What car- £700-1100

Mark A said:
Is the Fiesta 1.25 really this good?, i mean I'm sure it is a good first car but every body seems to recommend this very car. I think I'll have a look on auto trader see if theres a half decent one on there. I was going to go with the 306 1.6 but after reading this thread it seems the Fiesta would be a better option.

Any particular model to look out for, LX, encore etc?.
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they really are that good... first of all the 1.25 16v unit inside them are great little engines, free reving, great for around town and can easily cruise at 80 on the motorway with them. superb little engine tbh. interior aint superb but then again its a fiesta... the seats are very comfy and offer good support. its still quite attractive interior though and compared with other small hatchbacks released in the same period, it was quite ahead of its time. the handling is superb, the legendary puma has the same chassis as the mk4, very direct and lots of feel. top of all though is the reliabilitiy of them.... awesome. only known problem is rough idling but even this is not a great deal and can easily rectified. i managed to insure mine at 17 for cheaper than all my friends less powerful french equivilants.... it really is the ideal first car for youngsters.

highly recommended.... i love mine :)
 
Jez said:
Fiesta's are just absolutely horrible cars, i dont know what it is about them but they are just tacky and nasty and eruggh. I feel the same about 90% of fords and vauxhalls and citroens and peugeots and other cheap marques.
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well that just about sums you up im afraid.... you really do not have a clue.
 
Jez said:
Fiesta's are just absolutely horrible cars, i dont know what it is about them but they are just tacky and nasty and eruggh. I feel the same about 90% of fords and vauxhalls and citroens and peugeots and other cheap marques.
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I'm sorry but your experiences with prestige cars are clouding your judgement. Compared to your 330i or my 530i yes, a Fiesta is complete rubbish. But we are talking £1k budget and for £1k, they are great cars. You can't compare them to anything we drive becuase it just isn't fair and its totally irrelevant.

For £1k small cars its very hard to buy the 1.25 Fiesta - it's tough, reliable, and dependable. The interior is cheap and it rattles but come on, it's a sub £1k car!

Ok so a Rover 214 is hardly a great car, but they dont have that feeling of absolute tackiness, cheapness and nastiness about them, yet are still very cheap.
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I've not noticed any appreciable difference between the Fiesta and the Rover interior. My experience of the Rover is the 414Si which I would imagine is of no worse quality than the Fiesta. My Girlfriend has a 414 and I seem to spend my life emptying the passenger compartment of water and marvelling at plastics which are just as cheap as any sub £1k Ford.
 
Having driven a Fiesta and a Rover 214 16v, to be honest, either of them are excellent for the job. Both go around corners nicely, have good engines, the Fiesta's brakes are a bit better and both have nice gearboxes. Either of them are ten times nicer than a Corsa. Personally, I prefer the 214's interior, its a little bit more quality (but of course no BMW or anything) but both are good for the money.

I'd say: Rover 214 16v, Fiesta 1.25 16v, Peugeot 306DTurbo. Any of those three should be good for the money, if they're in good shape.
 
fonzee said:
only known problem is rough idling but even this is not a great deal and can easily rectified. i managed to insure mine at 17 for cheaper than all my friends less powerful french equivilants.... it really is the ideal first car for youngsters.

highly recommended.... i love mine :)
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Sorry to go O/T

Ooo i think mine has that issue, i always assumed its just how the engine was getting with age... is there an owners club about? i've searched before but found nothin but fiesta turbo or zetec clubs. A cure to the problem would be nice too, please :D
 
If you want to learn how to fix your car then get a Renault :D

In general the sub 1k range will more than likley have you humbing through the Haynes for a few weekends each month as most of the mid 90's cars irrespective of brand will need major work sooner rather than later. Check for cam belt changes and for god's sake if you do buy a car insist on someone test driving it over a reasonable distance, check all the switches/dial's work and after it's run a good few miles let it cool and check the coolant show's no evidence of oil contamination or you'll be forking out for a h/g sooner rather than later - rovers seem overly prone to this sadly :(

Just to throw something into the mix what about an older Golf or Polo perhaps ? Going to have to be old to get into the price range.
 
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Thanks for the replys guys!

Another question- Why cant I get a quote online?

I fill out all the forms correctly but every single one says unable to give quote :(
 
I've been in the situation recently with getting the missus a car.

I dont know why everyone keeps pimping the fiesta. Its a god awful pile of junk. You sit in one of them and then drive a Rover 214 and you'll find they are a mile apart.

Saying that > corsa.

How about a mitsubishi colt?
 
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Bug One said:
I dont know why everyone keeps pimping the fiesta. Its a god awful pile of junk. You sit in one of them and then drive a Rover 214 and you'll find they are a mile apart.
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All the models I've seen have been equally awful, to be fair.
 
[TW]Fox said:
Garbage. They are all as rubbish as each other. Nothing of this type has 'higher quality'.
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Cool your booster jets. You're starting to sound like one of those people who can start an argument in an empty room.
 
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[TW]Fox said:
All the models I've seen have been equally awful, to be fair.
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Maybe its just the materials used or something, the rover, to me, just feels much "nicer" than the nasty ford :/

Oh well, its not as if a fiesta is a bad car as such, i just really really dont like them.
 
silane said:
Sorry to go O/T

Ooo i think mine has that issue, i always assumed its just how the engine was getting with age... is there an owners club about? i've searched before but found nothin but fiesta turbo or zetec clubs. A cure to the problem would be nice too, please :D
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UKFN mate... uk fiesta network... just google it. im on there :)

can be a few problems but its usually helped a lot if not cured by cleaning the Mass Air Flow (MAF) sensor and the Idle Control Valve (ICV)....

hope this helps :)
 
fonzee said:
talk about a bit OT :p

they really aint that bad mate....
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They are though, this is the point. For a cheap runaround i guess one would be reliable and would do the job perfectly well, and you could put up with the nastiness, but for any other scenario than this i would rather pluck my own eyeballs out than even look at one.
 
Jez said:
They are though, this is the point. For a cheap runaround i guess one would be reliable and would do the job perfectly well, and you could put up with the nastiness, but for any other scenario than this i would rather pluck my own eyeballs out than even look at one.
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i do 300 miles + in mine a week... i friggin love it. it copes fine and has served me VERY well... soooo reliable. guess at the end of the day it depends what your use to.
 
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