HELLO New Woo Drivers, we need your opinion & help.
So what are we after, your experiances of been on the road with your Woo.
Insurance costs, drivability, running costs & anything that you think will be helpful.
Thanks in advance
Bodie
I have 2 of these little guys/girls (0.8L). A Feb '07 model and a '98 model which I bought recently. I have an on-line diary of my experiences with the '97 which we bought new at ;
http://www.oats.org.uk/matiz/matiz.htm
The '07 model; Insurance is costing me £75 (older driver with 5 years ncb), have a service contract with Chev which works out at a about £50/year. It is used on mixed highway/urban and am averaging about 52mpg and the current cost of fuel per mile is 10p. We have dropped our speeds and sit at 60mph on the highway. Tyre pressure is very important (follow the manufacture guide of 30psi all round) for both consumption and handling. This model is a handful in high winds and can be quite scary. This is probably due to it being slightly higher than the older model. The finish in this model I think is better than the older model. It is a really nice basic small car. It is certainly a lot nippier than I expected. If you are expecting 2L performance out of this car you will be disappointed. Overall it is really good value for money and it seems that they are holding their value on re-sale at the moment and we intend trading this before the 3 years is up.
The '98 model; got the same Insurance deal through the Post Office Insurance. The consumption is slightly worse on the same journey (wife and I both work at the same place at different times) and it is averaging at around 50mpg and costing 11p/mile in fuel. The car has been owned by boy-racers and has not been looked after. I am working through the faults at present and have nearly rebuilt the whole front end so far. They certainly respond well to some tlc and she is running much better since we bought her. Had a strange incident recently when my wife went out with our son and the car suddenly stopped and wouldn't start again. RAC came out to help her and after a lot of fault finding, found no power at the fuel pump but power at the fuse box. After some phone calls he found that there is a switch next to the front passenger seat (outer back) that is an emergency cut off in the event of an accident. Pressing the switch restored power. Be aware if you have kids that fiddle! This is not present in the '07 model. The RAC mechanic told her that ours was only the 3rd he had attended over a number years and hence he knows little about them. That says something in itself.
Overall have enjoyed owning them so far. If you are expecting a fun, exciting car this is not for you. They are great in town because they can be parked in very small spaces, ideal for narrow lanes. Spares are very cheap. If you are a competent DIY mechanic they are very easy to work on. I think they are a great deal, especially new ones.
Rob
Thanks, Rob - I really enjoyed reading your online diary.
Mark
HI I HAVE JUST BOUGHT A 2000 MATIZ 0.8L A FEW LIL FAULTS BUT THATS WOT U EXPECT FROM A SECOND HAND CAR HOPE NOTHING GOES WRONG WITH IT OTHERWISE I WILL B HERE ASKING FOR HELP I LOVE MY LIL CARS USED TO HAVE A 96 CLIO THEN WENT 2 A 1800 DIESEL FOCUS ESTATE IT WAS NICE BUT TO EXPENSIVE TO RUN AS I ONLY USE CAR 3 TIMES A WEEK TO VISIT FAMILY HOPING MY MATIZ WILL LIVE UP TO MY EXPECTATIONS HAS IN A WAY ALREADY ONLY 66 POUND ROAD TAX INSTEAD OF 102 FOR FOR FOCUS I WILL B USING IT FOR SHORT JOURNEYS ON MOTORWAY SO SEE HOW IT FAIRS THEN PLEASE LET ME KNOW OF ANY PROBLEMS I SHOULD LOOK OUT FOR THANKS
Hi ! I just bought an x reg 2000 Matiz SE in metalic copper / orange colour, bought it s/h from a small car dealer , think i'm the ? 4th owner, and i have to say it's a lil' beauty, 800cc engine, runs very well , nice and smooth, .
Idecided i wanted one after seeing a neighbours, then a friend bought his, so when my m reg peugeot 205 diesel suffered p/ steering probs , i started franticly searching for one , they are being snapped up pretty quick ! kev
Post some piccys up
If you have any questions just shout
Thanx mate wil put pix up asap ..kev
Just bought a blue manual 2001 Daewoo Matiz SE off my Mum who has given up driving.
It goes very well except front windcsreen washers don't work and the gearchange is incredibly sloppy leaving me very red-faced on occasions!
I wil raise those issues in the appropriate area.
Delighted to have found this forum!
Brian
hi I have an 2000 matiz se plus in met yellow, i bought this little fellow second hand with 32k on the clock, its in as new con apart from a few teathing problems, other than that I love it, my insurance is £380 per year fully comp, "yes you did read right" ps i'm still learning to drive at age 38, and in case ur wondering, driving never intrested me, until my spine started giving me problems,
after driving my mitzy for a while now i love it, so easy to drive and park, but the gears are a bit of a pian in the rear at times, all in all, a brill little car, i love My mitzy the magnificent
I've just bought a 1998 matiz se+ and I'm really pleased with it. It's only done 33,000 miles and has been well looked after. For the Isle of Wight with all our tiny lanes and busy little towns it's going to be ideal-especially as the council are considering slapping a 40mph speed limit everywhere!!! My eldest son will start driving soon too so the idea is that'll be a good car for him when he passes.
I'm really pleased to find this forum too, I'm sure I'll be here quite a bit
Three of my family got a Matiz soon after they were introduced and I remember being at the Motor show when they introduced it along with the custom 'Red Hot' version.
My parents owned the one I now own and they had quite a strange accident in the car. They had started going up a steep hill in Devon in heavy rain and the road was in a deep cutting, unknown to them at the top of the hill a large lake had formed which broke at that point into the cutting. The first thing my elderly parents knew was a wall of water 4' tall racing down the hill in the cutting which went over the roof of the matiz before it floated off down th hill. My folks were shaken but unhurt and amazingly no water got into the car even though it knocked off the from bumper. The next morning I went to the car and started straight away as if nothing had happened and their were half a dozen cars there that had water locked their engines. Antway this is a great forum and I know I will use it to get the Woo back in top condition,
I got my Matiz for my 21st birthday this sunday (19th july). I've wanted one for years but ive always been told by my partner i wasn't allowed to have one (he thinks they're horrible) but i kept going on about them and finally i got one! This is my 8th car so far and already i can tell its one of the best ive had. Its a Silver W reg SE. Got it for £650 off ebay, its got 47000 miles on it, 10 months MOT and Full Service history. My insurance was £474 for a year fully comp with two years no claims bonus with a learner driver on the policy, and my dad on the policy too to lower the price.
So far im really happy with the car. Its lovely to drive around down and its quite shockin how little body role it has, ive had 2 fiat puntos a fiat seicento a suzuki jimny a toyota carina a rover 200 and a fiat brava and the only one out of thise that had less body roll than the matiz was the rover 200. The power steering is lovely too. Ive found that in cars with power steering im very aware that its there, but with the matiz its not like that. It's very sharp and percise and feels like theres absolutely no weight to the car at all, its brilliant! Not only that but its like the tardis inside! Its really decieving. Theres loads of room up front, the windscreen is nice and far away, theres enough leg room in the back without having to move the seats and the seats are nice and comfortable and supportive. Wide too so i dont feel like im gonna slip off the seat when i go round a corner. The clutch is nice too. Its either on or off. Theres no having to find the bite and lift my foot off at the right speed like in most cars, i found this strange at first but now its actually quite fun. Not only that but its very quiet at 70mph too. When sitting at 70 on the motorway i can easily have a normal conversation with the passengers without having to raise my voice or strain to hear them speak.
The only thing i can fault with the car is that the wheels are too small. Taking an island at anything over 20mph and it feels like the ground is slipping from under me. Not only that but they arent really big enough to soak up all the pot holes and bumps in the road that are common in towns. Its also quite easy to aqua plane in the wet too. As soon as i can afford it im gonna look into getting some wider wheels to get some extra grip on the road. I had exactly the same problem with my Seicento. It came with 13x5 alloy wheels and they felt just the same as the matiz. I put some 14x6 alloys on it and the difference was AMAZING. I just hope it will have the same effect witht he Matiz.
I bought a 2000, X reg, 800cc Matiz SE just over a month ago with 11 months MOT and six months road tax, 42k miles, a good service record and 2 previous owners for £800.
So far I have changed the oil and filter, cleaned the carpets and seats (was a smoker's car), put a set of new wheel trims on, replaced the glove box catch, replaced the heated rear screen switch and fitted a new roof aerial. Oh and fitted a "www.daewooclub.co.uk2 window sticker. ( iam planning on converting the high level rear brake light by fitting the "Matiz" outline as explained somewhere on this site in the near future).
I bought it for my son to learn to driv ein and so far both my wife and I have been impressed with it and often take it instead of our own cars because it is just a nice little fun car that is easy to drive and park.
The gear change leaves a bit to be desired but I believe that is not unusual for this car.
Other than that we are all very pleased with it and hope that it continues to please and that our daughter will be able to learn to drive in it in 14 months time.
I would certainly consider buying another one and possibly might have to if the son passes his test and keeps this one as his run around.
Mine is a 2004 (53-reg) Matiz SE+ finished in a lovely blue/purple colour. It was bought in from a garage with 12 MOT, 6 months tax and a mere 16k on the clock (it now has 19k). It looks great and is suprisingly smooth and quiet for a small car with an even smaller 3-cylinder engine. Mine has even been on the motorway a few times (at the national limit, you understand
) but I've heard this is not good for them (Head gaskets??). In any case, find an A-road with lots of corners in it and you'll have a ball
. Insurance is cheap, fuel economy is good and servicing is simple. Parking is a doddle thanks to the power steering and good all-round visibility, mine came with a factory fit CD player for those days spent driving on the motorways... Generally speaking, a handy, well specced, reliable little motor.
But I do have a few personal gripes...
Potholes and rifts in the road upset it's rhythm a bit, mine had an intermittent stalling problem (now fixed), the gearchange is carp fishing, especially when changing down for a junction. The first gear always engages with a crunch on these occaisons (had it looked into but problem still persists). Being used to bigger engined stuff, it was a culture shock to discover how slowly it accelerates and how inept it is at going up hills, even with a run-up, but I can only chalk that up to the fact I haven't owned a city car for a number of years and not because of the car itself. I'm just a little upset that I didn't get Aircon but anyway...
So mine is probably a keeper, especially if the wife ever learns to drive as she will get the pleasure of using it. Thanks for reading...
Just got a 2002 Daewoo. It's amazing. 800cc, but we take it on the motorway, no worries. It doesn't like hills, and the fuel economy drops at high speeds, but overall it's a great car. The turning circle is great for inner city driving, and the short wheel base makes parking simple.
Good little car.
(16-07-2008 09:36 PM)Bodie Wrote: [ -> ]HELLO New Woo Drivers, we need your opinion & help.
So what are we after, your experiances of been on the road with your Woo.
Insurance costs, drivability, running costs & anything that you think will be helpful.
Thanks in advance
Bodie