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]

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.

[homealone]

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

[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]

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]

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]

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

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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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]

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:

http://www.auto.vl.ru/gt/pictures/fairlady.jpg

http://www.engine-power.com/img/specs/nissan_300zx_turbo_01.jpg

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

[ZrByte]

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]

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

For £6000 more he could insure it for a week :PP:

[Richard M]

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

For £6000 more he could insure it for a week :PP:

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

[ZrByte]

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



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

Would love one but as nikko said I'd have to get another 6K just to get insured :D
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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?

[Nikko]

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

Absolutely - but you are over 25 he is not, so it may be economically unviable

I was a petrol head in my youth and had a 300ZX (oh and a 1.8ZX Silvia turbo before it) but I have calmed down now and poodle about in a Jag XJS V12 5.3 which is adequate for the odd supermarket run at my age :rolleyes:

Anyways apologies for drifting - the man wants advice on what to get

[Richard M]

:notopic: Those 1.8 Silvias were pretty good cars, maybe the poor cousin of the 200SX or 300ZX but still quality performance cars.

[allieyoung666]

What a about a rover 25 MG, since the company has gone, you can pick a brand new up for £5,995, plus our local dealer was giving 2years warnity with them. We are going to have a look at the ZT as I love those and they are now only £10,000 , that will really miff my boss off as she paid £22,000 for hers 6 months ago!

[printerman]

Well i know this isn't going to be a popular choice, but you can get a hyundai getz for 6k.
Brand new, leccy windows, power steering, front and side bags for driver and passenger, cd player, 1 yrs RAC, 3 yr servicing, 5 yr warranty, 1 yr tax, and i think you can even get free insurance some places at the mo.
Fair enough it has a resale value which is very low, but car prices are going to get even more competative in the next few yrs. (i know other car brands hold there value more, but only in some cases, for example, that nissan on the other page....very expensive new, almost giving them away when they are a few yrs old!)

3-5 yrs worry free motoring is very nice, and also very nice on the pocket if your young!

Corsas are s**t by the way. I had one....horrible thing,, gave me a bad back for two yrs. I travel north from cambridge to newcastle to see family, and i'm as fresh getting out the hyundai as getting in!

[orangebird]

Yes, Hyundai's are getting better and better. Any Japanese car is usually reliable and you seem to get more for your money.... I'm a VW addict, but seriously leaning towards a Sante Fe or Tucson at the moment....

[Charlie_Bubble]

Yes, Hyundai's are getting better and better. Any Japanese car is usually reliable and you seem to get more for your money.... I'm a VW addict, but seriously leaning towards a Sante Fe or Tucson at the moment....

Aren't Hyundai's Korean?
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Anything Vauxhall I would avoid the amount of Zafira's Corsa's and Vectra's I see on the hardshoulder is stupid.


I would guess you haven't been in one of the newer Vauxhalls then. At the moment I have one of the new Astra's as a company car (2 weeks old yesterday, happy birthday etc.) and it's easily one of the best cars I have driven. It's very, very solidly built, and handles beautifully. The quality of it is miles above the last generation of Astra's.

If you can get one of these cheap from a car supermarket, I'd recommend it.

[Paul K]

Yes, Hyundai's are getting better and better. Any Japanese car is usually reliable and you seem to get more for your money.... I'm a VW addict, but seriously leaning towards a Sante Fe or Tucson at the moment....

Aren't Hyundai's Korean?
Yep Headquarters are in Icheon City, Korea. Maybe Orangebird meant cars from the Orient ;)

[etccarmageddon]

I'd get a 2nd hand ford puma - I know it isnt on your list but it's internally almost a fiesta! they stopped making them around 4 years ago so they are excellent at holding their value. they are excellent to drive and are cheap to run.

[orangebird]

Aren't Hyundai's Korean?
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That general area... pedant...


I would guess you haven't been in one of the newer Vauxhalls then. At the moment I have one of the new Astra's as a company car (2 weeks old yesterday, happy birthday etc.) and it's easily one of the best cars I have driven. It's very, very solidly built, and handles beautifully. The quality of it is miles above the last generation of Astra's.

