First car/Decisions decisions

gary the great

Went to have a look at one yesterday and it was in ****e despite the owner saying on the phone it was in great condition. Finding it tough to find a nice one at about 2k

zilog_jones

Have you looked into getting one imported? You'll probably find better examples in the UK.

And there's Japan too - the ones you're looking at were sold as the Mazda Lantis there - however at that price range it may not be feasible (VRT and shipping could be at least a grand alone). Actually, I think they only sold them with the 1.8 and 2 litre V6 over there.

Also there's the 323C, or Familia Neo (Jpn spec). It's pretty similar, and was allegedly sold in Europe with 1.3, 1.5 and 1.8 engines (1.5 and 1.8 in Japan). However, it's only a 3-door, and it's pretty rare - I think I've seen more imports than 323 versions.

gary the great

I wouldnt import one, maybe when im upgrading to something more expensive i would but not for something this cheap.

Just rang this guy and it has loads of extras (s/r, a/c, alloys.good sound system etc) although its a bit over my budget and the mileage is high. What do yous think?

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=526821


Maybe thinkin of turning my attentions to something like a colt or megane, cos i cant find a 323f for a good price and good condition.

PS anyone know the tax for a 1.5?

colm_mcm

Gurgle wrote:

QUOTE]
A 00 Astra.........tbh the 1.2 is a much better engine, very nippy too. Harder to get though

colm_mcm wrote:

Are you on drugs?

Gurgle wrote:

Not at the moment.
Have you a point to make?

I figured someone not under the influence of mind altering substances would notice that the 1.2 Ecotec can barely pull a Corsa along, never mind an Astra which is already too heavy for a 1.4 engine. To suggest that the 64bhp (4bhp less than a Yaris 1.0) 1.2 is "a much better engine" and to then call a car that takes 17 seconds to get to 60mph "nippy" would suggest that either you were out of your mind on drugs, or didn't know what you were talking about. Which was it?

Gurgle

colm_mcm wrote:

I figured someone not under the influence of mind altering substances would notice that the 1.2 Ecotec can barely pull a Corsa along, never mind an Astra which is already too heavy for a 1.4 engine. To suggest that the 64bhp (4bhp less than a Yaris 1.0) 1.2 is "a much better engine" and to then call a car that takes 17 seconds to get to 60mph "nippy" would suggest that either you were out of your mind on drugs, or didn't know what you were talking about. Which was it?

Its not the same engine as the Corsa, I wouldn't take a Corsa if it came free with a bottle of coke.
Wife's '00 Astra 1.2 does not take 17 seconds to get to 60mph. It certainly beats the crap out of her previous car, a 1.5 Almera which needed planning permission to overtake a Honda 50.
The 1.4 Astras apparently have timing belts that can snap at any given moment once they reach 50k miles, the 1.2 has a timing chain that will do well over 100k miles. Having driven a '02 1.4 and a '00 1.2 the performance difference is barely noticable, and the handling on the 1.2 is far better.

gary the great wrote:

Just rang this guy and it has loads of extras (s/r, a/c, alloys.good sound system etc) although its a bit over my budget and the mileage is high. What do yous think?

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index...r&carID=526821


Maybe thinkin of turning my attentions to something like a colt or megane, cos i cant find a 323f for a good price and good condition.

If you want to buy a sound system with 17" alloys, that car will suit you nicely. If you want to spend your money on a car 3.5k for a '98 with 125k miles on the clock is insane.
I personally hate meganes, no power and they handle like a pig. Haven't been in a Colt made after 1990, but that was pretty reasonable.
Here is a '97 Corolla with half the mileage for 3k.

gary the great

Ye your right about paying that money for the mazda, i have to use my head over my heart. But i have to get something that looks nice, thats my priority, and although the corrola is ok, (might even pop out and have a look at it) it just doesnt look great, but it ticks all the other boxes

3ps

i've looked at a few 323Fs and they all had oil leaks in the engine.

You are in a dangerous territory. You seem to "like" cars but your budget is quite low. You are being drawn to "interesting" cars.... but at your current budget you could quite easily buy a dog.

Captain Slow IRL

3ps wrote:

i've looked at a few 323Fs and they all had oil leaks in the engine.

You are in a dangerous territory. You seem to "like" cars but your budget is quite low. You are being drawn to "interesting" cars.... but at your current budget you could quite easily buy a dog.

