Reliability and MPG

MisterKipling

hi, just looking for some quick advice regards which car to choose.
primarily it'll just be used for social use which is in and out to college which is rough a 15min drive. I have around 2k to spend.
There are two models I'm looking at. one is the fiat Stilo 1.4. Have seen a few models on or around 2004/2005 1.4 petrol.
The other is a Renault megane 1.5 diesel. I've read up on both and a lot of posts seem to relate to the regulators on the Megane. however at 60mpg and within my price range I think its still a contendor. Plus both models are within my insurance and tax budget. I guess I'm looking for long term advice. Which is cheaper in terms of servicing etc. there are two polish guys next door who run a garage and are reliable in terms of price and quality of job.
All advice very welcome and thanks in advance !

wonski

To be honest with your budget I would be looking elsewhere.

The Stilo and Megane of this age are not reliable at all.

Cee-Jay-Cee

I'd be looking for a 1.4 civic or 1.4 corolla in around the 02 age bracket. Both reliable, economical and easy to tax and insure.

I'd steer clear of anything European especially renaults with their ridiculously unreliable electrics.

MisterKipling

cheers guys, never considered the 1.4 corolla. I've been offered a fiat stilo 1.4 2005 with nct and full service history (proof of book) for €1700. its 92k miles and never had any issues. the seller is a neighbour.
is this a bad choice ?

5uspect

Typically Japanese cars would tend to be much more reliable than European makes. I know Fiats aren't as bad as people make out but you'll have much less trouble with a Civic or a Corolla, even a Mazda.

MisterKipling

awesome, thank you very much for that. again, would never have even considered mazda.

5uspect

I've heard it said that US/European manufacturers build a car to do a maximin of 100k miles while the Japanese build one to do a minimum of 100k.

Now this isn't really true anymore. Ford own a good chunk of Mazda, Renault and Nissan are pretty much one etc. However if you're looking at older cars, 2004ish you'll find good value with the Japanese.

Esel

Some Mazda 6 / 626 diesel engines have a terrible reputation.

Cee-Jay-Cee

Esel wrote: »

Some Mazda 6 / 626 diesel engines have a terrible reputation.

I think the Mazda 3 1.4 or 1.6 petrol that would be more suitable for OP.

MisterKipling

I think I'm more confused now then ever.
been looking at a few Toyota and Mazda models. what they lack in style and interior I guess they make up in build quality.
I work part time n post office and been asking few people for their opinions. people seem to be recommending the megane over the fiat. altho one fiat owner insisted he never has an issue with his. heads melted with this. I guess at the end of the day this car needs only to do for year or two. its not exactly a Kong term investment!!

pablo128

MisterKipling wrote: »

I think I'm more confused now then ever.
been looking at a few Toyota and Mazda models. what they lack in style and interior I guess they make up in build quality.
I work part time n post office and been asking few people for their opinions. people seem to be recommending the megane over the fiat. altho one fiat owner insisted he never has an issue with his. heads melted with this. I guess at the end of the day this car needs only to do for year or two. its not exactly a Kong term investment!!

I guarantee you that you will shift a Corolla or Civic on in a couple of years easily. The same cant be said of the other 2, particularly the Fiat. I say this as an ex mechanic, a Fiat fan, and a Toyota driver.

5uspect

MisterKipling wrote: »

I think I'm more confused now then ever.
been looking at a few Toyota and Mazda models. what they lack in style and interior I guess they make up in build quality.
I work part time n post office and been asking few people for their opinions. people seem to be recommending the megane over the fiat. altho one fiat owner insisted he never has an issue with his. heads melted with this. I guess at the end of the day this car needs only to do for year or two. its not exactly a Kong term investment!!

Forget anecdotal evidence. So what if he drove that FIAT Uno for 200k miles with only a couple of oil changes and a bit of bailing twine to keep the door shut. A single data point does not tell you how another car will behave.

The general statistics show that Japanese cars tend to be more reliable. Subjectively an Italian car might have more style. But you asked about reliability.

visual

Out of the two the megane would be the better buy by far because it will have some worth when you come to sell it on. But for your budget there is far better cars out there that will be more reliable and cheaper to maintain.

murphyebass

Has to be a Mazda 3, corolla or civic imo. All of them in petrol will give ok mpg and are pretty much bulletproof.

Tail Docker

A chap who works for me, and is a fiat fan, bought a 2004 stilo there a few short months back. He got it cheap as it had a few issues, mainly a "small blow in the exhaust". That turned out to be a cracked manifold, which was literally cracked everywhere, the head gasket was gone, the electrics were nuts and it had numerous oil leaks. And only 63k km on the clock.
After a couple of weeks, he got bored with the bills for fixing it, thanks be to God, so him and his girlfriend sold it at a good loss, which took ages..and bought a dear Volvo S40 diesel, 2006..yeah, erm, roish..that has now cacked its ECU and they have another big bill, after a full and enjoyable two weeks of driving.
Lovely looking car though.

My old daily, an 01 petrol avensis, lacks glamour and excitement to some extent, and admittedly, has its faults. Just last week, I had to do numerous repairs to get it through its NCT, probably my own fault as I forgot about the test being booked until about an hour before and boshed it in "as it stood". I am still reeling at the cost of the repairs, the front indicator bulb was .99c and the rear left number plate bulb was a heady €2.99. I guess they just don't build them like they used to. I may even service it in celebration of its new piece of paper for the windscreen.

rizzee

Why not a 02/03 1.4/6 Golf?

visual

Out of the two the megane would be the better buy by far because it will have some worth when you come to sell it on. But for your budget there is far better cars out there that will be more reliable and cheaper to maintain.

Buy an old Focus, no?

Again, anecdotal, but I've never really known of any Focus drivers that have had major trouble.


My first car was a Focus and whoever the owners before me were, had clearly abused the car. Cosmetically it wasn't in great shape at all. But mechanically, it never gave a single issue. I bought it for less than a grand, so instead of trying to sell it on for little or nothing, I gave it to my dad. He uses it for about 10 mins a day. Still hasn't given a bit of trouble.

5uspect

Yep a Golf or Focus would be fine. I've seen a few Golfs with crappy electrics, if you get a bad one you're in trouble. Of course this is true for any car.

I'd still rate a Civic or Corolla higher myself.

was.deevey

I have a 1.6 2005 Mazda 3, really comfortable drive, lots of room inside, but not great on Milage @ about 7-8 km/l town, up to 10/11 km/l on the open road - still a little sluggish though even with the 1.6. I cant imagine driving a 1.4 as its a pretty heavy car.

Much Better milage than a 1.3 focus of the same year though

pablo128

rizzee wrote: »

Why not a 02/03 1.4/6 Golf?

Because the engines sh1t themselves for sport. The oil pick up gets blocked from sludge build up and starves the engine of oil.

Karl Stein

Mitsubishi Lancer
2004
1.3 litre
NCT May 2015

Timing belt and water pump done

Price: € 1,750

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/for-sale/7195660

tonyka

Nice choice. ...

rizzee

pablo128 wrote: »

Because the engines sh1t themselves for sport. The oil pick up gets blocked from sludge build up and starves the engine of oil.

That's what regular servicing is for.

pablo128

rizzee wrote: »

That's what regular servicing is for.

Welcome to the world of buying a second hand car in Ireland, especially one that's 10+ years old.