was planning on gettin myself a nice new motor after passing my test but in reality i will be waiting a year or so before i can and am fed up of trying to share one car, it really isnt practical lol

so yea, i'm looking round for a car around £1000-1500, any recommendations?

had a loook at this astra (maybe waddi could give some input on things to look out for etc?

Link


got a quote of £765 fully comp with £420 excess (excess is a bit steep i know but i guess after a year or so it will go down considerably)

any help would be much appreciated!

My civic ?

lookin for somethin fairly standard mate

Iv have the standard wheels, I have the standard springs, Hell i could make it 80% standard again haha

lmao wot u like!!

All jokes aside, What sort of car you looking for mate ?

Size of the car ?
Size of the engine ?

hatch, upto 1.6 (insurance starts to get a bit silly for me any bigger than that and dont really need anything bigger than a 1.4 tbh. but 1.6 would be preferable)

nothin bigger than that astra link i posted really, parkin is bad enough in the fiesta (not really, just dont want anything too big yet lol)

civic, 1.4 !

have just had a look at a few civics but getting quotes around £1k, dont really wont to pay anymore than the quote i got for the astra (£765)

anyone else have any suggestions?

brother suggested 106 rallye (the 1.3 version) but at £2.5k and 70 miles to travel for it it's no good, the rest were pretty much 250-400 miles away

Ive been thinking bout Citroen Xsaras recently.....i my endless list of cars I want.

That take ya fancy???

Cheap runaround? Buy a 1.9 306TD; low insurance (G5 iirc), plenty of power with headroom for a bit more, generous amounts of torque, and the economy of diesel, with the added bonus of being able to run it on Biodiesel B100 if they sell it anywhere near you, ending up giving you massive saving lol.

Can pick decent ones up for less than £1000 easily, can find mint Ph2's for around the 1k - 1.5k price range.

Just my opinion. Once you go to the dark side, unless you are going to go for summit really special petrol wise, believe me, you will never go back!

hmmm got a quote of £720 on an S reg one. not too far from me either (40 miles)

would be nice to have a bit of power but not arsed too much. as long as it looks half decent which the 306's do... always liked them and the 106 (more of a go kart lol)... always fancied an old mini but cant find a decent one near me!

Is that a no to the Xsara idea....Group 9 insurance for a 1.4 VTR...get a later evrsion you get alloys, sunroof, ABS etc

Plus....with them being quite rare..chances are youll get your money back when you come to sell it

1.4VTR in a Xsara? That dunt make sense, the VTR in the Saxo is a 1.6 (albeit 8v) and thats a smaller and lighter car lol. Or is the VTR in this case, just a trim level?

unfortunately there's only a 2ltr xsara vts within 60 miles of me mate (well, that's just looking on autotrader)

no vtr's tho

Yea..its just a trim level...but they did a 1.4 vtr..a 1.6 Vtr..then a 2.0L VTS

Ford Focus 1.4/1.6 won't be a fast car but good enough for long journeys.

for example...

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/FORD+FOCUS/Ne-2-4-5-6-7-8-27-44-49-53-61-64-67-103-133-146-236,N-13-54-110-4294967193-4294967194/advert.action?R=200820309958612&distance=35&postcode=ch436uw&channel=CARS&make=FORD&model=FOCUS&min_pr=&max_pr=2000&max_mileage=

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/FORD+FOCUS/Ne-2-4-5-6-7-8-27-44-49-53-61-64-67-103-133-146-236,N-13-54-110-4294967193-4294967194/advert.action?R=200818309233443&distance=67&postcode=ch436uw&channel=CARS&make=FORD&model=FOCUS&min_pr=&max_pr=2000&max_mileage=

dont know y, never did like the look of the old focus... wouldnt mind the newer shapes tho but out of wot i'm thinkin of spendin - £2k max i think is gonna have to be my limit tho as havent really come across anythin i like for less than 1500 really

The old Focus is meant to be one of the best handling cars of its time...still is I think..

Plus you can smarten them up very will, with the minimum effort...

Make a list of the cars u like....near you...and try and organise some Test Drives...see how ya feel

it's the look of them i dont like lol... the shape of the lights etc

i guess ur last comment would seem the most practical!

Well, when you say cheap run around, I take that to assume you dont really care about the cars apperance, unless it gets you from A/B...

