I am looking to buy my first car, at the moment i am driving about in my Mums H-Reg Mk 2 Astra 1.4.
I quite like it but my mum says i am taking it over and my dad wont let me loose in his Lexus GS 300 (cant imagine why?).
My parents have said they will chip in 4 a car, but my budget is realistically £1000, as i have to buy insurance etc.
I know it is alot to ask but i want something different from my friends, e.g not a Escort or a Modifed Nova, which has a bit of class, but is nt going to get me a gary boy image. Saab or BMW 2 much to ask as i want something with a bit of poke, tha is reliable and will go on 4ever! please help
Your input is v.highly valued
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not to detract from your query, which I am sure will be answered well by others, but "a gary boy" image ? What's that then ?Nick Shirley wrote:
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Mark (Brazil) wrote:
>
> not to detract from your query, which I am sure will be
> answered well by others, but "a gary boy" image ? What's that
> then ?
Mark you interpreted the Mopar Diagnostic system interrogating a twirly thingumajig so for your information,
Gary Boy = 20 year old, unemployed, spotty, baseball cap wearing sad person driving a penis substitute.
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Being a VW freak I have to say that VW is the way to go! Seriously tho' - VW's have always been popular with younger drivers partly due to their simplicity and reliability but they also carry some street cred!
For a grand I would go for an early MkII Driver/CL or maybe even a late Scirroco? I don't know what the Scirroco insurance would be but it would surely stand out from the crowd, as you mention! Nicely built by Karmann aswell.
I had a Mini 850 as my first car so think urself lucky!
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I agree on Scirocco which might qualify for classic insurance at lower rates, as would an early Audi GT coupe (5-cylinder is more fun). Or how about Reliant Scimitar or going Japanese the Nissan Silvia turbo coupe or a mid-80s Honda Prelude with or without four-wheel steer? I have seen some other oddities under £1000 including the Renault 18 turbo or even the occasional Quadra Turbo.
David
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Nick
If I understand you correctly the requirement is: low insurance, class, poke, reliability and durability, all for £1,000. Bit of a tall order, you may need to compromise on some criteria, only you can decide, but a few suggestions:
Citroen ZX/BX - I?m sure others will have more to say about these
Daihatsu Charade - seriously underrated & nobody will know what it is!
Fiat Uno - Bright red, not exactly class but a certain Italian style & great fun
LandRover - Beaten up old LR has always been a seriously classy vehicle
Peugeot 106/205 - Still very strong image
Peugeot 405 - Surprisingly low insurance and another class for refinement
Subaru Justy - Imagine telling them ?actually I drive a Subaru?
VW Golf II 1.4 - No poke, but not out of place at a Royal polo match.
Do post details of what you buy & good luck!
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i quite like the charade GTTI, turbo powered supermini.
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For my money go for the Golf, the Citroen, Daihatsu and Subaru will cost you a fortune to repair. The Landrover , well they are just.......well Horrible to drive and hard work to fix ( I speak as an ex S2A owner).
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The Charade is indeed a "charade" as it sounds a bit like a Scooby until u realise it is a gutless 3-cylinder jap-heap that u don't have a hope in hell of maintaining on a teenage budget! :-)
Fiat Uno - rust, rust, rust, deckchairs 4 seats, rust, need I say any more?
Justy - 4WD? £££££££?
Land Rover - ditto (except the rust bit!!!)
Pug 405 - Size? Image? My Dad?
Anything French - self-destructing dashboard and cr*p petrol engines but bulletproof diesels.
VW Golf - couldn't think of anything better myself!!
Hey Andy Tune-Up - do u realise u r incuring the wrath of Mr D.Woollard by insulting not only Citroen but also Land Rover! U have been warned!
Cheers,
Guy
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Guy,
I sit twitching at the PC.......
If it wasn't Andrew both barrels would be loaded, but I know he knows his stuff.
Seriously a BX can (not will) be a nightmare to maintain now, they are mostly worn out. I do know a few youngsters who have them but their Dad's are CCC members and know them inside out for faults/repairs. Best BX if a youngster wanted one is a later BX14 with the same engine as the ZX etc. But I'm not advising one!
Now Land Rovers...have you got half an hour Andrew?? Have owned/restored Series IIA, Series III and a 90 in the past. Now have a Series III and Series II, both part restored. As long as you don't want to hear a stereo and have built in bum padding they can make a brilliant alternative first car. Over on the Land Rover Enthusiasts site forum you will find loads of youngsters/students who love them. The older ones are easy and cheap to repair if you understand them and do it all yourself. What other vehicle can you buy at 20yrs old and keep for another 20 yrs.
I am really looking forward to bouncing down the road in the SIII when I get a chance to finish the engine.
PS. They are not a car, more a mode of transport. And never get a petrol, you'll run out of money in the first week.
David
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someone local to me is selling his porsche 924, just had new cam belts, and another £700 worth of main dealer work, he only wants £950 ono, i will try and get his phone number.
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Relaiability = Japanese.
Andy
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Insurance is going to be the 'killer' cost on almost ANY first car.
The insurance cost can be more than the car originally cost to buy!
There is no way around this - both Guy & I started out in 850 Minis - something we could afford. Young 'uns these days don't seem happy unless they are driving a Nova GSI etc at 17!
