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

blizeH

Thank you so much for the replies and advice guys! Really appreciate it, lots of good suggestions :-)

I think yeah, as much as I agree with your arguements for a larger engine, a small engine is near essential for this case if not purely for insurance reasons, and typically they do get a better MPG too.

Like I said, something that's reliable is a top priority too which could instantly discount some of the above recommendations, although people say to avoid Peugeot like the plague, and I had no problems with my old 306 - so whatever you buy you can either be rather lucky, or unlucky if you pick the wrong car.

agrinnall

Owain_Moneysaver wrote: »

VW Beetle (the original one)?

Have you seen how much they are? I'm thinking (not too seriously yet) about buying one to restore, the chances of getting one that runs and has a MoT for £1000 is virtually nil.

nervousftb_3

I would recommend a Fiat Punto. I have had two - a 1997 R reg that I drove for 4 years from 2003-2007, never had any major problems, was still going strong when I sold it (my sister had also driven it for a couple of years before me without any issues). Cheap as chips to run. Pretty basic (had electric windows but not much else!) but I still loved it!

Then bought a 2003 model and drove that from 2007 til a couple of months ago, loved it and was sad to see it go!!! Again, really cheap to run and never any major problems apart from once needing something doing to the clutch (sorry I can't remember what but it cost £250 to fix) and a bit of work on the exhaust once that cost about £50 to sort out. Not bad over 4 years. Again was fairly basic, cost me about £3300 when I bought it (probably was a bit ripped off but never mind!) and sold it for about £1000 so would be within your budget now. Never had any rust problems with either car.

Both were 1.2 engine, and cheap to insure (although I had been driving a few years by the time I got first one and had few years no claims), was only paying about £20 a month by the time I got rid of the 2nd one. Road tax is about £120 a year.

And lastly, but most importantly, it definitely has the 'cute' factor! And I'm a girl so I should know! Only problem is my boyfriend hated driving it cos he thought he looked stupid in it, so might be a problem if you ever want to drive it yourself

iolanthe07

You won't go far wrong with the old style Nissan Micra (pre 2003) so long as it has been looked after. Nice looking little car, too.

serious_saver

I have a 2003 Daewoo Kalos. It has been pretty reliable and is perfect (and efficient) for getting around town/short journeys. It's obviously designed as a city car because it really burns fuel on motorways (could just be how I drive though) but otherwise it's great.

Mine cost £3,000 4 years ago with 15,000 on the clock but I've seen them with higher mileage for around the £1,000 mark.

They also come in some very fun colours that were totally unfashionable when the car first came out but seem to be in style now. Mine is bright green and people are always commenting on how nice my car is. Despite being a small car there's plenty of space inside and there fantastic visibility which is good for a first car. I would completely recommend it.

Considering my age the insurance is pretty good too.

funkycoldribena

Go for the Ka,women love 'em,just watch for rust.As for the Kalos,OP said cute!!

jase1

Mmmmm, rust coloured, sexy...

Kilty_2

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.....

A 1.1 Corsa doesn't exist so that might explain it's poor fuel economy.

I'd be expecting 50MPG from a previous model Corsa 1.0 (Corsa C) and maybe slightly less from the Corsa B due to being older.

Not all small cars need to be driven hard to get anywhere either.

Strider590

Kilty wrote: »

A 1.1 Corsa doesn't exist so that might explain it's poor fuel economy.

Meh, i've got 1.1 in my head because some guy at work. The point im making is that small isn't always the most economical.

superfran_uk

I learned to drive in a 1.3l 1996 Micra, which was just over a grand when I bought it about 5 years ago - I only sold it a year back without spending more than a few hundred on fixes over the whole five year period... It was small enough for a learner, cute and very cheap to run.