First car for a student?
I want a good first car. I am a female student. Can you help? My budget is between €1,000 - €2,000
Helen Ryan (Limerick)May 2010 Filed under: choosing used car
Expert answer
Hello Helen
Thank you for your enquiry. In this instance, we are going to look on the website beepbeep.ie, because that is the official classified website of SIMI, the Society of the Irish Motor Industry. Because we are looking at something on a budget we want to get something with as much history on it and as much security as possible for you. On that site, all cars come with a history check and they are also covered by the consumer protection act.
A couple of things are important here. One is that your car is cheap and the second is that it will be reliable and I suppose, attractive would be good too?
You could never accuse it of being sexy, but this Nissan Micra on sale at a dealership in Drogheda has done 80,000 miles and has had only two owners. It will cost you just €1,550 and will be cheap to run, insure and service:
This Toyota Yaris from 1999 has done 130,000 miles and while that might sound like a lot, this little car is well able for it and this could be a decent little buy that won't cause you too much heartache:
How about this? A 1995 Opel Corsa, which has only done 18,466 miles and has an NCT until early next year. That will cost you just €1,250:
However, what I really think would be a great first car for you would be the Ford Ka, which is a great little runabout and still looks funky. This 1999 model has only covered 52,000 miles and has an NCT until 01/11. It is advertised at €1,850 but I reckon you could get it as a straight deal for a little less:
Let us know if any of these don't float your boat and we will put on our thinking caps again!
What do you recommend as a first car for new driver?
I'm thinking of buying my first car but I don't know much about cars so I don't really know what I should be shopping for. I'm a 20-year-old student and I have about €1,000 to spend. I'm a learner driver so I'd like something small, easy to drive and cheap to run. I found a nice second hand Ford Ka and wondered whether this would be suitable for me?
Susan Murphy (Blarney, Co. Cork)May 2010 Filed under: learner
Expert answer
When you are starting off you need something that is as reliable as possible and won't cost you too much to tax, run or repair. Usually, the advice would be to make it Japanese because when you are spending a small amount of money you want the most reliable car possible and the Japanese car manufacturers have been making cheap, small runabouts better than anyone else for decades. Something like a Toyota Starlet or Nissan Micra won't be glamorous, but will usually start first time and they are pretty easy to get parts for.
I can understand why you would want the Ka, as it looks funky and its styling has aged really well. If you are going to look at a Ka, there are a few things we would urge you to pay attention to. Firstly, check if this car has power steering because early models didn't have it as standard and one without power steering could be a headache (or rather arm-ache) to park. Rust can also be a problem too so check for this on the door sills and rear wings and on the tailgate. Check the suspension is ok too as this is a costly enough repair to put right.
Obviously as you are spending quite a small amount of money you can't expect it to be perfect but check these things and that the engine is running reasonably smoothly and this should be quite a nice little car.