If you can get one of these cheap from a car supermarket, I'd recommend it.

I have - we have to use them as hire cars - biggest piles of crap I've ever driven. NOt solid at all, gutless, and plastic. Not comparable to a VW or Honda.

[altis]

Check out the cost of running your new car by downloading on of these fuel economy tables:
http://www.vcacarfueldata.org.uk/downloads/latest.asp

Check out whether you could claim money to convert to a cleaner fuel here:
http://www.powershift.org.uk/

[Aragorn]

I voted for the Fabia or Ibiza. They are virtually VW's without the badge and associated price tag. Can you stretch to a slightly older Leon? Alternatively one the cheaper Japanese/Korean cars.

As for funding, can you borrow from your parents (with an agreed repayment) rather than adding to the profits of the banks?

[Tuftus]

I have just got a Citroen Xsara 2.0 HDI, goes like stink, handles like its on rails and gives 50mpg no matter how you drive it.

Good spec for the money and should be well within your budget as Cits tend to be quite cheap for what you get for your money.

[allieyoung666]

What a about a golf, I fancy one near us, okay it is about 7yrs old but it is built like a rock and nippy as out, mind you it is a GTI, but they seem to hold their price really well, my friend has a f reg one, and it has never gone wrong on her!

[printerman]

I traded my p reg golf gti in for my hyundai......the golfs are good but expensive when they go wrong....and a good service is 150£ easy.

[gary_580]

My wife has a Clio, 20k miles between services, cant be bad

[allieyoung666]

It depends who you know in the trade. She has had her golf for about 5yrs now and she would never get rid of it. I aint keen on hyundai, they look to round as if they have given a kid with a crayon and told them to go and draw a car!

[ZrByte]

What a about a rover 25 MG, since the company has gone, you can pick a brand new up for £5,995, plus our local dealer was giving 2years warnity with them. We are going to have a look at the ZT as I love those and they are now only £10,000 , that will really miff my boss off as she paid £22,000 for hers 6 months ago!

Thanks allie, its deffinatley worth looking into. Ive never liked the build quality of the older Rovers and the fact that theyy are the only company that can go about 20 years without a design change (Metro/rover 100) but that doesnt mean I wont like this one :).

[Nugget]

Thanks allie, its deffinatley worth looking into. Ive never liked the build quality of the older Rovers and the fact that theyy are the only company that can go about 20 years without a design change (Metro/rover 100) but that doesnt mean I wont like this one :).

I've got a Rover 25, and it does the job for me :tu:

[ZrByte]

Well i know this isn't going to be a popular choice, but you can get a hyundai getz for 6k.
Brand new, leccy windows, power steering, front and side bags for driver and passenger, cd player, 1 yrs RAC, 3 yr servicing, 5 yr warranty, 1 yr tax, and i think you can even get free insurance some places at the mo.
Fair enough it has a resale value which is very low, but car prices are going to get even more competative in the next few yrs. (i know other car brands hold there value more, but only in some cases, for example, that nissan on the other page....very expensive new, almost giving them away when they are a few yrs old!)

3-5 yrs worry free motoring is very nice, and also very nice on the pocket if your young!

Corsas are s**t by the way. I had one....horrible thing,, gave me a bad back for two yrs. I travel north from cambridge to newcastle to see family, and i'm as fresh getting out the hyundai as getting in!

Hadnt ruled that out at all, infact I just plain and simply didnt know it existed :)
Is it just the fact like you said they dont hold thier value very well that you thought would make it an unpopular choice or is it something else I missed?

I learnt to drive in a new corsa, I loved it by the way. Though I did notice that compared to the polo I was in the other day it felt very out of date (ironicly the corsa was actually 1 1/2 years newer than the polo aswel).
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Aren't Hyundai's Korean?
__________________



I would guess you haven't been in one of the newer Vauxhalls then. At the moment I have one of the new Astra's as a company car (2 weeks old yesterday, happy birthday etc.) and it's easily one of the best cars I have driven. It's very, very solidly built, and handles beautifully. The quality of it is miles above the last generation of Astra's.

