need a car for the following task/s, cant exceed the cost of £1200.
a) needs to be in band 5 insurance group or less.
b) heading around europe for a month so reliability and economy are important.
c) will mainly be used for decent milage with my main 3 concerns being, reliability, economy and security.
my best idea so far have been
hyundai - accord 1.3
or
daihatsu - move 1.0
PLEASE HELP!
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I wouldn't concern yourself too much with the insurance group, the impact on your premium can be very small. I did a comparison between a group 5 and a group 16(?) and the difference in premium was only £30 a year - less than 10%.
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I would go for a French car Davey for the simple reason that if you are unfortunate enough to break down you would have little trouble in getting it fixed by any of their garages.
If spares were needed you would perhaps have a long wait for Hyundai or Daihatsu. And of course it needs to be a diesel....
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Not sure I agree. While you're correct about parts for French cars - in France, he hasn't said wherabouts in Europe he's going, plus a Japanese car is likely to be far more reliable to start with.
BTW, did you mean Hyundai davey? Coz the Accord is a Honda.
Also, 2nd Davey, not so sure about insurance group making little difference, this would depend on your age I would think. I've certainly paid a fair amount extra in the past when swapping from a group 11 to a group 14 car, of similar values.
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Have a look around your nearest taxi rank for inspiration and see what is being used there. Chances are they are going to be the cheapest and most reliable cars for the money. Any car with a low insurance group is going to be small and probably a nightmare on long journeys. I would get a larger car, for less money and put the extra to pay for the extra insurance costs.
Are you going to keep the car once it has done the trip? If not then it is always worth checking out hire firms in case they have any special offers on for long hires or whether local hire firms would do a better deal.
teabelly
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I think you mean a Hyundai Accent. I'd recommend neither of those though as spares availability would be difficult and expensive if anything goes wrong, plus they're hardly the most pleasant place to spend several hours on the motorway. The Accent is also in something like group 7, so not especially low. Also, if European mileage is an issue afterwards, diesel is significantly cheaper over there than petrol.
If it's France, then the best ZX TD you can find for £1200. It should be very good indeed. If insurance is a huge concern, as it might be for a very young driver with no NCB or someone with lots of convictions and claims, you might consider a 306, possibly even a non-turbo.
Otherwise I'd consider something along the lines of a Corolla, Civic or Almera - spares availability will be better than for a Hyundai or Daihatsu and if it's been well looked after, the fact that it's two or three years older will more than be made up for by the larger car's greater ability on hills.
Alternatively, you might like to consider a Skoda Felicia 1.9D (a VW engine so plentiful bits) although if you do a forum search on that car, most of what you'll get will be complaints by the friend of the one and only disgruntled Skoda owner out there.
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Toyota Carina - bigish, cheap, reliable, not attractive to thieves, reasonable economy - buy a good one and you will have to do anything to it and you should be able to sell it at the end
MB
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For France and ajoining countries, I'd look for the best BX TD you can find. If you're taking a lot of luggage or camping equipment, go for an estate. You'll probably come in below your £1200.
Terry
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Peugeot 405? Low insurance group (i think) and will be big and comfy enough for longer journeys. You could get a 95ish turbo diesel for that sort of money, which will probably be as reliable as anything else, cheap to run, and easily fixed if it does go wrong. And get the estate if you need the space - you could even sleep in the back of it!
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Driving on the continent means that although fuel costs are important they are not crucial to your trip.
Whilst a 306TD is grp 5 insurance and French, reliability is an issue and they hold a premium because they are fun to drive. 405 with the same engine is cheaper to purchase.
Hey, why not get an Escort! My 95M 1.6 LX facelifted one cost £1200 last month, nothings fallen off yet in the first 2500 miles, it looks and feels fairly modern and 'nice'. Group 7 insurance, or 1.4 version is group 5. I wouldn't have thought Ford parts would be a huge problem to get hold of even in France if the worst did happen and it broke down.
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More or less any small/medium Nissan or Toyota will fit the bill. They are fairly common in Germany/Austria/Schweiz/Holland/Belgium. Also a few in France and Spain - not many in Italy.
French cars are not that popular outside of France.
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Never mind the car - join a good International repair & recovery service - you'll probably need it;)
..........................................................
