What's a good first car??
Discussion
On the MX5 note, I came close to getting one a few weeks back (damn you PH!), and insurance quotes were comparable to a middle of the range engined supermini. I did notice that the prices went in this order (all mk1s)
Most expensive was the 90bhp 1.6, Followed by the original 1.6, with the more powerful 1.8 coming out the cheapest.
It was only about £50 difference over the whole lot, but interesting...
Most expensive was the 90bhp 1.6, Followed by the original 1.6, with the more powerful 1.8 coming out the cheapest.
It was only about £50 difference over the whole lot, but interesting...
Mighty Flex said:
On the MX5 note, I came close to getting one a few weeks back (damn you PH!), and insurance quotes were comparable to a middle of the range engined supermini. I did notice that the prices went in this order (all mk1s)
Most expensive was the 90bhp 1.6, Followed by the original 1.6, with the more powerful 1.8 coming out the cheapest.
It was only about £50 difference over the whole lot, but interesting...
What company was that with? Most expensive was the 90bhp 1.6, Followed by the original 1.6, with the more powerful 1.8 coming out the cheapest.
It was only about £50 difference over the whole lot, but interesting...
), so a bit of an odd case.Baryonyx said:
VeeFour said:
Much as I like my MX5, I'd not want a MkI or MkI, or even MkIII ragtop as a daily driver.
The gearing is too short for motorway cruising (can't recall exactly, but the engine is spinning along at around 4k rpm on motorways), so they're noisy - not helped by the noise from the roof if it's up, although it can be quieter with it down. Then it will leak in heavy rain. If you have a very new roof and seals it might not - but at some point you'll end up with water where you don't want it. Plus the boot is too small - you can barely get a week's shopping in there.
I was just discussing this saying how my MX5 needed a 6th gear, because at 70mph it's doing something close to 4000rmp. The short gearing is great for B roads though. Although if you live with an MX5 you're going to have to put up with the noise, wind noise on the motorway was bad, as was road noise. Mine had the original 13 year old roof, which didn't leak in the common sense. The only time I got wet was when I was sitting down in the car after it had been raining and water from the outside of the roof or the door seal ended up dripping on me. The gearing is too short for motorway cruising (can't recall exactly, but the engine is spinning along at around 4k rpm on motorways), so they're noisy - not helped by the noise from the roof if it's up, although it can be quieter with it down. Then it will leak in heavy rain. If you have a very new roof and seals it might not - but at some point you'll end up with water where you don't want it. Plus the boot is too small - you can barely get a week's shopping in there.
I didn't find the boot to small but I very rarely carry much anyway, it was certainly enough to do a weekly shop for 2.
I normally hate What Car threads but for once I put on my shining armour for the damsel in distress. Actually it's gone rusty and has a penny black stamp in the inside pocket it's been so long since last used.
Ellie seems to have her head screwed on right. The ideal car for anyone at college is probably the Ford Focus 1.6 as mentioned before. It has enough space, it is reliable, it is cheap, you can do large distances, not too big, not too small and of course Ford gave us a car with a smooth and zesty Yamaha derrived engine. It's something a 40+ year old man would buy thinking it best for his daughter. Damn I am getting old!
Looking back 20 years I think the sensible choice should take a back seat for something with more fun and character. Of course in those days it meant lots of original VW Beetles and Mini's for young ladies which meant most of my dating and wooing involved push starting such b
d infernal machines for the chance of a kiss on the cheek later. So don't go down the unreliable path when tring to get something a bit more fun and you can give a name to. For instance this
http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/2918839.htm
I think the Lupo has the funkyness of the Ka but with better reliability, the funkyness of the bubble Micra but without the image problem. I can't imagine insurance would be too much ( relatively).
Good luck with the car and the course. We will probably still being arguing about it when you have graduated
Andy
Ellie seems to have her head screwed on right. The ideal car for anyone at college is probably the Ford Focus 1.6 as mentioned before. It has enough space, it is reliable, it is cheap, you can do large distances, not too big, not too small and of course Ford gave us a car with a smooth and zesty Yamaha derrived engine. It's something a 40+ year old man would buy thinking it best for his daughter. Damn I am getting old!
