C2 or not C2? Also stereos as well.

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
View Threaded
Thu 16 Feb 2006 10:48
C2 or not C2? Also stereos as well. - Keesy
Hello, i'm new here and this is my first post.

I'm a 20 y/o male on my way to passing my test and would like a new Citroen C2 as my first car, probably a 1.1 design. Would you recommend this as a first car, or if not could you recommend any others? I have also been looking at the new Clio and Peugeot 207 with interest but fear these may be a bit too expensive insurance wise as the Citroen does have free insurance for a year thrown in.

Also, does anyone know where i can get a stereo for my car that's similar to an ipod? i.e. a hard drive thing instead of a cd slot that i can upload all my mp3 tracks onto which saves faffing about with CD's etc.

Many thanks

Keesy.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 16 Feb 2006 12:34
C2 or not C2? Also stereos as well. - Group B
Hello,

Re: stereos.
I know Sony are now doing car stereos with 1Gb mp3 storage in the face plate: snipurl.com/mmit . Most stereo makers sell ipod compatible stereos, where you can plug your ipod in and control it from the stereo head unit. But if buying an aftermarket head unit you would probably want to make sure it was compatible with the cars' steering wheel controls, etc.

Some car manufacturers now fit ipod compatible stereos as standard, I dont know about Citroen though? There are ipod adaptors available for a lot of stereo makes:
snipurl.com/mmio
snipurl.com/mmiq

I'm not familiar with the cars you mention, so can't comment on those.

Rich.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 16 Feb 2006 18:44
C2 or not C2? Also stereos as well. - Welliesorter
Hello,
Re: stereos.
I know Sony are now doing car stereos with 1Gb mp3
storage in the face plate: snipurl.com/mmit .


That looks a bit pricey: 1GB is only the storage capacity of one and a half CDs.

Have a look at tinyurl.com/85n3o and svp.co.uk/products-solo.php?pid=929 .

An earlier model (cheaper but without the iPod compatibility) has had favourable comments here and elsewhere. As well as connecting to a portable music player you can attach a USB pen drive or SD card containing music.

Of course you have to choose the car first and some are less amenable than others to having an alternative player fitted.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 16 Feb 2006 13:27
C2 or not C2? Also stereos as well. - carl_a
I know its not as cool but a Kia Picanto 1.1 LX comes with everything a Citroen has plus aircon an MP3 CD player and one years insurance, all for under 6k (with a good deal). Its also is far more likely to be reliable than anything made just across the channel.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 16 Feb 2006 14:23
C2 or not C2? Also stereos as well. - Gromit {P}
Keesy,
I presume you've spotted the Mitsi Colt on offer for £5995 on HJ's "week's best deals"? Should offer a good compromise between the C2's looks and better reliability offered by the Kia. And HJ thought highly of them in his road test.

Let us know what you settle on,
- Gromit
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 16 Feb 2006 14:26
C2 or not C2? Also stereos as well. - ablandy
i agree wholeheartedly about the kia. Boot is tiny, but they are quite fun to drive and cheap to run and insure (free insurance at the moment?). Wife has an auto one and she loves it. I have driven it a couple of times and it quite fun.

Supposed to hold its value very well.

However i fear the marketing does make it appear to be a "girly car". A good solid first car. The cd player has mp3 capability (but you would have to burn it to disc). Its an aftermarket unit, so esily replaced with more flashy piece of kit. I believe kenwood have some hard disk kit.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 16 Feb 2006 15:13
C2 or not C2? Also stereos as well. - barchettaman
Hi Keesy,

I´m not sure if such a big outlay on your first car is neccessarily wise. Speaking from experience, I had 4 smashes in my first 18 months - some more spectacular than others, but all expensive.

Maybe it would be worth avoiding tying up that much capital in your first purchase, getting something a bit older and slower, driving carefully, building up a bit of NCB then getting a more substantial motor a few years down the line (gold Focus saloon for example...?)

What not go for an elderly Micra with a couple of airbags and ABS for about 1500quid. There have been a couple of good threads recently about buying in and around this price range.

Just a thought - good luck whatever,
barchettaman
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 16 Feb 2006 17:37
C2 or not C2? Also stereos as well. - sony
I totally agree with this. I passed my test a year ago now, and would never have considered a new car when I passed. In fact, I still wouldn't consider a new car! I've had no bangs, no accidents, no points etc, but still don't feel brave enough to buy a new car. Get yourself an older one, I've got a mk3 golf, N reg, I love it, still looks good by todays standards (in fact I think moderns cars are butt ugly!!).
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 16 Feb 2006 21:29
C2 or not C2? Also stereos as well. - David Horn
Or a Citroen Xsara. Cheap as chips now. I paid 3995 for mine 2.5 years ago, and looking in Parkers today I saw they're going for 1300 from a dealer. It's a 1.9TD, and in the right gear goes nearly as quickly as it depreciates.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link

We give you the low down on how to save on insurance, little-known tricks and tips, what insurance groups mean and how to use insurance aggregators to beat insurers.

Insurance group finder and how to save on insurance