Help me pick my new car

[ZrByte]

Well ive heard some intereseting opinions so far but I decided I'd put it to a vote. (mods, if you want to merge this with my previous thread that is fine, I just needed to add the poll).

Things to remember about my budget/situation......
£6,000 (would like to only spend about £5,000).
93 corsa to part-ex.
Im after a car 1 - 3 years old.
will be buying in about 5 months time when the new reg plate comes out to take advantage of the sales.

Please vote for your favorites, Also could post why you chose your particular option if you have time. It is a multi option poll so vote as many times as you like, but please if you select more than one could you also post why.

Thanks again everybody.

[Millay]

I had a Seat Ibiza Cupra.. best car i ever owned...
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It was fast, well built well specked and cheap... all of which get a plus in my book, my dad has a small engine version, and its a really happy car on long journeys as well as zapping around town..

[AndrewJ]

I think for 6k your best bet is the VW Lupo or if you could stretch it a Polo but the Lupo is well built, nice to drive, small cheap to run.

The Hondas while better cars are overpriced and don't Jazz's start at about 10k? as the Civics are about 8k?

Anything Vauxhall I would avoid the amount of Zafira's Corsa's and Vectra's I see on the hardshoulder is stupid.

Fiat= Avoid

The Clio is a very nice car so long as you get the 1.4 or 1.6 the 1.2 is gutless.

The Fiesta is nice cheap but feels cheap and looks it personally.

Skoda..well its a Skoda..a cheap knock off VW if you think the Skoda is nice, the VW will be a god send better.

[nwc1000]

Well have you onsidered the toyota yaris, it seems the size of car you are looking for and is made by probablly the best car comapny in the world!!

i dont own one and never will do, But i have very rarely seen a toyota broken down, they are built very well and should last you a life time as they are designed too.

i wouldnt personally discount the Vauxhall the reason there is so many on the hard shoulder A. There are thousands of them on the road B. sadly they are the kinds off car people buy and never service or look after which is a shame as they make some very good cars.

Nick

[ZrByte]

Originally Posted by nwc1000

Well have you onsidered the toyota yaris, it seems the size of car you are looking for and is made by probablly the best car comapny in the world!!

i dont own one and never will do, But i have very rarely seen a toyota broken down, they are built very well and should last you a life time as they are designed too.

i wouldnt personally discount the Vauxhall the reason there is so many on the hard shoulder A. There are thousands of them on the road B. sadly they are the kinds off car people buy and never service or look after which is a shame as they make some very good cars.

Nick

Sounds Ideal, only thing I dont like about the yaris is the central mounted speedo, I just think the speedo should be in your field of view when your looking at the road.

While I cant speak for the newer vauxhalls I know the older ones where good solid cars wich keep running even when they are bareley working. I think you might be right that the large volume of them on the hard shoulder will probably be due to the sheer number of them, and I can confirm a large number of vauxhall owners dont believe in preventative maintenance (my dad for example) the same goes for Ford I have noticed.

is anyone surprised I am one of the votes for the Honda Jazz

[Nikko]

I would keep the 93 corsa and spend the £5k on property.

A £5K small car will be worth half that in 2 years - a £5K deposit on a flat will be worth at least double that in the same timescale.

[bmxbandit]

Originally Posted by Nikko

I would keep the 93 corsa and spend the £5k on property.

rather depends on your circumstances though... i'd keep the corsa until it gets to the point where any repairs needed become more than the value of the car (that could be why he wants to get rid now!)

also bear in mind that your insurance will probably shoot up by a few hundred, at least...

i also have a '93 corsa so i'm a tad biased

[Nikko]

Originally Posted by bmxbandit

rather depends on your circumstances though... i'd keep the corsa until it gets to the point where any repairs needed become more than the value of the car (that could be why he wants to get rid now!)

also bear in mind that your insurance will probably shoot up by a few hundred, at least...

i also have a '93 corsa so i'm a tad biased

Hey exactly! Keep a 12 year old inexpensive car with cheap insurance then scrap it at the point it dies and replace it with another (relatively less old etc.) until you are 25 and the insurance drop makes looking at something newer worthwhile. Keep the £5K in the bank, or (as is more likely) don't borrow it in the first place to spend on a new cheap car which will depreciate massively!

[ZrByte]

Originally Posted by homealone

is anyone surprised I am one of the votes for the Honda Jazz

I passed two of them on the way home tonight, I stopped next to traffic lights near one of them. I must say im impressed.
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Originally Posted by Nikko

I would keep the 93 corsa and spend the £5k on property.

