Sub 1k run?? Reliable? Japanese?

[stedaley]

Having picked up my new car, it's in such nice condition and prices are on the increase so I really want to keep it for some shows and enjoying it at the weekend...

So a sub 1k car to diddle to work on some a and b roads is needed... A fun little car would be a good thing!

What we all thinking?

K10 micra? 55hp but old and classic...
Civic 1.6? Vtec? 110hp
Starlet 1.3?
Would love an mx5 but bottom of the barrel it seems!

Any ideas on others?

[aka_kerrly]

Do you mean the 2001-2005 EP2 Honda Civic, there are lots of the Sport around which can be 1.6 or 2.0 but be warned there are some real rusty horrors, check the back arches/rear ends of the sills!! Same can be said for the earlier 96-00 Civics, you may still get lucky an find a VTI-S MB6 in budget.

Have you considered the Mitsubishi Colt, you might find a 1.5Sport . Likewise the Toyota Yaris 1.5 T sport or bigger brother the Corolla VTL or even better still the 2000-2006 Celica 140!

Another wild card car which i absolutely love at shed money is the Lexus IS200 , i've had 3 for less than £1k over the last 5years. They aren't the fastest, they handle superbly though, i prefer them to any non M 3series, you can guarantee that all the electric gubbins will work, SE get heated electric leather seats , Sports get LSD!!!!!!

[ZX10R NIN]

MK1 Ford Focus watch for rust (tbh that statement will ring true for most of your options) but apart from that they're cracking cars, or the IS200.

[stedaley]

Yer I hadn't thought of the colt! But no 1.5 sports!

The lexus is200 is abit to expensive to run, just a cheap runaround for the 5/6 miles a day, cheap to tax and run would be good. Hoping for a little yaris/corolla size car!

If not Japanese... What else would you go for?

[TwigtheWonderkid]

stedaley said:

K10 micra? 55hp but old and classic...

K11 Micra. A design classic and although they are now between 18-27 years old, still thousands to choose from.

[stedaley]

aka_kerrly said:

Do you mean the 2001-2005 EP2 Honda Civic, there are lots of the Sport around which can be 1.6 or 2.0 but be warned there are some real rusty horrors, check the back arches/rear ends of the sills!! Same can be said for the earlier 96-00 Civics, you may still get lucky an find a VTI-S MB6 in budget.

Have you considered the Mitsubishi Colt, you might find a 1.5Sport . Likewise the Toyota Yaris 1.5 T sport or bigger brother the Corolla VTL or even better still the 2000-2006 Celica 140!

Another wild card car which i absolutely love at shed money is the Lexus IS200 , i've had 3 for less than £1k over the last 5years. They aren't the fastest, they handle superbly though, i prefer them to any non M 3series, you can guarantee that all the electric gubbins will work, SE get heated electric leather seats , Sports get LSD!!!!!!

Had looked at the Tsport but the Colt is more towards 2k!
Celica 140 are really hard to find... and most are rotten

I have a Aristo TOMS so i can guess the is200 would be in the same boat with all the bits working wise. just would like a cheaper car to daily!

[aka_kerrly]

stedaley said:

Yer I hadn't thought of the colt! But no 1.5 sports!

The lexus is200 is abit to expensive to run, just a cheap runaround for the 5/6 miles a day, cheap to tax and run would be good. Hoping for a little yaris/corolla size car!

If not Japanese... What else would you go for?

The VED on the IS200 is a bit annoying, the average mpg in the 20s more than the 30s on short runs , however they are so dam reliable you wont need to spend money on anything else

I haven't spent more than £900 to buy a lexus IS200 , i've had 3, gave one to my dad, sold another back to the previous owner's son an apart from lacquer damage to the front bumpers an bonnet (seems a common thing to occur on the metallic blue cars) I could take the number plates off and I'm confident most people would say they are barely 10 years old let alone the 20 that they are!!!


What about the cheap end of Swift Sports?


OH an have you got a Readers Ride type thread or would you be able to share some more about your other car, anything TOM'S is interesting!!!!! The only one i've ever seen in the UK was a white V300 Aristo 2JZ running >400hp

Edited by aka_kerrly on Wednesday 9th September 02:18

[The_Nugget]

stedaley said:

Celica 140 are really hard to find... and most are rotten

They are not hard to find for c.£1k.
Have a look on eBay and Autotrader.
Also join the user groups on FaceBook, there are loads for sale.

They may be rotten underneath...but if you check MOT history and have a look/get pics underneath there are some ok ones. Just watch for oil usage on the 140 and look for post face lift ones or ones that have had the modification to correct it.

Mileage wise they will easily do 180k without too much bother.

[gman88667733]

To be honest, most things at that price will be as good as each other for what you want. I wouldn't focus on any particular model or make. Just search for the best example of any car in your area and hope for the best! Obviously some cars are more susceptible to common faults than others, but at that price, even a 'cockroach' car could be trash.
Best of luck.

[CDP]

gman88667733 said:

To be honest, most things at that price will be as good as each other for what you want. I wouldn't focus on any particular model or make. Just search for the best example of any car in your area and hope for the best! Obviously some cars are more susceptible to common faults than others, but at that price, even a 'cockroach' car could be trash.
Best of luck.

This. Buy on condition.

Also some of the less prestigious cars are often cheaper for the same condition. I had excellent 160,000 miles from a Vectra (they are very cheap), my father ran a 405 to about 240,000. Conversely the two least reliable cars I have owned were a Toyota and VW.