Right some idiot pulled out in front of me on a roundabout and to cut a long story short its no a right off. so i need to find a new car. since im rubbish at knowing what car to get any help would be appreciated!
What i need:
1. Reliable (im a poor student and cant afford expensive repairs)
2. Comfortable (i do lots of long distanceish driving and even on short trips its good - my courtesy car was a micra and it was sooo uncomfortable! gave me neck ache after 10mins)
3. Fun (if possible...)
I had a laguna which was reliable and comfortable so i could get another one, but what do you recon?
Oh and a budget of Ã,£1500
Dec
PS needs some boot space as i have a sub/amp etc
what sort of insurance you got? any ncb?
do you mind diesels?
no diesels :P (no real reason i just dont like em...)
1years no claims, obviously the cheaper the insurance the better
Thanks
Dec
early 90s Volvo 240 or 740. Built like tanks, and comfy cruisers. Stateside, Id say just get a 10 y/o Camry or Accord and be done with it.
i would suggest a late Rover 618Is, seriously specd up, very reliable honda engine, well built, excellent ride and imo they look great.
clicky (http://atsearch.autotrader.co.uk/WWW/CARS_popup.asp?modelexact=1&lid=search_used_cars_full&make=ROVER&model=600&variant=is&keywords=&min_pr=75&max_pr=&mileage=&agerange=&postcode=ch4+0lt&miles=40&max_records=50&source=0&photo=1&sort=3&ukcarsearch_full=SEARCH&start=5&distance=34&adcategory=CARS&channel=CARS&id=200629243477299)
Ive got a Honda Accord 2.0i SL, in my 29 years of driving and a lot of cars Id say its the best Ive had.
Quote from: maximusotterearly 90s Volvo 240 or 740. Built like tanks, and comfy cruisers. Stateside, Id say just get a 10 y/o Camry or Accord and be done with it.
Id go with a 740 saloon.
Maybe if you want a bit of style you could go for a 480 coupe or a little smaller than the 740 is the 440.
the 440 1.6 has good levels of spec, electric windows and elec mirrors and heated seats. Not a lot goes wrong with them and they keep on running, my 740 ran even when I had no oil in the
engine.You can spend Ã,£400 on a really good one and they are grp 7 insurance, the 440s (1.6) are a little lower at 6 I think.
Get a post 90 one with 5 speed and youll be able to fit about 50000 tonnes of stuff in and they are incredibly comfy.
Perfect for moving house too as you can fit anything in them.
They are also very safe.
Thanks for your input! I think the volvos a tad big for my needs (not really after an estate)
The rover and accord look the best 2 so far IMO
Dec
no street cred with the rover, but as a student that means people arent going to be jealous and scratch it.
they can be bargainous really, due to the company collapsing...
have a hunt around... I wouldnt recommend an over really but in this circumstance it might actually be ideal :)
my boss has a 95 rover 623 with > 145k on the clock, with the less than full service history ;) (hes the kind that runs cars into the ground instead of pissing 50% of his wallet away on new cars every 3 years)
it plods on, hes had it 8+ years and since below 40,000 i think and I cant remember it ever being in the garage for anything major or hideously expensive.
one thing Deviance is sooo wrong about though, is where he says they look great :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
Quote from: snellgroveone thing Deviance is sooo wrong about though, is where he says they look great :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
lol tis a personal thing i guess but the Is and the Ti do look great imo(lower, big alloys, leather, body kit etc) and in some places they are the gangs rides and drug dealers etc so guess they must have some street cred :? :P
Yeah it maybe worth having a car that doesnt look good so it doesnt get keyd, and if it does i wouldnt get annoyed etc
Not convinced about the looks either but it sounds like there good runners and relatively comfortable!
anyone got any others to throw into the equation?
cheers
Dec
Corolla?
323? (good fun)
I dunno about how much those cost though, probably way more than the budget :( jap stuff clings onto its residuals all too well!
reading material:
http://www.parkers.co.uk
http://www.carsurvey.org
both have user reviews... :)
find a car...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk
Quote from: DecWhat i need:
1. Reliable (im a poor student and cant afford expensive repairs)
2. Comfortable (i do lots of long distanceish driving and even on short trips its good - my courtesy car was a micra and it was sooo uncomfortable! gave me neck ache after 10mins)
3. Fun (if possible...)
I had a laguna which was reliable and comfortable so i could get another one, but what do you recon?
Oh and a budget of Ã,£1500
I feel a bit silly suggesting what car I have, but I feel it fits the bill and so is just an open suggestion.
I have a 1996 Megane 5DR Hatchback 1.6 E RT, bought it for about Ã,£1500 last march. probably worth about Ã,£1000-Ã,£1200 now. Id look at 1996-2000 myself.
