Suggestions for 1.2 litre or under

donnchaw

Had a bit of a run in last night so my car is no longer in use. It was a 1.2l Astra. Anyone have any suggestions for a car to replace it? Ill probably have to keep it at 1.2l or under because the no claims bonus is out the window. I drive around 400 miles a week or more though so needs to be reliable. €4000 would be absolute max budget. Also whats usually the procedure for scrapping a car, does it cost money or will the scrapyard usually give a few quid for it? Its in mostly pretty good nick but it was gonna cost a lot to get through the NCT (Shocks, brakes, etc.) so this is the final nail in the coffin.
Actually id probably consider a 1.4 diesel too considering the number of miles im driving. Any opinions on peugeot 207/307 1.4HDi or similar?

Seth Brundle

Octavia?

donnchaw

id say that might be a big problem for insurance, woudnt you? jumping from a 1.2 litre astra to a 1.6 or 1.8 octavia at the same time as losing my no claims bonus? anything a bit smaller thatd be worth a look?

donnchaw

Actually id probably consider a 1.4 diesel too considering the number of miles im driving. Any opinions on peugeot 207/307 1.4HDi or similar?

bazz26

The 1.4 HDi is probably more suited to a car the size of the 207/Fiesta/C3 than the bigger 307. The 307/Focus/Mazda 3/C4 were all available with the same 1.6 HDi engine

If you are limited to 1.4 litre or below then consider the likes of the Opel Corsa/Astra 1.3 CDTi or Toyota Yaris/Corolla 1.4 D-4D. I suppose it really depends on your budget too.

donnchaw

bazz, budget is around €4k maximum, narrows it down a lot! whats the 207 or C3 diesel like? anything to watch out for with them? what kind of mileage would be reasonable on one? dont think id manage to stretch to a corolla anyway. petrol is probably the more likely option and open to suggestions on that too but trying to find out about the diesels as well.

donnchaw

had a quick check there and looks like even the 1.4 diesel might be a bit excessive for insurance. looking like its gonna have to be a 1.2 petrol of some sort.

colm_mcm

Maybe something like a Skoda Fabia 1.2?

mp22

03 clio`s coming in at 3,900 or less

donnchaw

Thanks for the suggestions guys, appreciated! I was sort of thinking of the fabia alright, id imagine anything but the hatchback model would be desperately underpowered with the 1.2? Id probably prefer a hatchback anyway so that wouldnt be a big problem. What are they like reliability wise? Im assuming since theyre basically a vw thatd theyd be pretty good, any major known issues to beware of or watch out for?
Same with the clio, look like a nice car, are they usually reliable enough or anything to watch out for in particular? Dont know much about renaults, really cant afford to end up in and out of garage with any car. Obviously with any car in this price/age range theres a certain amount of hitting and hoping involved.

Joey the lips

I drove an 02 fabia... Brilliant car. but 2 problems

1, The emc light never goes out because there is a suspected valve that does not close right.... Never caused any trouble though

2. The manafold head or the something head was faulty and it cost 600 to get fixed.


Sorry for the vagueness


I only got rid of it cause i got tax back and bought a better car.

colm_mcm

the Fabia is reasonable enough reliability wise, I suggested it because it has a big car feel to it.

donnchaw

Thanks Joey, appreciate the tips, did you have yours for long actually?
Colm, thats what i was thinking from looking at it, has me kind of leaning towards it at the moment to be honest, not mad about the idea of moving down much in size from the astra, even if it was always a bit underpowered its nice to have the space for when its needed. Might try get a spin out of one over the weekend. Few around with 60-70k miles on them which wouldnt be too bad, should be years of life left in them at that stage hopefully. If anyone has any other recommendations or things to watch out keep em coming! Cheers again for the tips guys!

colm_mcm

mileage a bit heavy on this, but maybe worth a look

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Ford/Fiesta/LX/201015197578846/advert?channel=CARS

You'd surely get this for 4k
http://www.carzone.ie/search/Ford/Fiesta/1.4/201010197226261/advert?channel=CARS

dunno what engine is in these, that last one is a Finesse model think it may be the ancient 1.3 engine, but maybe it's a 1.25 - not sure.

Joey the lips

donnchaw wrote: »

Thanks Joey, appreciate the tips, did you have yours for long actually?
Colm, thats what i was thinking from looking at it, has me kind of leaning towards it at the moment to be honest, not mad about the idea of moving down much in size from the astra, even if it was always a bit underpowered its nice to have the space for when its needed. Might try get a spin out of one over the weekend. Few around with 60-70k miles on them which wouldnt be too bad, should be years of life left in them at that stage hopefully. If anyone has any other recommendations or things to watch out keep em coming! Cheers again for the tips guys!

Yip... Bought it in 02 got rid jan 08. Grand car. in hindsight should not have gotten rid. Just saved more .

bazz26

Hyundai Getz also comes into the OP's price range:

http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=201010197189924

http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=201011197253845

donnchaw

With regard to the hyundai, maybe its just prejudice but i have this idea that the build quality of them mightnt be as solid as the likes of the skoda, something that would probably become more important at the kind of age/mileage that id be looking at, reckon theres any basis to this or just me imagining things.
The fiestas look pretty good except for being over the 1.2, really trying to keep it under for the insurance, if not id look for 1.4s and have a way better range to pick from.
This looks like a decent option:
http://www.carzone.ie/search/Skoda/Fabia/COMFORT-/201002196564445/advert?channel=CARS
44k miles is pretty low, especially if they let it go for €3,500 or so.

Higher mileage but still not bad:
http://www.carzone.ie/search/Skoda/Fabia/COMFORT-/201011197280589/advert?channel=CARS

Any opinions? What are the main things people would look out for in any secondhand cars? Got my last car from family member so its all new really, want to make sure not to be conned.

