27 year old girl looking for a no frills, easy maintenance car

completedit

Anybody got any advice for 2nd hand car shopping?

TeaBagMania

Kia Soul

Stay away from anything French or Italian

Mad_maxx

TeaBagMania wrote: »

Kia Soul

Stay away from anything French or Italian

How about romanian?

Atlantic Dawn

What's your budget?

TeaBagMania

id drive a Lada, Tata, or Romanian anything before i ever drive a French or Italian vehicle.

now max, don't be a mad wittle guy just because you drive a french car

wassie

Without any idea as to the OPs budget or needs from a car, I would follow TeaBagMania's advice and go Korean or Japanese for reliability. Whilst there are certainly reliable euro makes, generally they are as reliable as they get older.

lalababa

completedit wrote: »

Anybody got any advice for 2nd hand car shopping?

Need some more info....small/medium/large..budget..running costs...and most important of all colour! But yeah any Japanese small petrol are probably the most reliable.

TeaBagMania

Agreed, the Japanese make great cars as well but i think you're paying a big chunk of the price for the name. IMHO you get more for your money in a Hyundai or Kia.

Drove a Kia Soul a few years ago and was super impressed with the driving characteristics, quality, and over all fit and finish.

If i was in the market for a car, its the only one id look at.

one thing to keep in mind for the Irish buyers is insurance as i believe the Soul is only offered in a 1.6 and 2.0 petrol motors. They might make a diesel version for the European market

dar_cool

Also stay away from 1.2 Vw polos. Terrible engine that give valve and timing chain trouble. Cant go too far wrong with a 1.4 Vw Golf

shygal

dar_cool wrote: »

Also stay away from 1.2 Vw polos. Terrible engine that give valve and timing chain trouble. Cant go too far wrong with a 1.4 Vw Golf

Lol

colm_mcm

dar_cool wrote: »

Cant go too far wrong with a 1.4 Vw Golf

completedit

Nice one , thanks for all the replies. budget is 3 grand. short drive along the m50 back and forth probably around 1 hour a day. Really just looking for somethin to get me from a to b. no notions.

Mad_maxx

TeaBagMania wrote: »

id drive a Lada, Tata, or Romanian anything before i ever drive a French or Italian vehicle.

now max, don't be a mad wittle guy just because you drive a french car

I drive a Japanese car

colm_mcm

completedit wrote: »

Nice one , thanks for all the replies. budget is 3 grand. short drive along the m50 back and forth probably around 1 hour a day. Really just looking for somethin to get me from a to b. no notions.

Honda Jazz, Suzuki Swift.

TeaBagMania

Mad_maxx wrote: »

I drive a Japanese car

surely you jest!

lalababa

TeaBagMania wrote: »

Agreed, the Japanese make great cars as well but i think you're paying a big chunk of the price for the name. IMHO you get more for your money in a Hyundai or Kia.

Drove a Kia Soul a few years ago and was super impressed with the driving characteristics, quality, and over all fit and finish.

If i was in the market for a car, its the only one id look at.

one thing to keep in mind for the Irish buyers is insurance as i believe the Soul is only offered in a 1.6 and 2.0 petrol motors. They might make a diesel version for the European market

Agree Jap and Korean, smallish petrol.. can't go too far wrong. With fiesta , clio, Corsa not too far off that crowd.

italodisco

Another in favour of suzuki swift

gooner99

colm_mcm wrote: »

I have a 04 mk5 1.4 Golf that I've owned from new with 242k MILES. Still going strong. Never a single engine issue, bar coil packs. Sure it burns a bit if oil, but never more than the 1l per 1000 miles the user manual warns it will. Kept an eye on that and used the correct grade oil every 10k miles.

The main problems I have with it are a rear windy window stuck and regulator gone on front window. Also had shocks, springs, bushings, bearings, discs. But sure those are all wear and tear. It's even on the original exhaust, bar the flexibility pipe.

Hoboo

Read the thread title as far as 'frills', found chat about cars. What an anti climax.

Cartroubles

Is there really much truth to French cars being crap or is it a myth?

