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[Shelby]

Good day one and all.

I am after a bit of advice and/or pointers and/or ideas from the masses here who more than likely know alot more about prices, buying etc than I do.

I need to pick up a runaround for SWMBO for the winter, preferably the sooner the better as she is still on her scotter at the moment.  I have been looking around but really don't have any reasonable ideas of the value of cars so never sure if it is worth it or not, I know ebay ads can often be very deceptive and the cars often look better in the pics than they do in reality.

I don't have much to spend unfortunately, looking at up to around £700, needs to be small car, small engine (cheap to run / insure etc).  Ideally (if possible) I would like to pick up something post 2001 tax bracket changes for the cheaper tax, prefer petrol, manual etc.

I have been looking at / watching some Corsa's, Ford Ka (seem to be some issues with these with rusting sills etc), Fiesta's etc on ebay.  Ideally in the Lincoln area for ease of getting to to view before buying.  The problem I have is probably more me than anything else, I may be a little over cynical / sceptical about being shafted with cars and I need this to be a reliable as possible over the winter months.

Any thoughts, ideas, experience etc with smaller cars?  Ones to avoid, things to look out for etc. absolutely any ideas would be very much appreciated.

Some of the ones ive am / have been watching below:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/150680901519?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649 - would expect this to potentially rise in price soon, Corsa's seem very popular.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/330628835343?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649 - The add for this has changed 3 times in the last 5 days.  Was originally 695 Buy It Now (which included 6 months tax), then dropped to 675, now down to 595 without the tax (not a lot of difference in actual price).

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/270837781626?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649 - fully expect this to go outside my price range with 3days left on it.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/260862923656?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

[Shelby]

Having researched a bit more the blue Corsa is out of the running, having been bought as accident damaged at the start of September by the buyer, not sure I can trust the integrity of the cars structure as I would suspect it has just had a new wing, bumper and light stuck on it to resell.

[cem_devecioglu]

imo I would check 98-99 1.4 clits.. they dont have problems in the engine.. low on fuel consumption
 
they generally require front drivetrain parts which are wear items.. and in winters even 2 winter tires for the front
 
solves the snow problem
 
 

[Radar]

Used to have a corsa and was very happy with it. There just wasn't that much to go wrong. Beside usual checks for leaks etc.. I look in your local papers and look at the house / condition of the seller. Sometimes you can get a good feel for how they would look after their car from this. I know many will prob. disagree with me but if you are talking about £700 you could look for someone who has just bought a new car and basically wants it off their driveway. Make them a silly offer and take it from there.

Best of luck

[henryd]

I would be very wary of any small ford thats 10 years old,rust issues are rife on Ka's and Fiesta's of that age,no rot issues with small renaults and peugeots but electrical gremlins are very possible,Corsa's not a bad car but watch out for head gasket issues with 1.2 16v's

[Shelby]

Thanks for the replies.

Cem, what are clit's like to work on as I tend to try and do as much work on it myself as I can, with the use of the interwebz and a Haynes manual?

SWMBO is partial to small Peugeots, she has had a couple in the past, but the ones I see tend to be pretty nasty and poorly looked after.  She saw one on ebay a week or so ago and wanted that, after a little research saw the guy had bought it for £175 a month before as spares or repair (with a list of MOT failure points) and was now after about £500.  Peugeots, in my limited experience, tend to have fairly decent motors in them but if/when something does go they are a pain to work on.

Rust etc does seem to be a big thing on the older Ka's from what I have researched, seem to have common electrical issues and leaky around the doors also.

[Shelby]

Funnily enough, this car is to replace a Peugeot 106 Mardi Gras that has been run into the ground was only £200 when I got it from my brother in law as emergency transport when my wife's Scooter got written off by a builder at our house!  Thats lasted for 7-8 months but it has an oil leak, the OSR trailing arm and torsion bar are shot and its generally in pretty poor condition so we are putting it out of its (and our) misery.

[Marks DTM Calib]

Thanks for the replies.

Cem, what are clit's like to work on as I tend to try and do as much work on it myself as I can, with the use of the interwebz and a Haynes manual?

SWMBO is partial to small Peugeots, she has had a couple in the past, but the ones I see tend to be pretty nasty and poorly looked after.  She saw one on ebay a week or so ago and wanted that, after a little research saw the guy had bought it for £175 a month before as spares or repair (with a list of MOT failure points) and was now after about £500.  Peugeots, in my limited experience, tend to have fairly decent motors in them but if/when something does go they are a pain to work on.

