Cheap first car.

I think all things considered - price, looks, reliability, room, comfort etc - the Fiesta will be hard to beat. Not extremely reliable or anything but no real problems.

Both comfort and room can be difficult to find in a smaller car and the Fiesta isn't bad on both counts. IMO, better looking too than most in it's class.

For a slightly more down market option - Hyundai Getz maybe? Does the job.
 
I have a 1994 starlet for 2 years and not a bother out of it. Only paid 2000 for it...
 
Do you not think that is a lot of money for how old the car or are the starlets really that good???


Could depend a lot on model. E.g. Depending on mileage, €2000 would be about normal for a 1.3xli. Most Toyotas hold their prices very well anyway - even at this age.
 
Or even a ford ka. lots of them around with low milage you could run into the ground. easy to park, cheap on tax, insurance,cute,nice to look at. I presume your a fella from your post so you might think its girly.

Where I live I see lots of fella's driving them.
 


I personally think these cars are awful to look at
 
but they go so fast no one would notice you driving it foxylady!! I think there alright ahem to look at.
 
I would support the posts on Ford Fiesta, cheap to run and reliable and easy to get part and services if needed
 
na na na na na I hope you get in trouble for going of the thread.

I had the loan of a fiesta for a week a 00 and thought it was a great wee car also, enough room in the boot for shopping. Although I did think there was something wrong with it when I got it, but there wasnt I had just run out of petrol!
 

Are u still driving the Ka or is the fiesta your new car of choice??
 
hi foxylady,

no i have neither now thank god!!. but would recommend either to the op shir the ka is the fiesta underneath.
 
Yaris only a Ka at the end of the day..?

I know an 'old school' mechanic who would certainly recommend a Micra or a Starlet over either Ford, on the grounds that the engines go a bit 'soft' after a few years. But I reckon the variation between individual cars (in terms of how well they've been looked after) would be more significant.

Whatever you buy, you should certainly get a trusted mechanic to give it the once-over, just to make sure you're not buying a money pit.
 


A mechanic just said to me recently all cars are money pits at the end of the day.
 
The same [broken link removed] mechanic ventures that that's why men tend to refer to them in the feminine.

Of course, I myself could never go along with such a ridiculously outdated and chauvinistic view...
 
I presume he doesn't mean it literally, just that they start performing less well. In the same way that an athlete/fighter goes 'soft' if they stop training?
 
Engines may do a lot of things but soft?

I quite like the turn of phrase actually. 'Soft' as opposed to robust, hard, efficient, powerful etc?

I'm going to start using it - better than the usual crap mechanics come out with anyway

Great link BTW Doc!