how do l choose the better car? corsa, micra, fiesta, polo?

Question

l am lookin to buy a second hand car as mine is now sold. have looked and driven a v reg corsa 1.0. r reg micra 1.0. p reg fiesta 1.2 and p reg polo. all lovely to drive and in good condition also in my price range. l liked the corsa BUT have concernes that it has a timing chain and dont know anything about them.do they cause problems? can they be replaced cheaply like cam belts? can anyone help please.

Answer 1

Go for the Micra. The model you are looking at has an excellent reputation for reliability, more so than the current model. The Micra I drive is even older and has never let me down, good on fuel too. Fords rust and the Fiesta is no exception. Old fords can be unreliable. Volkswagen Polo are good, strong little cars. I think you might find the Corsa under powered.It is a toss up between Micra or Polo, have another drive, see which has lowest milage, but for me it would be the Micra.

Answer 2

That's easy, look on the back and if it says something different to Corsa, Micra, Fiesta or Polo then it has to be a better car than a Corsa/Micra/Fiesta/Polo.
Ideally get a McLaren Mercedes, in crash tests it proved the McLaren Merc driver sufered only a short prison sentence while the Golf Driver will never walk again. If you cannot afford £ 330K
then A Rover Montego Turbo Diesel Estate,£ 50 and 50 mpg makes the little petrl engined cars look silly.
Timing chains are good news they rattle when worn and you get sick of the row so you get a new one ftted, 100 000 to 150 000 miles is typical. Timing Belts need regular changing or they break without warning, and garages including main dealers will charge for changing the belt on a major service but not do it.

Answer 3

Timing Chains do not have to be replaced at all unlike Cam Belts which usually have to be done every 40,000 miles.

Hope that helps! Just check everything with a friend - where-ever the salesman leads you away from is where you have to check.

Corsa's should be very cheap in view of the new model that is out and the price of run out models being £6000 new. All are good cars though; it depends on your personal preferences and their mileages.

Answer 4

forget the corsa 3 cylinder rubbish, the polo belt has to be changed on or before 60k as they do snap and the valves do bend, also the clutch pedal rips away from its housing.
micra is reliable but dull check under the front slam panel for rot, and the fiesta needs to be a good one at this age they can use oil.
fiesta timing belt due at 100,000 or 10 years.

so fiesta or micra depends what you prefer!

Answer 5

Don't get a corsa. I had one for 3 years and spent over £2000 in repairs. I part ex'd it today for a new car and got £10 scrap for it as the camshaft and belt were about the tear the engine apart. They're unreliable, boring and depreciate like nothing on earth..
Personally I'd go for the fiesta.

Answer 6

There not cars, there carrier bags!!! Get something that actually is a car!!! But if you really want the best of a bad bunch get teh polo. The Corsa has a collection of reliability problems, the timing chain isn't one of them though.

Answer 7

best car for reliability will be the polo, cam chains are far better than belts they very very rarely snap like a belt ,they rattle very loudly for a long time before they break giving you plenty of warning to get it changed but that is the problem its a lot more expensive than changing abelt so its achoice of two evils, i would get the polo and get a new belt fitted straight away and then every so often depending on mileage but it should only cost about £120 or so every couple of years

Answer 8

Very simple - buy a japanese vehicle so in your sector try the Toyota Yaris, Nissan Micra or Honda Jazz. Avoid everything else especially if you are looking at cars that are over 6 yrs old.

Answer 9

I have a Polo (1.9D) it's a great car but it is costing me a lot of money when I have problems.

I once asked a car dealer (who was a friend) which is the best car to have and he said 'They may not look very good but you cannot beat a Nissan Micra.'

Answer 10

I'd go for the micra you'll get bored before it breaks. Corsas can give you grief, ive known head gaskets to go on them. vw are renound for expensive parts. fiestas rust and rust and rust.