Mrs Coolhandluke is looking for a s/h car for about £7k on an 07 plate or newer, less than 25,000 miles on it. Must be lower end of road tax bracket and do 40mpg or better.
Top on her list is the Fiesta but are they any good and is there owt else worth considering?
I had a new fiesta as a courtesy car. It was the most hideous car I've ever driven. Fuel economy was rubbish too, noticeably worse than my much older corolla. Visibility was rubbish and they're not really small cars anymore
Honda FTW
We were recently looking to replace our car and the short list came down to the Honda Jazz. Looks like it would be great for throwing a couple of bikes in as well. Instead we decided to repair the Corolla but the wife still looks at the Jazz longingly!
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Skoda Fabia
i think you might be able to get a fiat 500 for that - surely the perfect kinda car?
If she likes steering:
Fiesta
Swift
Good cars (bot not fantastic to drive):
Fabia
Jazz
Please don't look at a Aygo/107/C1- cheeky cars but NOT worth 7k.
My vote would be the Swift.
Don't be tempted by the old-shape Mini. Its starting to wear abit and its not cheap to repair etc.
£7k for a car, pfft you could get a bike for that
I'm selling a Skoda Fabia VRS for £6250
Ok, so its done £38,000 (nothing for a diesel) and its a 55 plate but its got 170bhp (through a Revo engine remap), full skoda service history, in immaculate condition and it goes in for its 4 month fluid and filter change (i'm a bit fastidious about getting my Skoda specialist to do regular fluid and filter changes!) tomorrow before it goes on sale.
Insurance group 8 and 50mpg on a normal run.
Lots of fun as well 😉
Another vote for the Swift - handles like a decent French hatch but doesn't fall to bits. Had one as a courtesy car and was pleasantly surprised.
mrs fg has got a 06 fiesta with the 1.6 diesel engine - worth about £6k according to autotrader.
good bits - £30 roadtax; 55-60 mpg; good handling and steering; and enough torque for safely overtaking and joining motorways. heated screen on the frosty days=ace
bad bits - its not a land rover and you get a bit of road noise particularly in the back seats.
i would buy one again
What sort of thing does she want?
A bit of poke or just a run around? Something that looks 'cute'? etc....
£7k would get you a decent (as mentioned above) Fabia VRS or Ibiza FR - arguably the Ibiza is a more feminine looking car (and can be had in 3dr).
The FR Tdi is the same car underneath as the VRS;
I stumped for the Ibiza as although the cabin build quality isn't quite as good as the Fabia, you can get them for about £1k less than the equivalent VRS. And the white seats put me off the VRS with all the mud from mountain biking....the Ibiza FR petrol is a 1.8 with 150bhp & gives decent performance. Not sure on the mpg though.
Also worth a look would be a 2nd hand Fiesta Zetec-S (diesel or petrol 1.6's). I test drove the diesel one and it handled great, much better than the Ibiza but the kit on it was lousy, it was more expensive & not as quick.
Just another one in the mix: You could get a decent Polo for that cash.
Sorry, but from what I have seen - Polo = overpriced Fabia or Ibiza.
My sis has got an 05 Polo - the 1.4TDi & it came with a cassette player!! A cassette player in a 2005 car!! And the rest of the equipment is pretty low spec.
I looked briefly at them, but the prices compared to Fabias & Ibizas was a joke considering they are the same thing underneath.
Disgusts me that- Cassette players in <5yr old cars.
Worse still will be the lack of digital radios in OEM stereos/cars.
tbh I'd either be spending a bit more on something nearly new/demo, or less on something older.
New £11k
http://www.kia.co.uk/New-Cars/Range/Mid-Sized/Proceed/Offers/Switch.aspx
Keep for 7 years, it will work out cheap.
Older £4k?
£3.5k will get her a >40k 5 year old Seat Ibiza.
We ran a Fiesta 1.4 TDCI for 18 months, wifey was doing about 60 miles/day back & forth into Manchester. Nice little car. Could easily get 50mpg. Servicing reasonable at an independent garage. Had I-pod compatible stereo CD, aircon etc. Ours was an 08 reg, saw it on dealer forecourt the other week for £7495, so depending on your negotiation skills you might get closer to the £7k you're aiming for.
Road tax was £35 IIRC, insurance reasonable. OK, not a big car, but that isn't what you're after anyway is it?
Disgusts me that- Cassette players in <5yr old cars.
My inlaws wanted an X5 (I know I know) and found a new (2006 at the time) one with the "right" spec - satnav, TV (!), full "Sports" kit (big alloys, etc), huge sunroof but... only a cassette player!!!
It's the most bizarre bit of dodgy speccing I've ever seen - a properly luxury £40k (ish) car with no CD player!
The Jazz is like a small van with the rear seats folded down you could even fit a couple of bikes.
It sickens me to the core when I don't get a pop-out drinks holder in a car worth more than £5k.
The latest shape Fiesta is a fantastic car, like a scaled down proper car.
But you can buy this for 6k brand new, with all the usal comfort of a full warranty. Leaves you 1k to blow on something nice like a hols (or a bike).
http://www.fiat.co.uk/content/?id=13689
[i]It's the most bizarre bit of dodgy speccing I've ever seen - a properly luxury £40k (ish) car with no CD player! [/i]
My old Beemer didn't have a CD either, but I just had an iPod kit (£160 all in) installed. Works fully through the system, including utilising the steering wheel controls.
If she likes steering:
Fiesta
In my second day with a newshape Fiesta rental car. The power-steering is inconsistent to say the least. You can red-line it but the urgency of the rev's has no relation to the lethargy of the car.
I'm not even tempted to abuse it. Its just too cheap. Pity- lovely looking car. I was expecting a Mini-Ford Focus.
I'd say its almost on a par with a C1/Aygo. Just pipped with better quality finish etc.
I would rather **** in the street than buy a car with manual windows
We have a Fiat 500 - its an ace little car.
Picked up our new to us 58 plate Seat Ibiza yesterday, lovely car nice and roomy inside for a relatively small car and drives well to boot.
We paid a bit over your £7k budget, but it's only 18 months old with 11k on the clock.
I would rather **** in the street than buy a car with manual windows
The drivers window on my Subaru Forester failed. For over 6months I drove round with the window propped up with a block of wood inside.
Personally power windows, gadgets, traction control etc leave me cold.
Its mechanics, chassis and steering that make a car enjoyable and safe 🙂