If you can get one of these cheap from a car supermarket, I'd recommend it.

I only left those out of my list due to thier age, they are so new even second hand high mileage ones are being sold way out of my budget.
We have a vauxhalls over the road from where I live and we have the impound in the top of our road, there is a loveley panther black one in there that I actually thought was a modified 2004 edition corsa, very nice indeed.

[Nugget]

:Yikes: For the love of God - don't buy a black car!

Well, not unless you want to spend 2 hours a day cleaning it, anyway :)

[ZrByte]

I'd get a 2nd hand ford puma - I know it isnt on your list but it's internally almost a fiesta! they stopped making them around 4 years ago so they are excellent at holding their value. they are excellent to drive and are cheap to run.

I even looked into this, also the tigra. Problem with these is the fact that they are really only 2 seaters, sure they have the extra 2 seats but they arnt very big. Also due to the sporty image these cars where aiming for they are very low down wich I dont think I would like since my corsa seems low enough to me at the moment. Another problem with the sporty image is the high insurance groups :(
__________________

Check out the cost of running your new car by downloading on of these fuel economy tables:
http://www.vcacarfueldata.org.uk/downloads/latest.asp

Check out whether you could claim money to convert to a cleaner fuel here:
http://www.powershift.org.uk/

Cheers for this, Ive been after something like this for ages :tu:

[Nugget]

Out of curiosity Zr, how tall are you? If you're around 6 foot, I wouldn't recommend the Puma - they're really nice cars but they're not designed for tall people.

I used to drive them every now and agin for work, and never managed to get a comfortable driving position. Oh, and the rear views a bit restricted. Just IMO, though.

[ZrByte]

I voted for the Fabia or Ibiza. They are virtually VW's without the badge and associated price tag. Can you stretch to a slightly older Leon? Alternatively one the cheaper Japanese/Korean cars.

As for funding, can you borrow from your parents (with an agreed repayment) rather than adding to the profits of the banks?

Would try that but I dont think even they have the 5K - 6K required. Though they are thinking of moving to a smaller and cheaper house soon and my mum has hinted that I should hold out on getting a loan until we move as we will have spare money and I could even get half of it payed for with the other half as an interest free loan :)
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I have just got a Citroen Xsara 2.0 HDI, goes like stink, handles like its on rails and gives 50mpg no matter how you drive it.

Good spec for the money and should be well within your budget as Cits tend to be quite cheap for what you get for your money.

A 2.0 is going to be pretty heavy on insurance though isnt it :(
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What a about a golf, I fancy one near us, okay it is about 7yrs old but it is built like a rock and nippy as out, mind you it is a GTI, but they seem to hold their price really well, my friend has a f reg one, and it has never gone wrong on her!

I actually nearly got a golf instead of my corsa, it went for £20 out of my budget in the end. I have liked them for a while but the newer ones are way out of my budget, and the older ones seem to be based on the very old floor plan wich would suggest that your not getting much for your money if you buy one of the later ones before they new shape was introduced.
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My wife has a Clio, 20k miles between services, cant be bad

My mate loves his clio, he has one of the first ones of the newer shape introduced in 99/00. He spends at least 1 day per week cleaning it, does all the servicing every 6 months and has every tiny scratch repaired as soon as they happen. The interior is also imaculate. He is either a wee bit obsessive compulsive or he really likes that car :D
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I've got a Rover 25, and it does the job for me :tu:

How would you rate the interior build quality, repair cost etc?

:Yikes: For the love of God - don't buy a black car!

Well, not unless you want to spend 2 hours a day cleaning it, anyway :)

Your not a car racist are you ? :p: just kidding ;)

Silver has to be my favorite though I do like black.
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Out of curiosity Zr, how tall are you? If you're around 6 foot, I wouldn't recommend the Puma - they're really nice cars but they're not designed for tall people.

I used to drive them every now and agin for work, and never managed to get a comfortable driving position. Oh, and the rear views a bit restricted. Just IMO, though.

