Hi there,
My partner and I are expecting twins in April. Currently we own a '96 Fiesta which will obviously not be big enough. Being young (in our early 20s) we can't afford to insure huge cars with massive engines, and nor do we have a huge amount of money to buy a brand new small car.
Can anyone recommend a used car that would be of a decent size and reliability, with a small engine, low insurance group, and that would not be too expensive to buy 2nd hand (ie up to £1500)?
Many thanks.
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You need to look at Mondeos or Primeras. Both last a good long time, and have decent sized boots. Anything smaller won't really be much help. Small engined, low insurance group cars attract a premium for the newly-qualified driver, and so are bad value. Try an insurance quote for a 1.6 Mondeo on Confused.com.
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I'm surprised to be the first person to suggest this, but I reckon your brief would be nicely filled with a Nissan Almera.
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I'm surprised to be the first person to suggest this but I reckon your brief would be nicely filled with a Nissan Almera.
I thought of that, but I see that the lowest insurance Almeras come at group 4, and most of the 1.5s seem to be group 5. I'm not sure how that would work out for the OP.
But if the insurance is manageable, the Almera is very reliable, and cheap to run.
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Can't imagine there are many cars that size in group 3 or under. Group 4/5 sounds pretty low.
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Don't rely on insurance groups for price though, sometimes there are other factors, I suspect that a lower grouped car that is popular with young drivers could cost more to insure than a higher grouped car that no-one under 30 would be seen dead in.
I say this as when I was in my mid 20's I changed from a group 4 car (nova popular with young drivers) to a group 9 car (Renault 19 Auto) and my insurance premiums went down.
So in short it may be worth considering the least "cool" cars around.
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A Seat Toledo should be on your shortlist, in my opinion. Or Leon if you want a hatch. Lots of car for not a lot of money.
Failing that, a 1st generation Toyota Avensis would proabably come in nicely on budget.
Other options:
The ironically named Mitsubishi Carisma
Focus Estate
Hyundai Elantra
All should be avaialble with a 1.4 or 1.6 I would imagine, and shouldn't cost a fortune to insure/run.
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I appreciate it might not be much bigger than a fiesta, but a decent Punto can be had for not a lot. BiL has had three and no problems with any of them. Folding split rear seats means you can still load a bit for trips away etc. An older focus estate would also fit the bill.
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Be reminded that insurance classes now run 1 to 40,not 1 to 20. Escort Estate should be considered.
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I have a 02 Primera. Spacious inside, huge boot. I wouldn't recommend them wholeheartedly though as I can't seem to get more tha 30 mpg and although mechanically reliable it has had several annoying faults, plus parts seem to cost a fortune at the dealers.
I previously had a Mitsubishi Carisma which was very reliable and did 40 mpg. Japanese cars tend to be more costly to insure than UK ones, but if you get an unfashionable one you will save on purchase costs.
Edited by tintin01 on 11/09/2009 at 21:14
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Look at the Primera/Mazda 626 options. Trade off the higher insurance costs against the lower initial price to buy and reliability. My 2.0 petrol 626 returns 39mpg in mixed driving conditions.
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