Reliable? Never broke down, never failed to start. Parts are cheap enough if work needs doing, its usally the labour that puts a hole in the wallet.
Comfortable? The longest trip I have done in one go is about 130 miles to skegness 2 1/2 hours with one stop for a drink. Ive done that trip many times and I think only once I ever had a slight bit of back ache. Mainly becuase I kept fiddling with the lumber support knob. The seats are very comfortable and supportive.
Fun? Its far from a fantastic car, its no ford focus as far as the drive is concerned, but it is a decent car to drive, but I also enjoy driving it and it usually puts a smile on my face. :)
Its not an attention seeking car, its not going to get stolen or broken into, keyed etc. Christ I left in Coventry town centre into the early hours before in an open car park.
There are other cars that fit the bill of course. I agree with the suggestions of the Volvos and Honda Accord, again they fit the bill and not going to be attention seeking. Also both very good cars.
If the fuel consumption and insurance wasnt so horrendous id plump for an activa.
You arent going to get much for even 20 x more that can corner nearly as well, and they have plenty of kit.
Since its going to need to be low cost - why not diesel? Whats the point of buying a car thats going to do 20mpg round the town rather than one that will do twice that? Doesnt make sense at todays prices. Thats why Im converting my petrols to gas.
Toyota Corolla or a Focus I would suggest, the Ghias are comfy and the 1.6 wont be too killer on insurance.
Jaimz :rock:
The Megan and corolla dont look to bad so there worth considering
For fun the Nissan 200 SX looks good but i can see that needing lots of repairing since ppl drift them all the time...
whats the activa? google images suggests its a scooter :/
hmm decisions! Think i gotta just find some nearby and test drive em see what there like from a personal perspective...
Cheers ppl!
Danny
The activa is some form of citroen
The 200SX has an insurance group of 17, if I remember correctly. Cool cars, but I wouldnt want to run a turbocharged 2.0 (thirsty) without feeling like I could thoroughly afford it - it aint gonna be cheap :P
and I think the same goes for the Activa, they are 200bhp? or something and again, turbocharged.
my 98 renualt megane is the worse car i have ever owned. it is pretty nippy and handles ok but so much stuff is broken/falling off etc it is unreal, also it is horrible to drive(something to do with the pedals), i am used to it but quite a few people who have driven it have commented.
Renault are the worst built frenchies imo - peugeot a close second
My favourite motorway game, is count the broken french cars :twisted:
the ratio of them, vs german & jap stuff is AMAZING.
makes you wonder why anyone would ever buy one.. mostly pugs.
Maybe because there are far more sold? See exactly the opposite here, as toyotas are v popular down south and golfs and passats here for some reason. Ive never come across anything more reliable than an XUD yet.
FFS dudes!!!! he is a student, the bets car that you could have that is well cheap on the insurance and like 55mpg is the Pug 306 d turbo!!! not the hdi versions u can tune the bollox out of them and they are only group5!!! they look ok too with simplke mods!!! and u can get one easy for the 1.5k easy. French diesels ftw!!!
Quote from: DEViANCEmy 98 renualt megane is the worse car i have ever owned. it is pretty nippy and handles ok but so much stuff is broken/falling off etc it is unreal, also it is horrible to drive(something to do with the pedals), i am used to it but quite a few people who have driven it have commented.
I cant say my 96 is falling apart. Everything works, even the ash tray, so I cant comment in a negative way on build quality.
However I cant defend it on being horrible to drive tbh, the pedals are to close together, whenever i wear my proper boots I run the risk of hitting both clutch and brake which I have done before.
Again I am used to it and have gotten used to it so I dont really complain about it, but anyone who tries the megane/scenic for the first time allways has something bad to say about it, usually starting with the heavy clutch.
Whats going to matter to him though is that it is a cheap far to run and own with the 1.6 being group 4. The 1.4 manages 40MPG combined iirc. Shockingly they are also 4 star NCAP.
Quote from: ozeeFFS dudes!!!! he is a student, the bets car that you could have that is well cheap on the insurance and like 55mpg is the Pug 306 d turbo!!! not the hdi versions u can tune the bollox out of them and they are only group5!!! they look ok too with simplke mods!!! and u can get one easy for the 1.5k easy. French diesels ftw!!!
Too right - or you could go for the even better on fuel, faster, cheaper, better handling (due to lighter weight) better built and equipped (Although some might say not as attractive) ZX. You can get a really good TD for buttons nowadays.
Tempting to get a diesel but im just not convinced. just got some stigma about diesels :/
Does anyone know if the accord or the others have steering wheel controls? its far to much effort to lean over to the cd player :/
Dec
Quote from: Decits far to much effort to lean over to the cd player :/
:shock: :lol:
probably optional. so itll be on
some of them?
and go try a diesel mate, youll like them. honestly.
citroen xsara td ftw mate
jaimz :rock: