Car (not horse related obviously)

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rrose

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I have a Ford fiesta ghia... a 1994 one, which is slowing dying on me and is a dangerous to drive long distances. because of this i have managed to save up £1500 and my mum will loan me £500 if i need it. i have been looking at alot of cars and wondered what you think of these two and whether they are reliable or not.

Fiat Punto.. (old one cant afford a new shape one
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Pegeout 306

also if you could recommend a car that is good value for money and practical it would help alot.

i can spend up to £2000 and my car be P.Exchanged although will only be useful for parts only. unless they fix everything thats wrong with it.

thanks in advance xx
 
As my granda always used to say 'never buy a Fiat, fate worse than death!' although that could just be him being crazy!
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I have a 2001 renaullt clio (so nice shaped ones!) and I paid £2500 for it (although I did get it cheap) I would def. consider one as they are a cracking wee car, 1998 onwards are the newer shaped clios. They are reliable wee things. I drive over 30 miles/day to get to Belfast and home from work and put around £30 in every week and a half/two weeks. Get around 350 miles or so out of £30 petrol (although don't know how petrol prices differ?)

I would also recommend Ford Kas - very nippy.
 
Well... am passing on the advice of my car-enthusiast OH - if you want something reliable definitely don't buy French or Italian!! Japanese are generally no. 1 for reliability (Honda Civics tops the charts, but have no idea on price...) and German are a close second, although VW have apparently had a poor decade or so on this count. Fords (American) come somewhere in the middle.

We always end up buying Ford Mundanos as they are cheap to buy, cheap to repair, go on forever and come with lots of nice gadgets. They are a bit big though, so maybe not for you if you are a small car person.

Sorry for my ramblings - hope this helps!!
 
Honda Civics tend to be dear to insure though (especially 'type' ones) and haven't you just past your test not too long? REally you want something around 1.2/1.3 engine...not too much more as will be too pricy to insure
 
Good point GinaB - didn't think about insurance...

I know you've just had one, but Fiestas are really very cheap insurance-wise, and cheap to repair/run too. They also (I think) tend to have good encap safety ratings, which is very important imo. I used to have one and loved it - would still have it if anti-small car OH let me. You should be able to get a post 2000 one for your money I would have thought.

Am not a Ford rep, honest - just a fan of cheap cars.

Most motoring mags 'rate' secondhand cars for reliability, cost to run etc.
 
I just bought a fantastic Puegot 206 W reg just before Christams for just under 2k. I did buy it from friends and thought it was a great bargin - but not really sure what it's market value was.
 
I have a hyundai Getz

Its cheap and chearful, safe (and with my driving thats a must), has a cracking fuel consumption (about 42mpg last time I checked) and best of all you can fit loads of stuff in it - recent trips to the feed merchants have included 5 bags of shavings, 1 bag of chaff, 1 bag of speedibeet, 1 of mix, and a huge bag of carrots andthere was still space left over (though admittantly no space for rear passengers!) The interior is very plastic, which, although not attractive, makes de-mudding a piece of cake!

I love it!! I got mine new (1.1 cdx) for £6800 so I'd have thought you could pick up a newish one with your budget!
 
with that amount you should be able to get a 2001 Ford Fiesta. mine cost me £2500 with 50k miles on the clock. and I love it, nothing gone wrong with it that hasnt been my fault and is really gutsy little car.
wouldnt go for a fiat or peugeot, repairs are more expensive.
or even a vauxhall corsa, you should be able to get one for around £2000 now or a micra?
 
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Honda Civics tend to be dear to insure though

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Yes most definately. I sold mine before Christmas for this very reason. Couldn't afford to insure it fully comp, and third part was over £300.00.

Lovely cars, but expensive to run and insure.
 
I wouldn't recommend a corsa, i had one from new and had nothing but problems with it. Now ive got my OH's fait and its great never had any problems with it, along time ago fait did have a bad name but there cars have come on a long way since then so dont be put off.
 
Beware 306 my daughter had one last year and it was a disaster with the rear suspension my mechanic told me not to buy another as they do have a problem with that, ok if you get one with a service history and are only doing small mileage. We have a Ford FIesta which has just passed the MOT today and we are going to sell it and buy something else for her. Was lookig at Honda Civic but agree insurance can be dearer but shop around, we have been advised Renault Laguna or Clio or Toyota Corolla
 
Depends on where you need to go and what you need to fit in it? Have to say my corsa was the best thing since sliced bread..cheap in all ways and holds the record for 3 people,3 bales of dengie, various feed bags and saddlery and a shavings fork! The best allround bargains tend to be saloon type cars that have a few miles on the clock being sold for a newer model. Leaves you money to spare for a few tanks of gas!
 
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