"Rude, crude and socially unacceptable"
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If you are buying it solely for travelling round Europe then get it on the continent and have the steering wheel on the correct side.
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A good point, expat. And it'll be a lot cheaper too. Getting it insured may be a challenge though?
Terry
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A couple of points -
* the car i meant was a hyundai accent not an accord.
* insurance bands are an issue with me being male, 21 years of age and living in a city.
* yes i want to keep the car after the journey.
* diesel is a must.
* journey will consist of france, portugal, spain, italy, switzerland (only a friend in geneva).
* yes i would prefere a sallon or estate.
* i have consdiered spending a little more if i could get an almera saloon say p/r reg diesel. these seem to be a very rare car, however im attracted by the brand, boot, and insurance group.
* daihatsui move was just to small when i tested one.
* should renting be a consideration.
* i only expect to be in europe for a little over a month.
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Renting is worth considering but not if keeping the car longer is essential.
You say that diesel is a must - but the two cars you liked best are not available as diesels. (At least, the Accent isn't in the UK but is available in mainland Europe.) It's also fairly expensive to insure.
I wouldn't bother buying a car over there - it won't be cheaper, insurance will be more difficult and there's the samll matter of getting there without the car, as well as having an LHD car afterwards.
Two years ago, when I was 23, my first car was a group 12 Renault 19 1.7. Insurance was £60 more for me in that than for a 1.4, group 4 (ish) Astra. My car was twelve years old then and the Astra would have been two years newer, but my point is that setting a very low insurance group limit may actually end up costing you money if it means you buy the wrong car.
Oh and the only car that meets all your criteria perfectly is probably the Peugeot 306 Sedan. Just try finding one.
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Here you go: located in Tonbridge, Kent:
1997 Peugeot 306 Sedan 1.9 TD SL, 1997, P reg. 87000 miles, cherry red, 1 years mot and tax. £995 ono. It's on the www.autotrader.co.uk website.
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I would reccomend a nissan almera saloon - r reg, however, these are very rare, and cost over £2000.
i dont know of any good estates with less than 1.4 engines for less than £1,500.
is their space in an almera hatchback, that will have to be a quuestion for other forum users to answer.
i wouldnt totally wtrite of a hyundai, however is an astra estate worthg considering? or even the current astra if you get a high milage t plate hatchback?
even swamp the auctions for a old lease car.
im not sure about 306 diesel reliability? any comments.
sorry i couldnt be of more help, but almera is great.
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"A couple of points -
* journey will consist of france, portugal, spain, italy, switzerland (only a friend in geneva).
* i only expect to be in europe for a little over a month."
I can understand your need for a diesel. Have you estimated your possible mileage?
To cover that distance in about one month means that you will spend an enormous amount of time on the road. Is that your intention, or do wish to see something of each country?
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Maybe I am odd one out here but I reckon that since the minimum distance involved is 3500-4000 miles (are you going to Milan or Naples in Italy? Seville or Barcelona in Spain?)AND since you intend keeping the car afterwards that you should concentrate on buying a good car that will serve you well when you get back rather than a car for this journey specifically. Unless you buy something really unusual you will be able to get spares.
My wife and I have spent at least a month driving on the continent every summer since the mid '70s but we have always done it in our "family car" which is bought to serve us over here not for the summer hols. Mileage has varied - min 2k, max 7k (Pelopponese). In that time I can recall 3 breakdowns - failed battery in Greece, oil getting into carburrettor in France and a failed front "wishbone" in N Italy. All were solved same day at low cost by local garages(carburretor repair cost us a bottle or 2 of beer!). Our cars have ranged from Renault 4s to Xantias.
So, have a look for cars that fulfil your requirements 1 and 3, make sure the basics are right (decent service/oil change/tyres/pads etc) then go to Europe - gone are the days of carp French and Spanish roads and difficulties with spares, after all, how many cars are "British". OK the clutch and accelerator cable are different but take spare ones if you are really worried, they are cheap. And get continental travel cover for if you are really stuck - but you would have to be unlucky.
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Hi my friend used a astra to get across europe for £3,500 which he picked up in the belle vue auctions. His was low mileage - but im not sure if these engines are capable of high miles?
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