There are a lot of nice 1.4s, 1.6s going around...but I guess there doesnt seem to be too many up near you.

Have you considered buying a Brand new car, on Finance etc??

If not, then I reckon you look at the New Grande Punto....loads of good deals on them, and the kit that comes with them standard is ridiculous..

also...very nice looking cars as well


(Dont worry, I dont work for Fiat)

lol the grande punto was my first plan, mate pays £130 a month on his but i dont want to go and get a brand new car in my first year of driving only to have bumps and tears etc in my second year lol... which is why i have decided a cheaper/older car would be a much better option (then consider somethin like the grande punto the following yr) - i like the grande punto's myself... look smart, clean bodystyling and fairly decent standard alloys too

Right....I wasnt aware it was your first year of driving..sorry..

How do you feel about Ford Fiestas??

Mk IV or the Mk V will be going quite cheap, and they have a wide range of engines available...

From my personal experience...Ive been driving for nearly 4 years now..and Im still driving my first car....Micra 1.0L...mainly cos

a) I love it (ask everyone on here hahaha)
b) My insuarnce is still quite high on it, and a bigger engined car would sting me beyond belief.

A smaller engined car like a 1.2 would get you from A/B...have low insurance...be cheaper than a 1.4 etc etc..plus in your first year of driving....a lot of my friends had 1.4s 1.6s etc for their first car....and they basically crashed and rolled etc, cos they had too much power for them to start off in.

I'm Not saying your a bad driver in any way, but if the urge did ever come to floor it...could be quite costly if you know what I mean???

i believe according to a mate of mine....that the auctions are the best place for little cheap run arounds....

gf has a fiesta 1.25 which is fairly decent for wot it is. which is y i wish i could afford to buy it off her (pay the rest of the amount owing on it) but i dont know if i could afford to - not sure wot she pays a month on it tho actually.

driven my bros old zetec s (mk5) which wasnt too much of a hand full tbh but i kow for somethin like that i'd have to pay £2500+ for a year 2000 or more recent. then £1k+ insurance followed by running an maintenance - somethin like that is just too far out of my grasp

only plans i have as far as mods would be wheels, lowering and maybe tints depending on the car/colour etc along with some other small cosmetic mods

i dont really know anyone local to me with good car knowledge to goto the auctions with or even where they have them up here unfortunately

small cars i like:

ford fiesta (post facelift mainly)
fiat grande punto
seat arosa
vw lupo
honda civic
vauxhall astra (probably the biggest i would go for a first car personally)

The Lupos and Arosa's are brilliant cars....if you can find a 1.4 Arosa tdi...thn go for that..Ive driven one..and could'nt believe how nippy it was...

Also..the Lupos and Arosas look incredible with Euro Styling....and also with the Arosa being very rare....

a) youll stand out
b) youll get the same amount of money when you sell it as you bought it

yea the guy opposite ours has got a silver arosa but it's totally standard - just look cute haha (the small cars not the guy with the arosa might i add)

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/advert+search/Ne-2-4-5-6-7-8-27-44-49-53-61-64-67-103-133-146-236,N-9-13-110/advert.action?R=200820310066607&distance=18&postcode=ph1+2ja&channel=CARS&make=&model=&min_pr=1000&max_pr=2000&max_mileage=

just spotted this ad, only 20 mins away... any warnings? price reasonable? 95k mileage likely to b a problem?

Register on ukfiestanetwork seems to a few mk4 1.25/1.4 fiesta's going for cheap. pity you are not near the wirral as their is a V reg Corsa 1.2 forsale mot till november, new brakes and clutch for less than 1500.

corsa and saxo are too cars i will never own, just dont like them lol... am a fussy git at times!

Hear Hear !!!!

Too Common and boring

goin to see the astra sxi tomorrow i think...

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/VAUXHALL+ASTRA/Ne-2-4-5-6-7-8-27-44-49-53-61-64-67-103-133-146-236,N-13-54-110-207-4294966635-4294966969/advert.action?R=200816308217657&distance=11&postcode=ph1+2ja&channel=CARS&make=VAUXHALL&model=ASTRA&min_pr=&max_pr=2000&max_mileage=

can afford to pay for and run it and it's a bit nippier than a fiesta in the same price range and cheaper to insure... have a couple of questions tho but would need to have a test drive of it yet

watch it, i havea corsa....and although they are as common as dog sh*t....its quite a little nippy car

lol may be nippy but dont want wot everyone else has/or to be related to chavs (that bits mainly towards saxos tho lol)

hmmmm best had be towards saxo's!

i aint no chav......

