Find Moglet a new car! [Surprised by a Pooma]

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Moglet
So how come a Micra or Corsa is almost £200 less?
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The Micra I kinda get, but the Corsa surprises me - I'd have thought that was sitting alongside the Fiesta in terms of teen ownership. Oh well...

JCE
Clicky.
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Bingo. I walked past one of these the other day and started pondering the difference in insurance cost. Only downside is that there appear to be approximately two of them in the entire country.
 
What does an old VW Vento run over there? I mean, it isn't all that civilized, but it is definitely not as much of a penalty box as some of the other cars suggested are. My old 2.0L unit would regularly average 27 MPG (32 UK MPG) even when driving it hard. Highway trips would usually net 32 MPG (38 UK MPG), which isn't all too bad. I understand they offered some other engine options over there, not sure how different they would be.

Otherwise, I feel like a similarly-aged Golf would be just as appropriate.
 
Jondot
Bingo. I walked past one of these the other day and started pondering the difference in insurance cost. Only downside is that there appear to be approximately two of them in the entire country.
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Hey, that blue one is sexy. I like it! I'd love one of those for a city run-about.

YSSMAN
not as much of a penalty box as some of the other cars suggested are.
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Brad, you know those older Mazda's were a hoot. :D 👍
 
I think you should get a Miata and show Homeforsummer what it's like to be a man.
 
YSSMAN
What does an old VW Vento run over there? I mean, it isn't all that civilized, but it is definitely not as much of a penalty box as some of the other cars suggested are. My old 2.0L unit would regularly average 27 MPG (32 UK MPG) even when driving it hard. Highway trips would usually net 32 MPG (38 UK MPG), which isn't all too bad. I understand they offered some other engine options over there, not sure how different they would be.

Otherwise, I feel like a similarly-aged Golf would be just as appropriate.
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I've not even heard of the Vento, unfortunately!

Anyways, today I found a mint condition 1.0 Nissan Micra K10 on eBay. First registered in 1990, it has only had 1 owner; an elderly couple who have only done 41,000 miles in it and have kept it garaged for it's entire life. There are only small scratches on the bumpers and interior plastics, everything else is as new!

The best bit? It's currently on at £376 on eBay with the reserve met and when I rang him he sounded tempted by my offer of £450. The insurance? £340.

I might ring him back and offer £500 later. It has a brown and beige interior! :D :lol:
 
Keef
I think you should get a Miata and show Homeforsummer what it's like to be a man.
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You were looking at minivans not that long ago you big jessie.

Mog - is even the 1.4 Puma too expensive to run? When I was running quotes for them a few years ago they were coming up pretty cheap. As were the Merc 190 and E30 BMW that Famine mentioned. 316 E30s aren't quick but they still look ace and probably still good fun too. And the Merc is just awesome. They take a ridiculous amount of punishment and even a "rusty" one is still less rusty than my Fiesta was when I sold it. Again, they aren't that quick but it's a bit of Teutonic character for you.

Also worth remembering insurance wise that there's actually not that much difference per month between say a £400 policy and a £600 one. It's little enough difference that you can make up for it by giving up crisps or something.

Have you considered MkII or MkIII Golfs? They look good, last well and they're decently practical, economical and cool too.

Vento is a Mk3 Golf with a boot.

Moglet
So how come a Micra or Corsa is almost £200 less?
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Because they're awful. The Fiesta is not ;) And the Ka is even better (and the Puma is even better than that).
 
Mk III Golf and cool should never be in the same sentence, unless the word not is involved aswell
 
Duffers917K
Mk III Golf and cool should never be in the same sentence, unless the word not is involved aswell
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Okay, not the right word. But they have a hell of a lot more cachet than [insert any other generic 1990s hatchback here] and they're almost always in considerably better nick than whatever hatch you picked too.

Also, try these sentences for size:

a) "I have a Nissan Micra"
b) "I have a Volkswagen Golf"

Non car-people won't ever ask "which generation?", but the Golf has more kudos. Car people may ask which gen Golf you have but again, Golf > Micra.

Actually, I don't have anything really against the Micra Mog is looking at, but coming from his 500 it'll be nothing but a massive disappointment in every area except perhaps nippiness and running costs. The Golf should more or less match it on those fronts but have more space (1990s small cars are a bit pokey, especially the Fiesta I used to own) and be of higher quality too.

And there's still something quite pleasing on the eye about a Golf too, even non-GTIs.

Personal taste thing here too, but if you're looking at Rover 25s Mog, how about the MG ZR? They're dipping under a grand now and insurance groups are fairly low for the 1.4 versions.
 
I'm struggling to find any good Golfs within my price range, and MG ZRs are nowhere to be found without them being broken. Even if I could get one, the insurance is about £200 more than the smaller cars (£300 in the case of the MG, it's stupidly highfor a 1.4). The problem I have is that I'm trying to get out of debt (£2,600 on credit card and a £1,500 overdraft) so while suggesting something higher on insurance if I cut down is fine, it doesn't really fit the theme of cutting costs in general when I could be getting insurance for £340 rather than £600!

Also, I'm really not that concerned about how 'cool' it is. Whatever I buy for under a grand is going to be a big disappointment compared to my current car, but it has to be done if I'm ever to get out of debt!

EDIT: 1999 Renault Clio 1.4 is coming up as £480 insurance, surprisingly.
 
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I would say anything is an improvement on the 500. I can't stand these 'fad' cars and the idea of a car as fashion item sickens me. Your far better of with something that isn't trying to be cool, and for me that's actually cool.

That's why I'm so sold on Famine's idea of an E21 or something like that. There was a nice '85 Fiesta XR2 on ebay aswell for something like 800 quid.
 
Moglet
EDIT: 1999 Renault Clio 1.4 is coming up as £480 insurance, surprisingly.
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Try a Citroen ZX. It's obscure enough that it might be an insurance winner, and since it's basically a Peugeot 306 it should be reasonably good to drive. Well, better than a Micra anyway.
 
Keeping track of every car I try now, for my own reference to put into a spreadsheet eventually:

2002 Ford Mondeo 1.8 Zetec £1,000 £700
1999 Honda Civic 1.4 Fusion £1,000 £658
2000 Toyota Yaris 1.0 16v VVT-i £1,000 £471
2001 VW Polo 1.9 SE TDi Saloon £1,000 £770
2000 Ford Focus 1.6 Zetec £1,000 £582
2000 Skoda Fabia 1.4 16v Comfort £1,000 £591
2000 Peugeot 206 1.1 LX £1,000 £510
2003 Mazda 323 1.6 GXi £1,000 £630
1997 VW Golf 1.9 GL TDi £1,000 £580
1999 Nissan Almera 1.4i £500 £519
1998 Nissan Micra 1.0 Passion £500 £450
1997 VW Polo 1.4 L £500 £496
Renault Megane 1.6 16v £999 £640
1999 Rover 200 2.0 SDi £1,000 £620
1999 Seat Toledo 1.9 TDi SE £1,000 £580
1999 Mitsubishi Colt 1.3 Maui £1,000 £555
1999 Ford Puma 1.7i 16v £1,000 £720

Jondot
Try a Citroen ZX. It's obscure enough that it might be an insurance winner, and since it's basically a Peugeot 306 it should be reasonably good to drive. Well, better than a Micra anyway.
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1997 Citroen ZX 1.4i £550 £456
DING DING DING WE HAVE A WINNER!
Electric windows, central locking, power steering, airbag, 10 months MOT, 6 months tax and 0-60 in 10.7 secs from 75bhp (when new). I can't believe I could get that for a little more than a Micra!
 
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Moglet
1997 Citroen ZX 1.4i £550 £456
DING DING DING WE HAVE A WINNER!
Electric windows, central locking, power steering, airbag, 10 months MOT, 6 months tax and 0-60 in 10.7 secs from 75bhp (when new). I can't believe I could get that for a little more than a Micra!
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:D, yay me.

Next thing to try is the 1.9D - slower, but ultra reliable.
 
Might be cheaper to move over yonder and buy a car here.
 
Jondot
:D, yay me.

Next thing to try is the 1.9D - slower, but ultra reliable.
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I'll give it a go tomorrow, but the cars themselves are fairly rare around here it seems.

Keef
Might be cheaper to move over yonder and buy a car here.
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It probably would be when you include the price of fuel and road tax. :ouch:
 
Jondot
Next thing to try is the 1.9D - slower, but ultra reliable.
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HELL YES

You might get hold of this one before it gets scrapped. I can vouch for it's history - one because it's got FSH and two because it's just carried me and three others to Marbella and back (3,400 miles) in five days:

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You'd get used to the colour scheme I'm sure. Easy 40mpg plus even with four people, two spare wheels and lots of luggage on board. And foot to the boards.

Actually, you don't really want it as it does need a bit of work. Still, it'd go for about £200 so it'd probably be worth it.
 
So...I'm looking at Ford Focus' now. :lol: Mainly the 1.6 Zetec, it seems to have a nice performance/comfort/insurance/running costs balance, and some nice equipment for the prices I'm getting too.

