Small budget - car recommendations please

lalaluna88

I need to buy a car in the very near future, but have a maximum budget of £1000. 
Everyone's experiences will be different but I'm hoping to get some ideas for cars to look out for that are cheap to run, good for commuting and hopefully reliable? Fully appreciate I won't get anything hugely decent for my budget.
My current car is a corsa and I've had nothing but trouble with it, as well as the corsa I had before so trying to avoid them where I can!
Many thanks 

dipsomaniac

The ford zetec engine is very reliable. You should be able to find a low milage, well looked after focus or fiesta for under £1k. I bought a 2003 focus 1.8 zetec with 65k miles for £200 last year

Herzlos

At that price buy purely on condition. Ideally find one that's been with the owner a long time and has been looked after.
Insurance wise, go for something your gran would drive (Toyota Corolla, Honda Jazz, that sort of thing). Tax isn't a big deal, nor is fuel economy unless you're doing huge mileages. Petrol cars have less to go wrong and are cheaper.

AdrianC

dipsomaniac said:

The ford zetec engine is very reliable. You should be able to find a low milage, well looked after focus or fiesta for under £1k. I bought a 2003 focus 1.8 zetec with 65k miles for £200 last year

But remember that Ford use "Zetec" as a trim-level, as well as a name for engines from three completely different design families, petrol and diesel. So it's entirely possible to buy a car badged as Zetec, with a non-Zetec engine, as well as a car with a Zetec engine but not Zetec trim-spec...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Zetec_engine#Engine_reference

Ant555

We bought a <£1000 Toyota Aygo privately around 3 years ago and it has been great - one thing I forgot to do when looking at it was check the oil -  day after buying I found there was NONE in it and I was absolutely gutted thinking I had bought a dud!!  I would have walked away if had checked at the time but luckily for me, its been absolutely fine and I have only had to top up the oil about once a year with a very small amount.   I dont know if that means the Aygo is particularly bullet proof as it does have a small engine that sounds like a lawn mower but its cheap to run, insure and tax.  Just had to replace a couple of tyres and brake pads in that time.

Hope this helps.

Grumpy_chap

At £1k the only thing to focus on is the condition and history of a car - make etc is irrelevant.  
I have had very good experiences with the Ford Zetec engine.

Gsaver1

Skoda Fabia, petrol engine with service history.

tacpot12

As per Herzlos' advice, buy on the condition of the car from someone who has had it for a long time. This means that you will need to evaluate the car, asking your mechanic to check it over before you buy it would be a good idea. But you also need to ask why the long-term owner is selling now. Many owners will not sell a reliable car to buy another used car, because they know that any used car might be less reliable than their current car.

What ever they say their reason is; dig around it a bit more. If they say they have been saving up to get a faster car, ask them what they are buying and check that they name a higher performance car. If they say they need a bigger car, ask about how their current car doesn't meet their needs; e.g. when does their new baby arrive?  You need to do this to spot someone who is giving a plausible reason for selling their car, when in fact they know it to have a problem and want to get rid of it rather than repair the problem. I would walk away from such a buyer - it is better to deal with someone who declares the faults and is prepared to accept a reduced price so that you can get the faults fixed at a garage if it is economical to do so. 

Toyota/Honda/Skoda tend to have the better reliability overall - I've had variable experiences with Fords. I'll defer to those with more experience that say the Zetec engine is a good engine for small Fords. I've always liked the look of the Ford Fusion - a Granny car if ever there was one. 

Good luck in your search. It would be interesting to know what you end up buying.

lalaluna88

Thank you for your replies, got some points I wouldn't have thought of.
I don't have a good track record with cars so fingers crossed for the next one.

leonj

Aygo, C1, 107 probably find one of them for £1000, £20 tax excellent on fuel

noclaf

I wouldn't limit yourself to just the brand's/models mentioned on this thread. IMO older unpopular/unloved models might actually get you more bang for your buck than the usual popular
'shed/banger' cars. For example some older French cars seem less prone to rust than their Japanese counterparts, not always though.
At a £1000 buy on condition rather than brand/model as already mentioned and if I were in your position I would be buying a petrol manual n/a engine car as they are generally more simple and cheaper to maintain and fix unless you are doing the type of journeys and annual mileage to justify diesel.
I drive a MK1 focus 1.8, surface rust is starting to appear but apart from that it's very clean and in 11 years the worse thing to happen was a dead alternator that I got replaced for £120. It has taken lot of abuse with mainly short journeys and generally driven hard however I do get it serviced properly and I'd rather get things fixed properly hence it's still in good condition overall.
My focus has a 1.8 and I think but am not certain that's it's a Yamaha derived design used in older Volvos too (S40/V50) and Mazda's,  seen plenty on autotrader with 120-150k + miles.
The focus MK1/2's are solid cheap used cars but there are just as many if not more abused examples that will be falling apart due to neglect and patchy servicing. 
Mazda and Ford provide some great vfm sheds but rust seems to be an issue for both brands with their older cars so just be warned.
Good luck and happy hunting!