(G) Noob Looking to buy a seicento sporting

Hi, this is my first post and after owning a brand new seicento sporting for 6months in 2002 im wanting another for use as a cheap economical runaround.

My budget is 1000 tops, for that kind of money would i be able to buy something decent or is it lemon terrortory.

Also what should i look for when looking?

Im guessing for that kind of money i will be looking at cars with around 70.000miles on the clock. can these engines live much longer?

sorry for the total noob questions, but im clueless.

1000 will get you an early sei but perhaps you might have to search extra hard for one in pretty decent condition at that budget, a sei for a grand i would be expecting to see a slightly tired example. You wont get a 2002 example though for that budget

70k would sound about right but i wouldnt be suprised to possibly find a low mileage example. If that is the case i would want a decent service file

Dont worry about engines they are pretty good so long as they have been regularly serviced, theres a couple of members with over 130k on theirs and still going strong at last count!

What to look for - theres not really much that goes wrong that isnt due to wear and tear. The handbrakes and clutch cables are weak points, if the handbrake takes more than 3 clicks to lock, chances are it is on the way out, but a cheap replacement, but just the usual spots - tyres, gearboxes etc are the places to check which you would check when viewing any car

As an alternative 1000 would get you a very decent cinq sporting - same/similar engine but obviously a different body.

And much more fun!

I think there's a buying guide here (guides/FAQs, above).

Not to sure about a cinq,prefer the sei shape, and im not to bothered about tatty body work etc, as long as the car is mechanically sound( or just not plagued with major problems) i'd be happy.

In that case you should find a decent one for your budget then

As mentioned before parts are relatively cheap also.