Which car, for a girl, for £4,000 - £5,000?

[dave87]

For 6k?

Most certainly:

ROY WILSON CARS : HONDA JAZZ 1.4i-DSI S 5dr
Honda : Honda Jazz 1.4 DSi S
Ford : Ford Fiesta Style Mk7 2007 *REDUCED*
Ford : 2006 Fiesta 1.4 Zetec Climate

vRS if insurance isn't a problem?

Skoda : Fabia VRS

[staffsMike]

Can't remember how much of an issue insurance was but you could get new shape fiesta Zetec S (petrol or oil burner) or ST at £6000
Ford : Ford Fiesta Zetec S

Or if she can handle a skoda.. vRS

EDIT: had another thought. Suzuki Swift GL/GLX. Very good cars

[vrykyl]

Seriously, why does everyone forget about polo's? Lovely cars....

[dave87]

Cause the last time I looked for myself a Polo would give me only 3/4 of what I wanted for 1.5x the price

[vrykyl]

But it isnt you thats looking....? what didnt it have btw?

for 5k my mrs got (about 6 months ago) a 2005 reg 54 plate polo, only 26k miles on the clock - 1.4 petrol, alloy wheels, winterpack (all heated stuff), cd player, climate control (not bog standard aircon), full rac cover, tax and a years full parts and labour warranty.....in 100% mint condition.

We couldnt get a similar spec fiesta OR corsa of the same age and low mileage for that price....

We did buy it from a ford dealership tho....as the VW dealership down the raod wanted 6k for a crappy older plate 1.2l..... you just need to have a hunt

[Behemoth]

Kia Cee'd ??

[Parm]

Quick update. Had a change of heart.

Turns out, she doesn't want to go too far over budget so the limit is now £5,000 and we don't want to go over that by a penny.

So, with that in mind, we've now settled on a Toyota Yaris. With a bit of hunting, it turns out you can find a 2006 model for around £5,000 spot on. The trouble is finding a T3 model, as opposed to T2. The T2 doesn't have height adjustable seats, and at 5'1", she's going to need those!

Toyota Yaris, what do we think?

[staffsMike]

They hold their value quite well so second hand bargains are hard to come by.

The one thing I don't like about them is the centered dials, I hate looking forward and just seeing a mass of plastic.

Sure she doesn't want a lovely car like mine
Suzuki : Suzuki Ignis Sport 1.5 VVT

The car is built for small people

[StoX]

I'd go for one of new Fiesta's as they're good all-rounders. They also have a number of the models that fall in the 'B' tax bracket at £35 per year for tax. Also good economy and performance considering!

Here's a quick pic of my one:

[Parm]

Sure she doesn't want a lovely car like mine
Suzuki : Suzuki Ignis Sport 1.5 VVT

Sorry Mike, she doesn't like it. Women eh? She thinks it looks like an old person's car!

StoX, it was pretty much a toss between the Fiesta and the Yaris, as both are around the same price. Took her to the Toyota garage yesterday though so she got to sit inside a Yaris and she really likes it. Come to think of it, even I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of hidden storage spaces they've managed to get in there. It's quite nice to be inside and feels roomy too.

Bet of all, the Yaris is available with a 1.0 litre engine. She's only been driving for just over a year so it'll be great for her insurance and running costs.

The Fiesta is nice, but the Yaris is edging it at the moment.

[Vimeous]

The Yaris is a great choice.
We have a 5dr '07 1l T2 as a pool car here which I use locally and M5/M50/A40/A465 into Wales.

As a town car it's superb, nippy, agile and quicker than you think.
It's an engine that loves to be revved. Ours receives no mercy and it happily spins along with a pleasing with a lovely 3-cylinder thrum that has just a hint of micro-911. 70mph is no issue and one-up it'll happily cruise higher.
Driven to within an inch of its life it uses nearly half a tank on my usual 160mile route but other users will easily get another 50% further on the same fuel.
Two-up and it blunts the performance up hills a little but any more and you'll be looking for a run-up. Frankly it's something that appiles to all similar engined cars and the Yaris is bigger than most of those (ne Aygo etc). This may be a reason to hunt for the bigger engines but you'll be looking at the previous generation if you do.

The gearchange retains the slight rubberyness that typifies all Toyota's I've driven recently but it and the steering are light and relatively precise. In fact despite a decent amount of lean this little car is quite game and can be placed in bends easily enough with throttle adjustments to tidy your line.
Like many modern cars the throttle is electrically controlled and if you back off suddenly the revs don't always drop as soon as you'd expect. It's a very minor thing but can make you sound a little hooliganish.

Ride wise it deals with the south-bound fastlane ripples past jct9 m5 better than the current Civic. It's not as stable but it's certainly more comfortable. Round town it's seems to blend control and comfort very nicely.

It's got loads of cubbies and the boot is acceptable for shopping. The rear seats are very flexible (slide etc) and head-rests stay attached when folding but it annoys me a little the loadbay isn't flat with the seats fully down.
The laser printer I moved last week was a rear-seat job although the split-fold would have taken it with a little fiddling.
The seating position is high and therefore great for round town and it makes parking a doddle. However this leads me to my only true grip about the car.
I really don't like the front-seat base. I get the rest of me comfortable (easy enough even at 6'3"+) but my posterior isn't happy.
I guess its a minor thing for most but it annoys me! lol

Anyway.
I've had a quick look to see what's out there and found this T3 on autotrader. Yes it's not the 1l but it is the current flavour in your price range so it shows it can be done!

Best of luck with your search!

P.s.
We got our car for less than £6k new to the business so don't accept over-inflated prices, stick to your guns and you'll get the car you want.

[Parm]

She's pretty much settled on the Yaris T3 now, which is good cause I like it too!

But, we're having a bit of trouble tracking one down. Can't seem to find one for around the 5k mark. Vimeous, the one you posted from AutoTrader seems ideal, but it's around 100 miles from where I live, eeek. Too long a drive to go get it.

The search for a Yaris T3 in the Midlands area continues...

[vrykyl]

She's pretty much settled on the Yaris T3 now, which is good cause I like it too!

But, we're having a bit of trouble tracking one down. Can't seem to find one for around the 5k mark. Vimeous, the one you posted from AutoTrader seems ideal, but it's around 100 miles from where I live, eeek. Too long a drive to go get it.

The search for a Yaris T3 in the Midlands area continues...

How about these matey -
Autotrader - TOYOTA Yaris 1.3 VVT-i T3
or
Autotrader - Toyota Yaris 1.3 VVT-i T3 3dr

[Parm]

Thanks for the links vrykyl! Those however are the old shape Yaris, it needs to be 2006 or newer for the new shape.

It's gotta look like this, with the cute bubbly lights and all:

[Vimeous]

Parm I've been hunting all over the place for sub-£5k and turned up ziltch.
The closest I've come is :this one
A little haggling might get it close but I've no idea how far from you it is.

Other than that 1l T2's seem to creep in at the £5750 mark and go up from there.
Might have to wait a bit so the price vs available finance ratio improves sadly.

[Parm]

Thanks a lot for looking Vimeous, much appreciated!

That one you've found happens to be the only one I could find too! Though it's over 5k, it fits the bill. Unfortunately, I phoned up to enquire and it has already sold.

Though the budget is 5k, we don't mind going over by just a touch. That one is 5,500 so I'm confident we could have got it down to say 5,200. Such a shame it's sold, it was ideal.

The search goes on, thanks again for looking!