I like cheap cars that just go and don't cost much to run. And I think I need to get another one soon.

I'll be commuting 3 days a week in it so I would like excellent fuel economy, flawless reliability would be a big plus, and it needs to be a 5-door hatchback because I move stuff like double basses fairly regularly and other peoples' children occasionally (that sounded more sinister than I intended!), and ideally it will be dirt cheap - about a grand.

Doesn't have to be big or fast, nothing bigger than a 1.3 in it since I want cheap insurance and good fuel economy.

Any ideas?

Cheap means something old. Like, Ford Escort old. I cannot think of a single car you could get for about £1000 that has an engine smaller than a 1.3, which is 5 door and has good fuel economy.. Sometimes a slightly larger engine can give better economy because it has to work less hard.

You could probably get an old shape Laguna 1.8rt for that sort of money and they're reasonably reliable and fairly economical. Apart from cars like that you're going to have to get an Escort. If I was a parent I wouldn't let me child anywhere near an Escort which is in effect a 2 star Euro NCap car.

Or you could get a Suzuki Wagon R.

I'll be leaving now.

1.3 efi corrolla would bethe best reliablity wise E10 model or simular.


frenchies are a better drive but buy a lemon and you'll regret it till you pay 50 £ for a broken one and mix and match parts to suit.


worst comes to worst get a fiesta.

Ford Focus ZX5 They are cheap to maintain.

Quote from imthebestracerthereis :

Ford Focus ZX5 They are cheap to maintain.

If you were really British instead of pretending to be, you'd know you couldn't get a good one for under £1000. (read a well maintained and reliable one)

Quote from S14 DRIFT :

If you were really British instead of pretending to be, you'd know you couldn't get a good one for under £1000. (read a well maintained and reliable one)

:hide:

BS. I think an older model you can.

I think you'll find it very hard to get a "ZX5" for under a grand, being US only and all.

Cheapest car is to not have one at all

Quote from AstroBoy :

Cheapest car is to not have one at all

You going to carry his equipment?

Quote from S14 DRIFT :

Or you could get a Suzuki Wagon R.

Good call - our guitarist got one of those last winter.

Quote from 91mason91 :

You going to carry his equipment?

Me and the missus share a car at the moment and I don't really struggle to get music stuff done, it's this commute that I'm going to need a car for (currently I work from home and she works in Harrogate, so she uses the car during the day). Otherwise it's two packed trains and a packed bus in each direction and it will take about 2h30m instead of 45m.

It seems doing these three days a week will triple my income, so I really ought to just get a decent car on finance, but I am tight and I hate having debts and I don't have any appreciation for decent cars so what's the point...

Quote from theirishnoob :

1.3 efi corrolla would bethe best reliablity wise E10 model or simular.

Are Toyotas as reliable as they say or that a myth? The car we're running at the moment is a Daihatsu and looking around the interior at least it all seems to be Toyota parts, and that car has been super-reliable.

My only concern would be that it had been a minicab, which is why I was looking for a small car.

Have you considered Proton?

I know they're very much looked down upon in the UK, but we used to have a couple over the years in Sri Lanka. Pretty darn reliable in my experience. Wira, Satria GTi, and Perdana V6 - never had any issues. Might be worth looking into considering the price...

Quote from thisnameistaken :

Are Toyotas as reliable as they say or that a myth?

Over here in the States, the older Toyotas, absolutely. I've beaten and severely abused Toyota trucks for 15 years and have never put a dime other than standard brakes and 1 clutch in mine (184k miles driven combined 3 Toy trucks by me, 419k miles combined overall on the trucks.)

Other people I know have beaten and severely abused Corollas and have never put a dime into them other than brakes.

My Toyota recommendation comes prior to the "OMG, MY CAR WON'T STOP" era of the mid 2000's.

Quote from Silverracer :

Have you considered Proton?

I know they're very much looked down upon in the UK, but we used to have a couple over the years in Sri Lanka. Pretty darn reliable in my experience. Wira, Satria GTi, and Perdana V6 - never had any issues. Might be worth looking into considering the price...

