BEST BUY advice for a second hand car please

Sarahjk21

Any advice from the mechanics amongst us?

I'm looking for a second hand car low insurance group costing about £1500 ( the car)

Any thoughts?

I'm re posting this as it got high jacked in an insurance debate which was unpleasant and unhelpful. All I am after is some advice on the reliabilty of second hand cars from mechanics in the know

NO insurance comments needed thanks !

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

steamwin

hi sara,was in the trade years ago,fords escort, fiesta,<focus> which is the one i have had for 8 years now,never let me down from new,.My son's fiesta has also been good to him in the 3 years he has owned it.

Hintza

It will be the old favourites. Corsa, Fiesta etc.

But have a look at old Civics and you might find a half decent (youngish) hyundai.

newbie007_2

Not a mechanic but I have had micra and fiesta. I would say try and get a toyota yaris, for that budget u probably can pick up a 1999/2000.

verityboo

What about a Fiat Seicento Sporting? You should easily be able to get one of the last 2003 examples with reasonable mileage. It would be much newer and have a much lower mileage than a Fiesta or Corsa the same price. If you love yellow cars there are plenty about although they were also available in red, silver or black if you want something a bit more subtle

There are plenty on this forum who love to bash Fiats but the Seicento is simple with no complex electrics and spares are dirt cheap

gilbert_and_sullivan

Pug 106/Citroen Saxo...same car anyway.

The one to get if you can is the 1.5 Diesel but even the 1.1 petrol is remakable on fuel and goes quite well, don't go for lowest spec as it won't have power steering, you ideally want Zest3 in Pug it's got the extras incl power steering.
Saxo i believe it's Desire and above that have power but check.

Inactive

Old shaped Nissan Micra, sound little cars, very reliable, far better than the newer shape ones that have Renault involvement.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Hintza

As usual we have covered a huge selection of cars so back to my original suggestion:-

Try and find friends or family who might be selling a suitable clean car any make or model as long as it meets your criteria cheap insurance etc.

I advocate the any car will do if the price is right and does the job I need it for.

gonzo127

agreed with the fact you should be able to find a newish hyundia, maybe not the most street cred for some of the models however we have had 3 in my family and all of them have been good reliable and cheap to run cars (dads currently got a i20 and loves it)

another might be the skoda fabia which is generally tough and old boots

Sarahjk21

Thanks everyone- its such a minefield- he wasted alot of hard earned cash on a wretched vw polo so we will be avoiding that!

gonzo127

well as ever no matter what car you buy it could be a lemon! just make sure you go armed with as much info as you can about the cars - check whatcar and parkers guide online for reviews and other information.

also try to drive more than one version of the car you are looking to buy, say you find a feista you are looking at buying try to find another 2 feistas to have test drives in so you have a feel for how they should drive