Second hand reliable small cars

gord115

A few people have pointed out the ignis,my wife had one for 3 1/2 years and it was without a doubt the cheapest car we have ever had. A very good car for the money.

avantra

vax2002 wrote: »

The VW are nowhere near as reliable as they like to make out, passats and other diesels are shoving conrods through the sides of engines.
vauxhall, from 2001-2008 are just complete pigs
Ford diesels have dual flywheels made out of soft cheese and brown paper.
I would agree, look at a japenese car, they are basic, they are boring, but they just keep going and going and going, hence why you see a good portion of them owned by Asians, they dont "do" repair bills...

The above comment about VW and the conrods is true for the Passat TD B6 2005-2010, the older B5 had non of this and the new ones are.. well too new.

I agree that Japanese are a good choice but not every Japanese, the pertrol ones are the one to go for, the diesels are simply European technology and will give the same issues at some point as any other modern common rail diesel (See the hip of issues with higher milage Toyota D4D diesels in the Yaris and Avensis).

If you think straight and decide to go for a petrol rather than diesel than I don't see much difference in quality between a small ford and a small Mitsubishi/Toyota of the passing decade (Bar the Ford Karusty).

lucinad

warehouse wrote: »

Yeah a Micra is OK if you want to look like an idiot on the road, it's got to be the most ugly car of all time and driven by the worlds worst drivers!

Get a focus. Superb car, reliable and cheap as chips for spares.

sweeping generalization there! i have been driving 12 years and only accident i have had is when a man drove into the side of me when i was stopped at a junction. i had an F reg micra and yes they are one of the ugliest cars around, however was one of the best engines of any of my other cars. never had anything go wrong with it. however only had 4 gears! and didnt have fm radio! also didnt go over 65mph which was only a problem when on the motorway. it got stolen and they managed to get it upto 74mph through a speed camera. anyway in short who cares what you look like you dont see the car from the inside... hee hee.

Noctu

gord115 wrote: »

A few people have pointed out the ignis,my wife had one for 3 1/2 years and it was without a doubt the cheapest car we have ever had. A very good car for the money.

Another point about the Ignis is it is one of the thinnest cars on the market with 5 doors. I think it's 1595mm.

Excluding things like the terribly built tiny Daewoos etc. Plus it has a bit of poke with a 1.3 engine.

Seems a weird thing to point out but when you have a tiny driveway every millimetre matters!! :rotfl:

avantra

Noctu wrote: »

Another point about the Ignis is it is one of the thinnest cars on the market with 5 doors. I think it's 1595mm.

Excluding things like the terribly built tiny Daewoos etc. Plus it has a bit of poke with a 1.3 engine.

Seems a weird thing to point out but when you have a tiny driveway every millimetre matters!! :rotfl:

This car is one of the best offers in the used market.

Yes, it is narrow but not much more than other cars, yes it is a £170ish VED, but if you go for the 4grip (the 4x4) in a VVT form you can get a very nice little car with 4 proper doors that will go nicely in winter and will be reliable as a Stanley hummer.

For 2.3k you can get mid miler like this one.

Noctu

avantra wrote: »

This car is one of the best offers in the used market.

Yes, it is narrow but not much more than other cars, yes it is a £170ish VED, but if you go for the 4grip (the 4x4) in a VVT form you can get a very nice little car with 4 proper doors that will go nicely in winter and will be reliable as a Stanley hummer.

For 2.3k you can get mid miler like this one.

Agreed, I really like mine and it copes very well on my journey to work (city and A road driving). I'm told that it's comfortable as a passenger in the back too.

I even overtook a DB9 in it a few months back. (well it was only doing 50mph but... I still did LOL)

avantra

Noctu wrote: »

I even overtook a DB9 in it a few months back. (well it was only doing 50mph but... I still did LOL)

Oh i can't count how many times I overtook those ostentatious rollers and AM's with my Ford Fusion (I am 41 and I know it's an OAP's car but it is also an uber reliable bargain for the broken roads here which is what's count in my book) serves me right living in the Cotswold's.:D

candykisses

Thanks for all your helpful replies.

I like the look of the Ignis and it has very good write ups.

I would probably go for the 1.3 petrol - I mainly use it around town and a small commute to work each day. Possibly a longer journey once a month.

Can any Ignis owners advise on service interims and approx cost of a full service. Also I couldn't find the tax and insurance bands for it.

What I'm thinking of doing is getting rid of the Polo whilst it's still got MOT on it and saving up for an Ignis, preferably one with full service history.

What's the paintwork like on them? Are they prone to rust in any areas?

I'm looking at the hatchback version but also notice they have an estate version.

Strider590

tbh it think you should have noticed and rectified these problems before they turned into this "nightmare"..... Happens all the time these days, people plod along ignoring the warning signs, turn the radio up and wonder why it explodes 3 months later.

Whatever you get, you need to stay on top of maintenance!

Finally, VW don't deserve the reputation they still carry from 30 years ago.... It lives in word of mouth only and shows no sign of stopping.

candykisses

Strider590 wrote: »

tbh it think you should have noticed and rectified these problems before they turned into this "nightmare"..... Happens all the time these days, people plod along ignoring the warning signs, turn the radio up and wonder why it explodes 3 months later.

I bought the car in April and there weren't any apparent problems with it.

One month on the emissions warning light came on and I've taken it to three different garages since then and paid for things to be done to it, only to have the light come back on again with a couple of weeks.

The grinding problem came out of the blue last Sunday, so I can honestly say this car had "no warning signs which I've ignored"

I certainly couldn't have noticed the above two faults any earlier than they occurred and as my original post states - no mechanic seems to know why the emissions warning light is on. I've been told I could try replacing the catalytic convertor at an expense of around £800 but this might not cure the problem either.

I can hardly be accused of "plodding along ignoring things"