Daewoo Matiz 0.8 SE

I am now on my second matiz first one was a 0.8 se plus 1998. Now i own a 0.8 2001 se. Well i am 26 year old and i don't care about flashy cars but this is my first year. Anyway. I have hammered this all over and it takes it like a man i have done just over 550 miles in 2 days when i went on holiday with a car full of people and still was very keen to do another 500. That air bag light is an eyesore and a common leak roof solved with rubber solution glue. I had 100 mph in mine 86 with a full car. Think im getting 1.0 litre next but great cars.

Had this as my first car, so reliable! I drove it for two years and the only problems I had was minor and very cheap to repair. It's a small engine and is so cheap to run, people say it's not good for long distance however I have been driving 100 miles per day in it and it's been absolutely fine! Would strongly recommend!

I own a January 2005, 0.8 litre, entry level Matiz. Is the car my grandfather bought and the car i learned to drive since i was 12 years old and the car i will have to drive for another 5 to 8 years until i can afford another one.

I'll try to make it simple and short.

Engine reliability:

Nothing bad in the past almost 10 years. My car haves 68.000 km right now and nothing had to be changed.

Body:

In the past 2 years, rust started to appear. The car is always kept in a garage but the condensation in the winter had made its job.

Rust is present:

- the driver's door, interior part at the bottom

- a big spot around on the left front wheel

- few spots on the hood and the trunk door

Driving:

51 HP aren't much but enough to cruise along at decent speeds. I like the long and potent 1st gear. Compared to other small engines/cars it offers a powerful sprint to 15-20 km/h.

The gearbox shouts loudly "I'm CHEAP" but is resonable...for the price of the car.

No sporting feels what so ever. Just A to B driving. That's it.

Fuel:

I can't be really sure for fuel. I will estimate arround 7-7.5 l/km in town. The engine really needs to work a lot to pull the car along regardless the load. It's not really the most economical car.

Space:

As a 1.82 m driver, i can acomodate pretty easy while leaving a...resonable amount of space for the back seat. The 145 litre boot is enough for 2 persons, maybe 3, depending on the amount of luggage and if you want to put some of it on the back seat. The car can carry 4 adults and 1 child/teenager with no problems. Probably 5 slim adults if you want.

Comfort:

Eh...The suspensions aren't the best. Pretty rough but resonable though every time i climb a curb (slowly) it sounds like you've driven into it at 100 km/h. Soundproofing doesn't exist and the hole body shivers strongly with the engine. Seats are pretty confortable, not the best at long journeys but not the worst i've seen (*if you decide to sleep on the front seats, i found them very comfotable, better than my bed at home)

Conclusion - For the money, it's not that bad. For a begginer it's pretty great and remains one of the best small cars ever produced.

This is the best car I have ever owned . I bought this car with one previous owner and very low mile-age . My wife uses this car to go to work mainly , and she loves it as it is easy to drive and park and has four doors so easy to get inti and out for all passengers . It has plenty of space inside despite it's small looks . Doctor Who would be pleased with this car , I call it the Tardis .

This car is very cheap to run insure and maintain . I have now had the car for seven years and it has flown through every MOT without any issues at all . Once one of the indicator bulb's had blown , they charged me £5 to change it . I have serviced the car myself which is very easy to do as al the parts are easily accessed if needed , you can buy a full service kit for £25 .

If any-one dinks your doors when it is parked at the supermarket I think feel soory for them as they have probably caused more damage to their own car . Try total piece of mind and care free driving , try a matiz .

The Daewoo Matiz is a fun perky little car, it is a love or hate design, but I think it is a fun and cute little car. The 800cc is weak but the 1.0 manages well, but your in for a noisy ride if you're taking it out onto the motorway, Sudden losses of power burst out sometimes. Once the 1.0 Matiz couldn't get up a very slight slope foot on the floor, 1st gear, the clutch smelt horrid afterwards because of burning most likely, no problems since however this was a very tense and dangerous moment. Interior quality is average I guess and the inside is deceptively roomy, for it looks tiny from the outside. Sometime parts can be hard to get due to Daewoo's Bankrupcy, but nonetheless overall it's a good cheap city runner, despite being horridly expensive to tax.

I own a Daewoo matiz 2003, but it keeps consuming 12+L per 100km, can anyone tell me where is the problem, or is it okay for 800cc car to consume so much oil? I hope someone will help me. :)

I got my Daewoo Matiz about 2 months ago and I love it. Parking is so easy and it is so cheap to run. I had a problem with it jerking and stalling and also losing power while I was driving. I took it to a garage and found out is was caused by the wiring on the MAP sensor. Someone had just twisted the wires together and taped them up. After a mechanic soldered them and taped them back up properly the car runs perfectly.

I've owned my Matiz for about eight years, originally bought it as a second car but it became my main car. Bought second hand off ebay with around 25k miles on the clock and on a 52 plate.

At this time (June 2012) has over 96k on the clock and still going well! This car has so far been totally reliable, i.e. NO break downs ever! Touch wood of course with this sort of mileage.

Plus points for me at least are/have been...

