Help choosing a car.

  • Thread starter Thread starter DQuaN
  • 29 comments
  • 1,444 views
DQuaN

DQuaN

Goat of the Year
Premium
Messages
12,299
United Kingdom
Ealing-London
Unfortunately after my last car help thread, the job offer fell through and I wasn't able to buy one. :(

This time my girl is looking to buy a small car as a cheap runaround. Used for shopping trips, the occasional trip to the country, and weekend use. It will not be used for commuting.

The budget is £2000 and that is a stretch. She is petrified of driving large cars and a Ford Focus is a bout as big as she can go. She said she would like a Ka or an old Micra which I really don't want her to get.

I was thinking about a Peugeot 306, or persuade her to get an old Focus.

Any suggestions?
 
I'd personally opt for a well spec'd Ka, great little cars and there should be plenty to choose from in your price range 👍

How about an original style 1.6 Mazda MX-5?
 
Hatchbacks + younger people = Expensive insurance.

Your £2k will get you a 1993ish Mk1 MX-5 1.8i. Do it. You know it makes sense.
 
Insurance = death.

Mind you, mine is £250 FC (with 8yr NCB).
 
How about a MKIII golf, 2 grand could even possibly get you a decent 8v GTi.

Also tbh i'd rather go for a Fiesta than a Ka This one is a bit too cheap but they have the 16v Zetec engine with plenty of kick for a car that light. Either that one or the mid facelift Si version if you can find a nice example.
 
I could suggest something.How's about a Proton Satria a.k.a. Mitsubishi Mirage Asti.its quite cheap there (i think),has a good fuel economy and it has enough power.....but then you may laughing your a** off when you started to see how defective malaysian cars are :lol:
 
What about a Lupo, or it's sister car the SEAT Arosa?

It's practically a 2 seater, unless her friends are under 5ft 4, then they'd find the back seats "spacious".
 
Race Idiot
How about a MKIII golf, 2 grand could even possibly get you a decent 8v GTi.

Also tbh i'd rather go for a Fiesta than a Ka This one is a bit too cheap but they have the 16v Zetec engine with plenty of kick for a car that light. Either that one or the mid facelift Si version if you can find a nice example.
Click to expand...
Can't agree on that one, the Ka would be my preference and the old Ford Kent unit in the Ka is a far, far better engine than the Zetec. Much nicer to drive as the Zetec needs the knackers rev'd out of it, while the old tech Kent has much better low down pull.



Race Idiot
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

*takes breath*

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAb
Click to expand...
Can't argue with that at all however.



ExigeExcel
What about a Lupo, or it's sister car the SEAT Arosa?

It's practically a 2 seater, unless her friends are under 5ft 4, then they'd find the back seats "spacious".
Click to expand...
The Lupo is hideously overpriced and not actually built to the normal VW standards, imagine a version then screwed together in Spain. Not a good choice at all, unless your talking about a Lupo GTI in which case it may go wrong but it will be fun.

However if you can add around £500 to your budget I have the ideal car, it will just about seat four (with a bit of imagination and maybe some amputation) is nice and reliable and one of the finest driving FWD cars of its time....

736.jpg


http://atsearch.autotrader.co.uk/ww...ecords=200&modelexact=1&photo=1&hassearched=Y

...that's right a Puma. She will love the way it looks and trust me you will love the way it drives. Its mainly Fiesta bits under the skin and as such is cheap to service and very reliable. Hell if you don't mind high mileage cars (and as long as they have FSH is not a major issue) you could get one for within your budget.


Regards

Scaff


Edited to add - do not under any circumstances buy a 306, they are horribly unreliable and not that great to drive, expanses of nasty cheap plastic and ugly seat trim fills the inside and may even make the Alfa above look like a sane buy from the point of electrical repairs. Avoid at all cost.
 
What? No one likes an Alfa? Sheesh, no need to be so rude Race Idiot as I was making a serious suggestion.
 
JCE3000GT
What? No one likes an Alfa? Sheesh, no need to be so rude Race Idiot as I was making a serious suggestion.
Click to expand...

Oh wait you were serious? There is a reason that car is so cheap and it's not because it's a bargin. It's Ferrari reliablity for a fraction of the price!

Scaff
Can't agree on that one, the Ka would be my preference and the old Ford Kent unit in the Ka is a far, far better engine than the Zetec. Much nicer to drive as the Zetec needs the knackers rev'd out of it, while the old tech Kent has much better low down pull.
Click to expand...

Wait are you talking about the 1.6 Zetec 16v? or the 1.4 Zetec? I've never driven the 1.4 Zetec units but the 1.6 ones have never seemed to be lacking in grunt to me.
 
But, for 750 quid I don't think its that bad. He could take 500 quid or so and refurb some of the mechanicals and it wouldn't be that bad. And, more importantly, he can say that he's owned an Alfa Romeo in his lifetime. ;)
 
JCE3000GT
But, for 750 quid I don't think its that bad. He could take 500 quid or so and refurb some of the mechanicals and it wouldn't be that bad. And, more importantly, he can say that he's owned an Alfa Romeo in his lifetime. ;)
Click to expand...

7 years ago, that car was left the showroom priced at £15,000.

At £750, that car has something seriously wrong with it - and I don't just mean it's an Alfa Romeo.
 
I saw several of these 146 Alfas for less than 2000 quid. I just picked the one with the least mileage. Since the US doesn't get Alfas I wouldn't know the quirks of owning one or what to look for in terms of problems in pre-owned ones. I was just trying to help. :p
 
JCE3000GT
I saw several of these 146 Alfas for less than 2000 quid. I just picked the one with the least mileage. Since the US doesn't get Alfas I wouldn't know the quirks of owning one or what to look for in terms of problems in pre-owned ones. I was just trying to help. :p
Click to expand...

Just for a quick comparison, a Ford Fiesta made in the same year cost about £11,000 new, and you'd struggle to find one which costs less than £1,500-£2,000 now.

That's a Ford Fiesta, with which the market is absolute saturated, running at twice the price of a car which cost 50% more than it when new. This ought to ring up warning bells.


MX-5 FTW - she doesn't need rear seats unless people are going to be in them.
 
An older Civic hatch would be good. I spotted a Puma the other day and thought it would be a good idea. I'll put it to her.
 
if she isn't too picky, suggest older Suzuki Swift or similar. women don't need well-performing cars.
 
Leonidae
if she isn't too picky, suggest older Suzuki Swift or similar. women don't need well-performing cars.
Click to expand...

"Day 27. Leonidae gets thrown out of the GTP Big Brother house for using sexist, sweeping statements"

;)
 
Famine
Just for a quick comparison, a Ford Fiesta made in the same year cost about £11,000 new, and you'd struggle to find one which costs less than £1,500-£2,000 now.

That's a Ford Fiesta, with which the market is absolute saturated, running at twice the price of a car which cost 50% more than it when new. This ought to ring up warning bells.
Click to expand...

I'd definately take a Fiesta over the Alfa. I was just bringing up more options. Seems everyone already said the Fiesta and or Ka so I needed something else to bring into the discussion.
 

Latest Posts

Back