Small budget - car recommendations please

parking_question_chap

Buy Japanese, buy petrol and buy on condition.

Doesnt matter exactly what it is.

mgfvvc

Grumpy_chap said:

At £1k the only thing to focus on is the condition and history of a car - make etc is irrelevant. 

Condition and history might be the main criteria, but given a choice between a Fiat and a Toyota in similar condition, I would always go for the Toyota.

robertosherman

Just like everyone said, focus mainly on condition and history. Never hesitate asking everything on the seller like why he is selling the car etc. 

Happy hunting!

Nobbie1967

Ant555 said:

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.

They do seem pretty bullet proof engine wise.  My 2005 107 had a shocking life of abuse from mostly short around town drives clocking up 3k a year and me liking to rev the nuts of it while not being particularly careful with servicing. Engine still going great when it was written off at 14 years old, although I think the ring gear on the flywheel was knackered from too many starts as the starter was starting to stick.

Ditzy_Mitzy

At that price I'd avoid anything French or Italian.  I've had several older Citroens and they've not been brilliant; friends with Peugeots, Renaults, Fiats and Alfa Romeos all seem to have problems too.  I've always found Fords to be reliable, ditto Toyota, Mazda and Nissan.  A friend has recently bought a Honda Civic, she really likes it.  

k3lvc

I'm in a similar situation looking at something for Sister in Law - not the easiest time to be buying
In my local area anything cheap is being snapped up by Deliveroo etc drivers for the winter period. The rest is done by a few local driveway dealers scraping stuff up at £400-500 and then turning it round for £1k - the same names (or new, generally female sellers) coming up over and over again on Gumtree/Ebay/Marketplace

I'm still searching for the elusive 'one dead owner' deal   

jimjames

My regular "go to" cheap car is the MK4 VW Golf TDI. Bulletproof engines if serviced properly, some other minor issues but nothing too serious. Old cars now but you'd get a decent one for £1000, some are still well over that money which gives an idea how popular they are.

[Deleted User]

Golfs are very chavvy nowadays though with higher insurance costs to reflect that.  

missile

With only £1000 to spend you will struggle to find a reliable small car. How many miles do you do? Large saloons are unpopular. You might find a better deal.

silverwhistle

tacpot12 said:

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..

Good point. This last autumn I sold my Hyundai i20 for a bit over your budget: nothing wrong with it but I'd been hankering for an electric car for some time. Some local learner got a good little car, and you might be similarly lucky.