Car shopping, any advice anyone??

[joeyjac]

Hi all,

I'm looking to get a new car by the end of the month but don't seem to be able to decide!

I'm looking for something used but no older than 2005 and have a max of 5k to spend (although I would like this to be a bit less if poss!)

It needs to be something small as I work as a driving instructor part time and due to that also helps to have height adjustable seat etc.

So far I've seen the following

Fiat grande punto 1.2 active
Volkswagen polo 1.2E and 1.2S
Citroen C2 1.4 Furio
Nissan micra

All of these are under 5k and range from 05 reg to 56 reg.

Has anyone owned any of these and have any negatives/positives? I'm thinking the VW might be the best in terms of reliability and the Fiat the worst but have no experience with any of them.

Thanks

Jo

[John4810]

Have you considered leasing a car? If you use your car for business use you need the reliabilty and a new car always looks good for potential cleints. Ok the car is never yours but some firms offer good incentives to buy after a period of leasing, they want to clear their old stock for new.

[davetrousers]

The Op want to buy a 2nd hand car for (under £5,000). Leasing would not be a good idea for this person. To post this as a first post suggests that in your next post you are going to 'suggest' somewhere in a spam type way.

In terms of VW, remember that Skoda and Seat (as well as Audi) are all part of the same group.

[joeyjac]

Leasing is not a viable option, i have leased when I was a full time instructor but to do it now would mean I was working just to pay for the car.

I had forgotten that seat and skoda were the same group, an audi is probably above my budget though :-)

[subsoniccoyote]

You can get a Fiat Punto 1.2 Active for around £3k - £3.5k on a 2005 plate.

My cousin has one of these and they are really quite smart.

Adjustable seat height and plenty of head room if you have a taller learner.

http://www.evanshalshaw.com/vehiclesearch/used/fiat-used-car-se05dzu.html?qs=false&type=1 This one is similar to my cousin's except his is a bit more chavved up.

[markelock]

what about a honda or a toyota?

vw aren't as reliable as people believe (and will be seen on other threads here) Fiat get a bad press, and based on SIL's C2, I'd say avoid one of those also.

[cyclonebri1]

Did you watch the ITV program "Deals on wheels" with Quentin Wilson on channel 3 last night?

£5k should give you a very good choice as they can't give 'em away at the moment.:cool:

[Lemonade Pockets]

I would go latest generation of clio. A much better car than the ones listed above.
Not sure if latest generation corsa is in quiet in budget, its also a good car, but visability isn't great for instructing.
However the previous generation is still quite smart if you get a decent spec - also v.popular with driving instructors who presumably want the same from their car as you.

In terms of leasing - you say that you would be working just to pay for the car, but have you considered how much a £5000 car is likely to depreciate + wear and tear costs? The actual cost over 2-3 years might not be much different, infact it could be cheaper. But as someone said you have all the benefits of a new car, + an extra selling point for your clients.