Europeans:small secondhand car for a girl?

V... 5? How the hell does that work?
It's a VR6 with one cylinder less. The VR engine is an extremely narrow V-configuration. In fact it's just a 15 degree angle between the cylinder banks, and they run a common cylinder head.

VR5
vr5.jpg


VR6
ESB.100.3000.8.5.jpg
 
If you want a car that lasts al least 2 years without breaking down stay away from the Citr?en or any french car. Yeas! They are easy to maintain but that's because they are cheaply made, specially the C2.

Also watch out with the VW Polo. The last two generations softened too much the suspension and at high speeds (I'm talking 120km/h) start bouncing side to side like jelly. My sister has got a Mk IV 1.2 petrol which I drove from time to time and I got all these problems. Such a shame specially after the brilliant MkIII.

Why not a Fiesta?? Now that the new one is out prices from the last version have dropped even more and they usually come with a lot of kit and are very reliable.
 
My car. (are you really surprised?)

As long as she doesn't have to do a lot of long distance driving, that is.
 
I like Ford Fiesta and Lupo but there are only a few, and are in really bad condition.
There was only one Ibiza on sale, and it was in a crash. The one VW Fox seems to be a stolen car.
There are absolutely no Honda Jazz, Suzuki Swift on the market, there are a few VW New Beetle's,
but the 2001's cost around 9500? :(
 
VW Lupo all the way!
 
Hmmmmm How about a VW Lupo? :D It has everything you want: small, cute and a real girls car. Oh, and really tough, my Lupo survived (and still is) 8000 km's driving on the sometimes horrible roads in Ireland. Sorry, I'm praising my car now... :p

8000km? Any car can survive 8000km, even british leyland, that's not much praise. Come back when you've got 118000, like my vw, and tell me it's not pissing you off with it's unreliability.
 
My Polo Mk3 has 134,000km right now and only one thing has gone wrong during that time - a thermostat went bust.
...although I do feel like the cylinders have lost some compression, but I guess that's normal for 134,000km.
 
OK, my answer is: NOT a vw. Got my secondhand vw for around 7000 euros, and it's had nothing but problems.

Mine didn't.

What problems did yours have?
 
The Honda Jazz and the Toyota Yaris come to mind in that Segment. And though I hate it, the 2006 version Opel Corsa does get quite good quality ratings here. "between 6000-7000?", you should be able to get one not older than 2 years wich would be fine. But I?d recommend a Yaris or a Jazz ... you should be able to pick up some 2 year old jazz in perfect condition from some housewife with little milage for that kind of money.

Forget the Fiesta and the Polo. Too expensive in comparison and for that not good enough quality.
 
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This might seem stupid, but how hard is it to say go to Germany and buy a second hand car and drive it back? Do you get slugged with some massive tarriffs or something?
 
You need alot of paperwork and to those that havent done it before and do not speak german it is a bit daunting.
 
This might seem stupid, but how hard is it to say go to Germany and buy a second hand car and drive it back? Do you get slugged with some massive tarriffs or something?

I know from a friend who imports cars from Germany, that ALL cars in used cars lots have been crashed or have other problems. They put them on a truck, take them to their country, repair them and then sell them with the line that the car was never involved in any accident and was driven by 65-year-old woman.
 
Nah, the engine was fine, more like the electrical system for the ignition. But nobody knows for sure what was wrong. The mechanic just screwed around randomly, and eventually something fixed it. Mostly. Oh well, what the hell.


Sounds like it is time to find a competent mechanic.
 
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