Cheap reliable car, suitable for long journeys?

forgotmyname

He will have a warrant for AWOL if he doesnt choose the right car... Wonder if he has
had insurance quotes yet?

scheming_gypsy

a 1.1 won't blow up doing the trip, but it's not going to be the most exciting trip in a 1.1. Look for a bigger engined but less fashionable cruiser that'll happily chomp up the miles.

poppasmurf_bewdley

The garage bloke is talking utter clap trap.

I'd go for a 8-10 year old Corsa 1.2 which is ok engine wise. Just check the bodywork especially on a three door - they tend to split just behind the B pillar. And 18 - 21 year olds tend to think the Corsa is 'cool'. My 21 year old soldier son thinks the Ka is for cissies and a definite no-no.

mikey72

TrickyWicky wrote: »

Wouldn't touch a fiat myself so you were brave with the Punto. We had a Bravo and it was a money pit. If it wasn't the gearbox it was the engine (both being terminal I might add). The Polo doesn't surprise me though, VWs are known for being very reliable and have a big fan base.

I forgot to add to my earlier post the Ka we have has done loads of long mileage trips up and down the country. Sure the wishbones and shocks have been annoying but its done several 500+ mile journeys up and down the country (with and without stops on the way) and one return trip we did started at 3pm, one hour stop at the other end, and then we got home at 5AM - 13 hours non stop pretty much 300 miles each way. Reliable engines and gearboxes but the other bits can be annoying. Highly reliable though.

I have a Tempra, I did about 100,000 miles in 7 years, and never missed a beat.
I replaced a golf I previously owned with it, the paint on the VW was rubbish, the suspension had to be replaced, and it was one of the most basic, noisiest cars I owned.

stilldontknow

God knows what this garage man is talking about. I had a 52 Nissan Micra 1.0 which quite happily did the journey from Glasgow to Bournemouth regularly. Had it 3 years and it sailed through three MOT's without needing anything done.

tim9966

My brother has been using a 11 year old (W Reg) 1.25 Fiesta to do a 200 mile round trip every week, plus local mileage in between without any problems.

That would only be worth about £1,000. Not needed anything major doing to it, just new tyres, and a service.

andygb

poppasmurf_bewdley wrote: »

My 21 year old soldier son thinks the Ka is for cissies and a definite no-no.

Ah well, go for the abused Corsas then, and ignore the Ka's which have probably led a better life and been serviced regularly.
If you are always looking to impress your peers, then you will end up making a lot of mistakes in life.

TrickyWicky

andygb wrote: »

Ah well, go for the abused Corsas then, and ignore the Ka's which have probably led a better life and been serviced regularly.
If you are always looking to impress your peers, then you will end up making a lot of mistakes in life.

Gotta agree with that.. most ka's are owned by women.. who seem to tap rich mummy and daddy for financial help with everything thus the cars are maintained.

Corsas have more street cred and seem to attract the boys, get ragged round town, bodged to keep them legal etc...

A car is a car. If its reliable, goes A -> B and does it faster than your feet or public transport thats gotta be good (unless its pink and you're a bloke!)

Kilty_2

Get an insurance quote for something like a Nissan Almera 1.5 - slightly better place to spend 8 hours and will be no less economical than the smaller cars.

Be very careful of rust on cheap ones with short MOT - the front crossmember does rot pretty badly.

DUTR

Kilty wrote: »

Get an insurance quote for something like a Nissan Almera 1.5 - slightly better place to spend 8 hours and will be no less economical than the smaller cars.

Be very careful of rust on cheap ones with short MOT - the front crossmember does rot pretty badly.

You have touched on a very good point, the small hatches will crucify a new young driver regarding insurance, a 'boring' car like the Almera will pay dividends in economy,luggage capacity, relaxed cruising, purchase and general running costs.
A colleague had found to his surprise that a 1 series BMW was much less to insure for his son, than his previous Punto.