displays only a full list of cars not the one I want to link to !

colm_mcm

Yeah, when I click the link I get the carzone home page, then if I copy and paste it I get a quick silver yaris sol manual...

Oh crap yeah the OP wanted an auto, woops

I'd definitely go with a minimum 1.3L as 1.0L is going to be just awful in an automatic unless you do just pure town driving with the rare motorway trip.

inabina

Motorway would be rare. Odd time. Key for me would be reliability, safety with my baby, for 5 even if tight, 5 doors, 1.4 or less, auto, small for tight spaces in town, and doesn't look like a dogs dinner...a reasonable looker. if i have to go 5k to get 3 years of no major expense i would...:)

colm_mcm

Would you not stretch to a 1.6?

inabina

If every other box was ticked...maybe. Just the tax would be the issue really

mister gullible

Micra, loads of automatics, dirt cheap to run. Very reliable. Surprisingly nice to drive. All those grannies can't be wrong. Swallow your pride.

inabina

Ugghh...maybe you are right but that would be tough. As reliable as Toyota?

colm_mcm

Way cooler than a micra

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/nissan-cube-1-4-litre-petrol/5793977

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/car/5758787

inabina

Ehhh..no...��

colm_mcm

colm_mcm wrote: »

Way cooler than a micra

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/nissan-cube-1-4-litre-petrol/5793977

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/car/5758787

Jaysus Colm, are you on the beer ?

colm_mcm

I love those cars! Love how boxy they are and that the drivers side is different to the passenger side

Micra's are dirt imho. They are small fair enough but they rattle a lot more than a yaris and they can have electrical problems. They are horrible to drive. My ma has one and I absolutely would have a yaris over a micrs any day. I'd rather my Auntie's 1.0L 00 yaris than me Ma's 1.2 Auto 03 Micra.

colm_mcm

colm_mcm wrote: »

I love those cars! Love how boxy they are and that the drivers side is different to the passenger side

Colm, come on, if I were a mod you'd get an infraction for that !

colm_mcm

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Colm, come on, if I were a mod you'd get an infraction for that !

You know well you cant infract someone for their dodgy taste in cars.

colm_mcm

colm_mcm wrote: »

You know well you cant infract someone for their dodgy taste in cars.

Time to start then ! :P

Sobanek

inabina wrote: »

thanks all,

what bout this beauty? engine a bit big tho

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Mercedes-Benz/A-Class/A160-ele/37013808885074100/advert?channel=CARS

I showed this post to a friend of mine, who lives in the US and owns a 2007 550i. He almost pissed himself laughing

Sobanek

Sobanek wrote: »

I showed this post to a friend of mine, who lives in the US and owns a 2007 550i. He almost pissed himself laughing

Bet he wouldn't be laughing If he lost his job and couldn't afford health care or food.

kupus

Deleted User wrote: »

Colm, come on, if I were a mod you'd get an infraction for that !

I love those cubes. Its a beautiful little car andd also comes in 7 seater:eek:

anyway op i see you have kids then I cant recommend the Reno modus enough.
Its a real kiddie wagon. and very surprising space inside once you get into it.

It does sound a bit tinny when you compare it to a merc or a vw, eg when you close the doors on a vw you get a nice sounding thud. But it was one of the first (maybe even first) small cars to get a five star crash rating.http://cars.donedeal.ie/find/cars/for-sale/Ireland/?filter%28make%29=Renault&filter%28model%29=Modus&source=all




Also nice is Audi A2 its not made any more.
But still a nice ride, nippy and cheap enough at the pump....
more here http://cars.donedeal.ie/find/cars/for-sale/Ireland/?filter%28make%29=Audi&filter%28model%29=A2&sort=price&source=all

one thing ive noticed is a lot more A2's for sale now than there was same time last year.

NO automatics though:mad: