Faults:

- Transmission slippage.

- Needed new tires (rattled on the highway).

General Comments:

Bought for roommate for $600. Was just a cheap beater.

Tranny slipped, changed fluid, ran great for 20k miles, and it made it from Minnesota to Oregon. Car still drove until the trans failed in 2010.

Was a die-hard vehicle. The engine wouldn't die. The car rattled at first, but new tires and balancing fixed all that.

Was an ugly little red, dented, rusty thing. Got from point A to B. Would buy for a cheap beater again.

Faults:

All faults fixed during 2010 around 120,000 miles, it had been bought with these:

Rear anti-roll bar bush failed.

Leaking front shock absorber.

Steering column stalks mounting snapped in two.

General Comments:

The car was bought as a second vehicle to protect my pride and joy from vandalism. I deliberately chose the cheapest, tattiest looking vehicle to ensure I didn't care what happened to it.

No electric anything - except (oddly) an electric aerial for the radio.

Being a three door, the front seats fold forward for access to the rears. But it seems that the seat angle adjustment and access is the same lever, so after accessing the rear seats, I have to reset the seats. Irritating.

Good points:

Cheap, really very cheap. Bought for next to nothing, and all the faults above were fixed for £150 at a garage for its MOT.

Has been absolutely reliable. Never failed to start. With the car being at least 13 years old, I'm quite happy with that.

The car is light enough that 86hp is plenty of power. Gets up to 70MPH (eventually). Climbs hills at 70 (with one person in car and foot to the floor in 4th, but yes it manages).

Great town car. Small with a great turning circle, can be parked easily.

Nice clutch and gearbox. Really easy to jump between traffic lights quickly and smoothly in city centres.

Brakes are strong enough to lock all four wheels - the weak point is then the skinny tyres.

Comfortable enough - it is cheap inside but acceptable.

Bad points:

Worse than expected on fuel. Gets low 40s in MPG (almost exactly the same for town and motorway driving), which is acceptable, but not good.

Really, really bad handling. Skinny 155 tyres are dangerous in the wet.

Understeer seems unavoidable on roundabouts, even at excessively slow speeds. Drivable, but not in any way a performance vehicle.

Faults:

Clutch burned out at 153500 miles.

Lights went out at 153000.

General Comments:

Great value for the money.. I have recently seen new 08 Accents selling for 8995.. really incredible value. I only have a 97 but it gets 36 mpg in town and 39-40 mpg highway.. great for teenagers as I am one.

Faults:

The driver's window cable snapped recently.

Rear heated screen has stopped working (could be my fault as I put in a CD player)

General Comments:

This has been a REALLY reliable car for me and has NEVER let me down, it has always sailed through its Mot's and as you can see I have done a lot of miles in a short space of time.

It is not the most comfortable of rides, and wouldn't recommend driving continuously for 3 hours or more. The seats are too soft and don't really hug you, plenty of legroom though for the taller drivers out there. The interior is basic, but is OK to look at. It does handle corners well, but can be a little unstable in high winds. It is not the quickest being a 1.3, but it is nippy enough to get you out of trouble if need be, and is happy doing 70-80 mph on motorways etc.

I have found it to be economical in fuel consumption averaging between 40-45 mpg. The tank would do between 320-350 miles, but this is because the fuel tank is around 35 litres. However, if and when parts are needed, they are not cheap. One of my keys broke and to replace it cost me £80 because of the immobiliser chip. I'm not sure on other parts because I have not needed anything so far.

Overall I am very pleased with this car, it is a shame that they do not hold their value BUT I will be sad to see this car go when the time comes. (I think I might keep it until it dies)