David
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Get an old tractor. Cheap, no road tax or MOT, insurance £24, no age restrictions.
Different.
Cliff Pope
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Nick
Plenty of advice above on potential cars. One point though - check the insurance before you buy! I'm assuming you're in the younger age bracket, and that's a real problem in repect of the size of the insurance premium, especially as i doubt you have much, if any, NCD.
Many apparently similar cars can have very different insurance ratings. Whatever you do don't believe the seller (they just want to get rid of the car)but be pepared to get out the Yellow pages and ring round loads of brokers to get the best quote. Don't buy 'till you've sorted the insurance. I suspect many of the above suggestions will be out of court in respect of the insurance premuims demanded!
Regards
John
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A Fiat Cinquecento base model in Black.
Very cheap to insure, does loads of miles a gallon, resonably nippy and a black one looks just like a Sporting.
Just buy something that is cheap to insure, isn't a rust bucket and has decent tyres. Then you've got something to sell on in a couple of years and get some poke when you've got a NCB and some more funds. Watch out for Classic cars insurance - under 25 and main car and it's not great value. You may save a bit but most modern cars will have better handling, more mpg etc etc which might keep other motoring costs down.
Piers
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A couple of years ago I enquired as to the cost of third-party only on a Renault 5 for my son, then 19.(value of car £200)- I was quoted £1200! I finally asked my present insurers how much it would cost to add him to my policy as a 'named driver' - '£18.50 a year' came the reply.
I'm aware of the dangers of loss of no claims, etc. but at least he was mobile.
(he's now driving my wife's Honda Civic when he's at home, same premium)
Hope this is of use.
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> I finally asked my present
> insurers how much it would cost to add him to my policy as a
> 'named driver' - '£18.50 a year' came the reply.
> I'm aware of the dangers of loss of no claims, etc. but at
> least he was mobile.
But be careful. To give you an idea of what can happen, here is one I have actually seen happen..
Son has accident. On weekday, in rush hour. Claim form asks what the vehicle was being used for at the time of the incident. Going to college was the answer.
Insurance company response - in our opinion the main user of this car is the son. We would charge a premium of $2000 for this. Insurance payout is $2500. We have deducted the additional premium, here is the cheque for $500.
If there was injury involved they could even consider recovering the payment from you.
I know that millions of people get away with insuring things in their parents name, but I assure you some don't - and for them it hurts for a long time.
M.
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Mark is right here. I've talked this over at length with an insurance contact. They say it is often so easy to prove the parent has insured the car for the child and the child is the main driver.
And the thing is they don't look at it too hard when taking the premium unless it's an obvious fraud situation, but have them investigating after an accident and see it become a much more interesting topic to them.
David
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I remember when first car cost equalled the TPF&T insurance (in my case a 1963 MK1 Cortina £100, insurance £100). I think even the insurance was a scam as all I got were 12 cover notes through the post like clockwork.
Having bought a winter runabout, I have to support the Golf argument. Given that the lad will soon have his first prang, at least the VW offers some structure around him rather than the tin foil construction of some the options suggested.
Colin
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Polo mk2 is the answer, preferably one with a carb, 1300 if you can find one. Get a Coupe if you want to pose around, but they go for a few hundred pounds more. If you're lucky you'll get a good one and insure it for about your budget.
Rob
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As it happens I have just the car for sale..... seriously, Polo 1300 is a good sound option, but desperately lacking in street cred for a young bloke, unless you can track down one of the Coupe S versions. I would go for a Mk2 Golf (1300 for insurance reasons), with twin Hella grille mounted spots (GTI style) and a nice set of BBS cross spoke alloys (very 1980s, but they suit the car). These cars are far too cheap for what you get, when compared to Escorts, Astras and other quick-rotting cheapies.
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I have just been in this position and those who advise looking at insurance costs first are right. I was looking for a second car in which my daughter will learn to drive and have use of. My shortlist came down to Citroen AX, Fiat Uno, Polo, Micra and Peugeot 205. I tried the Citreon, Fiat and Polo. I ended up with the Fiat. Nice to drive, reasonble build quality (better than Citreon), very cheap to insure and they come in some nice colours. Mine is K reg. I'd have been tempted by the Mk 2 golf though.........
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You say you want something different, 2CV.. run all day flat out very reliable, as there is little to go wrong, and is easily fixed yourself. No expensive ecu's etc. Sadly not much poke then again you wont get 12 points or dead by the time you're 21, but plenty of cool if you can carry it off, ie inverted cool, Give the plebs a knowing smile and stick 2 fingers to the little boys in their corsa's, ha, who'd drive a corsa?? Why are they all purple or white?? Ha Ha.
VW's are full of hype, Skoda is the same car; different badge is all;
Beemers also, £2k for the badge and hype,
Ladas Sumatra were designed by PORSCHE
Spend your money wisely, get some experience under you belt before spending big bucks on a decent motor, coz pound to a pinch, you'll prang it sometime, may not be serious, but you'll hit something. 2CV wings are bolted on so no welding required. If you want a bit more poke, theres a guy up near Carlise I think, (Honest John will help with that) who rebuilds 2CV's with a bigger motor. uprated brakes etc.
Safer Motoring
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