What Car?? Your opinion....

alycat05

Hi

Im looking around for a used car, something no bigger than a 1.4, preferably a hatchback.

My question is, what cars/models would you either recommend, OR suggest that i stay well clear of?

Im looking for something reliable that's gonna run for a good few years and wont need to go into the garage every few months.

Here are a few i have in mind:
Ford Fiesta or Focus
Mazda 2
Alpha Romeo
Opel Corsa/Astra

Any advice would be appreciated!

Thanks a lot

colm_mcm

Recommend:
Toyota Corolla
Mazda3
Ford Focus

Marty McFly

Id say the astra would be ok too, i had one for 3 years and it was a grand car no hassle with it.

Yawns

If you don't want work being done stay away from the alpha. No matter how much you want it. We all want one but if you don't want any chance of going in for repairs stay clear

Yawns

Also do you want a small hatchback, big? Powerful for it's size or just something comfortable and easy to handle but not much power?

Currently driving a hatchback Liana. Really great comfort, great size nice and big but no power really. It's a 1.4 and it's reliablility is great. Never a prob with it, it's never gave issues to see the inside of a garage, do the servicing myself. I much prefer the comfort of this car than than of an Focus estate, A4 saloon & estate.

Twin-go

alycat05 wrote: »

Hi

Im looking around for a used car, something no bigger than a 1.4, preferably a hatchback.

My question is, what cars/models would you either recommend, OR suggest that i stay well clear of?

Im looking for something reliable that's gonna run for a good few years and wont need to go into the garage every few months.

Here are a few i have in mind:
Ford Fiesta or Focus
Mazda 2
Alpha Romeo
Opel Corsa/Astra

Any advice would be appreciated!

Thanks a lot

Do you have a Price Range/Year or Petrol/Diesel? It will make a big difference what people will recomend to you.

Ford Fiesta or Focus - Focus is much bigger but needs a minimum 1.6 for a engaging drive. If 1.4 is your max enginge size I would go for the Fiesta. Used to Drive a 04 1.4 Fiesta Auto - Didn't Like. Had also 01 1.6 Focus that was fantastic.

Mazda 2 - Never drove.

Alfa Romeo - Only model with 1.4 is the MiTo all others have 1.6 or bigger
Had a 01 147 for 9 months. I loved it but couldn't deal with costs of running. Replaced it with a 04 1.8 BMW 3 series which is a lot cheaper to run and a great great car. But the Alfa (when it worked) but a bigger smile on my face.

Opel Corsa/Astra - My only Opel experience was my Dads 96 1.6 Vectra. I learned to drive in it but it was a very scary car to drive. Would lose power without warning when driving a 60mph on a dual carrage way. Foot to the floor and getting no where. But I have heard good things about the new range.

Hope this was of some help. Let us know your price range to give you a better idea of your options.

Twin-go

Yawns wrote: »

If you don't want work being done stay away from the alpha. No matter how much you want it. We all want one but if you don't want any chance of going in for repairs stay clear

What is an "alpha"?:D Do you mean an Alfa?:pac:

Yawns

hehe sorry I always spell it alpha hehe I never ever spell it alfa I dunno why

Yawns

God damn NS game. Always typing Alpha Hive etc grrrr

bazz26

Not having a go at you OP but people who spell Alfa with a "ph" instead of an "f" should probably avoid them as you need to do a bit of homework on them first and they generally need a bit of extra TLC over a run of the mill car.

Of the others on the list I would probabably avoid 1.4 litre version of the Astra and Focus too as they are pretty underpowered.

Yawns

bazz26 wrote: »

Not having a go at you OP but people who spell Alfa with a "ph" instead of an "f" should probably avoid them as you need to do a bit of homework on them first and they generally need a bit of extra TLC over a run of the mill car.

Of the others on the list I would probabably avoid 1.4 litre version of the Astra and Focus too as they are pretty underpowered.

Bit over the top, if your not thinking about it and spell the word how it's pronouced...

Tea 1000

Yawns wrote: »

Bit over the top, if your not thinking about it and spell the word how it's pronouced...

Spelling it how it's pronounced is the correct way: Alfa.

Yawns

what way did you learn to spell it in school. I don't think they taught the word Alfa in school but would have covered Alpha...

Anyway this is going way off topic. OP is it power you have in mind or comfort? Of course you could always end up with a comfortably powerful car but not generally in a 1.4 or less

alycat05

OK firstly, i apologise for my poor spelling of the Alfa with a ph...i drive better than i spell

Twin-go thanks for the info. My price range is around 8k, looking for a 06 or 07 with pretty good mileage.

I chose the hatchback simply because i think they're nicer but i dont really want to exceed the 1.4 mark for road tax / insurance reasons.

Had a 01 Golf for a year which i absolutely LOVED driving but had nothing but problems with it and ended up costing me a fortune with repairs. I'd be afraid to get another one in case the same thing happens.

Yawns

Do you know anyone with a 1.4 hatchback? See if you can drive it when they are not using it and see what it's like. Nothing better than experiencing the real thing for a short while rather than a 1 off round the block type test run

alycat05

Yawns wrote: »

Do you know anyone with a 1.4 hatchback? See if you can drive it when they are not using it and see what it's like. Nothing better than experiencing the real thing for a short while rather than a 1 off round the block type test run

I actually have a hatchback at the mo, its a Golf. I like the size and feel of it and there's a good bit of power in it but i just cant keep it as its causing me to fork out too much on repairs

alycat05

Bazz26 i would probably avoid spelling it as "probabably" ;-) see, we all make mistakes!

But thanks for the advice on the 1.4 version of the astra and focus, appreciate it.

Twin-go

alycat05 wrote: »

Twin-go thanks for the info. My price range is around 8k, looking for a 06 or 07 with pretty good mileage.

I chose the hatchback simply because i think they're nicer but i dont really want to exceed the 1.4 mark for road tax / insurance reasons.

Based on Above:

I think you should look at the following:

Citroen C3/C4
Peugoet 207/307
Renault Clio
Seat Ibiza
Skoda Fabia
Suzuki Swift
VW Polo

agentgreen

How does the 1.4 Focus compare to the 1.4 golf? Got about €5k to spend so could probably afford a 2003 in either.

Thanks.

agentgreen

agentgreen wrote: »

How does the 1.4 Focus compare to the 1.4 golf? Got about €5k to spend so could probably afford a 2003 in either.

Thanks.

Anyone?