Hi guys,
OK I'm looking to swap my ageing 93 Corsa 1.2LS as it's starting to show it's age and it's not worth spending any money on. (only cost £450 and it's done 9-10k trouble free driving).
I've been playing with some figures and I reckon my budget is around £6,000. (Mainly finance through a personal loan - seems the cheapest option).
I'm probably looking for something of a similar size or slightly bigger as it's difficult to park where I live.
Unsure of my mileage at the moment as my work situation has recently changed and I'm now mainly working from home but I have to go into the office usually once a week which is a 100 mile round trip via motorway / dual carriageway (Newcastle to Stockton) so 1.0L engines are out. Also as I'm unsure of the mileage I'm not looking at oil burners.
I am mainly looking to buy through a dealer, I've been looking at various approved car schemes and prices. I've come up with a few ideas - what do you think?
Skoda Fabia 1.4 (pref 16v)
Seat Ibiza 1.4
Toyota Yaris 1.3
Ford Fiesta 1.25 or 1.4
One reason for considering the Fiesta is I have a good contact at one of the local Ford dealerships so I should be able to secure a healthy discount on anything he gets in.
Cheers
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Are you certain that you want to give all that money to a finance company?
Save yourself a fortune in insurance & finance & buy yourself another £450 car.
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Hi Blinky,
Out of that lot I'd go for the Ibiza. CD and Aircon as standard and a good driving position - should make for a nice commute.
Make sure you spend a good long time in the Fiesta, the footwell is tiny and you'll have to wedge your left foot under the clutch pedal or bend your left leg 90 degrees - either way backache is likely for journeys of an hour or more. Shame 'cos otherwise it's a cracker.
CF
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I'm in the process of looking for a car for my daughter (she'll be buying it, not me!) and we test drove the Ibiza 1.2S. You probably know it's basically a VW Polo in a different body?
I wondered what the 3 cyl 12V engine would be like - I was pretty impressed, although it's quite low geared which is fine for her, but make sure you'd be OK with it on your long trips. What Car did a comparison test (Sept 2003 issue) of the 1.2 vs Fiesta, Punto & 206 and said the Ibiza was best overall and that it coped well at motorway speeds. The 1.4 is a bit higher geared in top. All in all a very nice package for around £7500 (new 3dr 1.2S). I imagine you could get a nearly new one for your budget.
Our only concern (since you mention size) is that it's one of the bigger SuperMini's (although not much in it). I did think that the doors on the 3 dr seemed huge so it might be awkward in Supermarket type parking. Also, on 3dr, the seats don't slide unless the height adjustment option (£125) is added so check you're OK with access into the back.
We've had (and I've driven) plenty of Fiesta's - I'm sure one would be fine if you can get the right level of equipement and the right price. They drive very well but are (IMHO) stunningly noisy. I can't believe they still have removeable radio keypads!
HTH.
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Thanks for the info and the tips.
Air-con would be nice to have as I know it increases the residual value of the car, also it would be a novelty not to have to drive with the window down (currently I ain't even got a sunroof).
As for the comment for the Fiesta driving position - I'm sure the Corsa's is worse. You don't notice it too much until you drive a couple of hundred miles then get out of the car. I've seen it described as the quasimodo position...
CD nice to have but I do have a Sony CD headunit (£30 from a mate) which works fine, although with the level of integration with the dashboard on modern cars they make it trickier to change the headunit.
I did go past the dealership where my friend works and noticed he had a Citoren Saxo on the Forecourt for £4200 but the thought of French build quality and electrics scares me.
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