Hello!
I am new to the forum, and love it and have read many posts, and look forward to contributing in the future. I work in the car business selling cars in Toronto, Canada at a corporate owned dealership. However, my experience in this area doesn't really help me offer advice to my mother in ENgland who wants to buy my sister a 'previously loved' small car for under 2000 quid. My instict was to suggest a Ford Ka - would anyone aggree with me? it seems Ka's at this point have approx 50,000 miles on them - this suprised me when you can get a new one for 4,500 pounds (sorry, not pound symbol on this canadian keyboard, only $!!!) Any other suggestions would be very greatfully recieved from anyone who has time to help in anyway. Looking for a small, reliable vehicle that isn't over budget - thanks!
Davo
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Hi Davo,
A Ka sounds good. As does a Fiesta if she needs a touch more space or 5 doors. The 1.25 engine is a cracker. I had a Mark 4 as my first car - The mark 4's ran from N reg (1996) to around V - maybe even W reg which is around 2000. A decent one of those could easily be had for under 2 grand.
The reason Ka's are so cheap both used and brand new is because they're getting on a bit design wise. They're pretty much the same design since 1996 which means there are loads and loads of them out there - but that's no bad thing really. There are a few problems with both cars which can be seen in detail using the Car By Car Breakdown menu to the left. The Ka 1.3 engines I understand are a bit old by design and have a tendency for the spark plugs to rust into the engine but someone more technically minded can advise more on that. My Fiesta was a 1996 model year so one of the first Mark 4's and had 70,000 miles on the clock when I got it. I put about 15,000 on it and sold it back to the bloke who I bought it off! His wife drives it now and it's still reliable. There were a few niggling faults but it was old and none of those stopped me from driving the car anywhere.
Other suggestions but I know less about are:
Renault Clio
Vauxhall Corsa
Fiat Punto
Citroen Saxo
Nissan Micra
I have no real experience with any of those but I'm sure someone will be along with their own advice about each one. I would imagine the Corsa and Micra would be the more reliable off the list but that's just a guess really. They're all easily had for under 2 grand and most should be easily got with airbags, central locking and all those gadgets I should have thought.
Best of luck,
Adam
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well i think adam has well covered it,for my 2 grand i would go for the fiesta, micra or corsa they must be specced up no more than 65,000 miles 3 owners max and must have power steering.
That way 2 years down the line if she washes it once a year at least, it will still work ,still be cheap to maintain and still worth at least a grand,
She would have to buy from autotrader though or auction,as at a dealers at this price he will be nearly doubling up to cover warrenty claims and wrecked p/X"s, tell her to bare this in mind as a £1500 car is usually talked up to £1695 to £1995 as people get a figure in their head and stick to it.
i had a car for sale last year stickered up at £1995 but the 1 fell off a customer came and said they were interested i explained that there was a grand missing from the price but they were trying to haggle me down from £995 and couldnt grasp the car was already out of their league.
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>>..the 1.25 engine is a cracker!??
The 1.4 is even better...:-)
Also helps if you carry passengers regularly.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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I'd be tempted to look for something more obscure, simply as the Ka and its mainstream attract top dollar. Mitsubishi Colt ?. Some older Kas have the elderly pushrod engine in this price range. Known to rust as well.
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I've said this before, but £2,000 is a difficult sum to spend. You can get just as much car for half that, and have just the same bad luck with expensive items. The difference is that you feel obligated to put money into a £2k car, even after a couple of years, whereas a £1k car can literally be thrown away if something pricey crops up. Labour and parts costs are the same, whether you've spent £300 or seven times that....
If she's on a budget, and can't afford to pump money into it, I'd suggest something simple, and chuckable. What about an Uno? I found a tattyish one for £150, but I've seen minters at £495. If she fancies a newer shape, then the Uno is good. My daughter drives one, and I think it's not a bad car for the £900. I'd also suggest Corsas as being worth looking at, as well as Fiestas, of course.
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Sorry above should read, "If she fancies a newer shape, then the Punto is..." Why no edit button, Mods? All my other fora have one..;-)
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I know it's controversial...but I'd look at Rover 200's. It's bigger than most superminis, more refined and not a bad handler. I know there are some problems with poorly-maintained K-series engines, but this I can't believe it's as bad as most make out, and there is always the diesel option.
Plus they're dirt cheap.
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Adam, oldman, stuartli, pugugly, locl yokel, and y2k+4 thanks so much for all of your input. Some great points were made - interesting what you say local yokel about 2k not getting you much more then 1k when it comes to piece of mind / reliability. Maybe it would be better to reduce the amount spent on the car, and hold some coin back for repairs, though the money will probably have trickled away on other things by then!!
In terms of image i think the ka is probably the most attractive car of those mentioned for a young lady (IMHO). Interesting suggestion about the rover 200 - it's a option worth considering, though it's a bit Alan Partridge! now if she could afford a lexus...
thanks for all of the feedback relating to specific models, and more general advice on what she can expect for 2k - I really appreciated it all.
Davo
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my son picked up an excellent Alfa 145 Green Cloverleaf last week. 1998, 83k miles, recent belts change. Jet-propelled go-cart, all for £1700.
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my son picked up an excellent Alfa 145 Green Cloverleaf last week. 1998, 83k miles, recent belts change. Jet-propelled go-cart, all for £1700.
Not exactly the most reliable of vehicles though.
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Not exactly the most reliable of vehicles though
But despite the rust and the unrleiability, they have soul. Something which your average Japanese or German will never ever have.......
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Not exactly the most reliable of vehicles though But despite the rust and the unrleiability, they have soul. Something which your average Japanese or German will never ever have.......
However when running a car on a limited budget surely reliability is better than any 'character' an italian car may offer.
Actually having driven a 146 Ti ( pretty much identical to a 145 cloverleaf) i was left very disappointed - didn't feeling as willing as the figures on paper suggested and no where near as quick as my old Uno Turbo was.
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I agree about Alfas having more soul than something Jap but I don't think Davo's sister is going to care about character.
May be best getting something sterile but reliable.
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"May be best getting something sterile but reliable"
Adam - Sounds very nearly ideal for a young lady, or are you still talking about cars ....
Jack
PS Any news on your own plans?
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I'd love to say the wording on that was on purpose!
I'm afraid there's no news at the minute Jack. If you want to drop me a line (email address is in my profile) I can go in a bit more detail.
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