I'll be looking for a car soon (as soon as I sell mine) and wanted one in the cheaper tax and to run bracket (1.4 or under). Being 5ft 11" and 14 stone a micra is not going to do the job.
Anyone got any suggestion on a medium size car in this bracket?
(What's a good car to get, what's not).
If you had £1,000 to get this sort of car, what would it be?
Any help is very much appreciated.
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If I could find one for the money, one of the last (96/97) old shape Astra 1.4s, primarily because they have a very free running engine with plenty of power (90 bhp). However they do like their timing belts (40k interval if you don't want to go bang).
If performance isn't important for you then I'd look at a 10+ a bit year old Corolla or an early Almera, again if you can find one.
If insurance is the overriding issue though, I'd go for a Peugeot 306, although the 1.4 is not especially powerful. You should get about a 1995 for this money.
Incidentally, if it's just you then you may find a small car will do the job (6'0" and 13 stone here, although I like my cars bigger and more refined and not particularly for reasons of space).
Finally, if you're buying anything older than about three years, have a shortlist of about 5 cars whcih you wuld accept, because that way, if the right car comes up at a good price in the right condition, you're not tied to one make or model, making the buying process simpler, shorter and/or cheaper.
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This cheaper tax bracket is not a great saving (£60 per year?) when compared to other motoring costs.
After all it's effectively one tyre these days!
I am 6 ft 4" and ??stone! I would personally look at the Citroen Xantia. I found this car very comfortable and so did the next buyer (similar size to me).
OK. it's £165 per year to tax but you'll get a hell of a lot of car for your money, and unless insurance is a major issue as well, it won't cost you that much more to run.
H
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As David HM says, a Vauxhall Astra could well suit you as they have plenty of headroom, particularly if you get on with seat height adjustment (I think all but the basic version have this).
I've never had a Vauxhall in 35 years as I'm 5'7" and like to sit up high. I can remember a trainee who was just on 7' and was comfortable in a Cavalier.
Also there are lots of them around for £1,000.
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I'm 6ft 5 and about 16 stone and managed in a mark 4 Fiesta perfectly well.
However ,
as soon as you put a few more people my size in, it struggled. Admittedly it was a 1.25 but I would suggest, as everyone else has said, a bigger car. It was a cracking first car for me but I think you'd feel more at home in something like a Xantia or Cavalier. A year's tax on the Fiesta was, I think £110 if bought all at once. I think H said above that the Xantia was £165? Not that much more for a bigger, and more comfortable car.
My God, I'm praising Citroens!
--
Adam
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How about something like a 306 turbo diesel?
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Can you get a 1.4L - 1.3L 306 turbo diesel?
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You can get a 1.4 Petrol, 1.9TD or a 2.0 Hdi diesel.
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Well, we've had threads on location of backroomers, and age of backroomers. Having read this thread, I'm wondering if we should have a thread on the weight of backroomers.
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How about a Rover 414? A new shape is easily available on that budget and IMO it drives much better than just about everything else of that age / size except a 306, but the Rover engine is much perkier than the 1.4 Peugeot.
Only problems could be the engine's appetite for headgaskets and a less than perfect driving position. Having said that, I have a 6'+ friend who ran his to 100k miles, never complained about the driving position and only needed to replace the starter motor in that time. I have a 96 414i as my current car and am happy with it, though if a 306 1.9 TD had come up at the time I was buying I might be driving that now...
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>>I'm 6ft 5 and about 16 stone
I have to say I've always admired cars with boots. I think they look so much better than hatches and I can't understand why anybody would take the mickey out of someone so big with such good taste.
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