I need to buy a new small car as we need two cars. We currently have a 1.3 Fiesta Ghia which is ok but has lots of annoying problems nobody can fix although its a simple engine.
I am thinking about buying an old style Corsa B 8 valve, 1.4 is there anything I need to be aware on these engines?
I believe the FIAT FIRE engines are very good but ewith my budget £700-£1000 the car is likely to be well tatty by now.
I love the 1.25 Ford Zetec S but I am right in the fact these need careful servicing? Something which will be hard to find on the used market.
Then there i s the VAG engines, seem to be a bit ove rated from the cars I have seen so far.
Basically I want a car I can run into the ground without having to worry about cam belt changes every two minutes etc. I also need something new enough for turning up to jobs in.
I've been told to avoid the Corsa 1.0 as they are too slow and too easily to stall.
I am going to see P reg Corsa 1.4 8 valve tomorrow with 1 previous owner for £750, if it has complete service history I might consider it, the bodywork is described as exellent.
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Engine-wise this sounds like a job for the Nissan Micra if you ask me.
Or, if you can take the badge, I've noticed that the Daewoo Matiz is an extremely cheap used buy. Decent reliability, simple mechanicals all round (similar to Vauxhall) and because it's a Daewoo you should be able to get a 2001/2 car for under a £1000. Probably worth looking into.
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I also need something new enough for turning up to jobs in.
Is image a problem? If not I can recommend Hyundi Accent's. Mrs S. has had a '98 1.3 for three years now and, apart from a precautionary cambelt change on purchase, I have not had to touch the engine apart from filter and oil changes.
The unit still looks like a proper engine (i.e. you can see daylight all around it and all the important bits are accessible) and it is the tried and tested unit from the previous Pony.
I love simplicity, if I can understand, I can mend, this engine is so simple that I managed the cambelt change 'off the cuff' as a Haynes isn't available for this vehicle :-(
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The reason I haven't suggested those cars is that on HJ's car by car it suggests they have high deah trates in the event of an accident. A Matiz will be too small as I am a computer engineer, but a Fiesta/Corsa is that bit bigger and is fine.
I've been warned the Suzuki 3 pot in the Corsa will be too slow.
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"I've been warned the Suzuki 3 pot in the Corsa will be too slow. "
For what?
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98 on Clio.
Good NCAP crash rating, excellent anti corrosion and the 1.2 should meet your simplicity requirements though is popular amongst new drivers so prices are strong.
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98 on Clio. Good NCAP crash rating excellent anti corrosion
It's funny you should say this -- I always thought the same thing about the anti-corrosion until I took a look at my dad's Clio recently. While our Daewoo of all things is unrusted on an R-plate, his V-plate Clio is rusting on the sills and the rear wheelarches. I've noticed it on a few other similarly-aged cars as well.
Seems to me that they're no better or worse than anything else.
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The reason I haven't suggested those cars is that on HJ's car by car it suggests they have high deah trates in the event of an accident.
If you are referring to the Accent here, it is true that the old model does have a poor safety record.
However, although the newer (2000 on) car was never tested by Euro NCAP, the Australian equivalent tested the car using the same test and it came out with a respectable enough three stars -- probably about as good as you are going to get in a small, sub-£1000 car.
The newer-shape, 1.3l (83BHP) Accent is thus a decent contender IMO.
A Matiz will be too small as I am a computer engineer but a Fiesta/Corsa is that bit bigger and is fine.
True enough. It was just a thought, seeing as they are so cheap. The Lanos might be a possibility in that case -- the 1.4 engine is almost identical to the one in the Corsa, and overall it is a little bit bigger.
Korean cars are always strong at the level you are thinking about because you tend to get a newer car with fewer miles on the clock.
I didn't think the safety record of the Micra was that bad (3 stars wasn't it?).
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Aussie results for the 2000- Accent:
ancap.jra.com.au/results/search/?manufacturer=11&s...l
You can see that in general their results do tally with the UK figures -- they use the same methodology so I think this result can be trusted.
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Dont buy a car on ncap ratings alone !
Whilst the tests are indicitave of 1 car versus another, it will not stop any car accident hurting you or killing you in an accident. the tests are all standard, but dont include what might happen in the real world!
For example, if you get hit by a 40 ton lorry at 56mph and you are stationery with a lorry in front of you, does it matter what ncap stars the car has got?
use ncap as a guide not as the reason !
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If you can find a decent rust free example then the Nissan Micra gets my vote.
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I didn't think the safety record of the Micra was that bad (3 stars wasn't it?).
Ah right, no, two stars. See what you mean.
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Borderline but the Micra just fell into the 2 star category... Probably fairly decent given the K11's age (car of the year in 1993 or thereabouts) and the general average rating for a small car between the start of the ratings and 2002 when it was replaced by the frog eyed one with a much better safety rating.
The rating was part of the reason I got rid of mine though... Given that I'm doing 14k miles a year now I thought a few extra stars would be worth it just in case. Plus it really wasn't handling that mileage too well.
Edited by kaytronika on 13/10/2008 at 14:09
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