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Would a SEAT Ibiza for £2000 make a reliable, cheap runaround?

I'm looking for a reliable, cheap runaround that's able to take me the long distance to uni as a second car. I'm a 22-year-old student and hence looking for a low insurance and tax group which is cheap to run and reliable - the holy grail. I've come across a 2002 Seat Ibiza 1.4, 5-door with 57,000 miles on the clock for just shy of £2000 (the top end of my budget). Would this be a good bet? A better bet than an X-reg Clio with 45,000 miles for £1700, a W-reg Almera 1.5 with 49,000 miles for around £1800, or even a similar Peugeot 206?

Asked on 8 June 2010 by edhwalker

Answered by David Ross
The SEAT Ibiza is a good, reliable small car as it's based on the Volkswagen Polo. £2000 for that model sounds a decent deal with 57,000 miles on the clock. It's a better choice than a Renault or a Peugeot which aren't as reliable. However, the best cars for reliability are invariably Japanese makes, so anything from Nissan, Toyota, Honda etc are good choices. For £2000 you could get a very tidy Honda Civic.
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Roomy and practical interior, tidy looks, refined petrol engines, rear seats fold flat to add to usefulness, well built and reliable.
Not bad looking. Economical 1.4 diesel gets under 119g/km.
More interesting looking than a Polo. 1.8 petrol turbo FR good fun.
 

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