How about this? only 2 more insurance groups higher, not a bad colour. Has ESP which is a traction control (well stop you wheels spinning) 16 inch Wheels.

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/FORD+FOCUS/Ne-2-4-5-6-7-8-27-44-49-53-61-64-67-103-133-146-236,N-13-4294967193-4294967194/advert.action?R=200817308576606&distance=3&postcode=ph1+2ja&channel=CARS&make=FORD&model=FOCUS&min_pr=&max_pr=2000&max_mileage=

i know

would cost too much for me to insure phil... not bad tbh (even if im not fussy on the looks)

just been to see the said astra and looks well looked after. waitin for my loan to be approved and will book a test drive if all goes as planned!

way hay....goodies, does this mean u can come down and see us once you got ur car????.....soon??

mmmmmmmmaybe lol... (bonnet does close fine btw - dont know y they didnt have it closed)

loans been accepted so will be goin to test drive this asap, just need to find someone who knows wot to check for to go with me lol

first mod will be wheels, already seen some i like lol



only £420 delivered with tyres also! (same as wot waddi had on his apparently)

didnt waddi have them wheels on his?

lol wheels, u obviously missed the bottom of my post

altho it will be the 17" (like he had i think) £420 delivered with tyre

considering travellin 130 miles to see this tho - yes i know, probably stupid as anything haha!

AutoTrader advert

Doh! sorry missed that one lol

The blue one is well better/nicer.

It has the tinted front lights for a start. its a 3dr, it has a debadged grille (although these are only £25), it has a spoiler.

also as I said in my PM, that will have the newer engine, which is a better engine (+5bhp)but is more expensive to repair if anything was to go wrong, i.e the cat is part of the manifold, so if the CAT goes, you have to replace the whole manifold. but as the throttle is fly by wire, cruise control can easily be retro fitted, but on the other hand throttle response is a little slower, also replacement performance parts are more expensive for this engine (Z16 XE) than the older one (X16 XEL).

but as you've stated in one of your earlier posts that you are keeping it pretty standard, I would go with the blue one. is there a big price difference tho?

this is listed for £1995 (seems oddily cheap to me? - can only query the seller tho and decide on the info whether to go and travel to see it - has pretty much everything i am looking for in the car)

it's only £60 more a yr to insure as well so an extra fiver a month, nothing to worry about

kinda goin off that original sxi (as i know a better one will come along im sure)

---------
2002 VAUXHALL ASTRA 1.6i 16V SXi 3dr Hatchback

Features:

* 41,000 miles
* Manual
* Blue
* Petrol
* Hatchback
* 1598 cc

Full Description:

Manual, 41,000 miles, Blue, 12 month Mot, 6 month Tax, alloy wheels, alarm, ABS, CD player, AC, EW, very good condition & driver. £1,995.



it looks potentially worth the journey!!

I got more than that for my 51plate SXI that had rough bodywork condition.

will have to give em a bell 2moro like and see wot's happenin!

Bought:

Looooooooool after all that!!

Nice one matey!

lol well at least i held back for a while to make sure i wasnt jumping at the firs thing to catch my eye! - was a bit warey of the high mileage but the car seems to have been well maintained and is being sold by a reputable dealership (according to a few ppl on the astra owners network or club, cant remember lol)

pick it up either saturday or monday - cant wait haha!

What was the mileage again fella??

100k, was also lookin at an astra cd, same engine with 87k on it but the car looked in poor condition in comparison to the one i bought

Average milage Davey, 17's, lowered 45mm. tastful back box, will look the dogs then.

I know it your first car and everything, looks very nice, but Im just so uninspired by the Astra.

Great if you just want to lug the kids to and from school, or get the shopping in, but they are so uneventful and unrewarding to drive - sorry

lol that's kinda the plan



i know wot u mean mate but as u say it's just a first car... only goin to be used to get to and from work (which is only about 7 mins walk anyway hahaha) - plus anything will feel quick being a first car (even the gf's fiesta 1.3 did at first lol)

it will do me for a couple of years til it goes pop or i can afford somethin better