No this is not my midlife crisis. I'm 22, and I'm sick of being sensible. I like my Focus, don't get me wrong, but I want a car I can look at and think it's actually really nice looking...
Here's the dilemma...£5-6k. Lowish mileage. Decent enough economy, and insurance group 8 or lower.
I like the Astra Sports Hatch, but have heard bad things about this Astra's reliability.
I like the Alfa Romeo 147, but the same issue applies, if not more so.
I like the Celica, but insurance is too high.
Maybe a Hyundai Coupe...but I don't know much about them at all...
I am thinking possibly a MINI but I won't be able to afford a post-04 model, and all the pre-04 one's have fragile gearboxes I've heard?
I'd consider a new car with finance across 3/4 years if anyone knows of any 0% deals, because I refuse to pay interest...
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Be sensible, go to a car supermarket and get a 1 year old Nissan Micra for 6K. There you go.
No idea of the insurance bracket but can't you get Mazda RX8s or whatever they called for as low as 6K now?
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Simple. An Alfa 147. No question.
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I would agree. The 147 is the nearest thing to gorgeous on the list, although truly gorgeous isn't obtainable for that sort of money. Pin your courage to the mast, get a good one and look after it. The really crucial thing is a good indy to look after it unless you happen to have a very good Alfa main dealer nearby.
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You mention Astra... do you like the older "G" style (mark 4) Astras? If so I quite like the Coupes:
tinyurl.com/4fw3rx
There's a million combinations of addons/extras/styles/kits so you can get one as basic or styled as you prefer.
You could easily get a 2003/4 model with low mileage (30kish) for well under £6k privately and dealer, older models (2000/1) for under £3K. Avoid the turbo model for lower insurance, (i think the 1.8 is group 7) but they do a 2.2 16v which isn't much different on insurance.
They are all fairly good cars, but check for full service history especially regarding cam belts on older models. If a turbo, (2.0 turbo,) the turbos have been known to have a short life. Stay away from any with engine mods/remaps/retunes that you can't guarantee the history/service of, or have been home to a boy racer. Some will have had turbos refitted by Vauxhall under warranty to... (a few have had the newer VXR turbo fitted.)
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If you hold on for a week or two there might be a few ex-City bankers ready to take 6K off you for their gorgeous car. Just be careful of those who still have outstanding finance on them though ;-)
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sq
Don't worry about the finance. Just mumble some economic jargon in the right ears, and the govt/Bank of England will bung you a few billion of taxpayers' cash to sort it all out.
Edited by Pugugly on 21/09/2008 at 21:42
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Hyundai coupe, refreshingly different, ultra reliable, very good value.
My son couldn't break his F2 and bitterly regretted selling it, be warned though replacing front discs was a very expensive job, check if the later models have discs fitted from the inside like the earlier models, will cost the thick end of £400, more if you upgrade, and a very unpleasant job to boot, other than that nothing went wrong.
Its good to be different, Alfa's too common to be so..;)
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SEAT Leon cupra?
HJ was a big fan, ran one for a while. 20v turbo engine very quick. HJ likened it to a latterday alfasud. Insurance may be an issue, mind.
HTH,
Alex.
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save up a bit more and get a Fiat 500
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I don't get all this adoration of the Fiat 500, like the original it looks butt ugly to me.
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Stuff all that. Spend £1,000 on the car, the balance on insurance and petrol over the next five years. Enjoy your motoring... XJS?
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SEAT Leon cupra?
Nah, Last model of Ibiza Cupra, much nicer shell.
Luke.
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A truly beautiful car must the 406 Coupe, for 5k you can get a 2001 reg with about 40k on the clock. Thats a 2ltr, but go for the se spec
jaf
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That could be a really sensible suggestion.
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And it's the only gorgeous car mentioned so far in this thread
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Certainly is the only 'gorgeous' example so far. Nice to know someone has their eyes in proper working order. ;-)
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Shows how little I know about style doesn't it. I've always thought that car's nose wasn't quite right.
Then again the same could be said of a lot of supermodels!
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Alfa GTV?
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Thanks for the replies everyone! I went to look an Alfa Romeo 147 on Monday in red, and drove it and found it a bit...dunno. It wasn't like you hear about Alfa's being special, felt like a Fiat Punto to me, but it was a 1.6 and had done 70,000 miles. (I wasn't going to pay £5k for it - it was on at about 3!) I've also sniffed around the 406 coupe, and to me it looks a bit dated. I used to think it was properly gorgeous, but sitting next to a Celica, as it was when I started to consider the Celica, it looked old-hat.
Anyways, today I got a job offer to move to London, so I doubt I'll be buying any of them anytime soon, and will probably be selling my Focus! Thanks anyway!
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I had a 156 for a week. I found it uncomfortable (bumpy, unrefined suspension), noisy, rattly, not especially quick and the handling wasn't quite right I thought.
Could have just been wear but it only had 56K on the clock! My old Hyundai felt far more solid at that mileage!
I think the Fiat Punto comparison is a fair one.
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.....I've also sniffed around the 406 coupe, and to me it looks a bit dated......
Inside yes, but the exterior is still gorgeous - but I am 35, not 22.
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You mentioned the Hyundai Coupe.
Bought mine (2000 2-litre SE, the one with the four headlamps) in February; love it.
Goes well, have used it all summer for weekly commute between my home in West Wales and Denbigh, in the north; it's fun to drive but also very comfortable, best seats I've had in any car. Loads of toys on the SE, excellent reliabilty history, and quite well put together. Other plus points are excellent rear vision, for a coupe, good boot space and it's a genuine 4-seater although headroom's naturally a bit limited in the back.
Only irritant is the "wrong-side" switchgear, indicators on right; if it were all that I drove I'd get used to it but unfortunately my other "daily drive", a 32-tonne tipper, has "normal" switches!
Recommended.
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