Private or Trade?

jaimeo

Hi people,

Planning to by a used ford KA 2, probably an R reg. They go for about 1500-1800 private and about 1800-2000 trade (on autotrader).

Quick q: is there a standard warranty period i can expect from a trader?

Basically I am trying to decide between a 1600 car, + 170 for HPI + RAC comprehensive car check, or an 1800 car from a trade sale assuming there would be a warranty.

Any pointers?

Cheers
J

Luis

As someone who is driving round in a Ka at the moment, all I would say is consider something else.

I have found the 2004 petrol model I am driving to be noisy (clearly hear the engine noise inside the car), it feels very flimsy, the visibilty is poor (there is a MASSIVE blind spot), acceleration is poor, brakes are spongy and poor, seats are uncomfortable, and the controls are in awkward places.

Sorry - but that is what I have found. Have previously driven Peugeot 106, 206, 406, Mini, Vauxhall Astra, Corsa, Cavalier and Vectra, Ford Escort, and a Montego, and Ka is definitely right at the top of the Yuk list.

jaimeo

fair enough. must admit i have only driven one for about 10 mins.

used to own a rover metro...maybe that attracted me to the feel of the KA!

(not a swipe at longbridge peeps, I live about a km from there, i know how bad it is!)
hmmm well, anyone else had a bad experience with a KA?

cheers

JonSimmonds

if your looking for a small car may i sugest the daweoo matiz, my Mum drives one and uses it every day for a 10 mile jurney to the school were she teaches.

I personally hate it, and with it having such a small engine ive nickednamed hers the flying shoebox! but it suits my Mums needs 100% and with the aftercare deal she got with it to, its a win win situation for her

ArsenalFC

I would recommend the Nissan Micra or the Pug 206. Micra for the overall package of reliability, refinement + they all have 16v engines. Pug 206 for the better look. I am looking to buy a micra to use for work.

Luis

Further to my above comments - I took the Ka back today, and (rather churlishly) told the Ford man what I thought - and he agreed! He says they sell loads of them, but agreed that they were noisy, weak, flimsy etc etc.

I would recommend ANYTHING Peugeot - loved my 106, as a nippy a to b car, and ADORE my 206 (even the 406 was good, and easy to handle despite being HUGE). I find them responsive, economical, good performers, comfortable to drive, stylish and low maintenance. Other than regular servicing, very little else is required. Cheap to insure and tax.

applehead_3

R or S Reg Toyota Starlet

Nice to drive, total reliability

tempuscat

One of the longest-running threads on the eBay co uk Community Forum ('Q & A') relates to the experience of an eBay member with a brand-new Ford Ka convertible, the top of the range model.

The car has reportedly been an expensive failure from the outset but worse, far, far worse than this has been Ford UK's response: anyone here who is interested in seeing how a consumer Public Relations disaster unfolds, just go to the eBay discussion board.

Over the past few months several thousand -- thousand -- people have either contributed to the discussion or joined in a 'write-in' campaign to Ford's UK bosses. There've also been some, though by no means many, reports in minor newspapers and local / regional radio: more extensive publicity, especially in the Press, has not been forthcoming for reasons which may not be unconnected with those newspapers' awareness of how much Ford's advertising budget is worth to them.

eBay UK itself has behaved in a rather odd fashion, too, because the auction for the car -- which stated its history, faults, etc in full -- seems to have caused mighty Ford UK some offence. . . as a result of which the eBay member concerned is now having to run her own 'StreetKa website' and the auction no longer appears.

I know this world has more than its share of unjustified complainants but having followed this lady's experience from the outset, and watched the corporate might of Ford descend on her, I've taken the view that her case is 100% legitimate and that no, I'll never buy another Ford again -- and that, notwithstanding whatever else may be said about the eBay 'Streetka' case, I seem to have heard so much criticism of the Ka (in all its guises) and from so many sources that I certainly wouldn't recommend anyone I know to purchase this model whether they're anti-Ford on principle or not.

As to what to purchase, I'd seriously advise the OP to proceed not on the basis of prospective model but actual budget, because doing it the other way around is a little unrealistic.

When we bought our son his first car, we used AutoTrader online and input the amount of money we had available for the purchase, and then asked the site to list vehicles within a 200 mile radius that fitted that price.

We then whittled the list down to private sellers, low mileage, one or two owners, etc etc, and finished up purchasing a Ford Fiesta 1.3XL -- I know, I know! But this was a couple of years ago -- that was eight years old, had one devoted elderly owner /seller, and 23,000 miles on the clock with all MoTs and main dealer service history.

The little car was, and still is, an absolute gem. But if we'd set out with our humble £1,000 at the start of the exercise with a specific car in mind, then I doubt we'd have found the Fiesta.

The fact that we're so enthusiastic about the calibre of that Fiesta, yet have decided never to buy another Ford again for ourselves, says all there is to say about what happens when giant corporations like Ford forget that when you mistreat one actual consumer, you're mistreating God only knows how many potential consumers -- a lesson, no doubt, Martin has preached many times!

welf_man

I'd second the Daewoo Matiz - it may have a small engine, but it's a well-tuned one and the car is very nippy and responsive - except on hills!

Having said that, mine quite happily goes to the Highlands and back - a tank of petrol at £22 each way.

Sadly I'm now selling because my car isn't very keen on my Rottweiler!! If Daewoo did something like a Vauxhall Zafira I'd be happy to stay with them - services good value and customer service excellent.

Mel.

Luis

tempuscat wrote:

As to what to purchase, I'd seriously advise the OP to proceed not on the basis of prospective model but actual budget, because doing it the other way around is a little unrealistic.

Good call.

Shugster

I owned a Ford KA for 4 years with no problems, and only sold the old one to get a new SportKa. Sadly I need to sell this as I've got a baby due and it's not big enough. The only thing I'll say is that I only filled my Ka with Shell Optimax, and I notice a huge difference in the performance of this over any other Ka that I've driven. My girlfriends is a Y reg, and she puts Tesco value petrol in hers, and it shows.