I've found a really well looked after 1.6 Ghia Saloon Focus that, contrary to popular opinion, I love the looks of. I actually think it looks really nice in saloon form and the interior is full leather with heated seats. Which will be fun to make people think they've wet themselves....

So, does anyone have any experiences with them? I'm looking at 2000-2001 models and I learned to drive in one from those years, I remember really liking how it drove but that's about it really!

EDIT: I'm finding a lot with air conditioning too, which is nice. I never thought I'd be able to get that along with a few other creature comforts for under £1,000!
 
Well, I quite like the previous-previous-generation Focus, it is quite comfortable and the 1.6 gives you considerable oomph. I thought the Ghia top range models were offered only coupled to the 2.0 Zetec though. :odd:

The 1.6 is excellent, however the 2.0 has a tiny bit of extra torque, and that makes a huge difference. I'd go for a 2.0 but as a reasonable man's choice, the Focus 1.6 is perfect.
 
Moglet
EDIT: I'm finding a lot with air conditioning too, which is nice. I never thought I'd be able to get that along with a few other creature comforts for under £1,000!
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Obviously you would anyway, but make sure you give the A/C a good test if you're actually expecting to have it. A pipe split on mine, and the quote for replacement was £260+VAT - not gonna lie, if I had to sell right now I'd probably fib a little lot and just say it needs re-gassing.

Other than that I don't think you can go far wrong. Nobody with a Focus saloon will have driven it like... well... a Leon Cupra owner, so apart from the usual things like rust you should be fine.
 
The steering is crisp and accurate, transmission is downright excellent. It handles really well for such a little grocery getter, and that 1.6 is enough for highway speeds and safe overtaking. Brakes are good too, as well as chassis control in evasion situation, even when ABS is off. Seats have plenty in terms of adjustment. Biggest niggle I had against it is the bonnet unlatching mechanism which is hidden behind the badge.
 
Pretty much spot on to how I remember my driving school one then. 👍 I don't mind the bonnet unlock being behind the badge, it still doesn't take long to open it.
 
Very good cars, but definitely buy on condition. I know someone with more or less the exact model you're looking at (but from 2003) and he's currently repairing lots of stuff, as Fords get to about 6-7 years old and start falling to bits. One time he actually had a driver-side window spontaneously shatter, which isn't a great thing to happen.

Luckily, Focii don't seem to rust as badly as older Fords though.

You could consider Mondeos too, which also handle very well, usually have decent kit, there are loads about and 1.6-1.8 models, whilst not that quick, are still nice engines and good motorway cars. Not too bad on fuel either.
 
I'd say a Focus would do nicely.

My grandmother had an '01 with our stupid stupid stupid cursed SOHC 2.0 base model engine and the automatic.. Wasn't really a bad car, steering was very direct despite 120k miles and no suspension work ever done. By the time I drove it the motor was on its last legs and had absolutely nothing left to give (took near WOT up some hills around here... Rather flat here too...) but still felt reasonably adequate. Can't really say much bad about it, it stuck together plenty long (and, indeed, its death was not a fault of the car but too few oil changes in too long a period). The facelift we got in '05 absolutely ruined the poor car though... The same trim level got cheaper pieces inside and out, less sound deadening, etc and as a result feels like an absolute box of trash.

Since you don't have that to worry about, go for it. A manual and 1.6 will be absolutely perfectly adequate and the sedans (as mentioned) generally won't be as thrashed, though care may be lacking depending on previous owner.
 
Only issue with buying a manual trans car previously owned by an older person (i.e. the sedan's likely previous owner) is the chance it's spent a lot of time at maximum revs in first gear when they've either forgotten to change up or can't hear the racket but the speedo is reading 30 anyway so why change up?...

And you may think I'm joking but you wouldn't believe the number of times I've seen (/heard) something similar...
 
One of my relatives is a driving school teacher, and I was in the office when a pensioner came with doctors order to renew his licence. He was probably 80+, with bottle bottom glasses and drove an old Lada... and once he left the office, my relative grunted something along the lines "God damnit, we just had the clutch replaced.." And true enough, the old geezer left the parking lot in a manner that left me wondering what kept the lada's motor and clutch alive. And yes, the driving school uses Ford Focus..
 
I see it all the time around here :lol: It's one of the perils of buying a used car that is often owned by the elderly!
 
Something I've noticed (not to thread-jack, but a legitimate question):

Why is it that UK Fords seem to rust badly, while US ones don't? As an example, my 13 year old Escort has nothing more than a little surface rust on the hood, but from what I've heard, the same car in England would be falling apart by now. What gives?
 
Damn near permanent rain/mist/dampness.
 
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