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

.......

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

grogi

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

With small budget I would rather go with a French than Japanese car, as the calambert will be younger or better spec for same money.

With that budget it's more about condition of the car than its passport...

Renegade Mechanic

completedit wrote: »

Anybody got any advice for 2nd hand car shopping?

No frills?
Easy Maintenance?



Get a 1.2 Dacia Sandero. The engine has been knocking about in Clios since George Bush dodged shoes and the electrics are simple enough. You'll change the wiper motor, all but guaranteed, but not much else. It's as basic as legally allowed these days.
Just have a good look before buying. They're a throwaway car, so people aren't really minding them.

H3llR4iser

grogi wrote: »

With small budget I would rather go with a French than Japanese car, as the calambert will be younger or better spec for same Dosh.

With that budget it's more about condition of the car than its passport...

Exactly - but pub talk will forever be king in Ireland, when it comes to cars. The amount of absolutely depressing sh1te on the roads of a quite frankly filthy rich city like Dublin is a testament to that.



OP, bits of advice: there is an excellent point in what Grogi said, about potentially being able to get something a bit better for the money if you go with a brand that is unpopular here in Ireland; People tend to inflate the prices they ask for Toyotas and the likes and ask for buttons for Fiats or Citroens. I understand you said "no frills", but as your commute is not really that short (you're going to basically spend a full day in the car each month), you may want some small comforts - like being able to connect your phone to the car's speakers and so on.



Also, check each car thoroughly; Never trust somebody saying "oh sure needs nothing, they're bulletproof little cars!" when trying to sell a <insert Japanese car here> - in my direct experience, it's usually a sign they haven't ever checked the coolant level on the poor thing.

TeaBagMania

Macdarack wrote: »

Hyundai getz 2004 model.

Hell Yeah, that was the first car i hired in Ireland and was fully equipped with a CD player and a power moon roof. Drove all over Ireland with the moon roof open enjoying the great weather.

I have a pic of it at home somewhere, ill see if i can find it and post it up later :cool:

fancy pigeon

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

You can't educate the thoroughly stupid, so let them ramble on like a bull with diarrhea to weed out other thickos who'll listen to them. Not that I would want them to be educated, keeps the prices down

Buy on condition, unless it's a 1.4 Golf, then you're better off with the bus