1. Reliability.

2. Good mpg - averages over 40mpg around towns, 'A' road driving, to and from work - the usual stop/start journeys. Motorway driving will average nearer 50+mpg travelling at a true 70 mph - i.e. Not the speedometer 70mph which does read 5mph Fast! So driving at an indicated 75mph is really 70mph (found this out by using my sat nav). Drive at 60mph to 70mph and expect close on 60mpg.

3. Speedometer reads up to 5mph More than the true speed - so great for speed camera's etc. as never going much over the limit if at all!

4. Great for parking just about any where, as the narrowness of this car means it'll get in gaps that even average size cars won't.

5. Tyres are cheap.

6. Parts are plentiful and mostly decent prices (new parts). I've read here that some people have paid lot's for parts but my guess is that they've had parts fitted at expensive garages and that's not cheap due to labour and v.a.t. charges - for any car. Also, they've probably paid 'garage' prices for parts when it's a lot cheaper finding and buying the parts your self!

Example - I just fitted a nearside front lower control arm, these are Not sided for these cars btw (as the ball joint was worn badly) and the actual part cost less than £29. Fitting was less than £40 at a local MOT/service centre. I had replaced the opposite side 'arm' two years ago myself for free but wet weather stopped me replacing this time myself.

7. Parts are also plentiful and cheap from breakers yards too.

8. Will carry what ever you can squeeze inside it as the seats fold more or less flat and you can use the passenger side front floor well to add length for long items/timber etc.

9. Replaced the rear section exhaust at a good price - bought new off ebay too and fitted it myself (as I have some steel ramps).

10. Quite lively acceleration from a standing start to up to 30+. I know because it often accelerates away from much bigger engined cars in town/traffic :-).

11. I've put over 40,000 miles on this car driving 500 mile round trips over the last 5 years on Motorways! Town car eh?

12. Skinny tyres a good in the snow, I've passed loads of bigger cars that have simply got stuck - or perhaps it's was just other rubbish drivers?

13. I put the fist set of new spark plugs in about a year ago! Cheaper too as you only need three :-).

14. You can get a CD Manual off ebay - cheap!

Minus Points - Mostly wear and tare issues. Well, at this age and mileage what would you expect.

1. New front exhaust a few years back cost over £200 because the catalytic converter is included - but that's what we all have to pay for those things and some are a LOT more expensive.

2. Narrow inside (obvious as it's a narrow car - see parking bonus above) so it can be cosy but it will seat 5 and has 5 seat belts so as to do that.

3. The engine management light comes on eventually (it's a sensor thingy) and I used to pay my local garage £5 to 'put the light out' but eventually it comes back on. My daughter's Matiz did the same too and so I stopped paying £5 almost two years ago because it doesn't matter about the light - it's just a sensor fault and in any case it passes MOT's with the light on!

4. Fairly noisy engine, squeak's and rattles from various areas but it has done a Lot of miles for a 790cc engined, so called town car.

5. Skinny tyres a rubbish in the wet for cornering, so just slow down!

6. Suspension is a bit, err, basic. Hard over bumps but bouncy/body roll too! Can be fun/interesting!

Must Do's With These Cars.

I change the engine oil and filter at least once per year, It uses a bit of oil these days so I regularly top it up which helps the oil life a bit. I always spray underneath the bonnet, door hinges, locks etc with WD40 or equivalent. Keep tyre pressures around 30psi.

I had the timing belt renewed at 60k, which I think is the recomended mileage. Not that cheap (for a small car but are these belts cheap?) Definitely worth doing considering the mileage it's gone on to do :-).

Not a perfect car but certainly a decent, cheap, little car that is Very Underrated. Just a pity that Chevrolet own Daewoo as now newer second hand prices are quite high.

If you've had a 'bad'n' it's probably been properly abused and neglected. Mine has dents and scrapes etc. but look after the engine with oil changes, that's my best advice. Probably for Any car.

Well, for a 0.8 you get 0.8! It hold its own nicley with 1 or 2 people in it MAX! motorway will get upto 88 mph and its great fun on A road as its got some good body roll in the corners! Cheap insurance for fully comp, road tax is nuts at £155! Fuel economy is great, I average 49.2 MPG so its very good. Tyres are cheap @ £30 each from kwik-fit, nothing wrong with it yet, 2002 35,000 on the clock but sounds like the fan drive belt is starting to slip, but any car of this age will have a few issues at some point. The only bad point is that its quite plastic inside and it causes a bit of rattle noise (mainly the window winder handles!) Really good car for a new driver or as a little run-around. oh and it has twin airbags!

I got myself a Matiz last june, and the idea that it was a chea option was short lived! £1500 for the car, in great condtion and only one owner from new, 30000 miles! My insurance is £2000.00 per year, as a 17 year old thats what you get! It costs £41.00 for a tank of fuel, and that lasts for about 220 miles. £155 per year in tax, and here is what I have spent snce buying it, some bits are normal wear things. Tyres, £200.00, New exhaust, back box, catalytic converter £250.00, new fan belt & power steering belt, £120.00, lower suspension arm, £147.00, new battery £45.00. Cheap car?? Not mine!! If it had not cost me so much I would be really happy, maybe I have been unlucky!