so as the title says, i'm looking at getting a car in the near future.

i know there's literally billions of combo's of different makes/models/specs/colours etc out there but to narrow it down for you all, i know what i want (roughly) i just don't know where to go for it.

so, what am i after: a Vauxhall Astra or Corsa '06 onwards (new shape, the astra before the GTC)

specs i'm after:

• 1.2-1.4 L engine (if corsa) 1.6 L (if Astra) (1.7 diesel)
• 3 door
• lower mileage the better
• 12 months MOT and at least 6 months tax
• CD player with ipod/aux connectivity would be nice
• colour wise (in order of preference): astra - silver, navy blue, green, red, white, black. ~ corsa: silver, white, green, red.

i'm after something that costs no more than £4000 and i NEED the option of interest-free finance as a payment (i can't do the whole, get a credit card, pay for car, pay credit card off thing... terrible credit history)

does anyone here know where to go dealership-wise where i could get all of the above???????

thanks

if you have a terrible credit history you are going to have trouble getting finance.

it's going in another persons name, i will be paying them however much it is per month.

Put the details into autotrader and select 'trade only' most car sales garages (if not all) do finance.

also you need interest free, I highly doubt this will be easy as your only spending £4k and its used, interest free tend to be on higher priced cars that are new an comes with the offer of interest free

good luck though

Just something to think about while you are shopping around for finance, in the agreements I've had in the past it has always been stipulated that there must be fully comp insurance in the name that's on the agreement. If that's not going to be you then you could obviously be a named driver on any policy but that in itself could bring more trouble if you are to be the main driver.

If you're not going to be on the dual carriageways and motorways much I'd avoid a diesel. Modern diesels have too many anti-pollution features on them and can soon start to throw up errors when the diesel particulate filter becomes blocked.

They do have various systems integrated to cleaning the filter, but if its cleaning all the time then it will shorten the lifespan of the parts - namely the glow plugs, glow plug relay, additive fluid (although I don't think Vauxhalls use additive), particulate filter, cat, cooling fan & relays and battery (the regeneration often runs after the car is parked and switched off), not to mention the gumming up of the EGR valve which will not be cleaned by regeneration.

Thankfully its not on all diesels. On Peugeots they're not fitted to cars of 90BHP or less. They also don't have the very expensive to replace dual mass flywheel.

So if you've your heart set on a diesel I'd read up or get some impartial advice from an owners forum first.

cheers Gibbo and my heart is actually set on a 1.6 petrol SXi 3 door astra (maybe a 1.4 if it's in very good nick)
i only included the diesel engine as an alternative if everything else is perfect about the car.