Cheers again everyone!

donnchaw

Ok, so i had a spin in the skoda, seems like a grand car, only real thing i saw was that all the tyres on it are different kinds, would this be a problem? Also one of the tyres was a very cheap looking remould which i definitely wouldnt be too keen on driving on.
The other main option im thinking of now is the peugeot 206, theres a few 2002-2003 ones with 40-60,000 miles on them going for under €4000, anybody have any opinions on these? Seem like a nice, comfortable car, any known issues or things to look out for with them? Hopefully get a spin out of some of these next weekend and decide what to go for then, sooner its sorted the better!

Andrew33

I have to plug the Fabia, missus has hers since 03 and it never misses a beat, hers is the 1.2 MPi which is the low powered version but it never really feels underpowered, quite torquey and likes to be revved. I drive an Octavia and I actually prefer driving the Fabia. plus the engine has a timing chain rather than a belt.

donnchaw

Andrew, what kind of miles are on that by now? Must be a good bit id imagine by now, still no issues? Everything ive seen about the fabia says its extremely reliable which is a major bonus, still not quite sure how comfortable itd be like for longer journeys which I do a lot of (hour each way to work everyday and plenty of longer trips at the weekends), thatd be the main concern with it.
This the other one im considering at present along with the fabia, have to bring it for a test drive to see what its like to drive:
http://www.carzone.ie/search/Peugeot/206/Look-1.1/200940195392056/advert?channel=CARS
A bonus with this is that the garage say they will put it through the NCT before selling it or guarantee it gets through it when the appointment comes around (very long waiting list in local centre). Would this show up any major issues that might be present in the car or could there be many more that it wouldnt detect? Also anyone have anything good/bad to say about the 1.1 206?

Andrew33

donnchaw wrote: »

Andrew, what kind of miles are on that by now? Must be a good bit id imagine by now, still no issues? Everything ive seen about the fabia says its extremely reliable which is a major bonus, still not quite sure how comfortable itd be like for longer journeys which I do a lot of (hour each way to work everyday and plenty of longer trips at the weekends), thatd be the main concern with it.
This the other one im considering at present along with the fabia, have to bring it for a test drive to see what its like to drive:
http://www.carzone.ie/search/Peugeot/206/Look-1.1/200940195392056/advert?channel=CARS
A bonus with this is that the garage say they will put it through the NCT before selling it or guarantee it gets through it when the appointment comes around (very long waiting list in local centre). Would this show up any major issues that might be present in the car or could there be many more that it wouldnt detect? Also anyone have anything good/bad to say about the 1.1 206?

An hour commute each way?? pah! thats nothing, our Fabia regularly takes trips to Newry, Wexford, Galway recently and Cork. Mind you, I'm only 5'9" and missus is 5'5" so I can't speak for comfort for taller drivers but that'd be an issue for any supermini. The Fabia feels like a car from the next class up. Wifes Fabia has 70k (miles) on it and still feels unburstable. The Pug 206 can have electrical issues and the interior plastics are pretty nasty. The Fabia is very very plain inside but what IS there is good quality and they're quite roomy.

Just a comment on the "bonus" of garage putting car tru NCT, ANY dealer will guarantee ANY car tru nct. If you're looking at a Fabia in a dealers and there's not much left on the NCT make sure you demand a new nct. They'll be happy to do it if they want the sale.

--paul--

What about a seat ibiza?Exact same as the skoda reliability wise,but isnt an absolute eye sore like the fabia.

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1251969

Andrew33

--paul-- wrote: »

What about a seat ibiza?Exact same as the skoda reliability wise,but isnt an absolute eye sore like the fabia.

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1251969

Eyesore? (I don't like the styling of the mk2 though) Nah, Fabia's not gonna win beauty contests but its lines grow on you. As to the Ibiza being the same car, you would think that was the case, I drove one in Portugal for a month last year and thought it would feel the same but it doesn't and its not as reliable (according to JD Power survey) as the Fabia.

donnchaw

Andrew33 wrote: »

An hour commute each way?? pah! thats nothing, our Fabia regularly takes trips to Newry, Wexford, Galway recently and Cork. Mind you, I'm only 5'9" and missus is 5'5" so I can't speak for comfort for taller drivers but that'd be an issue for any supermini. The Fabia feels like a car from the next class up. Wifes Fabia has 70k (miles) on it and still feels unburstable. The Pug 206 can have electrical issues and the interior plastics are pretty nasty. The Fabia is very very plain inside but what IS there is good quality and they're quite roomy.

Just a comment on the "bonus" of garage putting car tru NCT, ANY dealer will guarantee ANY car tru nct. If you're looking at a Fabia in a dealers and there's not much left on the NCT make sure you demand a new nct. They'll be happy to do it if they want the sale.

Ah im around 6'3 so space/comfort might be a bit more of an issue for me. The fabia i was looking at had nct till feb 11 which is a decent length, just that an extra year wudnt do any harm either, ive had some bad experience with NCTs. Do you find the fabia goes ok on motorways, dual carraigeways etc? Bearing in mind my old astra maxed out at around 90mph so im not gonna be expecting a bullet or anything.

--paul-- wrote: »

What about a seat ibiza?Exact same as the skoda reliability wise,but isnt an absolute eye sore like the fabia.

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1251969

I actually much prefer the look of the seat and it seems a bit bigger too, but ive heard that its not up to the level of the skoda for reliability, possible issues with the gearbox and the timing chain? Both of those would be seriously expensive to deal with. If i knew it was very reliable id imagine it would probably be my perfect choice out of the available options to be honest. Decent size and definitely a bit easier on the eye than the skoda, although this really isnt a big concern for me seeing as ill always be inside it!