Most reliable car for under £1000

[Iloveshirts]

Hello all this is my first time on this forum so be nice!

Basically, I have just got a new job which is on the outskirts of this city I live in and I need a small cheap but reliable car for under £1000 preferably for around £600-700. I’m thinking of the Toyota Yaris. I hate how it looks but I’ve heard it’s very reliable. Is this car a good choice? All I’m looking for is reliability and for it to be cheap to run. I’m only going to be using it for around 6-8 months then I will buy a “better” car.

Thanks!

[schmalex]

Anything like a Yaris / Jizz / Panda / i10 is likely to be your best bet.

[Iloveshirts]

schmalex said:

Anything like a Yaris / Jizz / Panda / i10 is likely to be your best bet.

Thanks for your reply. Do you think I could get a decent Yaris for £600-700?

[uuf361]

Nissan Micra.....

[schmalex]

For sure. Looking on AT, there are currently 14 Yaris’ for sale within 40 miles of my location at under £1k. A couple are Cat C, a couple are starship mileages, but there are a few with less than 80k miles for around £700 / £800.

A bit of a haggle here and there and voila!

[Blackpuddin]

uuf361 said:

Nissan Micra.....

+ 1,000,000
but only the bubble shaped K11, definitely not the later K12.
Brilliant little cars.

[shirt]

I love you too

[aaron_2000]

Never had an issue with the Ford Focus. A 1.6 Zetec with FSH and good mileage will come well under budget.

[SidewaysSi]

Stick to Japanese stuff IMO. If you just want something cheap and reliable, I personally wouldn't entertain anything else.

[Haltamer]

Budget £500, That way you can buy a second for when the first one breaks.

[magpie215]

K11 Micra....bombproof little cars

[dvs_dave]

Something with a Toyota badge on it. Job done.

[CX53]

shirt said:

I love you too

[Blackpuddin]

aaron_2000 said:

Never had an issue with the Ford Focus. A 1.6 Zetec with FSH and good mileage will come well under budget.

good shout, Mk1 1.6 is a great car

[Iloveshirts]

Blackpuddin said:

aaron_2000 said:

Never had an issue with the Ford Focus. A 1.6 Zetec with FSH and good mileage will come well under budget.

good shout, Mk1 1.6 is a great car

So the focus is a reliable car? It’s just ford haven’t had the greatest reputation for reliability in the past

[Strong Horse]

My number 1 piece of advice is not to buy a Vauxhall Corsa. I had one for my first car and I could tell you all the problems it had but we don't have all day.

After the Corsa broke down again I bought a Mk1 Ford Focus Zetec for £950.

The Focus was 12 years old at the time and had full Ford dealer service history.

It was a very nice car and it was going strong 5 years later before someone crashed into the back of it while I was stopped in traffic and totalled it.

I then bought a MK2 Focus which is not as good a car as the MK1.

My suggestion is to buy a MK1 focus. They stopped making them in 2004 but get a good one. My car had 107,000 when I bought it and 130,000 when I sold it. Mileage does not matter as long as its well looked after.

[CX53]

The MK1 Focus is indeed brilliant, providing it hasn’t started to rot

[Iloveshirts]

Strong Horse said:

My number 1 piece of advice is not to buy a Vauxhall Corsa. I had one for my first car and I could tell you all the problems it had but we don't have all day.

After the Corsa broke down again I bought a Mk1 Ford Focus Zetec for £950.

The Focus was 12 years old at the time and had full Ford dealer service history.

It was a very nice car and it was going strong 5 years later before someone crashed into the back of it while I was stopped in traffic and totalled it.

I then bought a MK2 Focus which is not as good a car as the MK1.

My suggestion is to buy a MK1 focus. They stopped making them in 2004 but get a good one. My car had 107,000 when I bought it and 130,000 when I sold it. Mileage does not matter as long as its well looked after.

Thank you for your very helpful reply what main things do I need to look out for to get a “good one”? And would I be able to buy one for 600-700 quid do you reckon?

[ninjag]

If looking at a Yaris, after 2001 they moved production from Japan to France. My wife had a 2001 which we picked up from auction at £1,100 and it was fantastic for many, many years. Only sold it because she wanted 5 doors.

[aaron_2000]

Iloveshirts said:

Blackpuddin said:

aaron_2000 said:

Never had an issue with the Ford Focus. A 1.6 Zetec with FSH and good mileage will come well under budget.

good shout, Mk1 1.6 is a great car

So the focus is a reliable car? It’s just ford haven’t had the greatest reputation for reliability in the past

They're not only reliable, but dirt cheap to run and repair. I sold a 3 owner car that I had in the family for 2 years, 1.6 Flight with 88k on the clock. Rust free, immaculate car for £700. FSH too. For your budget, you'd get an absolute minter with FSH, long MOT, clean arches and clean interior. 1.6 Zetec is the one to go for. The 1.4 is gutless, the 1.8 and 2.0 are thirsty. Avoid the CL if you want a good spec, they're poverty spec and never usually that well cared for. Flight is a good enough spec, I put Zetec alloys on mine for £100 with good tyres on. LX is a good spec, although nothing to shout about. Ghia is top level, although I prefer the Zetec. My 2.0 was a Ghia that I paid £275 for. Long MOT, 4 owners, well maintained, clean enough inside, it was quick too. Never saw more than 33mpg so I'd avoid the 2.0 if you want a cheap runner. There's all the "Special editions" too, the TDCi Sport and the Edge are probably the pick of the bunch, pretty rare though. ST170 is brilliant, but not what you're looking for. I'd stay with the MK1, much better than the MK2, plus you'll get a much better MK1 for the money. Look for rotten arches and sills, most will be rotten, repaired or well looked after. Check under the rear seats too, although I don't think this would really be an issue for you. If I was buying one in your budget, I'd be buying this one, nice clean MOT history, well presented but not polished up, good spec, 1.6 engine, low owners and a great history:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...