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Suggestions on cheapest reliable cars

rowanh

2-3k, ideally with NCT

Reliable and low maintenance cost

Cheap to insure

I have not had a car in ten years so insurance is pretty high. I am moving from the city centre out to Wicklow so I think a car will be needed..

Any suggestions on things to look out for?

I would assume it is still the case that French & Italian cars are the most unreliable and cheap German cars are more likely to need expensive work done?

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Bigmac1euro

Toyota Avensis

photosmart

With that budget small petrol japanese

rowanh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118170449#Comment_118170449

Would you take an Avensis with 300k kms on it over a 1L Japanese car with 100k km?

Bigmac1euro

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118173168#Comment_118173168

Probably not, I bought an Avensis 2004 nearly 2 years ago for 600 quid with 92,000 miles on it and I still have it and its running perfectly I haven't spent a cent on it. Except wipers and tyres. I've had bad experiences with budget cars the last couple of years and for reliability the Avensis is in a different league. The worst I had was an Almera by a mile.

While the avensis is not the prettiest of cars and has a few bumps from the previous owner the engine seems bullet proof to me. Still plenty of them on the road today, I think I read anything before 2006 is pretty reliable.

mankteln

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118174013#Comment_118174013

Is it a petrol or diesel version? Petrol always seems to be cheaper in them for some reason

Bigmac1euro

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118177281#Comment_118177281

It is the 1.6 petrol version. I use it now to transport my dog around in, but its still running perfectly. Went electric recently.

Stallingrad

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/renault-clio-1-2-petrol-5-door/29694222

Circa 2010 Clio are very reliable, capable cars. Rad subframes corrode but not a big job, other than that they are really bombproof little cars.

JCN12

Would mainly just avoid Citroen/ Peugeot for naggily type issues.

Older Polo/ Golf's can be good value.

BeepBeep67

How about an i30 1.6D?

My son picked one up, I was surprised with its quality and seems pretty bulletproof (I know I've just jinxed it)?

chicorytip

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118183756#Comment_118183756

A Nissan Note 2006-13.

Sexual Chocolate

Civic 1.8 probably one of the most reliable cars for that money.

billyhead

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118189288#Comment_118189288

Would insurance not be too high? Better off going for the 1.4 litre Civic.

rowanh

Thanks guys, will have a browse looking at them.

Sexual Chocolate

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118190775#Comment_118190775

Insurance isnt always based in engine size or power.

FrankC21

Renault megane or fluence 1.5 dci cheap, economical and you couldn't care less if it gets a scratch.

JCN12

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118212438#Comment_118212438

OP mentioned needing reliable though. 🤔

colm_mcm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118193992#Comment_118193992

Can confirm insurance is a bit expensive on the 1.8 Civic.

colm_mcm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118215996#Comment_118215996

Megane is a great car for bad roads, suspension is quite comfy. They’re a reliable car too.

if OP wants a diesel, it’s one of the best choices out there. We got a very very clean 12 reg with 110kkm on it a few months ago, for under €5k - you just won’t get anything as good for the money.

FrankC21

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118215996#Comment_118215996

What are you talking about? I own a 2014 fluence same engine with megane did not have any major problem with it, and It will save you money and time going to petrol station (specially with ridiculous fuel prices at present) as its very economical, full tank covers 1000km range.

JCN12

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118218871#Comment_118218871

Frank, I remember the when you were buying the Fluence last year.

The reality is that older diesels are not as reliable vs petrol. Some get lucky, some don't. You will find out how reliable yours is over the course of several years of ownership.

As Photosmart mentioned above, small and Japanese is probably the best way to go, unless the OP has a requirement for big Miles/ large car etc. .

Slightly off topic, but you don't need a diesel to get 1000 km per tank, even from a big petrol car, it's achievable if you drive it right. 😉

bazz26

By drive it right do you mean switch off the engine and let it coast? Very few if any average petrol cars will have an actual range of 1000km per tank in reality no matter what way you drive them. If you can get 1000km range from a petrol car then chances are you will get even more range from a diesel car otherwise they would not exist.

But the OP probably doesn't need something with a very long range as they don't mention it in their original post. The problem is that in today's used car market 2k-3k doesn't get you much especially smallish and Japanese unless you go back to something made in the mid 2000 and then you run into issues with insurance companies telling you they won't cover it because of it's age.

You really have to look outside the box to balance purchase price versus value. Decent cars with a reputation for being reliable like Corolla, Civic, Yaris, etc command a hefty price unless you go older. I wouldn't discount the likes of Renault either, they make some pretty decent cars these days and are probably just as reliable as any other European brand. They have a bit of a bad reputation from the 2000s when they were not reliable that has still bit of a stigma attached as well as the usual old pub talk. But that helps keep prices more realistic in the current inflated used car market. A Clio is definitely worth looking at, they tend to be cheaper than the equivalent Yaris because they are a Renault but they are actually a very good car and don't give a lot of problems.

If you want something Japanese then look at something that's not on everyone's radar, like a Mitsubishi Lancer. They are an old school Japanese design and most people tend to over look them.

Maybe something like this:

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/2010-mitsubishi-lancer/29777909

bazz26

The smaller Colt is worth a look at too:

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/mitsubishi-colt-2009-1-3-petrol/29561620

JCN12

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118219707#Comment_118219707

Switching off the engine and coasting is frankly very dangerous and unnecessary.

With direct injection fuel systems, just taking your foot of the throttle will achieve the same thing. By driving right, one needs to be smooth and predictive and not be pushing the speed limits everywhere.

Nothing against Renault per se, just the choice of diesel doesn't necessarily suit the OPs criteria very well in my opinion. The Clio would be solid choice too, as would Suzuki and Daihatsu.