What problems,some where around the 2001 to 2003 or would a Ford focus be a better bet.looking for somethingcheap to run for work an mucking around.Cheers
thejazzpianoma,
Mar 15, 6:15pm
I still like the Fiat Punto , cheap to buy, cheap to run, super reliable and parts are easy to get and cheap.
That said, a good Peugeot can be a good wee car, there were a horrendous amount of them sold. There is some chatter about the auto gearbox's not being that reliable. but then that is said about almost every non-japanese transmission so you might need to sort the wheat from the chaff on that one or get a manual.
I have had plenty of the wee Fiats but limited experience with the Peugeot and not many on here have so take whats said with a grain of salt.
Best of luck!
Oh and don't buy a Focus if you are buying an auto. YUCK.
offrd1,
Mar 15, 6:30pm
Cheers for that,didn'tthink of a Fiat,sounds maybe worth a check up on
tigra,
Mar 15, 6:52pm
Checked the wife's computer the other day and she was eyeing up a Punto.HMMMM I thought. However turned out to be a false alarrm and she bought a RAV 4.
craig04,
Mar 15, 7:12pm
Ken Ring also likes Fiat Punto's
offrd1,
Mar 15, 7:29pm
They look a nice we car but maybe a bit small.I will mainly use for work but my wife will use it to go to Ch Ch every few months
thejazzpianoma,
Mar 15, 11:08pm
Perhaps check one out in person, I ran them as work vehicles and we could fit 5 in one and go to a meeting if we had to. They are by no means huge but given your other choice is a 206 which isnt huge either they are worth investigating in person.
They are lovely on the open road because they handle nicely and they do less than 2000 rpm at 100km/h on the flat. They do have a bit of road noise though which is my only negative for a trip.
The big thing going for the Fiat is crazy economy 5l/100km on a trip and only an extra litre or so for typical day to day town/mixed driving. Plus they are hugely undervalued, you can get a really mint one with say 50K on the clock for about 6K and a more used example from about $3500, these are all 2000 or newer models too!
The Punto also has a 4 1/2 star NCAP (the ones we get here) a minimum of 4 airbags and some nice little extras like a factory sub woofer etc.
Now all of that aside. if the Punto does turn out to be a bit small I am less excited by its bigger brother the Stilo so consider that option with caution. If you are still thinking larger and go off the Peugeot perhaps come back for more ideas. Also, if you are going to look seriously at the Punto I am happy to give you a bit of a list of things to check to make sure you get a good one. I have had enough of them now to know them quite well.
thejazzpianoma,
Mar 15, 11:14pm
Heres another idea. are you going to sign write the vehicle!
If you want something eye catching, bullet proof, practical, comfortable and stupidly cheap to run. it would be hard to go past the Multipla.
I still use one myself for an every day car. They are super easy to drive in town as there is no blind spot and they are not too long so are easy to park.
Aside from incredible practicality from being able to completely remove individual seats revealing a flat floor. The huge advantage is they have the fantastic Fiat 1.9 Common rail Diesel. So you are talking typical round town mixed running of about 6 litres of diesel per 100km. Thats about $13 per 100km including RUC. Do the math on that and compare!
You also have minimal maintenance and 20'000km oil changes. They are nicely featured but are very reliable. Well worth some thought and a drive. They sometimes come available as cheap as $3000 at auction and head up in price from there.
By far the best workhorse I have ever owned and I have owned a lot of cars.
shorebee,
Mar 16, 7:28am
the 206 is a great car, very very econimical and comparible to a renault clio, the french build quirky but reliable cars and have the fuel efficiency and performance down pat.
smac,
Mar 16, 7:37am
Please expand.
thejazzpianoma,
Mar 16, 9:52am
Bit like the 2.0 Mondeo in auto. Its not a pleasant unit to live with and ruins an otherwise very nice little car. Might be O.K if you havn't driven a manual one (you might no know what you are missing) or if you are doing flat town running.
I am not so sure whether its the lack of gears, the spacing or the control unit. But they never seem to really have the right gear for the job when it comes to being loaded on large hills etc. They remind me of auto transmissions in little cars of the 70's and 80's. Its funny because some other manufacturers i.e Honda, Audi etc seem to have done a lot better with 4 gears in an auto.
To be honest I havn't tried the 2.0 version of the Focus with auto yet so I hope I am not speaking out of turn, its possible the 1.6 makes things worse perhaps. However I have spent many an unpleasant hour in the 2.0 Mondeo auto so I think its a fairly safe bet to assume a similar experience.
BTW, a manual one. would have it in a heartbeat and the odd one is showing up very well priced.
smac, have you got one! If so what model and how do you find it!
craig04,
Mar 16, 10:20am
A mate of mine has a 2.0 auto Zetec Focus and is happy with it. It is an acceptable performer for what it is. it is a completely different beast to a Mondeo Auto (dog).
thejazzpianoma,
Mar 16, 10:22am
O.K happy to take that back and file for future reference. That will teach me for making an assumption! I will leave the 1.6 and the 2.0 Mondeo for the Ken Rings of this world.
smac,
Mar 16, 11:04am
Nope don't have one. Just still working through what I may or may not buy.maybe later this year. Have family also car shopping, and I know they are keen on the Focus. They are probably more interested in manuals I think, however I think that is largely because the haven't driven a decent auto. Their experience would have been 1.3 corolla or similar.
Spent my share of time in early 2000's auto mondeos at work.Damn near traded the thing while I was out one day. Probably wouldn't have gone down well as it was a lease car.
shorebee,
Mar 16, 11:33am
focus 2.0 auto is great in 07-09 vintage and currently get an 08 for 15k so less than half o a new one. not for long with this crisis but great midsize hatch.
smac,
Mar 16, 11:39am
They do seem good buying at the moment, but to be honest the 4sp auto would still put me off, despite the economy they claim.
thejazzpianoma,
Mar 16, 11:41am
LOL, we had the 2.0 Mondeo's for work cars as well! It was funny we had one auto one (ordered first) anddozens of manuals! It was such a shame as the 2.0 manual was a really good car and pretty much everything the auto was not. I used to cringe at having to take the auto over the Kaimais with a load of people.
craig04,
Mar 16, 2:59pm
The difference between the auto and manual Mondeo's is amazing! Apart from aesthetics, they are two completely different cars.
By the way, Ken Ring isn't ready to trade up.
offrd1,
Jul 25, 8:17am
Thanks everyone all very interesting,still not sure yet,BUT if i buy either Focus or Peugeot i will be taking thejazzpianoma's advice and buythe manual models Your advice really appreciated.i know heaps about 4x4's and motorcycles but never really hadmuch to dowith cars and the Wrangler is a bit gutsy for work .lol.so need to do something
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