Sorry for starting off another "which car should I buy for £x" thread.
My son will shortly be looking for a smallish car but must be an automatic as he has been used to driving one after spending a few years in Japan. The car he was driving was a 600cc auto with air con which had to have the air con switched off before it could tackle even the slightest gradient!.
Well he grew to like the auto side of driving but would like something a little more powerfull, so what can he get for around £3000 of his money or a little more if I lend him the extra?
Regards Mal.
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Well, that money gets him a second hand clio auto. 1.4 litre engine. Does not hang about. Mother of RF family has one. She has had no trouble with it.
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Or for top-dog reliability, something like Toyota Corolla.
Should get a '96 1.6 Auto for your £3K.
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Corollas go on and on, but they're boring.
Depending on how style conscious he is, that may or may not matter. Blokes don't usually do small autos anyway.
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I would wholeheartedly recommend a 1.4 or 1.5 Civic auto. There's ample power, transmission is as smooth as you like, and the civic seems to be enjoying a bit of a revival in the popularity stakes, possibly thanks to Honda's new typeR models. You'll get a nice one for 3k, around 1996, either the sleek looking 5th gen one or the slightly less pretty bog-eyed later model. Insurance is a bit steep though.
Good luck with the search.
Ed.
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Why not try the new Daihatsu Charade 1.0 EL Auto. You can get one for under £7000 new. The reviews seam really good. Most magazines give it four stars. There is lots of room, excellent kit for the price, and it has a good ride. Benefits include average 47 mpg and 0-60 in around 15 seconds. From what I have read the Renault auto boxes seem to have problems and fail regular. The VW autos don't tend to be recommended much. That leaves Japanese cars like the Yaris and Daihatsu (Toyota own Daihatsu). He may also want to try the Yaris MMT, although it does'nt get such good reviews, although it's cheap and not a full automatic. Take a look at a Charade, I was surprised how much you could buy for £6000.
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I'd too go for the Civic. Honda auto's are great (excepting the two speed semi Honda-matics from the 70's - Remember those??)
They are fairly quick and well equipped. Insurance on the high side though me thinks.
IMHO the Charade is not a good car - too small an engine for the box, dangerously so. Civic should fit the bill.
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If only I could convince him that the Civic is the best choice.
Being a Honda driver for the past 11 years I know only too well how reliable they are. I had 10 faultless years driving a Civic 1.5 LSI for 160000 miles which he eventually bacame the owner of but unfortunately he had some trouble with it including what he considered was a dangerous fuel leak and that has put him off.
Thanks for the replies and I think he is going to go for the Toyota Corolla (if he can find one) one of the reasons being that they are the most popular and reliable in Japan where he spent a few years working.
Regards and thanks,
Mal.
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