I've never actually seen a Proton in the flesh, but I know Jakg pimped his Wira and now he's got top lezzer models offering him threesomes wherever he goes.

Quote from mrodgers :

My Toyota recommendation comes prior to the "OMG, MY CAR WON'T STOP" era of the mid 2000's.

Haha I forgot about the killer robot Toyotas, honestly I would love one of those too, it would be great fun. Maybe I'll get one just for the weekends.

The last Toyota I drove regularly was a 1987 4Runner and the thing was always breaking down, that's why I was asking about the famous reliability.

Quote from Silverracer :

Have you considered Proton?

I know they're very much looked down upon in the UK, but we used to have a couple over the years in Sri Lanka. Pretty darn reliable in my experience. Wira, Satria GTi, and Perdana V6 - never had any issues. Might be worth looking into considering the price...

Hideous to tax & insure, though.

Yes, it's all Mitsubishi underneath - but it's all 15 year old Mitsubishi underneath!

Not bad underneath... but the only one that would fit the bill would be a shed of a Wira. In fact I think this was exactly why mine sold

1,3 Corolla! Just be aware, that they like to rust alot, but everything else is just wonderful! We have 1991 Corolla XLi for 10 years, it's all rusty and beaten up, but the engine never broke down. In all that time we changed alternator, two spark plugs, shocks, battery, thermostat, brake pads, tyres and some light bulbs, everything else is like new! Fuel consumption - 6l/100km in urban conditions. Just an awesome car!
Too bad it is FWD shitbox hatchback.

Peugeot 405.
Old man had one a couple of years ago and ran it a year straight without a head gasket, ran fine. Really reliable but parts don't come cheap. Luckily scrapys have heaps of them lying around.

Quote from thisnameistaken :

The last Toyota I drove regularly was a 1987 4Runner and the thing was always breaking down, that's why I was asking about the famous reliability.

Now I have to try to figure out how you could possibly get an 87 4Runner to break down at all. My 88 was the best one of the bunch. 189k miles and I only ever put front brakes every 50k, rear brakes at 150k, and clutch at 150k.

No wait, I rebuilt the starter just before I sold it for $8 and rebuilt the clutch slave cylinder for $10.

Quote from mrodgers :

Now I have to try to figure out how you could possibly get an 87 4Runner to break down at all. My 88 was the best one of the bunch. 189k miles and I only ever put front brakes every 50k, rear brakes at 150k, and clutch at 150k.

No wait, I rebuilt the starter just before I sold it for $8 and rebuilt the clutch slave cylinder for $10.

Apparently 1987 was the first year they made it so it featured all the design ****-ups that you don't get in other years. I remember it always cost a fortune in labour to fix it too because they'd hidden the engine under a ton of other stuff that had to be disassembled to get to it. And it was sluggish and useless. And it had a silly digital speedo. And the 4WD was crap in snow. Bleh, crap car.

Mk1 Focus.

Kev, another +1 for toyota's here. I drove a 1991 4Runner for over a year and it's bulletproof. 350,000 KM on it, and it's still going (sold it to my uncle).

Kev, if I were you I'd get a Toyota Starlet, Suzuki Swift or a Daihatsu Charade. A Corolla will do too, but being heavier it'll do less mpg. The only problem with those cars is rust, so take the time to find a good one.

Citroen Saxo 1.1 5 door edition.
Cheap,reliable,and plenty of space for a small car.

Quote from thisnameistaken :

Apparently 1987 was the first year they made it so it featured all the design ****-ups that you don't get in other years. I remember it always cost a fortune in labour to fix it too because they'd hidden the engine under a ton of other stuff that had to be disassembled to get to it. And it was sluggish and useless. And it had a silly digital speedo. And the 4WD was crap in snow. Bleh, crap car.

Wow, you're complete opposite experience than me. The Toyota trucks over here came with 1 engine option, the 22R (later the 22RE fuel injected) and they were a dream to work on. Tons of room. No digital gauges, and 4WD has nothing to do with driving in snow since it's all about the tires, but I didn't even use 4WD in snow with mine. There was no need for it (and I live where we get a lot of snow.) The 80's and early 90's Toyotas were nearly indestructible aside from the rust.