i've got 4 grand, pick me a car

[dextersaurus]

hey guys.

Right, so the situation is this:

I have £4k available for a car and insurance.

Obviously the cheaper the insurance the better, as i'd like to be able to pay off 2 years insurance straight off.

I've just sold my Punto which was costing me £250 a month on insurance which is a tad extortionate.

Anyway.

I'm commuting to and from work, 25 miles each way, 5 times a week. so i need something that'll be up to a good 20k miles a year.

Also needs to be okay on fuel, preferably a diesel.


Insurance wise, i'm 19, 0 no claims, 1 non fault accident on record, live in a decent postcode with the car in a driveway.

To give an idea on prices, a 52 plate 1.6 astra petrol came to £1500, a 52 plate 1.4 polo came to £1300 and my 1.9 Punto came to £2300.

Obviously the cheaper the better.

So can anyone recommend a decent car that won't let me down, but won't cost me too much in the long run?

Cheers

[Dischord]

MK4 Golf GT TDi

Reliable, quick, insane MPG and cheap to insure. If the insurance is too much you can pick up a Golf MK5 standard TDi for 4k these days, good cars.

Or a Civic 1.7 Diesel between 2001-05

Don't go french whatever you do, also Vauxhalls aren't particularly good in my opinion.
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2012 KTM EXC 250

Check out my vids - https://www.youtube.com/user/KTMSparky/videos

[-LG-]

I've got a diesel Focus, been pretty reliable, only had a couple of things go wrong in that time (first one was the diesel pump...just bad luck!). Cost me £1700 I think two years ago. Fairly sure you could get a decent one for £1,000 or so.

Nothing special, but gets me A to B, MPG is pretty good, I struggle to get it under 40, and I have a very heavy right foot. Best I've got is just under 50.

Insurance is cheap for me, but I do have 4 years no claims. But evening when I first got it, it was only £800, not too bad as I was 20, and it is a 1.8 turbo.

Step dad has a Honda Civic, and had no problems at all with it, its a K or L reg I believe. No idea about prices for insurance though. I couldn't get insured on it when I was 18...and its only a 1.4 :s

[andys675]

nissan micra or toyota yaris

[P.]

Yaris or Starlet

Easy to do that for 4k with 2 years insurance.

[duhawkz]

03 clio diesel dynamique, 1.5, 60+ mpg £35 a year tax and cheap insurance. you should be able to pick one up fairly cheap

my wife had one for a while and it was reliable
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"The guy is a worthless cunt and I honestly believe I would be a slightly happier person if he died." - Chris-Red

[chris-red]

Focus Diesel
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Well, you know what they say. If you want to save the world, you have to push a few old ladies down the stairs.
Skudd:- Perhaps she just thinks you are a window licker and is being nice just in case she becomes another Jill Dando.
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[SlimRick]

[stonesie]

German or jap for reliability, the Mk4 golf tdi is a good bet but be careful if you go for the GT-TDI, insurance might keep you off that anyway but they are reported to eat camshafts if badly remapped.

The PD engines have cam driven fuel injectors so cam belts must be changed on time due to the extra load on them, they are noticeably thicker belts than on the 20v petrol engines.


The 'Bangernomics' option....
306 D-Turbo, made before the frogs put too much electronic control on the engines, wind the boost upto about 18psi, tweak the pump to match and it will pull like a bitch and loves a drop of veggy oil

[D O G]

What you need is a non turbo 1.5 diesel 106. 65mpg, and dirt cheap. Plentiful spares and simple cars.

Absolutely slow as shite tho.

[stonesie]

[Omega]

Have a look at Astra Estates. They are cheap on insurance and you get a big car for the money compared to some of the other options.

[dextersaurus]

Looking at a VW golf or polo now.

Had a polo a while ago, and that was an ok car for the whole 4 times i drove it. I do fancy a golf though.

Funnily enough, insurance on a golf is the same as a polo, somehow.

Dunc

[Jenks]

For golfs, the one they all go mental for is the III.
I have brought myself a 1992 Audi 80, and i cant fault it. perfect german reliablity. and its Zink coated. so no rust.
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[st3v3]

70 Luke? Either you're quoting that for legal purposes or it's very poorly!

[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

[st3v3]

It's not fast, but I don't drive slow.

True one doesn't exist, as standard/factory finish.

For an A to B car used for building NCB that's cheap as can be, can't go wrong with one like mine.
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Roger wrote: Women don't get damp for clingy puppies. Get some better happy pills, hit the gym & buy a medallion the size of a dinner plate. Job done

[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

[st3v3]

You should witness my record breaking skillz

I did n't spend time asking what it was, i was pretty impressed i'd faired against it so well in my loving little shitbox given how 'shit slow' they're reputed to be. My old man breifly chatted to him before we headed off.
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Roger wrote: Women don't get damp for clingy puppies. Get some better happy pills, hit the gym & buy a medallion the size of a dinner plate. Job done

[dextersaurus]

Well it looks like i'll end up with a mk4 golf. but looking at the 1.6 petrol version. diesel one and all other engine sizes are higher insurance so that'll have to do.

Bit gutting that Bradford & Bingley said they want £500 for me to cancel my insurance policy, so i'll be battling that out till i get another car...

[Shaft]

Have you tried getting quotes on the diesel equivalent SEAT or Skoda models?

Same car, but usually cheaper to buy, so the difference could pay for the insurance.

Personally, if you're stuck with getting a petrol, I would look elsewhere, the Golf 1.6 is gutless, dull and overpriced, there are better cars out there.
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[dextersaurus]

I'd prefer a petrol car... Fair enough less mpg, but the rents both have diesels, and I was driving the punto 1.9d... Don't really like them.

May have a look at those though... I might have a test drive of a golf to see the difference though. Nothing can be as sluggish as the punto was.

Out of interest though, what would the skoda/seat equivelants be?

Plus, for balls-out speed and recklessness, I've got the bike

Cheers

Dunc

[robs321]

[andyscooter]

seat leon would be the seat version or an octavia from skoda
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gilera runner vxr200 (chavped)
if its spelt wrong its my fat fingers and daft auto correct on my tablet

[st3v3]

Why a petrol? (I'm seriously interested in why people choose to buy uneconomic cars)

Quality cars..
https://i377.photobucket.com/albums/oo220/martyrua/vw%20bora/016.jpg


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Roger wrote: Women don't get damp for clingy puppies. Get some better happy pills, hit the gym & buy a medallion the size of a dinner plate. Job done