£1000 to spend on a small car, which make is the least to run?

hewhoisnotintheknow

exup wrote: »

watch out for saxo's and to a lesser extent 106's - alot of them have out of line wheels . I have followed many Saxo's on my motorbike and you can see the front offside wheel at least 2 inches out of line with th rear. thought it was eyes playing tricks
This was confirmed by a car dealer friend who said the 106 can have the same problem as they share the same chassis.

Also could try a Fiat Seicento SX or Sporting - but handbrakes need to be kept an eye on (and headgasket too)

never heard of anything like that

goldspanners

hewhoisnotintheknow wrote: »

never heard of anything like that

next time your driving behind a saxo have a good look at it, ive seen a lot of these where you can see all 4 tyres from the back,it looks like a twisted chassis.
look square on at the boot and you will see one side of the car aswell.

sb44

sb44 wrote: »

Just seen this advertised locally for £994.

1998 S Reg Volkswagen Polo MK3 Hatchback 3-Dr 1390 cc 1.4 CL


82,547 miles

Does this sound ok?

Went to have a look at this but there were quite a few rust spots on it.

Next!

mr_accountant

goldspanners wrote: »

next time your driving behind a saxo have a good look at it, ive seen a lot of these where you can see all 4 tyres from the back,it looks like a twisted chassis.
look square on at the boot and you will see one side of the car aswell.

dont know about the 106/saxo but the 306/xsara use a rear torsion beam, if the bearings start to fail the rear tyres leans inwards, although to notice it, the failure must be bad indeed. i have only seen one old peugeot with this fault, i was amazed that it still drove!

anewman

sb44 wrote: »

Went to have a look at this but there were quite a few rust spots on it.

Not unexpected. A few little cosmetic rust spots aren't bad. They can be sorted out. Problem is when there's extensive rust and holes etc, particularly in structural parts. Generally if a car that sort of age has been regularly washed and waxed there should be minimal rust though.

sb44

anewman wrote: »

Not unexpected. A few little cosmetic rust spots aren't bad. They can be sorted out. Problem is when there's extensive rust and holes etc, particularly in structural parts. Generally if a car that sort of age has been regularly washed and waxed there should be minimal rust though.

There were patches on both rear wheel arches and quite a few on the passenger door, some near the bottom and one at the top near the window.

I know we aren't going to get a lot for £1000 but I don't want that much rust on it.

hewhoisnotintheknow

rust on a 10 year old car is madness

edde

Micra the 1.0 one is superb not great if your going to be do motorway miles but there cheap on fuel and parts and relaibel etc.

otherwise the 1.5 diesel corsa's

IMO often the VW etc cars are overpriced for what they are can get a better car for the same money just not the badge 'd always go for the youngest car though over milage

edde

hewhoisnotintheknow wrote: »

rust on a 10 year old car is madness

Depends on the car I've seen loads of 20 year old cars with less rust than 5 year old etc and better stuff.

admittidly its usually the care taken and the type of car ie old merc/porche are better than newer cheaper cars

firesidemaid

i too am a fan of skodas (i had a 7 year old one which went on forever).

i am now a fan of ford ka x