Yeah im 6ft dead on, as I said in one of my previous posts I think the corsa is low enough, I dont think a puma is the car for me :)

[printerman]

Zr, yes its just the fact they don't hold value....some people don't like the badge either. We are very snobby in this country for brand names. nobody cares so much. We seem to stick to the same old brands all of the time. Hyundai have been around ages, but have only just started to pull there sox up! . Lots of hyundais in spain etc....lots in australia too, guess thats cos they are close by.

I have to say i've had about 6 or 7 cars in the last 10 yrsm and this is the first time i would actually trade in my car for exactly the same brand. Never thought i'd do that.

[orangebird]

I have a golf tdi. I bought it when it was two years old, so I've had it for 5 years now, and it has never ever ever given me a problem. It's never failed an MOT. I'd recommend them over any other car. Buying a slightly older one shouldn't be an issue. My car has done >150k miles, and still starts first time everytime. As it's got older it's had a major service once a year @ £120 a time. Money well spent, and a more reliable car I don't beleive I'll ever have. :tu:

[Nugget]

Hur hur! Car racist? Nah, I just hate cleaning the car and, seeing as my first car was black, I can confirm that they are always dirty (or maybe it was just me :D )

As for the interior of the Rover 25, itââ‚ ¬ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚¢s nice and roomy (bearing in mind that Iâ₠¬ÃƒÆ’¢â€žÂ¢m 6â₠¬ÃƒÆ’¢â€žÂ¢ 5â₠¬ÃƒÆ’‚ÂÂÂ�, thereââ‚ƚ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s more than enough leg and head room). The dash / display is pretty basic but it does the job (and the speedoââ‚Ã⠀šÃ‚¬ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚¢s slap bang in the middle, so thatââ‚ ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢ll be alright for you :tu:

[Tuftus]

A 2.0 is going to be pretty heavy on insurance though isnt it :(
__________________


Because its a deisel it was actually cheaper than my old Xantia 1.8 16v, oh and it goes way better than that ever did!!!

:)
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:Yikes: For the love of God - don't buy a black car!

Well, not unless you want to spend 2 hours a day cleaning it, anyway :)

My Mrs will testify to this! ;)

[allieyoung666]

If you go to this site:
www.regvardy.co.uk (http://www.regvardy.co.uk)
it will give you the idea of price gudies for a 25. We are taking out an MG tomorrow. We currently have a Rover 216si and it is a nippy little bugger and very econmical. But I must admit I am lusting after that golf GTI, if I could only talk Pauly round!!!!

[AndrewJ]

About Vauxhall I know even the new Astra's some are good some are bad I believe some of the basic range ones are terrible for build quality right now, however I am yet to go and have a gander at them as I am hearing alot now they are better then they used to be in 2000.

Personally I am a Peugeot Diesel fan major, but I lean to the Japanese and German cars for quality.

Also have you thought American a friend of mine imported a nice Dodge Ram Quad Cab V8 pickup truck for 8k second hand, does a amazing 8mpg, looks great sounds better and enough space for a swimming pool. :D

[Gareth]

If you're worried about reliability, then go for a Japenese car over a European car, and then go for a continental European car over a Vauxhall or Rover. The JD Power reports in Top Gear magazine showing reliability sums it all up.

Personally, I love Golfs. Way over your budget, but the R32 is a beauty. An older VR6 is in budget, but you'd need to check insurance costs. A vanilla Golf is both in budget and not stupidly expensive to insure. Golfs beat any of the cars listed in the poll hands-down.
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Hmmm, looking at your criteria again, the age is gonna be an issue on a Golf. But Golfs are so good that you could increase that timeframe and still get a car that's more reliable and better built than a newer one of those you listed.

In fact, Golfs tend to come into their own once they've been driven-in a bit.

[nwc1000]

Ok so i saw a toyota Corrolla on the way home from work im not sure if this is within your budgetbut sure looked a nice car.

I have to admit a few things now I'm 27 ive had 12 cars in 10 years of driving and up till 4 months ago they were all european cars vaux's fords renaults etc etc, Thn i made a life changing decision and bought a Lexus. I have never seen a car as well made and as solid as this is, The reason i say this, when toyota decided to make Lexi's they basically stole all there own toyota ideas from the factory and from design, Basically my car is a glammed up toyota!!!

