which runaround for £1200

What would be a good second car for the Mrs for say £1200 or so.

She has never had her own car before, so insurance needs to be reasonable therefore something less than 1.4 litres.

Needs five doors due to small children, boot must accommodate pushchair.

Current thinking:

Citroen ZX 1.4 - N or P plate Citroen Saxo 5 - P plate, no PAS, 5 doors rare

Fiat Brava or Fiat Punto

Ford fiesta - hard to find a 1.25 given the budget but quite a few 1.3s around?

Nissan Almera - quite rare, especially the older cars suggesting people hang on to them.

Not convinced by a Clio, Micra always looks small.

Any others? Any of the above a complete waste?

Thanks,

Andy.

Reply to
Andy Evans
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my first thought is of Toyota, although i only drive RWD 2 door and bigger engines.

Reply to
JULIAN HALES

We run a Citroen ZX 1.4 (1360cc) Avantage on a 96N. Had very little trouble with it, parts are dirt cheap from

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I service it every 10,000 with an oil change at 5,000. Very easy to do as there's loads of space around the engine. It gives us about 37mpg and is comfortable and nippy enough to use on the motorway. Boot is reasonable. Has central locking, power steering and electric front windows with Avantage spec. You should pick up a very good example for £1200. There are loads of N,P and R reg examples on Autotrader with low mileage for less than £1,000.

It's the ideal cheap runabout for us, and I have no hesitation in recommending one to you!

Reply to
Doctor D

Can't say I ever liked French cars, they are likely to be troublesome money pits at that price.

These are troublesome money pits when new. Forget Fiat. We just serviced a 3 year old one for it's first MOT, it cost £800 just to get through the MOT, it does need another £1000 spending.

OK-ish, the 1.3 engine is rather dated now, and shoes it with wearing out at 30k miles and sludge in the oil. These also wear out brake discs every 10k.

Yes, a very good car. Nissans are a little tinny, and not the best made of the Jap cars, but seem reliable enough.

No, French connection again.

My initial reaction for a cheap to run, and cheap to maintain car for a new driver would be a Vauxhall Astra.

You have to look at what you're going to get for £1200, and any car that has a good reputation, such as Honda, Toyota, Volvo etc, are pretty much going to be in very bad condition as they all keep good residual values.

Also check out the Hyundai Accent, or indeed Atoz/Amica. These can be got very cheap, and are pretty reliable too.

Reply to
Andy Hewitt

The message from "Andy Evans" contains these words:

Diesel. Undoubtedly, if she's using it for short local journeys - they return vastly better fuel consumption than cold petrol engines.

Reply to
Guy King

ZX is far the best choice out of your short list, however the 1.4 is particually weedy- check the insurance on a 1.9D or a 1.6. Don't think it will be much more...

Tim..

Reply to
Tim (Remove NOSPAM.

I use a VW Polo 1043cc and it is a hatch back which really makes it more of an estate car. I get my folded up wheel chair in the space behind the rear seat so you should have no problem with a pushchair. Both the ones I have atm are 3 door and the seats fold forward for my g/children to get in. pete

Reply to
pete

Something bigger and thus cheaper.

Reply to
Doki

I was about to suggest a Cavalier, 95 plate; rather larger engine than OP requested and maybe not perfect around town, but cheap as chips to buy (and the difference in purchase price will make up for the difference in insurance, I'm sure), good cars to drive and maintain, handy for the weekly shop, even with a push-chair in the back.

my tuppence-worth.

regards

Mike.

Reply to
Mike Dodd

Corsa 1.5 TD GLS - within your budget, excellent engines, good economy, cheap tax and fairly roomy inside. The GLS was the top model for sometime, and came with power steering and deadlocks as standard.

-- JackH

Reply to
jack hackett

The Almera is the only one in your list that is likely to be as reliable at

150,000m as at new. In fact, in my experience, Nissans' reliability is constant as they age (not sure about the newest Renault messed with ones though). Almeras also had a very long lasting timing chain, so no belt replacements to worry about (not sure if this was for all engine options, the Equation was chain). Whatever you put on your shortlist, you should visit
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and see what owners think of their cars.

Reply to
SteveB

Two good suggestions there- Astra and Accent.

I've done a quick surf for Accents and T plates seem about £1500, although they are mostly 3 door.

Thanks, I've added these to the list and scrubbed the Fiats.

Andy.

Reply to
Andy Evans

Too true! I've been looking for a 306 or ZX diesel for ages but haven't found decent ones at decent prices. In the end I gave up and bought a 406

1.9 turbo diesel for £1300.

Cheers, Jiffy

Reply to
Jiffy

Seconded. There are quite a few online sources of car reviews, some by owners and some professional opinions, but the aggregate of opinions on carsurvey.org seems to most closely match my own experience and what I've heard from friends and family. It also shows the importance of the year of manufacture for certain models - the Laguna, for example, steadily improves until the advent of the new shape, at which point the reviews get worse again.

Joe

Reply to
Joe Kelleher

Got my niece an S-reg Daewoo Lanos 5dr Hatchback with 37k miles for £1250. Car looks modern, drives well, reliable and pretty cheap to run. My only complaint is that it feels a little tinny compared to my Toyota Corolla of the same age.. but then its less than half the price.

Reply to
Carlos

My wife has a Skoda Felicia (albeit the 1600 version). It only took a=20 few trips before I stopped screaming (arrrggghhh!!! I'm driving a=20 Skoda). Effectively it is a VW Golf, but a touch bigger and according to=20 JD power, a touch more reliable.=20

It hasn't yet failed an MOT, no signs of rust and is a nice drive if you=20 don't want to get excited.=20

Can't hurt to look at them.

Warwick

Reply to
Warwick

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