£3000 small car?
 

Right, ive been tasked with advising on a small/ish car, with aircon, reasonable insurance group and at least 'ok' fuel consumption (its first own car) things like cheap servicing/parts/reliability would be a bonus

edit-> (just to emphasise, performance really isnt at the top of the priority list :))




Obviously this isnt for me but my first thoughts where ford KA, any input greatly appreciated, as I want to advise so that the best car can be bought for the money.


on a side note we went to look at a KA recently, paid to get an RAC check, and it had serious rust problems, apparantly something that the KA suffers from, so thats slightly off putting.

corsa
fiesta
punto

My wife has owned two punto's and I wouldn't recommend my worst enemy to get one. Current one is not even 3 years old and has had 4 clutches due to clutch judder. Fiat are unable to come up with a fix.

I think you have a surprisingly difficult task trying to find a Supermini with aircon for £3000. Due to demand these sort of cars seem to hold their money and you can often get a much bigger, better car of the same age for less money.

I would personally spend a bit more and get a Toyota Yaris rather than any of the cars mentioned so far.

Corsa 1.0 12v if you can get a new shape for that. had one as a loan car when my Omega went into the dealer. Coulnd't believe how nippy and refined it was compared to the older shape - recomended.

Ka was my 2nd choice, a luxuary version with full leather - loads around, cheap as chips in every sense of the word.

VW Lupo / Seat Arosa. Excellent build quality and big car feel. Only engine worth looking at is the 1.4 8v. getting very dated (no boot), and expensive to buy. - Comended

Andy

Ka
Got one for the wife and they are great cars.

Yaris

Ford Ka, I use one as my work hack.

< £2k for some!! :eek:
Group 3 insurance
Cheap main dealer servicing (£120 for small service due yearly, £180 for big service every 3 years)

We have a Collection which the previous owner added air con, 14" alloy wheels and uprated brake pads, which all make the driving experience a little better.

Our Ka is over 3.5 years old and no rust on it.

I second a Yaris. Wife had one, best small car ever and one would be 1st on my list if I was in the market for a small car again.

I like Kas round the back roads.

Rented a Yaris and drove 3 hrs each way in it along the motorway - hated it.

Perhaps not equal comparisons, but there you go :)

If youre willing to spend a bit more than 3k (maybe 3.5-4k) then you should be able to get a Fabia with air-con.

Ka's are dirt cheap, and are meant to be a great drive, but look w@nk IMO and the interior plastic is as bad as it gets. The seats also have a very short base, so no support for thighs unless youre a midget.

Yaris might be a good bet as has been said - plenty in the right price bracket and they always seem to do very well in consumer surveys.

I used to drive one for work as well, and I'd quite agree:) Nasty things. The door handle came off in my hand once, as I tried to get in:(:D
Funny driving position as well, although the adjustable power steering is vaguely useful....

Fiesta? I was never too keen on the Ka personally.

Honda Civic VTi, lovely car.

Thanks for all the input people, much appreciated :)

The hunt continues :)