SmartinMartin

Maybe a Ka?

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/ford-ka-nct-6-2020-3-500/20672567

Odyssey 2005

gooner99 wrote: »

I have a 04 mk5 1.4 Golf that I've owned from new with 242k MILES. Still going strong. Never a single engine issue, bar coil packs. Sure it burns a bit if oil, but never more than the 1l per 1000 miles the user manual warns it will. Kept an eye on that and used the correct grade oil every 10k miles.

The main problems I have with it are a rear windy window stuck and regulator gone on front window. Also had shocks, springs, bushings, bearings, discs. But sure those are all wear and tear. It's even on the original exhaust, bar the flexibility pipe.

A great testament to you and the car. Well done.

bazz26

Hyundai i30:
https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/hyundai-i30-long-nct-01-20/20774516

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/hyundai-i30-1-4i-cvvt-deluxe/19706979

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/hyundai-i30-tax-and-nct-2020-low-miles/20643302

Mad_maxx

Cartroubles wrote: »

Is there really much truth to French cars being crap or is it a myth?

People like lazy stereotypes, Renault are a lot better than they used to be, as are fiat, Peugeot were never an outright bad car

To many however, that doesn't matter

daheff

try for a nissan note.... might be a bit outside your budget, but massive car for price

Hoboo

Mad_maxx wrote: »

People like lazy stereotypes, Renault are a lot better than they used to be, as are fiat, Peugeot were never an outright bad car

To many however, that doesn't matter

Or is it they're not bad, but not as good as say German or Japanese. And therefore, in comparison, bad.

kirving

1.2 Opel Corsa? Not the 1.0 version.

They fall into a very low insurance bracket and look well compared to a similar aged Korean car for the most part Ithink. Not too much to go wrong with them either.

Most of what your hear about French cars is pub talk. You just won't be told when your friend Merc which they spent a lot of money on has an expensive problem.

https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/jd-power-2016-uk-vehicle-dependability-study

DesperateDan

Nissan Leaf if you can get a home charger installed and have a small commute. Lovely car to drive.

allthedoyles

Have a Peugeot 308 hdi for 2 years with over 300km . Would recommend.

kirving

DesperateDan wrote: »

Nissan Leaf if you can get a home charger installed and have a small commute. Lovely car to drive.

Budget is 3k.

Also OP, don't buy a Dacia. Their safety ratings are very poor for what is marketed as a modern car.

stimpson

Mad_maxx wrote: »

People like lazy stereotypes, Renault are a lot better than they used to be, as are fiat, Peugeot were never an outright bad car

To many however, that doesn't matter

Missus had a 206 when I met her. She had it from new and had small enough miles. It used more oil than petrol. Electrics were entertaining. One headlight blew every 3000 miles and was a bitch to replace. And then the serpentine belt snapped and had to be replaced. 3 times in a few thousand miles. €1200 each time.

I had a VTEC Honda at the time that I used to abuse (8k redline on a daily basis) with 3 times the mileage. Never let me down.

.......

DesperateDan wrote: »

Nissan Leaf if you can get a home charger installed and have a small commute. Lovely car to drive.

Where is the OP going to get a Nissan Leaf for 3k????

eezipc

TeaBagMania wrote: »

Stay away from anything French or Italian

You can use the same advice when it comes to choosing men.

Oafley Jones

stimpson wrote: »

Missus had a 206 when I met her. She had it from new and had small enough miles. It used more oil than petrol. Electrics were entertaining. One headlight blew every 3000 miles and was a bitch to replace. And then the serpentine belt snapped and had to be replaced. 3 times in a few thousand miles. €1200 each time.

I had a VTEC Honda at the time that I used to abuse (8k redline on a daily basis) with 3 times the mileage. Never let me down.

I car that’s been out off sale for over a decade is hardly representative of the current cars. Renault who made awful **** in the early part of the century yet sorted themselves out in 2008. It’s fairly safe to ignore the advice of the “never buy french” crowd.

