Buying Advice

[Kate87]

Hi All,

I'm new on here, and i just wanted some advice please!

I bought a Ford Fiesta last June on the advice that they are great cars which are cheap to run and cheap to repair, whilst still being high quality. Sadly, my fiesta was an exception to this rule! It costs me £45 for a fuel tank of fuel but i only get an absolute maximum of 330 miles from it, which is awful (it's a 1.4) my boyfriends clio cup does more!!! Anyway, on top of this i've had to have new O2 sensors fitted, 2 sets of spark plugs, full set of tyres, 2 new air filters and the clutch is now buggered and will eventually need replacing just to name a few things! So, to cut a long story short, i'm now trying to sell this car and i'm thinking of getting an Aygo, because of their fuel economy and cheapness to to tax and insure. I just wanted the opinion of Aygo owners on whether this is true and whether i would actually be getting a good car? What are any common problems etc?

Thanks

[weevicky]

Hey! Aygo is a great car; Ive had mine for three years! Yes there has been a few problems but they have been replaced free by toyota with no hassle. In the three years I have had the car I have had 4 new front tyres - two of these my fault through wheel spinning to see how much smoke i could get :P

the tax is low between 20 - 35 quid per year and my insurance is 300 quid :)

[Blokeski]

I've had mine for two weeks (Aygo Blue) and it is ace. Well recommended.

[Loftylad]

Hi All,

I'm new on here, and i just wanted some advice please!

I bought a Ford Fiesta last June on the advice that they are great cars which are cheap to run and cheap to repair, whilst still being high quality. Sadly, my fiesta was an exception to this rule! It costs me £45 for a fuel tank of fuel but i only get an absolute maximum of 330 miles from it, which is awful (it's a 1.4) my boyfriends clio cup does more!!! Anyway, on top of this i've had to have new O2 sensors fitted, 2 sets of spark plugs, full set of tyres, 2 new air filters and the clutch is now buggered and will eventually need replacing just to name a few things! So, to cut a long story short, i'm now trying to sell this car and i'm thinking of getting an Aygo, because of their fuel economy and cheapness to to tax and insure. I just wanted the opinion of Aygo owners on whether this is true and whether i would actually be getting a good car? What are any common problems etc?

Thanks

Hi Kate

The biggest cost of any car is depreciation. I would be tempted to look at what you'll lose selling your Fiesta compared to what you'll "save" buying an Aygo. If you're only doing 6000 miles a year then the saving you'd make on fuel might not be worth it, if you see what I mean? Saying that, if you think that the Fiesta is going to keep costing you money, then you may well be better getting shot of it...

The running costs for the Aygo are amazingly low. Probably amongst the lowest out there. £35 to tax, around £100 to insure, 60ish MPG etc. (very roughly, just over £30 of fuel fills the tank and you will get 400+ miles [combined] from it) Tyres are around £35 a piece.

If you're wanting cheaper, dont forget to have a look at the 107 and the C1. Same car with different badges. There is the assumption that the Toyota "badge" will give slightly better residuals, which may offset the slightly higher purchase cost.

It's also quite an "amusing" car to drive. The quirky 3 cylinder engine gives it a good little engine note, and because of its very low weight still manages to feel "nippy". It will happily seat four adults and go down the motorway at 80ish.

Every car can have problems, and I dont think the Aygo suffers any more or less. If you look through this site you'll find the more common niggles, one of which seems to be the leaky door seals, but mines been fine.*touches wood* Also remember that unhappy customers make more noise than happy ones, so when you look at threads like the "leaky" one, remember that percentage wise, these unlucky owners are in the minority!

I haven't looked back since buying mine. Its a gem and does exactly what it says on the tin. Cheap and cheerful motoring.

All the best, whatever you decide.

Lofty

[Kate87]

Thanks for the advice everyone, good to hear it all!

Lofty - i drive about 19000-20000 maybe more each year, about 400 a week standard, so i guess that means the fuel saving will pay off.

Hopefully i will be reporting back in a few weeks as a happy Aygo owner!

