Cheap to run, reliable and 'cute' car for under £1k?

blizeH

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Hi,

My girlfriend's learning to drive and wants to buy a car asap. Main criteria are:

- Cheap to run
- Reliable
- Less than £1k
- Looks 'cute'

So far the only cars I can think of are the Ford Ka and Nissan Micra... the Ka not only looking nicer, but also being a tiny bit cheaper, but also being slightly less reliable?

I was just wondering if there are any other similar cars that I've not thought of that could be a perfect match?

Thanks![/FONT]

Tiexen

Top 10 cars for less than £1,000

From the Daily Telegraph......

1. Vauxhall Corsa
Verdict: Lots to choose from and very cheap to service and repair, if a bit dull to drive



2. Ford Fiesta
Verdict: Actually a lot of fun to drive, especially the 1.25-litre Zetec. Avoid the 1.3 petrol if you can


3. Ford Focus
Verdict: Like the Fiesta, this is a practical hatchback that's also good to drive. Pick of the engines is the 1.6-litre Zetec petrol


4. Renault Clio
Verdict: One of the most practical superminis in terms of interior space. Diesel versions particularly economical, if you can stand the noise

5. Peugeot 206
Verdict: Neat styling but not as much room inside as a Clio and not as much fun to drive as a Fiesta



6. Vauxhall Astra
Verdict: A workhorse that, if looked after properly, will serve you well despite its age. This budget even gets you extras such as air-conditioning



7. Volkswagen Golf
Verdict: You'll be looking at a Mk3 Golf for this kind of money, but it still feels solid after all these years. Dynamically dull but as tough as old boots mechanically



8. Ford Ka
Verdict: Ford's city car never does particularly well in owner satisfaction polls, despite being good fun to drive



9. Volkswagen Polo
Verdict: Like the bigger VW Golf, the Polo majors on solid build quality rather than offering its driver anything in the way of excitement. Cheap to run



10. Fiat Punto
Verdict: You get lot for your money with a used Fiat and the Punto is no exception. A budget of £1,000 will put you in a 10-year old example with less than 100,000 miles on the clock. It's our pick of the top 10 contenders

rodenal

The only one of the above I would avoid is, ironically enough the number 1 choice - corsa, don't touch with a bargepole they're horrid to drive and every one I've ever come across has been falling apart after about 5/6 years. shame as the previous (circa 1992-2000) generation was a reliable little thing

Strider590

Avoid really small engine's too, my 1.8 Vectra is a 4.8 meter long beast of a car, mpg figures say 36mpg, whilst the 1.1 Corsa is just 38mpg.... That's a piddly 5% more efficient to go from a car you could move house with, to a car smaller than a shoe box.

The reason being small cars have been getting bigger and heavier over the years, to the point where the small engines just have to be driven much, much harder to get anywhere.

I would say it needs a minimum 1.4 litre engine.....

bluenoseam

Strider590 wrote: »

Avoid really small engine's too, my 1.8 Vectra is a 4.8 meter long beast of a car, mpg figures say 36mpg, whilst the 1.1 Corsa is just 38mpg.... That's a piddly 5% more efficient to go from a car you could move house with, to a car smaller than a shoe box.

The reason being small cars have been getting bigger and heavier over the years, to the point where the small engines just have to be driven much, much harder to get anywhere.

I would say it needs a minimum 1.4 litre engine.....

I would suggest you look at a bigger picture - girlfriend "learning to drive", think of the associated costs of a 1st year driver on a limited budget, anything 1.4 and above will make the insurance expensive. She's not looking for the ultimate driving experience, just a cheap runaround until she's at a stage where the insurance costs allow her to go for a "real" car - then your advice will come into play.

Strider590

bluenoseam wrote: »

I would suggest you look at a bigger picture - girlfriend "learning to drive", think of the associated costs of a 1st year driver on a limited budget, anything 1.4 and above will make the insurance expensive. She's not looking for the ultimate driving experience, just a cheap runaround until she's at a stage where the insurance costs allow her to go for a "real" car - then your advice will come into play.

Makes sense, in a perfect world.... But due to learners and young drivers primarily buying such small engined cars, the insurance for such will be deemed higher risk... To the point that a 1.4 might be less to insure than a 1.0.
If 2000 people crash a 1 litre car and 500 people crash the 1.4 version of the same car, the 1 litre is going to demand a higher premium whether it's a lower insurance group or not.

I'm by no means saying this is the case, but it would be worth checking this before any purchase. Never make any assumptions, always check these things for yourself. A lot of people get stung with high premiums on a small car because they "assumed" smaller = cheaper.

Owain_Moneysaver

VW Beetle (the original one)?

cyclonebri1

Early Renault Clio fits the bill, has more street cred, more economical, equally reliable, available in 1.2 ir 1.4. 1.4 is best.

s_b

more importantly find a good used insurable car locally for under a grand if you can
thats more important than any street cred when the thing breaks down
or of course you could tell her to get a bright pink ka seen a few of those under a grand in the old autotrader every now and then

insurance is the killer has she done her homework?
remember the premium shoots up when she passes her test and she gains independence,she might even use the car to go to the next town to see her old flame,mine did:D

blacksta

Ford Ka - ANy time any day - Avoid the really old ones as they are really prone to SERIOUS RUST. Maybe look for something around 2001 upwards and you would probably get 3 years out of it before rusting away.

23rdspiral

i had a very old, small and rusty Rover Metro diesel as my first car. it was a good little workhorse till the repairs cost more than it was worth.

i then got a second hand nissan micra, and Love it! it happily does 70, and also happily scoots around in city traffic, and even fairly happily takes me and a weeks camping kit off road through muddy fields!