Cheap kei cars?

mrhellboy218

Hey so basically, can someone list some good cheap kei cars that are fun to drive, like the Suzuki Cappuccino or like a Suzuki Alto

GL scrappy

Subaru Vivio RXR/GXR
Diahatsu Mira Avanzato tr-xx
Honda Beat

That's some fun kei cars, but dunno about cheap. The sporty models of any of them can be hard to find and expensive. Cheap to buy in Japan but shipping costs leave them over €3k when imported.
I can really only vouch for the Vivio as far as fun to drive is concerned, it's a hoot.

Brian

Autozam AZ-1

Dord

Daihatsu Copen. The japanese market version is a kei car, the euro one isn't... but still a cool car. Not cheap though!

colm_mcm

Brian wrote: »

Autozam AZ-1

Cheap?

Dord

From looking around, it seems that cheap and kei don't really go together.

Brian

colm_mcm wrote: »

Cheap?

You'd definitely get one for less than a Koenigsegg, I'd say.

colm_mcm

Brian wrote: »

You'd definitely get one for less than a Koenigsegg, I'd say.

Bargain so

Brian

colm_mcm wrote: »

Bargain so

Identical spec, so I reckon it is.



http://jalopnik.com/5971813/these-are-the-insane-bubble-cars-from-when-mazda-went-nuts-20-years-ago/

5500

It's hard to find the likes of a cappuccino at auction in Japan for good money, alot of them are grade R crash repair's and the modded one's make big bucks - example of one for auction tomorrow night



And some other recent one's, even with bad grades can sell for €3000 at auction alone!

Daihatsu Mira



AZ1



Alto works



Mira tr-xx

davycc

there is a cheap slightly rusted silver cappo on donedeal right now with nct

unkel

There's only 1 cappo on donedeal it seems: this one for €4k

Looks good but that's a lot of money for what it is imho

I'd also check insurance first, they mightn't like your choice of car

davycc

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-sold/suzuki-cappuccino/6973360

yea the cheap one has sold:o but 4 k for that one is mad money:eek:

davycc

http://cars.donedeal.ie/vintagecars-for-sale/honda-beat/6378352

nice clean OEM looking Beat:)

Meso Harney

I have a 1300 AWD Subaru Justy I'm trying to offload at the mo ..ahem

davycc

Meso Harney wrote: »

I have a 1300 AWD Subaru Justy I'm trying to offload at the mo ..ahem

sweet maybe interested myself if the original poster isnt;)

wonski

5500 wrote: »

It's hard to find the likes of a cappuccino at auction in Japan for good money, alot of them are grade R crash repair's and the modded one's make big bucks - example of one for auction tomorrow night



And some other recent one's, even with bad grades can sell for €3000 at auction alone!

Daihatsu Mira

I would love to drive something like this for a day:D

It doesn't even look like a real car, more like taken from a cartoon or something...

kyote00

postman pat....

wonski wrote: »

I would love to drive something like this for a day:D

It doesn't even look like a real car, more like taken from a cartoon or something...

Miscreant

I currently have a Cappuccino as a "weekend" car. It is a great little thing and I would highly recommend it. Mine has been all over the country at this stage and is great on the motorway.
As with all of these Kei cars you need to check for rust as they were not really officially sold here. Check underneath especially as the floors and sills tend to rot pretty badly. Most of the cars will look OK from the top so don't be fooled.
Also, don't buy the first one you see. I realise that they can be difficult to find in the first place but, as with everything, you will find that sometimes there will be a glut of these cars on the market. When I bought mine there were 5 Cappuccinos for sale and I checked out 4 of them before settling on the best one.
Insurance wise, I have mine on a classic policy but just be aware that even though they are less than 660cc, insurance companies consider them to be either a sports car or a high performance car.
Parts are difficult to come by here so you may find yourself waiting for stuff because you have had to order from the UK or Japan directly. That said, they don't tend to break too often anyway.
Another thing to look out for on the older Kei cars is that some tended to come with 5 digit odometers (generally on pre 1993 cars) so watch out for something being sold with "low" miles as it may have done the clock over at least once (so a car displaying 60000miles may actually have 160000miles). Look for proof of mileage in these cases from prior NCTs or services.
That is pretty much it really. If you are serious just keep your wits about you and buy the best one you can find. If you think of anything you need to ask just PM me

Meso Harney

davycc wrote: »

sweet maybe interested myself if the original poster isnt;)

Tis the best thing EVER in snow and ice, and not an understeery pig like most low power AWDs the rest of the time, pm me if interested, for sale but haven't advertised it yet

alias no.9

wonski wrote: »

5500 wrote: »

I would love to drive something like this for a day:D

It doesn't even look like a real car, more like taken from a cartoon or something...

Looks like Postman Pats Van after a UPS takeover of Royal Mail

GL scrappy

a couple on ebay uk, Diahatsu Mira, reasonable money;
http://http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RARE-JDM-DAIHATSU-MIRA-l200s-AVANZATO-TR-XX-659CC-TURBO-KEI-12months-mot-/231240638099?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item35d7041e93



What an AZ1 might be worth;
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mazda-AZ1-Rare-Gullwing-Microcar-/181437246953?clk_rvr_id=651649729097