best 1.4L or under car??

bigbadcon · 17-11-2005 8:58pm #1

Hey all,

Im looking to buy my first car soon enough and have about €6000 to spend on it.Im 22 and a bloke so im looking for something 1.4 or under so im not crucified with the insurance.

I dont know a whole lot about cars to be honest but I was thinking of the following.

VW Golf
Opel Astra
Renault Megane
Mitsubishi Lancer

These could be terrible choices for all I know so some advice would be appreciated.

Thanks a lot

L5 · 17-11-2005 9:02pm

the only golf you'll get for 6000 will be a 96/97 if you're lucky.
Astras are a reasonably good car, reliable enough apparantly. You should be able to get a 99/00 one for 6000. Avoid Renaults, or any other French cars for that matter, they almost as unreliable as Alfas

fletch · 17-11-2005 9:15pm

Mazda 323 maybe...verry reliable car

Fabritzo · 17-11-2005 9:27pm

I don't really like the focus but it needs an honourable mention.

retenzo · 17-11-2005 10:14pm

nice 97 golf for sale in the car section for around 3 k i think!!

17-11-2005 10:27pm

Civic 1.4i,cheap to insure/run/service and within your price range

tabatha · 17-11-2005 10:35pm

i have to support the astra, i have driven one for 6 years and never had a problem. very reliable cars. they are also very solid. i take mine over to england quite a bit and do a lot of driving in it and it can handle it no problem. my neighbour who is 24 also drives one and loves it too.

HashSlinging · 17-11-2005 10:37pm

Toyota corrolla or a 00 seat leon. very good cars esp the seat....

bazz26 · 17-11-2005 11:43pm

maidhc · 18-11-2005 12:01am

Give the french cars a pass.

Id naturally be inclined towards the Toyota because of the age and mileage you are going to be talking about. Not the most stylish or great to drive, although the 3dr of that era looks well. No car is guaranteed to be fault free, but the odds seem to always be better on the Toyotas.

From my experience of oldish cars (I have a bit), the Toyotas hold their value best of all the mainstream models. You wont be able to get rid of Renault or Citreon for free once its about 8 years old, but there is always someone wanting a clean Toyota, Just bear it in mind for when you start earning big money and want to upgrade.

bazz26 · 18-11-2005 12:28am

Or if you can stretch to 1.5 might be worth considering one of these:

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carid=254625

They still look very stylish imo. Not a bad first car.

bigbadcon · 18-11-2005 12:53pm

Thanks for all your posts everybody.

I think im leaning towards the astra now cause i think i could prob get a 99/00 for that money as L5 and tabatha said.

Corolla also looks good,havent even thought of that to be honest.

The reason I was interested in the Megane was because i simply liked the look of it but il give that a miss cause of the reselling problem.

Still interested in the Lancer aswell but would parts be dear??

Also Lancers hae a tendency to look old even if they're not if you no what i mean and ive only 6k to spend so i might give them a miss unless someone has one and has good reports about it??

thanks again everyone

2003yaris · 19-11-2005 2:31pm

In the 1.4L class buy a Golf, Corolla, Focus, 307 ( in that order )

In the 1.0L class buy a Polo, Yaris, 206 (in that order - unless you get an extreemly cheap yaris

)

Fey! · 19-11-2005 9:09pm

Try to avoid Jap imports; we went crazy for them a few years ago in this country, but parts aren't always easily obtainable.

Remember the Corolla ad - have you ever seen one broken down. Very reliable car.

I had a high mileage Civic, and it was a fantastic drive (it was a '95 1.5lsI coupe). However, despite an earlier post, insurance takes a hike when you say HONDA! Neither it or the Accord Coupe I had after it ever broke down, though. Watch out for boy-racer'd ones, though - they can be very rough.

There is the Skoda Fabia, but it's not as pretty as it's VW or Seat siblings, imo.

FORD - found on the road, dead
FIAT - fix it anyway, Tony, feck it all together, fix it again tomorrow!

Mazda - good car, but avoid imports (my cousin had problems getting bits prior to her NCT; we had to steal and modify indicator lenses of another car!

Rover - fine as long as you keep an eye on the coolant levels (the main reason the rover and Freelander engines fail is because people don't check the coolant, the engine overheats, and the head goes). You can get newer ones at OK money, and, afaik, parts will be available.

Nissan Almera is good - my ex had a '96 one with 210k on it; her sister has it now and it's still going strong. Flew through it's nct a few weeks ago, with no work aside from regular servicing.

Whatever you go for, try to get one with a full service history from the main dealer for the marque; you'll often find that they'll be better kept, as the owner wasn't scrimping on the service costs. These may be a couple of quid more expensive, though. Also, if it's newer than 2001 and you're buying off a garage, try for a 12 month warranty; if the garage has faith in their product, they won't have a problem with that.

Hotblack Desiato · 20-11-2005 3:15am

2003yaris wrote:

In the 1.0L class buy a Polo, Yaris, 206 (in that order - unless you get an extreemly cheap yaris )

In the 1 litre class I can heartily recommend the Corsa 12v. Plenty of torque as it's a 3 cylinder, reliable, reasonably roomy considering, very economical and cheap to insure. My GF's one maxes out at an indicated 96mph on a private test track... it actually makes it hard to justify getting a bigger car.

20-11-2005 5:33pm

Fey! wrote:

FORD - found on the road, dead

I'm not sure if you are talking about the driver or the car. But i supose the driver is pssible if you count "death by boredom"

maidhc · 20-11-2005 6:13pm

ronoc wrote:

I'm not sure if you are talking about the driver or the car. But i supose the driver is pssible if you count "death by boredom"

Fords? When is the last time you drove a Focus/Mondeo? They are really really good cars to drive, with better roadholding than many cars beloved of "petrolheads".

I have done 160k troublefree miles on my Mondeo, and I have a good few friends with Fords of various shapes. None of them have given any major trouble.

Astra is probably a reasonable choice!

20-11-2005 6:18pm

maidhc wrote:

Fords? When is the last time you drove a Focus/Mondeo? They are really really good cars to drive, with better roadholding than many cars beloved of "petrolheads".

I own a focus! While I agree their handeling and drive is very nice their performance is a bit soggy especially @ low revs.

Well the 1.4 version anyway.

I really should have got a 1.6..

Dagon · 20-11-2005 8:40pm

Get a Honda Civic EK - best car in it's class IMO. Lovely drive, looks great and just as reliable as a Toyota.

You could also get a pretty cool 95 Corolla dirt cheap and do it up!

Dilbert75 · 20-11-2005 8:43pm

You might also consider a Skoda Fabia - small, cheap enough to run, 1.4 engine is peppy enough for most people.

If getting the Astra, make sure you get it with a fresh timing belt & water pump or budget for new ones. That's the main weakness. But its not a problem if you keep on top of it.

best 1.4L or under car??

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