I would seriously scrub all the european cars off your list and just move round the world, i dont honestly think you will regret it.

Its nice too wake up at 4am to go to work and know your car is going to startand thats what i have, Think of Nissan as well how many do you see in London used as cabs all with maybe half a million miles on them so they look a bit tired but they start first time and never break down.

Im a total convert to the Japanese, Chinese korean car, The other thing you have to think of is how the dealer will treat you go test a few out as well, there are quite oftenlittle bits you can get from no where but the dealer, do they treat you with respect? do they charge you fairly?

All more things too think about!!

Nick

[tabatha]

:) Suzuki Swift...very economical...low insurance...nippy....reliable...smart...
My 2001 was £3000 13mths ago...never a prob...and ideal if you want to make it a GTI "look-alike".... :tu:

[ZrByte]

If you're worried about reliability, then go for a Japenese car over a European car, and then go for a continental European car over a Vauxhall or Rover. The JD Power reports in Top Gear magazine showing reliability sums it all up.

Personally, I love Golfs. Way over your budget, but the R32 is a beauty. An older VR6 is in budget, but you'd need to check insurance costs. A vanilla Golf is both in budget and not stupidly expensive to insure. Golfs beat any of the cars listed in the poll hands-down.
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Hmmm, looking at your criteria again, the age is gonna be an issue on a Golf. But Golfs are so good that you could increase that timeframe and still get a car that's more reliable and better built than a newer one of those you listed.

In fact, Golfs tend to come into their own once they've been driven-in a bit.

Cost of repairs is more important than reliability to me (within reason), I would rather have a car that needs £100-£200 of work per year than one that needs £300-£600 every three years. Though it works out the same its something I just wouldnt be able to afford to have done all at once and would likley mean needing to take out another loan just for the repairs, wheras the same job could have been done at shorter intervals meaning less money per interval (if that makes sense).
Ofcourse that is assuming that the Japanese cars are still expensive to repair?

Also after considdering what my mum was telling me today about when we move house, it may be possible for me to get them to buy me an older car (like a golf), without me even having to pay anything extra towards it (I think I'll have around £2K). So a golf might well be back on the cards :)
The downside with this ofcourse is that I wont be able to part-ex my car against the newer one, wich means selling it privatley. I think I'll make the most for it at auction but given how cheapley I got it in the first place I doubt I'll get more than £500 for it.
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About Vauxhall I know even the new Astra's some are good some are bad I believe some of the basic range ones are terrible for build quality right now, however I am yet to go and have a gander at them as I am hearing alot now they are better then they used to be in 2000.

Personally I am a Peugeot Diesel fan major, but I lean to the Japanese and German cars for quality.

Also have you thought American a friend of mine imported a nice Dodge Ram Quad Cab V8 pickup truck for 8k second hand, does a amazing 8mpg, looks great sounds better and enough space for a swimming pool. :D

lol @ the dodge Ram :D

I forgot all about Peugeots, How would people rate the 206 or the last of the 306's? (307 is way out of my price range).
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:) Suzuki Swift...very economical...low insurance...nippy....reliable...smart...
My 2001 was £3000 13mths ago...never a prob...and ideal if you want to make it a GTI "look-alike".... :tu:

My aunty had one of these a couple of years back, I really like the look of it until I realised how low down and small it seemed up close. Is it as low and small as it looks?

[AndrewJ]

I would personally rate the 306 last shape to be a very nice car, we have had 3 in all over the past 5years, the last went in 2002.

All was 1.9 Diesels although we did have the 1.4 and 1.8 petrol models as loan cars from other drivers at my fathers place of work ( Neopost )

They are robust and nice to drive and use, however it is worth noting front impacts generally bugger the suspension as the struts will work forever normally but a medium sized front impact forget it and they come in at about 400 each!.

Also the engine is good for at least 400k miles, we got that out of a P reg model poverty spec 1.9 Diesel non turbo.

