I am looking to spend 6k on a car for my wife,i suggested a Mini one and she was keen but now has seen that she can get a pre-reg Fiat grand punto for the same money.My heart says go for a 52 plate 5yr old Mini out of warranty with around 50k miles,my mind says go for the still under warranty 1k miles punto,which is the best to go for?The car will be going to work 5 days a week,with some early starts some late finishes,and mainly motorway driving.
Heart or Mind?
A J
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in your circumstances id go for the fiat.
reliability with warranty
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style over substance really innit
go on you know which one to buy really
a fiesta :)
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AJ there are loads of different options between the 2 cars you specifically mention, and for £6k you have the budget to explore them
If there are particular reasons for these 2 cars and you dont want to consider anything else, fair enough, but if you are open I'm sure some of the guys here can come up with some great ideas
btw you can get a brand new punto on fiatsupersaver for £6.5k IIRC
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Hi nick
We are open to opinions on other cars we currently have a 2003 Xtrail that we tow a caravan with (boo,boo)and it only gets used once a week and my wife goes to work in a 95 pug 106 with 115k miles.
We are going to get her a better car and then buy a cheaper tow car,she does not go to work in the Xtrail due to parking restrictions and the amount of fuel it uses when chugging down motorway in traffic.
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As mentioned, if it's ONLY these 2 - Fiat most definite!!
Why would you want a MINI????? Over hyped, over priced & over rated & at your budget under speec'd!!
VB
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SWMBO loves her Mini and would never have a Fiat - but good as I think Minis are, I wouldn't go for a 5-year-old one, and £6k is too much to spend on it, when as you say you can go new or nearly-new.
She needs to try out the options and see what she likes, given that she's going to spend some time in her car. She could include a Ford Ka (old design but still great fun to drive), Kia Picanto and Hyundai Getz (never tried either but thers are some people on here who speak well of one or the other), one of Toyota Aygo / Citroen C1 / Peugeot 107 - or a newish Fiesta.
The only Ford I'd buy new is the Ka: Fiestas are good cars which drop quickly in value through oversupply, so there are plenty around nearly-new.
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I forgot one - the Mitsubishi Colt. Noisy but fun to drive. I had a 1.1 for a week as a coutesy car and didn't want to hand it back.
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I forgot one - the Mitsubishi Colt. Noisy but fun to drive. I had a 1.1 for a week as a coutesy car and didn't want to hand it back.
Colt 3dr is available brand new for £6K and at the moment there's a 3yr servicing package for £150.
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Dont fancy the residules on Kia +Hyundai,going to have a look at the C1 or 107 tommorow,for some reason i have never wanted a Ford,I drive a transit connect every day,but ford cars don't do owt for me.
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>>The only Ford I'd buy new is the Ka: Fiestas are good cars which drop quickly in value >>through oversupply, so there are plenty around nearly-new.
The KA is still not galvanised, rust really hurts these cars, even W and X reg examples are failing MOT's dues to rust at the bottom of the door support beam. Bodywork is awful on these cars, even the jackpoints are rusting on examples as new as three years old - avoid unless you enjoy spending weekends with your hands full of waxoyl.
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new model suzuki swift surely makes more sense?
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new model suzuki swift surely makes more sense?
..but isn't 6 grand.
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avoid unless you enjoy spending weekends with your hands full of waxoyl.
Ahh, just like the good old days with my Pug 104!
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The KA is still not galvanised, rust really hurts these cars..
I often fancied one as a run-about, but have always been put off by what you point out. Look at the underside & every surface is covered in rust of the deep gnawing variety. They remind you of the original Mini with rotted sub-frame & 'crab-wise' progress. Why on earth Ford didn't dip these cars is unfathomable - you see still p/r/s reg. examples around, I can't imagine how compromised structurally they might be from anything other than a parking dink.
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new model suzuki swift surely makes more sense?
..but isn't 6 grand.
would be 2nd hand
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Dont fancy the residules on Kia +Hyundai
Probably shouldn't be fancying Fiat residuals either then, they're every bit as bad!!!!
If not worse -- 2001 Bravos seem to go for around £800, whereas equivalent Hyundais sell for about £1200 -- despite fact that the Bravo cost around 30% more when new.
Your money -- but if you're worried about residuals leave the Fiat alone, it's like burning fivers. Good reason for it as well -- many Puntos fall to bits at 70K miles, and people are understandably suspicious of them as a result.
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Having driven a grand punto as a courtesy car - the ride is firmish and rather jiggley on uneven surfaces at speed, not unbearable but very noticeable. A fiesta seems much more composed (possibly other cars as well).
As others have said, don't exclude other makes just yet.
However never driven a mini so cannot comment on its ride.
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>>Having driven a grand punto as a courtesy car - the ride is firmish and rather jiggley on >>uneven surfaces at speed,
Totally agree, the MK1 and 2 Punto's suffer the same problem, I have also found tyre noise very vocal on older Punto's. Not sure if tyre noise is an issue on the latest Grande Punto?
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I could hear tyre noise, but do not recall it being an annoyance (it is an 07 plate grande punto). The other mystery is why it is called a grande punto, still seems very small to me!
In common with older fiats I have driven, the engine noise is very noticeable under acceleration. The engine note has a slight sporty sound to it, but if you don't like that sort of thing then probably not the car for you either.
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Been to Fiat today with she who now's best and sat in a new Grande Punto she liked but it didn't set her pants on fire,by coincidence the Nissan garage next door had a Mini in so we had a look at that.There is no comparison the Mini looks and feels 100 times better so the X trail goes in autotrader tomorrow and it looks like a Mini for us.
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