[ihpj]

Sadly, my fiesta was an exception to this rule! It costs me £45 for a fuel tank of fuel but i only get an absolute maximum of 330 miles from it, which is awful (it's a 1.4) my boyfriends clio cup does more!!! Anyway, on top of this i've had to have new O2 sensors fitted, 2 sets of spark plugs, full set of tyres, 2 new air filters and the clutch is now buggered and will eventually need replacing just to name a few things!

Hi, and welcome to the Forum :) You must be aware that our advice will be biased [towards the Aygo!] ;)

Without you having shared some details about your Fiesta, driving style, use and mileage it is hard to make any judgement on the reliability of the Fiesta. Firstly, I would hazard a guess that your Fiesta was bought second hand and is more than 3 years old - hence why you have had to bear the cost of repairs? Secondly the components you have said that have needed replacing are pretty much routine serviceable items. Spark plugs and air filter are normal serviceable items that should be changed every so often. To say that you have needed to spend money on replacing these is like saying you have had to pay to have the oil and filter changed too. Same goes for tyres.

If you are baulking on the running costs of a Fiesta, then you may be shocked to learn that the Aygo can 'eat brakes' every 16K miles and tyres around 18K miles...

Just my 2p worth you understand!

[Unklian]

Tyres are cheap.

Offers like this keep appearing.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Toyota-Aygo-wheels-w...93%3A1|294%3A50

My last 4 were £90.00 + collection. (Brand New).

If you're capable, genuine brakes and service items also come up on eBay.

In the real world, an Aygo is very cheap to run.

My wife bought one after seeing how much cheaper mine was to run

than her last car.

I'd have another one.

They're a good little runabout (& FUN)

Ian.

[PaulT]

If you are baulking on the running costs of a Fiesta, then you may be shocked to learn that the Aygo can 'eat brakes' every 16K miles

I think it must depend on the driving style, because as I approach 30000 miles (having done about 10+ track / race days) I still have 40% pad left.

Is it the cars with VSC which are wearing their brakes quickly, or is it cars without?

Paul.

[sullspots]

Watch out for inflated manufacturers mpg claims.You'd be lucky to get 50mpg

My daily commute is an easy 10 miles on motorway and dual carraigeway with hardly any traffic and I struggle to get over 48mpg.

Apart from that I don't think new car motoring gets much cheaper.

[MSI64]

27 quid fills my tank and I have filled her three times since buying her four months ago, I do about 200 miles a week.

Road tax is 20 quid and i pay about 250 quid a year fully comp with breakdown cover and other good stuff (Live in London).

The only problem I have is staying out of it lol.

My mate says i look like Bowser from Mario karts in mine.

[Wild west Drifter]

I'm getting average 46/47 mpg but then mines MMT and I tend to keep in mid powerband 3k - 4k5 rpm anyway

Sports exhaust and size 11's definately a contributing factor

Most of my commute is through towns and 40mph Max apart from the bit nearest home that is Dual carriageway about 3 miles.

[jim shady]

I have a daily commute of just under 80 miles, which is almost all motorway driving and I generally get around 370ish miles before I get the beeps to fill up.

The cheap insurance and road tax are some awesome selling points, but the car has a character to it which is hard to resist.

[T.F.S.B.I.G.W.S.]

Welcome Aboard! You will probably consider it a great car. I have been getting almost 50 mpg - if I switch my aircon off it goes a little higher. New front tyres at 13k.

[daveyjp]

"Watch out for inflated manufacturers mpg claims.You'd be lucky to get 50mpg"

Ours does 45mpg and most of its trips are 2 miles to my wife's office and back or running round Leeds. On a decent run over 60mpg is easily achieved. It's done 390 miles since it's last fill up and no fuel warning yet.

To be honest if I were doing 20,000 a year I wouldn't want to do it in an Aygo. Swap your 1.4 petrol Fiesta for a diesel version - 1.4 or 1.6 TDCi. It will do 60 mpg and the tax on the 1.4 is the same as the Aygo. My dad has had two for driving instructing - 200,000 miles covered between them and no major problems, not even a clutch change.

