Advice pls - Mitsi Colt & Daewoo Lanos

Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
14,169
Location
Sandwich, Kent
I'm off with the other half to get her a car tomorrow. Our primary want is a Rover 25, however as there aren't many in out price bracket (~1500) I'm looking at other similar sized / spec'd cars.

The two that we've looked at that she like the look of are...

Mitsubishi Colt
media

T reg. 62000 miles, Genuine mileage, in silver, 1 years MoT, main dealer service history, one mature owner, truely outstanding condition. £1,995. ono

Daewoo Lanos.
media

48,000 miles, 1999 T reg Silver With Grey Interior. PAS, Rear wiper, Drivers airbag, Passenger airbag, ABS, Central locking, 2 Owners With 48,000 miles Full Service History,Stereo Radio Cassette, Steering Wheel Adjustment, Folding Rear Seats, New MOT Till May 07 Excellent All Round Condition.
Price: £1,450


I have absolutely no experience of either of these cars. Just wondering if anyone else has.

That Daewoo looks an absolute bargain.
 
I have experience of neither, but i've heard the colt is a pretty good car.

(Plus I've heard the evo lump drops straight in if she gets bored with it, although you'd probably have an interesting time with the transmission/drivetrain :p )
 
Well, just to see we went to test drive a Lanos. It was a 1.4. My girlfriend really likes the design and it was well specced, however it was a real grannys car to drive. The engine was about as limp as a Shahbaz's wrist. Just not up to motorway driving.

I also went to look at a Rover 25. It was goot value. 2001, 1.6, 52k for £1400. However it was in London and it was cream. It was mingin as they get. If it was just white it would be ok, but it was a horrible cream. Anyhow, looked around the car and we were looking through the documents and the owner only had the 'new owner suppliment' part of the V5 - not filled on. He was claiming that I just fill that bit in, give him the cash and take the car. At that point I left. should have reported the crook to the police.
 
go and have a look at some Volvo 850 saloons. Much better specced, cheaper etc etc, or mondeo's.

£2k seems a lot for a T reg Colt.
 
The colt is possibly a tad overpriced at that mileage and only for the 1.3 version, does it really need to the 1.3? The 1.6 version is barely noticeable insurance wise, looks a bit better with the roof spoiler and has a bit more life in it. If it truly is in great condition though, id go for that over the Lanos for sure.
 
Nimzicki said:
The colt is possibly a tad overpriced at that mileage and only for the 1.3 version, does it really need to the 1.3? The 1.6 version is barely noticeable insurance wise, looks a bit better with the roof spoiler and has a bit more life in it. If it truly is in great condition though, id go for that over the Lanos for sure.
Me too, but there aren't any 1.6's near me under 2 grand at the moment.

She wants a small car, no boot. If an astra is too big, then I think a volvo isn't quite her taste.
 
Bug One said:
Well, just to see we went to test drive a Lanos. It was a 1.4. My girlfriend really likes the design and it was well specced, however it was a real grannys car to drive. The engine was about as limp as a Shahbaz's wrist. Just not up to motorway driving.

I also went to look at a Rover 25. It was goot value. 2001, 1.6, 52k for £1400. However it was in London and it was cream. It was mingin as they get. If it was just white it would be ok, but it was a horrible cream. Anyhow, looked around the car and we were looking through the documents and the owner only had the 'new owner suppliment' part of the V5 - not filled on. He was claiming that I just fill that bit in, give him the cash and take the car. At that point I left. should have reported the crook to the police.

I would have erred on the side of caution but DVLA can/do take an awful long time to process the V5 documents sometimes.
 
My mother in law has one of those Daewoo things. It really is complete rubbish.
While its a prefectly capable car at doing things that type of car is supposed to do, its not very involving.
I am going to disagree with Bug One, its fine on a motorway, straight lines is what this car CAN do! I have has the displeasure of driving it on quite a few occasions, and didnt particularly like it. In all honesty its 'ok' nothing more, nothing less.
Personally, out of the two it would be the Colt, but I think for the money, there are better cars.
 
If you can, hold out until you find a Colt Mirage, 1.6, extra bodykit, air con. Should be able to get a decent example for 2 grand, the 1.3 just isnt worth it. For small cars at that budget then I can't think of anything better.
 
Daewoo Lanos is defacto modified Vauxhall Astra mk2 (Opel Kadett) license with Giugiaro designed bodyshell. Lanos was already old design when they started building them in old FSO factory in Warsaw (the same facctory that's responsible for abomination called FSO Polonez) and they are even more out of this century now. This car has no redeeming features, the overadvertised compatibilities of spares with old Vauxhalls is by now almost non existant and all in all Lanos is no alternative to Mitsubishi Colt in the same sense as FSO Polonez wouldn't be considered alternative to old Nissan Primera.
 
Dogbreath said:
Why not just get a Fiesta or a Citroen Saxo etc? Should be plenty around for your budget and at least they don't have the dynamics of a blancmange.

He probably wants something 'different' :(
 
'different' in this case isn't a bad thing, the 1.6 colt mirage looks better than any fiesta or saxo in this price bracket, drives better, is more reliable and better built whilst also being 'different'.
 
[TW]Fox said:
He probably wants something 'different' :(
Well, this is little to do with what I want. Its a car for the missus and she and her insurance decide what she can have. if it was up to me, there is a Rover 200 Vi for sale near me for 1600. But its too much on her insurance and until she qualifies, that's just too much.

I really like the new fiesta. I had one as a hire car on holiday and it really impressed, However she doesnt like the design of the fiestas you can get for our budget. We've looked at saxos, 106's, clios and puntos. they are all very small, cheap and plasticy. Now at least I know that the lanos is too.

I'm sure we'll probably end up getting a rover 200.
 
Back
Top Bottom