old car recommendations

pclancy

ok heres the craic. Im starting a business and need something to get me around to do jobs. I have a 93 1.3 honda civic which i havent driven since getting a €4945 quote for my renewal in febuary and im gonna sell that. I had a crash last year but was just before my renewal so i have one years no claims. Im 21, had my full licence since i was 19 and live in laois. Dont want performance or looks just a car, saloon size if possible. Gonna get ridden on insurance anyway.

I want somethin for not more then two grand to get me around, dont give a **** what it looks like (my days of alloys and tinted windows are well over!) as long as its very reliable. I want to buy it and drive it for about a year till i can afford to buy a van for the business.

Have a few in mind that ive found on motorweb for under 2G. Im thinking something japenese for reliability.

1. 93 Nissan Sunny 1.3
2. 94 Toyota Corolla 1.3
3. 92 Renault Laguna 1.6
4. Colt of some age
5. Mazda 323F 1.5

I think any of the above would be a lot less then the civic to insure cos they seem to crap themselves when they hear the word honda.

Ideas/experiance of above cars/suggestions all welcome please!

Fabritzo

1. Mazda 323F 1.5 dunno if u can afford it but I've driven it briefly, nice car visiblity not the best, I found it very responsive and eager to please...thy have some status also

2. The Corolla. You'll find it hard to beat for most stuff except that's it's iretrievebly boring. I like the saloon version with the big boot

3. The Colt. It's only here because I put number 3 down, I don't really rate them but I'm sure they're a lovely car, if a little girly.

Quigs Snr

1. 93 Nissan Sunny 1.3

Fine.

2. 94 Toyota Corolla 1.3

Solid as a rock, my dad had one as a taxi. Lasted for 300,000 miles before he retired it.

3. 92 Renault Laguna 1.6

Rubbish. Reasonable car, but the bits fall off. Electrics etc.... dodgy and sometimes expensive to repair. Had a 96 Megane for a while, same thing. It's a french thing.

4. Colt of some age

Fine but small.

5. Mazda 323F 1.5

Grand. Dated, but good car, nippy even in 1.5.


Maybe also look at a 93 Civic 1.3/1.5 saloon as well. Nice looking car and rock solid reliable.

Borzoi

With that selection I'd buy the Toyota

(Of course if I was buying an older car, I'd always buy a Toyota, reliabale as hell, and cheap to repair if anything does go wrong)

Abraxas

I own a '97 Corolla 1.3 (old '92 - '97 model) and a '90 Mazda 323F 1.6. Perhaps you're looking at the newer model, but of the two cars, the Mazda's better all round imo. The Mazda has double the mileage of the Corolla, is seven years older and hadn't been treated well by its previous owner of four years, but it'd still be my preference for a long journey. The old type 323F was marketed as a coupe so expect that to affect the insurance.

Abraxas

Btw, apart from a flat battery from leaving an interior light on, the Toyota's never failed us once in three years. If it's reliability you're looking for, you can't go wrong with either car.

DMC

I agree with the others, the Corolla is the best bet of that lot.

DMC

I should add, Corolla, so long as its not an import.

Abraxas

Unless it's a new-ish car, don't go near any import - even then be wary.

pclancy

my 93 civic was an import and i drove the balls out of it for two years without any hassle whatsoever. It flew the NCT, was cheap to service (though official honda dealers wouldnt touch it) and if it wasnt so hard to insure id still be driving it. Ive driven as far as Ennis, Donegal, Belfast, Cork and Tralee and every day around dublin and its factory installed battery was the only thing to fail which i dont think was bad after 10 years! It was fast, economical and good looking and I think they were fantastic cars.

KoNiT

The corolla would be my choice, sturdy, good economy,
Lots about so parts would be cheap (breakers)

Bit of a difference between a colt & a laguna

If you get the mazda 323F, price the pop-up headlights first....

Don't buy a renault that old

I dont like nissan (personal taste) even the skyline is bland to look at...weapon of a car though

Selik

Hey P Clancy,
I'm selling my 1993 1.4 Golf if you're interested? Cheap, cheerful and very reliable in my experience! Feel free to make me an offer...



http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/t89191.html

pclancy

no sorry mate, i just could never get myself to like golfs. Great car, very solid, well built and reliable- I just dont like their shape and styling. Cheers anyway.

ednwireland

i've got an 88 corolla passed it's nct last november again so i can't say a bad thing about them watch the derby built ones i think they lost their quality control setting up the new factory i think ll the carina e's (94-96) were made there and the early ones were unreliable later ones were better corrollas were made there from 96 on i think
mind you i lived in derby when the factory was setup and the wages were crap

commited

Corrolla or Primera would be my choice