Bad points though is ride quality they aint as refined as most other cars but if you want a mile guzzler not to bad on the jungle juice easy to drive simple to use and generally cheap on insurance you cannot go far wrong.

However in your budget you could also look at the 406 and the 406 estate plus perhaps a second hand 307 as I have seen some 52plates going for 5995 and they are nice and plush.

But I agree with a past post on the Japanese market, something like a Toyota Avensis ( 2nd hand in his budget ) would seriously shake your world. Please just test drive one something like a 1.8 would be something you would not think twice about buyin lovely ride, and the closest to a Lexus you will get for your cash.

[altis]

Mrs A has a Clio 1.5 diesel for work. Of the eight or so various vehicles that her office runs, he Clio is by far the cheapest. It's nice to drive too - ideal for long distance motorway work - which, handily, is what she does in it ;)

[Charlie_Bubble]

I forgot all about Peugeots, How would people rate the 206 or the last of the 306's? (307 is way out of my price range).

I wouldn't go for a 206, the gearboxes end up like stirring soup quite quickly from my experience (not my car). 307s are nice and roomy, but they are quite heavy as they are solidly built and any engine under 1.6 is going to struggle to shift it. Also, remember Peugeot came in the bottom 5 of the JD Power survey this year, so they must be doing something wrong. The 607 has a horrendous handbrake, it's over the other side of the centre console and you end up touching the leg of the passenger when you reach for it. Nice if you have a lady in the car, but not if you have your mate sat next to you! 607 also lacks a little bit in the power dept, could be a common theme for peugeot, heavy cars needing more oomph. :D

[ZrByte]

I have just decided to revive this thread, mostly because I have missed off one of my altime favorite standard cars from the poll and nobody has really mentioned them in this thread.

Ford Focus, what do we think of them? Ive only ever been a passenger you see.
1.4LX and 1.8-Diesel are in my price range to buy and insure on something like an X reg (Might even get away with a 1.6 Zetec but thats pushing it a little). Any opinions or personal reviews welcome :D

EDIT: I notice a couple of people have mentioned Focuses on the review your car thread, I was just wondering if any of you thought it suited me and my budget?

[carlingman]

I have just decided to revive this thread, mostly because I have missed off one of my altime favorite standard cars from the poll and nobody has really mentioned them in this thread.

Ford Focus, what do we think of them? Ive only ever been a passenger you see.
1.4LX and 1.8-Diesel are in my price range to buy and insure on something like an X reg (Might even get away with a 1.6 Zetec but thats pushing it a little). Any opinions or personal reviews welcome :D

EDIT: I notice a couple of people have mentioned Focuses on the review your car thread, I was just wondering if any of you thought it suited me and my budget?

Have a scoot round your Ford dealers as usually they will have ex motability cars come in after they are 3 years old etc.

For example down with us the new batch in are Ford Focuses from May 2002 with OAPS using them to collect there pension once a week and the odd shopping trip and you can pick them up for £4695 full service history with only 12k on the mileage.

My current second car is a Ford Escort 1.6 Finesse with alloys and air con all electrics, cd player etc on an x reg 2000 plate bought 2 years ago with 14k on the clock and a FSH with the original ford seat polythene on the back as they had never used the back seats and picked that up for £3995.

Its sailed through 2 MOTs and not yet had a service or any money spent on it and has never failed to start first time which is more than can be said for the misses £35k SLK 32 AMG which bought for £35k from new and has been in the garage more times than it has been on the road.

:D

[makikomi]

I suggest an Abramns M1A1 Main Battle Tank.

1) No-one would dare try car-jacking you
2) Parking isn't a problem - if all the car parking spaces are full, park on top of the other cars
3) You won't get hurt in a collision
4) How the hell would a traffic warden clamp a tank?
5) If Bin Laden tries anything funny, you have a tank for self-defence
6) It's FAR cooler than all those armoured trucks favoured by celebrities
7) If you do happen to get caught by a speed camera, you can run over it, blow it up with the cannon, or blast it to bits with the machine guns.
8) errr.... that's it

Hope that helps...

[ikthius]

mazda 3 but i prefer the Mazda 6 TS2 2.3Litre Sport

ik