1997 Hyundai Accent i Coupe review from UK and Ireland

Manual window winder cable snapped.

Clutch hydraulics broke.

Has gone through a lot of tyres although they're budget tyres and two of them perished on the tyre wall.

Just bought the car from my girlfriend, who'd bought it for £600 in 2005 to learn to drive in. It came with a dint in the bonnet from the previous owner (hence the price) but only had 36,000 on the clock at the time.

It's got a few more dints on it now and the light bodywork does seem to damage easily.

Having difficulty sourcing a replacement door (easier to do that than try to replace the winder mechanism).

But...

It's absolutely superb. It always starts first time, runs quite smoothly, handles well, the lights are excellent, the seats are fairly comfortable (though you feel like you're sitting on them rather than in them), the fuel economy is quite good (although the post-2000 models are better) and it's pretty nippy. Easy to park, too (hackney cab-like turning circle of 9 metres) despite the lack of power steering.

Slight gripes would be the high clutch pedal position and the 'hit or miss' gear selector for reverse.

Like another reviewer, I'm able to get my mountain bike in it with room to spare (the boot's huge).

Suppose what I like most is that to an extent it takes me back to the days when I owned older cars with no 'power' components. Everything is manual: windows, steering, mirrors etc. and you feel that you can trust the car because there's not much that can go wrong.

Insured it TPF&T with zero no claims discount for £130.

If you pick up a ten year old Accent for £300 - £400 with reasonable mileage it could be the best money you'll spend this side of that box of monogrammed handkerchiefs you've been promising yourself for Christmas.

Or is that just me?