Cheap first car for about €1k

jozi

Looking for a cheap runabout for a friend thats cheap to buy, reliable and decent on fuel. Its her first car and she probably wont do massive mileage. Just from browsing donedeal or adverts i see lots of yaris, micras and the like, or even a ibiza or polos. What would make a good first car? Would probably even consider a small suzuki or daihatsu.

djimi

Yaris or Micra. A good one might set you back a bit more than a grand, but both should be very reliable so hopefully smaller repair costs would balance it out!

bazz26

The Yaris is a very good car and as such they fetch strong money. I'd be very sceptical of buying a good one for only €1k.

Renault Clio is worth a look at too:


http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/renault-clio-1-2-petrol-tax-and-test/7422962

colm_mcm

€1k Yariss are generally fecked.
Another Clio vote here.

jozi

I seen a few clios aboit but ia bit iffy on going french.

Shes budgeting 2k to buy a car + insurance nct and tax. Without knowing what her insurance is like there may be more or less to spend on a car.

Are there certain things to look for in a yaris?

justback83

Honda civic - bought one for E900 in February - running like a dream!

Kaiser D

Clio gets my vote. They've not got a "reputation" with insurance companies as much as other cars so insurance will be somewhat moderate. A Civic will cost quite a sum to insure as a first car. No denying they're good cars though. People who say French cars have a bad reputation generally talk ****e. At this age they will give as much problems as any Toyota or Honda.

Honestly I wouldn't be buying a €1k Yaris.

Moneymaker

Clio's were pretty reliable in fairness. I had an 04 for about 2 years, never gave a lick of trouble. Older models are generally grand too. Comfy as well.

That's what i'd go for.

You won't get a decent Yaris for 1k. Not a hope. And a 1k Fiesta will likely be a rust bucket.

If you can find one a Swift or Dahiatsu Sirion are worth a look. Seat Ibiza worth checking out too.

Also, it's "cheap".

mgbgt1978

jozi wrote: »

Are there certain things to look for in a yaris?

Not really, but gearboxes would be a relatively well known issue. Any whines or rattles (especially in the lower gears) and you are looking at a replacement. not the end of the world as you will get one in a breakers for a couple of hundred.
Micras ( the older model, up to '02) fetch less money but have slightly more issues....timing chain rattle (usually at idle. disappears when revved) means walk away as it's just not economical to fix. Also rust issues (front crossmember, sills, boot floor) are well documented.

Personally I'd up the budget to around €1500 or so and pick up a Yaris with around 100k (buy on condition rather than year). Loads on Donedeal asking €1650 or so....any of these can be picked up for no more than €1500

JohnBoy26

Kaiser D wrote: »

Clio gets my vote. They've not got a "reputation" with insurance companies as much as other cars so insurance will be somewhat moderate. A Civic will cost quite a sum to insure as a first car. No denying they're good cars though. People who say French cars have a bad reputation generally talk ****e. At this age they will give as much problems as any Toyota or Honda.

Honestly I wouldn't be buying a €1k Yaris.

French cars do have a bad reputation though in comparison to cars from elsewhere. Now there is a few exceptions but not much.

Honda's and Toyotas from back then are far more reliable than what the french had on offer.

For example the megane from back then was an appallingly made car with poor electrics and poor build quality.

Peugeot's 307 offering wasn't much better and neither was it's citreon counterpart.

I'd have a 10-15 year old Toyota/Honda any day over that muck. At least they don't take much to maintain and keep on going without any hassle.

Kaiser D

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

French cars do have a bad reputation though in comparison to cars from elsewhere. Now there is a few exceptions but not much.

Honda's and Toyotas from back then are far more reliable than what the french had on offer.

For example the megane from back then was an appallingly made car with poor electrics and poor build quality.

Peugeot's 307 offering wasn't much better and neither was it's citreon counterpart.

I'd have a 10-15 year old Toyota/Honda any day over that muck. At least they don't take much to maintain and keep on going without any hassle.

They had a bad reputation 15 years ago when they were new. Most of their faults would have been fixed under warranty a long time ago. With any car of this age I wouldn't be buying it off reputation from faults that were common when the car was new, but the car's condition itself and whether or not I liked the car in general.

Insurance on a 10/15 year old Honda Civic will be through the roof for a first time driver, definitely over €1k, so that pretty much rules out a Civic.

Clios are comfortable cars, and they're easy to drive. A Corolla is easy to drive and a good car to start off in, but Renault cars have a far nicer interior than the equivalent Toyota at the time.

I'm just saying, I'd have a Clio over a Corolla.

JohnBoy26

Kaiser D wrote: »

They had a bad reputation 15 years ago when they were new. Most of their faults would have been fixed under warranty a long time ago. With any car of this age I wouldn't be buying it off reputation from faults that were common when the car was new, but the car's condition itself and whether or not I liked the car in general.

Insurance on a 10/15 year old Honda Civic will be through the roof for a first time driver, definitely over €1k, so that pretty much rules out a Civic.

Clios are comfortable cars, and they're easy to drive. A Corolla is easy to drive and a good car to start off in, but Renault cars have a far nicer interior than the equivalent Toyota at the time.

I'm just saying, I'd have a Clio over a Corolla.

Weather things were changed under warranty or not it doesn't change the sh1te design and sh1te quality.

Civics aren't that difficult to insure provided that they are of UK/Irish spec. Jap Imports are a different story though.

A Corolla is bland inside but its a nicer car to be in and drive compared to a Clio but that's hardly surprising given that its from the class above.

The Clio is a bit cheap on the inside and is just a converted LHD with offset pedals and wipers mounted the wrong way around. Not a bad car mind, especially considering it comes from Renault.

agent graves

go for an older corolla or fiesta.. both very good cars. i have an old fiesta and i cant fault it. my brother has a corolla and its very cheap to run.

Kaiser D

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

Weather things were changed under warranty or not it doesn't change the sh1te design and sh1te quality.

Civics aren't that difficult to insure provided that they are of UK/Irish spec. Jap Imports are a different story though.

A Corolla is bland inside but its a nicer car to be in and drive compared to a Clio but that's hardly surprising given that its from the class above.

The Clio is a bit cheap on the inside and is just a converted LHD with offset pedals and wipers mounted the wrong way around. Not a bad car mind, especially considering it comes from Renault.

I honestly just don't agree with any of that tbh but I don't see the point it dragging on this Jap vs everything else ****e across two threads.

JohnBoy26

Kaiser D wrote: »

I honestly just don't agree with any of that tbh but I don't see the point it dragging on this Jap vs everything else ****e across two threads.

Then don't :pac:

chicorytip

A Nissan Almera 96-99 would be well
worth considering.Cheap to buy and run,
decent to drive and pretty much bombproof mechanically.

lalababa

Cars from around 1999 to 2003 would be in the £1000 range depending on model. I would recommend the getz, also the micra pre-2002/3 model, and the clio..... eventhough I have nothing against other cars.
All types have their own issues, I would suggest picking a model and then researching it's common problems so you will know what to look out for. Timing belt history, and head gasket good ,is a must. Micra has a timing chain.Clean cars are usually minded aswell.

RyanMGF

Ford Pumas are nice little cars and well within budget if she'll stretch to a 1.4.

bazz26

The problem with Pumas is trying to find one that isn't rusting, being based on the Fiesta of the time they suffer the same issues with rust.