Which First Car

205 XE would be a good bet. 954 cc engine so cheap to insure and cheap to fuel. Parts are VERY cheap now and they are rugged.

Micras have a tendancy to rust in my experience.

Polo's are overpriced for what they are. How about a Skoda Felicia instead? Far cheaper but similar construction?

My ten penneth.

sPoNiX

1.4 or 1.2 Corsa on an L plate, go for a 5 door as the 3 door models tend to suffer cracks on the B pillar. Also consider:

Proton Aerodeck 1.3. Find a nice, low mileage one and £500 will get something really nice. Insurance isn't bad. My sister has one just after passing her test.

Hyundai Pony Disc or similar special edition. Only problem I've encountered is cracked camshaft, which wasn't actually that bad to fix, but when it went it felt like a very expensive breakdown, oil and poor running.

Skoda Felicia 1.3 or 1.6. I found my sister an N-plated 1.3 GLXi, FSH,

64,000 example for £275 from a dealer. Nice to drive, quite quick in town, easy to park etc. They shouldn't rust unless there is accident damage, but the tailgates do on early ones.

Pre '93 Polo is stodgy, unpleasant and prone to blowing head gaskets. K10 Micras rust around the rear suspension mounts whilst looking extremely clean on top.

205s have a funny driving position, but are probably the best out of those 3.

Fiat Electrics on £1K small cars aren't really much of an issue. That is enough for a good, analogue dash M or N plated Tipo 1.4. Nice and basic, safe, good handling, galvanised. Might even get a Punto Six-speed, though I have no idea how well they lasted I enjoyed the new one I drove years ago.

Richard

The 6-speed Punto (EL model) is very rare in the UK. Had a short-lived model life, and tended to be bought by teenage racers. Not many left these days. If you have gearbox problems, it's hard to find a replacement as the 6-speed box is becoming quite popular modification for Cinquecento owners.

Much better is to find a Punto 1.1SX - decent level of equipment, and more likely to have been looked after. I'm yet to see a rusty Punto.

For even less money, a late-model Uno would turn up some absolute bargains. Because the Punto is now so affordable, no-one wants an Uno, but the Phase II cars have many of the Punto's virtues - galvanised shell, FIRE engines, decent kit. ISTR that the Punto is more or less a re-skinned Uno Phase II.

you can pick up a nice mk1 clio for that. Ok i drive one so im naturally a bit bias, but they're great cars. Get one of the rt versions and you'll get stuff like leccy windows, central locking, PAS (on some models) etc. Best of all, even the 1.4 is only group 5 insurance. Parts are cheap and you shouldn't have many problems, just make sure you find one thats had the cambelt done as they're prone to going about 60k. HTH

Though beware of rust: I've seen several K/L-plate Clios MOT-failed and scrapped because of rust in the rear floorpan - due to the shape of the metal- work and the amount of stuff you have to strip out to repair properly, it's generally cheaper to have the car put down!

Why not look at something like a Peugeot 405 instead?

Agreed I've seen a number of H/J clios rusting badly in the rear arches.

Probably bigger than either of them want to go, but worth a look.

Cheers,

Jon.

Good grief i didn't realise the later Unos were galvanised, i only thought of the Tipos. Interesting and certainly one to add to the list thanks.

Thanks for the various comments. I'll probablay lose the Polos (brakes troubles too i think) and look more for Felicias (we have a local Skoda garage and gen up a bit on the Fiats.

Cheers,

Jon.

Another consideration to cars of this size and age is safety. I have seen several Uno crashes in the last year, and each one has given me the cold shivers! Not good at all. If I was going to be putting loved ones in this car I would definately be looking at something larger....or at least a bit more physically robust.

Just another point for consideration.

cheers Glen

Well mines a K and theres not a spot of rust on it, been under the car a few times and nothing. All cars rust, when i had a fiesta everyone said that the floor rusts away and a lot of cars fail its MOT on it? Fair enuff though, if its a big concern, dont get a clio. Hope u find something nice :) maybe a nova :-P hehe

I've got a J plate 405, It's huge. Not a complaint, just an observation, also the insurance group is 8 or 9 for the turbo models. Although the car is now just passed it's 11th birthday it's in good condition, no rust etc. But as I say, it's HUGE.

JH waffled on in a quite bewildering manner to produce...

Mk2 Golf.

I take your point Glen, but things don't get much worse than a early Micra! I just tell them that they are very vunerable and to drive accordingly! ;-)

Being a motorcyclist i would rather they felt a little vunerable than were instilled with the Volvo mentality from day one!

Cheers,

Jon.

309 would be smaller...and cheaper.

For around £600-£800 you could buy one in A1 condition.

sPoNiX

The best way. I know that none of our 3 cars is going to be particularly safe in an accident. Don't know which one would be best, because they're all designs dating from the early 70s.....

But, being a biker, it doesn't really matter, does it?

I'm guessing K10 is the old shape (finished on K) and K11 is the newer bubble shape. I'd have thought an early K11 one in fairly decent nick would be able to be had for that sort of money.

Peter

Not neccessarily trouble with the brakes on Polos, more like the fact that they're just inherently shit.

Peter

Cars that are known for rusting, just like any other car, have the occasionally exceptionally well looked after examples that are very good indeed rust-wise. If you could find a 1.3 Nova (much much better engine than the 1.2) that hasn't been owned by a boy racer, and is in surprisingly good condition regarding rust, then it could be a seriously good bet. I've never personally driven one, but as far as small cheap runabouts go, they're really not all that bad. If you find one that's been driven by a granny you could be onto a winner. Even if she's knackered out the clutch on it, they are an absolute doddle to replace.

Peter

surprisingly

Point taken Peter, sadly they all appear to boy racered around my way. Shame really because apart from the odd clutch pedal they drive ok, go like stink (relatively) and are mechanically tough from what i hear.

thanks for the info,

Jon.

To be honest Jon the fiesta is a good car, my two sisters love theirs - easy to repair, cheap to run,cheap to service. Micras are prone to camshaft breakage, polos are not bad but spares can be expensive Bill