A £5K small car will be worth half that in 2 years - a £5K deposit on a flat will be worth at least double that in the same timescale.

Im still living with my parents at the moment, not had any plans of moving out yet but at thats certainly something to conisdder.

[Richard M]

Originally Posted by ZrByte

Well ive heard some intereseting opinions so far but I decided I'd put it to a vote. (mods, if you want to merge this with my previous thread that is fine, I just needed to add the poll).

Things to remember about my budget/situation......
£6,000 (would like to only spend about £5,000).
93 corsa to part-ex.
Im after a car 1 - 3 years old.
will be buying in about 5 months time when the new reg plate comes out to take advantage of the sales.

Please vote for your favorites, Also could post why you chose your particular option if you have time. It is a multi option poll so vote as many times as you like, but please if you select more than one could you also post why.

Thanks again everybody.

For £6000 you can get a Nissan 300ZX Twin Turbo:





...and you're talking about Ford Fiestas???

[ZrByte]

Originally Posted by bmxbandit

rather depends on your circumstances though... i'd keep the corsa until it gets to the point where any repairs needed become more than the value of the car (that could be why he wants to get rid now!)

also bear in mind that your insurance will probably shoot up by a few hundred, at least...

i also have a '93 corsa so i'm a tad biased

My corsa could allready be at that point im afraid. Thats one of the reasons im not going straight out to buy a new car, im actually waiting until 1 month before my current MOT expires. I have decided if the car is going to need work costing more than £50 to get it through the MOT im getting rid of it(Obviously if it is only a small bit over £50 or a very easy repair I will make an exception).
Things about the car that make me think its near the end of its life are the high mileage (174,000 miles), A large patch of corrosion over the rear wheel arch on the drivers side (Only noticed that for the first time the other day when I opened to rear door to put shopping on the rear seat), I was also warned that the drivers side Chasis arm is corroded (but not badly) and my shocks will likeley need sorting at next MOT.

Im thinking if I have a problem with one of those it will take me over budget for my next MOT, never mind the fact that all of the above could be a problem by then.

Last MOT needed.........
New exhaust (Backbox and pipe)
New CAT (plus £50 for diagnosis of the old one and fitment of the new one)
New Lambda
Four new tyres
New headlight unit on drivers side
New brake cylinder on rear drivers side
New airfilter

I do actually really like my current car (dont we all love our first car), but I dont like the thought of needing extensive repairs every MOT. There is also the fact that probably due to the high mileage my car has got rather greedy on petrol, about 25mpg - 29mpg urban and only 31mpg - 33mpg on the motorway.
As for insurance, providing I dont have an accident in the meantime Insuring a 1.2 Nissan Micra is only £70 higher than an esitimated renewal quote for my corsa.

[Nikko]

Originally Posted by Richard M

For £6000 you can get a Nissan 300ZX Twin Turbo:

For £6000 more he could insure it for a week

[Richard M]

Originally Posted by Nikko

For £6000 more he could insure it for a week

It would cost me around £800 and give me far more pleasure than driving some tin can hatchback.

[ZrByte]

Originally Posted by Nikko

Hey exactly! Keep a 12 year old inexpensive car with cheap insurance then scrap it at the point it dies and replace it with another (relatively less old etc.) until you are 25 and the insurance drop makes looking at something newer worthwhile. Keep the £5K in the bank, or (as is more likely) don't borrow it in the first place to spend on a new cheap car which will depreciate massively!

I had considdered that too but to get best value for my car I would have to take advantage of a part-ex deal and they are only normally offered on new or near new cars.
Yes you where right, the 5K would have to be a loan, If I had the cash getting an older but better car wouldnt be that bad an option. The problem with the loans is that the interest is so much higher for lower loans the repayments are almost as high as getting a larger loan. So that would mean saving up to get a better car than I have now, on my current wage saving up £1,500 would take about 4 months, and that would leave no money to keep my current car running or buying food (and more importantly beer )
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Originally Posted by Richard M

For £6000 you can get a Nissan 300ZX Twin Turbo:



...and you're talking about Ford Fiestas???

Would love one but as nikko said I'd have to get another 6K just to get insured
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Originally Posted by Richard M

It would cost me around £800 and give me far more pleasure than driving some tin can hatchback.

Just out of interest, how long have you held your liscence? and how many no claims?