Rust etc does seem to be a big thing on the older Ka's from what I have researched, seem to have common electrical issues and leaky around the doors also.

Not pleasent and very compromised in the right hand drive versions.

Not unknown to suffer snapping clutch cables due to the shite clutch oeprating setups.

[TheBoy]

Fifi's and Corsa's tend to hold a high price. Young people, insurance

If our little runabout, a Rover 25, died tomorrow, I'd buy...   ...hmmm...   ...probably another one

Generally reliable, though any coolant leaks will detroy the infamous HG. In 11 years, 110k, the only non service items ours has had is a HG, a fuel pump, and a cam sensor (the latter only picked up by diagnostics equipment, didn't know it was faulty  ). Still on original suspension and rear brakes .

Downsides: Plastic interior is every bit as bad as the early Astra-H's, the radio is basic and the brakes (on ours) are easy to cook if you try hard (easy upgrade to nick MGZR ones ).  Always that HG risk - although not all HG faults on them are HG faults, esp those with the plastic inlets. Limited headroom for adults in rear. Tall people my opt for non sunroof model in front!

Upsides: Cheap. Reliable. Easy to work on. Cheap parts. Reasonable forum available (although 25 section does have a lot of bodykit and 10,000W stereo questions). Surprisngly large boot (bigger than our old focus).


Ours is a 1.6iS. I get about 35mpg, Mrs TB gets a bit more .  1.4 comes in 2 powers, go for the 100bhp one, rather than 84bhp (although I believe its just throttle body).

[Kevin Wood]

  1.4 comes in 2 powers, go for the 100bhp one, rather than 84bhp (although I believe its just throttle body).

I thought the lesser 1.4 had an 8 valve head instead of 16v. 

[Kevin Wood]

  1.4 comes in 2 powers, go for the 100bhp one, rather than 84bhp (although I believe its just throttle body).

I thought the lesser 1.4 had an 8 valve head instead of 16v. 

Ooh, or was that the single point 16v?

[cem_devecioglu]

Thanks for the replies.

Cem, what are clit's like to work on as I tend to try and do as much work on it myself as I can, with the use of the interwebz and a Haynes manual?

SWMBO is partial to small Peugeots, she has had a couple in the past, but the ones I see tend to be pretty nasty and poorly looked after.  She saw one on ebay a week or so ago and wanted that, after a little research saw the guy had bought it for £175 a month before as spares or repair (with a list of MOT failure points) and was now after about £500.  Peugeots, in my limited experience, tend to have fairly decent motors in them but if/when something does go they are a pain to work on.

Rust etc does seem to be a big thing on the older Ka's from what I have researched, seem to have common electrical issues and leaky around the doors also.

clit engines especially 16 valve models are generally robust.. but I cant say working on them so easy..even you cant check the oil without burning your hand if engine is hot    
mine is 2000, list of changed items : new bosch alternator and extra cabling for battery feed , new idle valve and cambelt kit.. and crank sensor as a precaution.. other things: wishbones (unbelievably cheap compared to miggy) shocks , front discs and pads.. and throttle disassembled and cleaned.. 

[Ken T]

Having researched a bit more the blue Corsa is out of the running, having been bought as accident damaged at the start of September by the buyer, not sure I can trust the integrity of the cars structure as I would suspect it has just had a new wing, bumper and light stuck on it to resell.

Car shell integrity is quite strong really, you can tell if the shell has been damaged by checking the door/body gap, if it closes up the shell as such has been squashed. Don't forget cars of that age get written off for not much, to fit a new wing, bumper, light and respray will cost a lot so older cars get written off for minor things. Thing to do also is check the headlight aim, at night. I didn't on our 06 Corsa. Driving up the motorway, well the lights were good for illuminating bridges and alerting UFO's, but not for illuminating the road    .   That also tell you if the front has been straightened properly, the headlamp panel straightened properly or the light just stuck on. Has it an MOT after repairs were done ?. Corsa's are easy to work on, parts are plentiful and cheap.

Ken

[TheBoy]

  1.4 comes in 2 powers, go for the 100bhp one, rather than 84bhp (although I believe its just throttle body).

I thought the lesser 1.4 had an 8 valve head instead of 16v. 

Ooh, or was that the single point 16v?

All 25 1.4s are multipoint. The lesser one has a restricted TB. I think.

[Shelby]

Thanks for all the info and points, I am still watching a few and looking for others around the area.