Best small car

Awful Scut

Folks,

Looking to buy a good small car. I'd only be using it at weekends and for the occasional trip down the country. I've read the less than complimentary opinions of some on here towards Puntos, but this would be my main objective at the moment - couple of friends had them and they never gave an ounce of trouble. Plus, they have a reasonable bit of boot for a 1.2 and don't cost the earth.

However, if anyone has any suggestions, I'd love to hear them. As outlined, I'm looking for 1.2-1.4ish car which won't cost an arm and a leg. Resale not overly important.

Thanks

Little-Devil

I would agree with the Fiat Punto Rep, there not very reliable and the head gasket seems to always be a problem. I would advise that if you are going to buy a punto, then make sure you try and buy from a dealer with a guarntee and at least this way if there were anything to go wrong, you would have your 1yr or 6month guarantee.

I would also suggest looking at Volkswagen Polo or Seat Ibiza on;

www.carzone.ie
www.cbg.ie

Best of Luck:)

Awful Scut

Little Devil,

Interesting, Punto always struck me as a fairly reliable yoke. Another advantage seemed that you could get a 2000-era one for circa 3k.

For price reasons alone, I'd steer clear of a Golf. Had considered an Ibiza, but they are a bit pricier than the Fiats.

Anan1

A friend's wife has an 04 Punto Active from new, it has 24,000 miles and has never given a day's trouble. She's selling it, if you're interested?

colm_mcm

Puntos can be fairly hit and miss, the 99 on model wouldn't be as reliable as the jap stuff, but is no worse than clio/206/saxo etc. And when you take the prices they're going for at the moment, a 4/5 year old is worth a gamble.

cantdecide

you could go for the likes of a 1.4 golf/ focus. definitely more reliable than the french stuff. i'd forget about the likes of a clio unless you're doing less than 5k miles a year

what's your budget?

mikedragon32

What about a Polo or a Colt?

ninty9er

astra has a big boot

bazz26

Ford Fiesta 1.25 litre Zetec or Ghia.

Great little car, good to drive and the 1.25 litre 16 valve engine is very lively. Built by Yamaha and still used today. Fiestas are generally very reliable, parts and servicing are very reasonable also. Avoid the old 1.3 litre 8 valve engine version though, it's ancient.

You should be able to pick up a clean 1998 or 1999 for no more than €3.5k.

colm_mcm

There are loads of viable options, th best thing you could do is test drive a few cars, and figure out how big a car you need.

LegacyUser

hey guys

just bought the wife a Honda Jazz

have to say its an absolute cracking car.....I went looking at everything I swear,but nothing took my fancy in the segment nearly as much as the Jazz.

Its got huge boot space,great interior space and the whole dash layout is just gorgeous....if your looking for a car in the €15-20k range this is deffo one for the short list....really am happy with this motor.

ds20prefecture

The Jazz is probably the best small car out there. But it is very expensive used. For 4k, I'd be thinking of Fiat, Skoda or Seat.

eljono

bazz26 wrote:

Ford Fiesta 1.25 litre Zetec or Ghia.

Ditto.

Blue850

About the 93 - 02 Micra? Mechanic I know says they're super relaible. BTW my sister has a 00 Punto Sporting from new which clocked up 102,000 miles last Saturday, car has never given any trouble.

m_stan

eljono wrote:

Ditto.

double ditto on the Ford Fiesta 1.25 Ghia. The girlfriend has one and I have to say it's a great little car with all the toys (electric windows and mirrors, cd player, airtbags, heated windscreen etc). Great driver - holds the road like something twice it's size and price. I love driving it and so far not an ounce of trouble.

She had a Punto before it and the Fiesta is streets ahead in terms of build quality, driveability and reliability. Her Punto also had the head gasket go. The two other people I know who have Punto's had them go too, so I would steer clear.