Wife's first car - preferably an automatic - €6>8K. How to go about it?

antiskeptic

Hi,

Looking for advice re: the above.

I see lots of Honda Fit's and Toyato Vitz's which I gather are Jap imports. I want an easy life and don't fancy spending time working around service difficulty or checking whether the import is kosher or not. Are there other downsides to imports?

Are there other good (automatic) brands bar these two Japanese? Ford? Mitsubishi?

What car-checking ought be done no brainer (e.g. Greenlight)

Is there any way to check if the mileage is genuine (e.g. NCT records)

Hybrids: what ought to be looked out for?

Thanks for any tips on the above or any other tips you might have

User1998

The only problem is some Japanese imports don’t have immobilisers so they get stolen a lot. Toyota Vitz is an example of this.

Look for cars with immobilisers as standard or get one fitted aftermarket.

There are also websites similar to Greenlight that check the history in Japan as well as Ireland

You won’t have much issues with repairs or servicing

hoodie6029

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058282718/wifes-first-car-preferably-an-automatic-6-8k-how-to-go-about-it

Motorcheck etc have the last few mileages from the NCT and highlight if there is a discrepancy.

One of the Northside Dublin dealers specialises in Japanese imports and fits immobilisers on all sales. Their name escapes me now.

Car ownership in Japan is very expensive and their test much stricter than ours so there should be no issue with a recent import.

Drawback on a hybrid in a small car is that you lose boot space.

Best of luck and let us know what you buy!

antiskeptic

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120205542#Comment_120205542

Many thanks for getting back to me. I wonder what that says about our respective socieitys: that Japan doesn't see fit to fit immobilisers to their cars.

Thanks for the steer - imports opens up as an open. Which opens up the field.

antiskeptic

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120220440#Comment_120220440

Thanks for the pointers, which will add to my confidence going down the import route. It does appear that they dominate sales of learner cars at my price point.

Redsoxfan

Am looking at similar at the moment.

Curious on hybrids like the Aqua and the Fit. There are plenty of 2013 examples on sale here but as far as I know, neither model was sold as hybrid in UK or Ireland.

Is battery failure/replacement an issue to be concerned about especially considering the models were sold locally?

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120293068#Comment_120293068

No. Battery replacement is uncommon, but is relatively cheap and easy

Redsoxfan

Thanks, but to be clear, I am asking about the hybrid battery not the standard battery (that any car will have).

Does this make sense? I think there will be both.

bazz26

I'd be more concerned about them being stolen than the battery to be honest. Many of them don't have a factory immobiliser so are easy target for thieves and joyriders. Even if they have an immobiliser fitted it might not stop a thief from causing damage trying to steal them. So unless you live out in the sticks these models just draw onwanted attention now unfortunately.

Furze99

What sort of decent car can you get for €8K these days?

Squatman

https://www.aosom.ie/item/homcom-licensed-bmw-i8-coupe-kids-ride-on-car-6v-w-remote-lights-horn-music-vehicle~370-118V70.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=google_shopping&%243p=a_google_adwords&%24always_deeplink=false&gclid=CjwKCAiAxvGfBhB-EiwAMPakqv65IYBuwYsb9nR5jZ8NJKT6d_JPwXiMbmQ5jCMg2opcMZW-R_fl5RoCo6UQAvD_BwE&gclid=CjwKCAiAxvGfBhB-EiwAMPakqv65IYBuwYsb9nR5jZ8NJKT6d_JPwXiMbmQ5jCMg2opcMZW-R_fl5RoCo6UQAvD_BwE&~ad_set_id&~campaign_id=15992732811&~channel=x&~keyword&~placement&~campaign=IE%20%5BPMax%5D%20Pet%20%26%20Kids&_branch_match_id=1158723250781697640&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA7VRW27bMBA8Df1j0I6kSLYLCIFkO0ViqHCMNm3yQ9DUWqTNV0VJdG5fKn2gFwhAgtjZ2Z2dJe866z7N59Q4o6i1s%2FFKoS%2FzOxTfJjanpDGmkUBo7U1bu0mAqfT0zZEawI7U%2FESlg0nDpKjz9dnv1oUorsPnU8lLvBW%2BqPb08nPI0oeXsvcv7rjSh%2FT8uvzyuPua1eRx73%2BI6qie0vO6amJjWfX6HR%2FISaYHszbZt6di2JDSb0fpICWPlF1I38qcj8OjpEDxfTje%2B9m7jZmAEIoOVHi4UcwoLAUD7aDGR%2BWxWGJmegv4ImqHW1EDNhoz2uJswB63oEwHoaThncPctBqr3gmGB%2BCCSUCLbbK4wVG0fF7czHinJEru%2B04RZ%2FqWAUo2v1eG4mxEFdSiVwFllv2BGFWWikb%2FoxLHjbVCN5PQ%2FG%2BWhHVG6WoVL5J4GUXvKU61Bplf%2F%2BflD9spSst9Ra8o3Uz30E2DznQXzH38p%2FwCwPOQ%2F0ECAAA%3D