I agree - you should just look at the cars under €1k in the buyandsell, get a starlet, micra or civic with a long nct and put your remaining funds towards your next car. You are gonna have a few dings with your first car and it won't feel as bad when you do cause you know you won't have blown all your money on it. It's also good to have some money set aside for any work that'll need to be done to your car.
At the end of the day, you get what you pay for - and 2k isn't a lot nowadays for a good car. Have a little patience, (it'll be worth it in the end) drive around in an old ladies car for a bit, save and buy a decent car (speaking from experience)

Gurgle

land9 wrote:

you should just look at the cars under €1k in the buyandsell

I dunno about that, you would be doing very well to get something for <€1k that will last you through more than 6 months. €2k can get you several years of motoring.

Captain Slow IRL

you'd be surprised - the old jap cars are capable of colossal mileage; I've seen starlets and civics with mileage in excess of 200k on the clock - they start and drive without fault and can sail through any nct. They are also very light on the wallet when servicing comes around.

Gurgle

land9 wrote:

you'd be surprised - the old jap cars are capable of colossal mileage; I've seen starlets and civics with mileage in excess of 200k on the clock - they start and drive without fault and can sail through any nct. They are also very light on the wallet when servicing comes around.

I know that, you know that, the people selling the old jap cars know that. Check the price on a micra/starlet/civic from '95 or so and you'll see what I mean.

Captain Slow IRL

i was on about the older cars - around 90/91

gary the great

Im still looking lads, havent found anything yet and im not gonna rush it.

Its gonna be the mazda 323F, a civic or colt.

Thing is would a 323F which has a 1.5 engine, use much more petrol than a 1.3 colt or 1.4 civic? And is tasx much dearer (how much is tax on a 1.3, 1.4 and 1.5)

What im trying to get at is am i going to spend a fortune running the mazda, compared to a 1.3 colt?

As a new driver, i dont know how much its gonna cost me. Il be doing all city driving with probly about 80kms a week

Gurgle

gary the great wrote:

Thing is would a 323F which has a 1.5 engine, use much more petrol than a 1.3 colt or 1.4 civic? And is tasx much dearer (how much is tax on a 1.3, 1.4 and 1.5)

The donkey-track tax (often cynically referred to as road tax :rolleyes: ) is €272 per year for a 1.3, 292 for a 1.4 and €313 for a 1.5
(Here)
Generally a bigger car will use more petrol, but not always. Depends on the car and the type of driving. You won't see much difference between those 3.

zilog_jones

land9 wrote:

i was on about the older cars - around 90/91

Unfortunately, Japanese cars do rust. My grandad has a '91 Corolla and that started rusting about 4/5 years ago, most notably around the rear windscreen (dunno how bad it is now).

Also, if you're planning on going with Quinn Direct for insurance, be warned that they'll significantly increase the premium if the car is worth €2,000 or less, regardless of the age of the car.

Have you been looking around for insurance quotes with different cars you're interested in? If it's the first car you'll be insured on and you're on a provisional, then a year's insurance will probably cost nearly as much or more than the car. Quinn and Hibernian were the only people who gave me reasonable quotes for my '98 Fiesta (I'm 21 though) - everyone else I tried were looking for over €2,500!

3ps

I spent €700 on a 1992 323F once and three years later (i don't own it anymore) it is still going strong and could be sold for the same amount.

With a sub €1000 car you can either have astory like the above or your can get a wreck.... in which case you dump it ane cut your small losses.

With a 2-3k car you can STILL get something that will cost a fortune to maintain and you won't feel like cutting your losses as that would be 2-3k.

So until you are in a position to spend 5-6k on a decent car and have 1-2k left over for major servicing I think you should go the sub 1k route.

gary the great

Add a hyudai accent and Fiat Bravo (I know its a fiat but my mam had one with no trouble and its a whole lot of car for the money id be paying, they seem to be going for about 1500 or so)to that list of possible cars, they seem decent enough and have a decent price tag. this one is nice although the nct is out in a couple of months. Any experiences with them?

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=531760

bazz26

gary the great wrote:

Add a hyudai accent to that list of possible cars, they seem decent enough and have a decent price tag. this one is nice although the nct is out in a couple of months. Any experiences with them?

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=531760

Gary if your still looking for a Mazda 323f then drop a guy on here called Junkyard a pm. I saw on his sig that he has a 1996 323F going for around the €2k mark. It might be worth a look. He is based in Cork afaik.

PS. I have no connection with Junkyard.

3ps

I heard those Hyundai's are heavy on the juice!

Fiat Bravo's are hard to shift but you could take a chance on one. It'll be cheap and more than likely won't cost any more to maintain than any other car in that price bracket. The 1.2 is nippy too.

orbital83

heard those Hyundai's are heavy on the juice!

Have a Hyundai Accent 3-door as my first car (the 1.3 litre) and I love it...
Not that pricey, hasn't let me down yet and looks OK too!
The fuel point is unfortunately true though, 35mpg is the best you could hope for