[Kate87]

"Watch out for inflated manufacturers mpg claims.You'd be lucky to get 50mpg"

Ours does 45mpg and most of its trips are 2 miles to my wife's office and back or running round Leeds. On a decent run over 60mpg is easily achieved. It's done 390 miles since it's last fill up and no fuel warning yet.

To be honest if I were doing 20,000 a year I wouldn't want to do it in an Aygo. Swap your 1.4 petrol Fiesta for a diesel version - 1.4 or 1.6 TDCi. It will do 60 mpg and the tax on the 1.4 is the same as the Aygo. My dad has had two for driving instructing - 200,000 miles covered between them and no major problems, not even a clutch change.

That's interesting, definately one to think about, i'm thinking about the all round costs though -repairs, servicing, parts, tax, insurance, petrol etc etc. I'm going to look at a few over the weekend, and i'm gonna be doing a hell of a lot of research on whatever i decide to go for...i am pretty set on the Aygo though, mainly because of the all round cost saving - i'm saving up to buy a house early next year, so i'm wanting to save every single penny i can!!

My Fiesta - it's an 05 reg and i have had it for a year. So although some of the things which i have had replaced are standard on a service...i shouldn't have to have them done twice in 7 months, my air filter first time round looked like an extractor fan which had been burried in dusk for many years. My mechanic told me that it looked like it's never had a proper service(interesting considering it's been serviced/moted at ford previously!!). As far my driving style - i have completely adapted my driving style to try and improve the fuel economy i.e accelerating slower, no harsh breaking or acceleration, checking tyre pressures on a weekly basis, only filling up half a tank to try to decrease the amount of weight etc etc etc it's been a disaster!! It doesnt matter if im doing 90 on the motor way or stop start on the way to work... i still get the exact same amount of miles out of it...!

[zakelwe]

How about the diesel C1 then, that has even better fuel economy and is obviously the same car with different body Shell. A lot more torque as well of course, you have to rev the Aygo to make good progress and that hits the fuel a lot due to the long earing. Not sure how much a C1 diesel costs though....

I prefer the looks of the Aygo though.

Regards

Andy

PS The Suzuki Swift 1.3 DDi or whatever it is called is not a bad little car either.

[Kate87]

How about the diesel C1 then, that has even better fuel economy and is obviously the same car with different body shell. A lot more torque as well of course, you have to rev the Aygo to make good progress and that hits the fuel a lot due to the long earing. Not sure how much a C1 diesel costs though....

I prefer the looks of the Aygo though.

Regards

Andy

PS The Suzuki Swift 1.3 DDi or whatever it is called is not a bad little car either.

So, i went to look at 3 aygos yesterday...and it was really a complete disaster!! All of them needed something doing to them - all of them needed new tyres and were scuffed or had a dint...wouldn't have felt comfortable buying any of them. I've got 2 more to go and see this week, and now i'm also going to look at 2 107s this week...so touch wood i'll have a better outcome there. I've also found a buyer for my car now too!

Again, thank you for everyones advice and coments!

[daveyjp]

What ages and what budget are you looking at?

[Kate87]

What ages and what budget are you looking at?

Any age, they are only from 05 aren't they? so that's not an issue for me. I do have a tight budget though of £3500 - £4000 depending on how much mine goes for.

[daveyjp]

I'm seeing 06 reg (3.5 years old) at £5k in dealers, so I wouldn't expect much for £3,500. Autotrader only has 4 for less than £4,000 and they are all well over average mileage. Aygos main plus point, it's excellent residual value is working against you.

You probably need to accept you are looking for something which will be difficult to find. Find another £1,000 and you will get much more choice, but then if you stretch to just over £6k you can have a new one from a broker!

C1s or 107s for that money are also rare as hens teeth.

[MSI64]

I paid 4700 for mine, Barter and haggle is the way ahead

[Kate87]

I paid 4700 for mine, Barter and haggle is the way ahead

I found a 107 on Friday for £3500. I went to view it and it was perfect, so i'm picking it up in a few weeks once mine has gone :)