I got this one for my son. Probably BMWs most reliable car

Squatman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120293524#Comment_120293524

https://www.aosom.ie/item/homcom-licensed-bmw-i8-coupe-kids-ride-on-car-6v-w-remote-lights-horn-music-vehicle~370-118V70.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=google_shopping&%243p=a_google_adwords&%24always_deeplink=false&gclid=CjwKCAiAxvGfBhB-EiwAMPakqv65IYBuwYsb9nR5jZ8NJKT6d_JPwXiMbmQ5jCMg2opcMZW-R_fl5RoCo6UQAvD_BwE&gclid=CjwKCAiAxvGfBhB-EiwAMPakqv65IYBuwYsb9nR5jZ8NJKT6d_JPwXiMbmQ5jCMg2opcMZW-R_fl5RoCo6UQAvD_BwE&~ad_set_id&~campaign_id=15992732811&~channel=x&~keyword&~placement&~campaign=IE%20%5BPMax%5D%20Pet%20%26%20Kids&_branch_match_id=1158723250781697640&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA7VRW27bMBA8Df1j0I6kSLYLCIFkO0ViqHCMNm3yQ9DUWqTNV0VJdG5fKn2gFwhAgtjZ2Z2dJe866z7N59Q4o6i1s%2FFKoS%2FzOxTfJjanpDGmkUBo7U1bu0mAqfT0zZEawI7U%2FESlg0nDpKjz9dnv1oUorsPnU8lLvBW%2BqPb08nPI0oeXsvcv7rjSh%2FT8uvzyuPua1eRx73%2BI6qie0vO6amJjWfX6HR%2FISaYHszbZt6di2JDSb0fpICWPlF1I38qcj8OjpEDxfTje%2B9m7jZmAEIoOVHi4UcwoLAUD7aDGR%2BWxWGJmegv4ImqHW1EDNhoz2uJswB63oEwHoaThncPctBqr3gmGB%2BCCSUCLbbK4wVG0fF7czHinJEru%2B04RZ%2FqWAUo2v1eG4mxEFdSiVwFllv2BGFWWikb%2FoxLHjbVCN5PQ%2FG%2BWhHVG6WoVL5J4GUXvKU61Bplf%2F%2BflD9spSst9Ra8o3Uz30E2DznQXzH38p%2FwCwPOQ%2F0ECAAA%3D

aas

Redsoxfan

Are there any Japanese cars imported here that would have an immobiliser as standard?

Or any importer why would bother fitting as standard?

Redsoxfan

I have been told the following - any car with push button start will have an immobiliser fitted as standard - which makes sense but is it true?

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120293482#Comment_120293482

I’m talking about the hybrid battery. Its not a common repair, and is easy to replace

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120293888#Comment_120293888

All of them, except for:

Demio non push start

Vitz non push start

Fielder non push start

Aqua non push start

Redsoxfan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120294871#Comment_120294871

I thought they had a limited life - 10 years or so. It's more the cost to replace I'd be curious on - read that it could be pricey (like thousands), and parts would need to be sourced from Japan. But am new enough to this so not sure at all.

I know that most (all?) of the automatic petrol VW Polos that you see for sale are Japanese imports also - but what about the Citroen C3 and Peugeot 208?

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120295429#Comment_120295429

No, they don’t have a limited life. Its only €400 or so, its an easy job for anyone who specialises in it. The same hybrid battery is used across a whole range of cars

Pretty much all small automatic cars are from Japan.