Hi,
I'm still learning, but would like to know if buying a 1.4 SE/Sport (around 2003 mark) would be a good first car. Has anyone got/had one? What are they like?
Thanks,
Luke.
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I've had 2, first a 1.2 then a 1.4 tdi 80. Stylish inside and out but interior thrown together with cheap plastics. Mechanicaly both were sound, but the 1.2 needed thrashing to get anywhere. Had a 1.4 as a courtesy car once and was impressed. Quite revvy but made a nice sound when you did. Good handling but a firm ride on all of them. Few things to watch out for- suspension front wishbone rear bushes are rubbish and wear quickly, window regs break occasionally and the seat tilting mechanism on 3 doors isnt that strong. Other than that they're great.
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Luke/Lucretia
You seem to have an interest in a European style car. If you list your requirements for your first car, some of the knowledgeable geezers on here (and me) may be able to suggest a few cars to fit the bill.
HTH.
Edited by Optimist on 07/09/2008 at 23:50
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Well, I'll be doing main town/dual carriageway driving to and from work. But then there'll be a slight bit of motorway driving until I get used to it all, then maybe more motorway (dunno yet).
I don't want something huge, something smallish. I like the Polo's especially the new shape, but I won't be able to afford one of those. This is why I ended up on the Ibiza, based on Polo and nicer to look at in my opinion (well the 2002-2008 one is anyway).
I've gone through many options, removing Italian/French cars due to their apparent unreliability and although I like the Yaris, I sat in one and it just looked/felt a bit tiny.
I'd like to try and keep the insurance down so would prefer an alarm, hence an Ibiza SE or Sport spec. I've seen SX, is this the same as SE (later renamed to SE)?
As for Polo's I've heard that the footwells leak and that they're easy to break into, although smashing a window is easy on any car :D
I want to avoid silver as a colour as it's a chav magnet and I don't want it getting nicked, broken into or just damaged, believe me that colour car gets done more than most.
As for budget, I currently have around £2500 and am aiming for £3-4k - I want something that will last at least a year, maybe 2 before I think of changing cars. I have considered buying an el cheapo piece o crap for the first 6 months then upgrade, dunno.
Thanks,
Luke.
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You can buy a car for £500 that'll last two years...
Personally I'd be disinclined to spend £4K to be honest -- spend £2000 and pocket the difference for potential repairs.
If it were me, I'd at least look at the Hyundai Getz. It's a reliable little thing, simple and robust engineering and the five-year warranty and high initial depreciation means that you can get a car with a small amount of warranty left (and so will most likely be well looked after since you need to keep on top of them to retain the warranty, and any major items will have been fixed for free) for around £2300 or so (maybe a 53 plate).
This means that (a) it'll probably be low mileage -- these usually are; (b) it'll have been serviced on time (by definition if it is still under warranty) and (c) any issues can be taken care of by the dealer and not you.
It's not the most stylish car in the world but it's modern and neat, well built and cheap, and usually represents just about as safe a purchase as you can get at this sort of money.
You can always trade up in a year or two.
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I would support jase1 with that comment. One dealer on autotrader selling a getz 1.1 3dr on a 53 plate for £1995. Most dealers doing them for about £2.5k with 12 months warranty. I'm on my second having given my dau the first for her 21st birthday. Well worth a look!
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My daughter has a 1.0 Micra bought new in March 01. It's now got over 100k miles on it. Nothing but routine maintenance and brake pads and tyres except a replacement radiator.
Plenty on Autotrader between £2k and £3k. A fun car in a decent colour.
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