€5000 to spend

gaffmaster

Hello all,

My girlfriend is buying her first car and has MAXIMUM €5000.

She needs something reliable

Small but not tiny (she drives a Corolla at the moment)

As new as posible.

Any recommendations?? The reliability is paramount, since she will be taking long trips at mad hours on her own.

Cheers

Henry Ford III

Ka. Very under rated but a super first car. 1.3 though.

alias no.9

I'd second the Ka. It doesn't feel small when driving it, i.e. it's nice and solid on the road, it accellerates well, handling is great and the brakes are reasonable. It's only when parking that you realise how small it is. The mechanicals are well proven and simple, the kind that you can fix with a hammer if anything did go wrong.

alias no.9

Oh and private, €5000 should be getting you a 2001 or 2002 car.

fletch

alias no.9 wrote:

Oh and private, €5000 should be getting you a 2001 or 2002 car.

Hopefully a nice Ka Collection or Luxury as these look a lot more modern with the colour coded bumpers.

colm_mcm

doesn't the Ka count as being tiny?

bazz26

Better off with a 1.25 Fiesta rather than the Ka imo. The Ka uses a 1.3 litre 8 valve engine that originates back to the 1960s. Makes no sence to me why Ford put a 1.3 engine in a city car which is designed to be a cheap runabout.

The Fiesta's 1.25 litre Zetec engine is much better (designed by Yamaha) and you would have the option of buying a 5 door which is more practical than the 3 door only Ka. €5k should get you a 2000 model, best go for the Ghia model as this will have alot of toys such as alloy wheels or air conditioning.

Alternatively, if the Fiesta is too small and she was happy with the Corolla why not go for another one.

richardson2525

stick with a corrola. cant get much more reliable than a toyota, or a honda

alias no.9

bazz26 wrote:

Better off with a 1.25 Fiesta rather than the Ka imo. The Ka uses a 1.3 litre 8 valve engine that originates back to the 1960s. Makes no sence to me why Ford put a 1.3 engine in a city car which is designed to be a cheap runabout.

1950's even. In the Ka, it's more than powerful enough. They're as dependable as you get, they take dogs abuse with little maintenance. They tend to have had easier lives than fiestas and here's the thing, it's for his girlfriend, if you put a Ka and a Fiesta in front of a girl, they will almost always go for the Ka.

gaffmaster

Thanks for your replies.

I've passed on your comments.

I think she might need something with a little more boot space than a ka.

It's funny how everyone seems to have a different opinion on what the most reliable cars are. Most say japanese.

She is interested in a Fiat Punto. How reliable are they? Not just engine, but for all the other niggley things too?

Henry Ford III

Say no to Punto.

esskay

Please please please don't buy a punto. Everyone knows FIAT stands for
"Fix It Again Tomorrow". I have a 2000 Punto ELX and its a bag of sh1te!

1 The wipers will defo break, there is a plastic washer in the arm that always wears out and the stealer will charge you e120 for a new one.

2 The clutch will more than likely go at around 40,000 miles.

3 The electrics are crap, you will be plagued buy small niggly problems that will drive you mad.

I now drive a 14 year old VW that costs me less in maintenance that the 2000 punto.

Henry Ford III

Audi - Automobile under demonic influence.

BMW - Broke my wallet

Fiat - Fix it again Tony.

Ford - Fixed or repaired daily.

Honda - Had one never did again.

Lotus - Lots of trouble usually serious.

Pontiac - Poor old numbskull thinks it's a Cadillac.

Porsche - Proof of rich spoiled children having everything.

Saab - Sad attempt at beauty.

Toyota - The one you ought to avoid.

VW - Virtually worthless.

gaffmaster

Hmmmm yeah i had heard bad things about the punto before. Confirmation is good.

She really likes the new style micra. Think it started in 02 or 03, probably wouldnt get one for less than five grand though??

I've recommended the yaris, but they're hard to find.

Anything else out there that wont cause trouble.

Thanks for your help

paraicr

What about a mitsubishi Colt

Good looking car, reliable, and the 1.3 engine is pretty good.
Have a 1.3 lancer and do over 400 miles per week and never had a sniff of a problem. Could probably pick up a 00 for 5grand or close to it!!

maidhc

gaffmaster wrote:

Anything else out there that wont cause trouble.

Anything can give trouble, and even a Toyota can break your heart. From the experience of cars we have had (4x toyotas and 4x fords) the Fords have been the more reliable (brilliant actually); but Toyota's service is excellent (they have paid for repairs on a 4year old car with 80k for starters).

nirmalkishore

Not sure if you'd get a near to new one for 5K, but the Peugot 206 is great. It's a 1.1L engine, looks and drives cool. For 5K you might be able to get a '99 or '00.

I just bought a Suzuki Wagon R+ for €4500. It's a 2001 with 1.3 engine and just 17.5K miles on it. It drives great. Some might not like the shape which is a lot like the Opel Agila, but I did so got it. You should be able to get a 2001 for the 5K.

The_Magoo

What about a Skoda Fabia?

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=361022

basically a VW Polo underneath, reliable cars, quite classy looking too.

bazz26

nirmalkishore wrote:

I just bought a Suzuki Wagon R+ for €4500. It's a 2001 with 1.3 engine and just 17.5K miles on it. It drives great. Some might not like the shape which is a lot like the Opel Agila, but I did so got it. You should be able to get a 2001 for the 5K.

That is because the Suzuki Wagon R+ and Opel Agila are the same car. Suzuki make the car and Opel stick their badges on them.

PS. The Fabia is a good choice.

*Lolly*

Why dont ya try carzone.ie?

DrummerBoy

If she after something that looks like new and is uber reliable plus has a surprising amount of space in the boot for it's size you could check out the link in my sig below.
Of course if she wants more than two seats then maybe it isn't the car for her!

ninty9er

why not an almera. they seem fairly good but the current 00 model is 1.5 is that too big. why not a 00 escort, end of the line they're dirt cheap and a decent solid car, though i've heard they're thirsty

judesherry

I know you said you wanted a car with a bigger boot than a ford ka but if you dont need to ever have people in the back putting the back seats down gives you plenty of space. this is what i done in mine and i never had a problem, but than i never really had to give people lifts.

I'm selling my 01 for 4,900. its a perfect car never had a problem wtih it.

perfect as first car as its so small but also stylish.