Dravokivich

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/toyota-yaris-1-0-2008-low-milage/20719617

^
Yaris might be worth a shot. but just looking on Donedeal for hatchbacks priced 1500 -> 3000, there seems to be plenty of things to look at from 2008+

So look for something that takes your fancy and enquire about it, may be a better approach.

fastrac

Carina E

TheBoyConor

Depending on the length of you commute a second had nissan leaf might be idea. A bigger purchase cost as they are not that old but you'll rapidly start recover costs through the comparatively negligible "fuel" costs vs a petrol car. Small tax too.

If your situation means you cannot use an electric car then go for maybe a Nissan Tiida. Great little car. Boring and reliable and cheap.

Mad_maxx

Hoboo wrote: »

Or is it they're not bad, but not as good as say German or Japanese. And therefore, in comparison, bad.

German cars are over rated perhaps?

If you have a reputation for getting out of bed early, you can lie on until noon

A Honda is obviously a better car than a dacia but buying a dacia is still a reasonable consumer choice

Mad_maxx

TheBoyConor wrote: »

Depending on the length of you commute a second had nissan leaf might be idea. A bigger purchase cost as they are not that old but you'll rapidly start recover costs through the comparatively negligible "fuel" costs vs a petrol car. Small tax too.

If your situation means you cannot use an electric car then go for maybe a Nissan Tiida. Great little car. Boring and reliable and cheap.

Nissan tilda, the car that hit every ugly branch on the way down

Probably a good car but you need a discount for hideousness

stimpson

Oafley Jones wrote: »

I car that’s been out off sale for over a decade is hardly representative of the current cars. Renault who made awful **** in the early part of the century yet sorted themselves out in 2008. It’s fairly safe to ignore the advice of the “never buy french” crowd.

Compared to a Japanese car that hasn’t been on sale for 25 years. Maybe they have improved lately, but what’s the OP going to pick up for 3k? I’d be going Korean or Japanese.

ELM327

fastrac wrote: »

Carina E

+1, great yokes to go and never let you down.

TeaBagMania

eezipc wrote: »

You can use the same advice when it comes to choosing men.

Cant speak for the men, but the same holds true for the women.
They really go downhill fast

colm_mcm

TeaBagMania wrote: »

Cant speak for the men, but the same holds true for the women.
They really go downhill fast

It’s like anything else, if you service them regularly, fix what needs doing, and throw enough money at it, it’ll be grand.

TheBoyConor

Mad_maxx wrote: »

Nissan tilda, the car that hit every ugly branch on the way down

Probably a good car but you need a discount for hideousness

Style, pzazz, performance or comfort were not mentioned by the OP. She wants a cheap economical and reliable runabout to get from a to be. Being ugly doesn't hinder that so it is an ideal choice. Why pay for flash if you don't want or value it.

Mad_maxx

TheBoyConor wrote: »

Style, pzazz, performance or comfort were not mentioned by the OP. She wants a cheap economical and reliable runabout to get from a to be. Being ugly doesn't hinder that so it is an ideal choice. Why pay for flash if you don't want or value it.

Would you allow someone you love to buy a Nissan tilda?

For Forks Sake

completedit wrote: »

Nice one , thanks for all the replies. budget is 3 grand. short drive along the m50 back and forth probably around 1 hour a day. Really just looking for somethin to get me from a to b. no notions.

Honda Jazz

Mazda 2

Seat Ibiza

Fiesta

Yaris

Or something a bit bigger:

Mazda 3


Focus

Kia Cee'd

Corrolla

TeaBagMania

nice motors indeed but those cars are all ten years old, might want to check on insurance premiums before pulling the trigger

ax530

Ford Focus.
Had one for long time reasonable price, very reliable always found it easy to get serviced and the few parts I did need to replace (mirrors, rear wiper motor..) got very easily 2nd hand.

commited

If you want hassle free I'd go for a small Japanese hatchback. If you can up the budget a bit, an 09 Jazz is a great shout:
https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/2009-honda-jazz-i-vtec-es-5dr/20018843

biko

Top 100 reliable car in UK
https://www.reliabilityindex.com/top-100

Macdarack

Hyundai getz 2004 model.
Nissan micra 2004 model
Toyota yaris 2001 model