Looking back 20 years I think the sensible choice should take a back seat for something with more fun and character. Of course in those days it meant lots of original VW Beetles and Mini's for young ladies which meant most of my dating and wooing involved push starting such b
d infernal machines for the chance of a kiss on the cheek later. So don't go down the unreliable path when tring to get something a bit more fun and you can give a name to. For instance thishttp://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/2918839.htm
I think the Lupo has the funkyness of the Ka but with better reliability, the funkyness of the bubble Micra but without the image problem. I can't imagine insurance would be too much ( relatively).
Good luck with the car and the course. We will probably still being arguing about it when you have graduated
Andy
VeeFour said:
cheesyblob said:
I don't mean to offend you, i'm just telling you that it is quite a good idea to have a classic first car.
No, really, it's not.I'm going to wing it here and assume that a young-ish girl wants something that's not going to need maintaining most weekends, isn't going to need parts tracking down from specialists in brown coats, isn't going to rust (yes, Kas do rust, but nowhere near as badly as something built by British Leyland), wants heating that works, wipers that clear the screen, probably would quite like air-conditioning, will turn in decent economy, run on bog standard unleaded without modification or additives, will cruise at 80mph without feeling like it'll fall apart or take a week to get there.
I love old cars, but they have their place - and it's not as daily drivers for young people.
As for the suggestions of 1960s/1970s ragtops.... how many of those who suggest these kind of things have used a 30 / 40 year old ragtop in a British winter? - I have. It was deeply unpleasant - especially on the days where I had to chip the ice off the inside of the windscreen before setting off, or those days where the only way to keep the screen clear was to drop the roof when it was minus 10 outside.
Mrs VeeFour is a car enthusiast - but she won't drive our GTV unless she has no other choice, as she finds 30-odd year old cars difficult to drive, and finds it terrifying in wet / icy conditions.
giggity said:
I would say 1.4 or 1.6 Ford Focus,
Very reliable and you should be able to get insured on it fairly easy with the left over money.
There are some really tidy examples about and they are safe.
Look decent and go / handle well. Certainly gets my vote.
RE Safety - Focus is quite good you can get models with ESP fitted and with side airbags too!
For the love of all that's holy, if I can recommend one thing it's not getting the 1.4 Focus! My mum has one, and it's very comfortable, roomy, despite being a bit dubious with no service history has been very reliable. I borrowed it for dropping someone to Heathrow (150 mile round trip) and all I can say is that it's the worst car I've driven personally. 2-up with minimal luggage and I averaged under 30 mpg (the reason I took it in the first place was because I thought it'd be cheaper than my Astra and a bit more fun through some twisties on the way home!) and it was the most depressingly lethargic thing I've driven. I wouldn't say "dangerously slow" because vans etc cope, but perhaps "suicidally sluggish POS" would be fitting. If it had been the 1.8 or even the 1.6 it would've been alright, the car was good in every other aspect. But Jesus that engine Very reliable and you should be able to get insured on it fairly easy with the left over money.
There are some really tidy examples about and they are safe.
Look decent and go / handle well. Certainly gets my vote.
RE Safety - Focus is quite good you can get models with ESP fitted and with side airbags too!
Edited by giggity on Sunday 19th June 13:31
The 1.3 pushrod Escort I run is more lively FFS!/rant.
If you can get an MX5, go for it, they seem to be very highly rated for the money.
Firstly I haven't read the whole thread so this may have already been said but MK I MX5 is a brilliant and cheap convertible but I doubt you'll ensure one.
These are very reliable, cheap to run and insure and you get quite alot of kit for your money. I also think they are quite cute, if you're a girl - which you are!
I introduce you to the Dahitsu Copen:
http://pistonheads.com/sales/2897622.htm
These are very reliable, cheap to run and insure and you get quite alot of kit for your money. I also think they are quite cute, if you're a girl - which you are!
I introduce you to the Dahitsu Copen:
http://pistonheads.com/sales/2897622.htm
Yazza54 said:
Missed this one, swifts are nice cars. The mate who just bought a mx5 and is thinking of selling it had a swift sport before and I'm sure he preferred the swift. Everyones different though, but good shout, theyre decent cars.
As for the mention of the Daihatsu copen, I've always thought they looked cool and were cool in theory too, but I have heard that they suffer terribly from rust very quickly. Google might provide some answers there but that put me right off them.
Having owned a Copen (well, it was the wife's) I can highly recommend them for cheap, fun, open top motoring.
I'm surprised no-one has mentioned the PH favourite the Panda 100HP?
You can get them for 4k, well spec'd, cheap to run and insure...?
Something like this:
http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/2948037.htm
I'm surprised no-one has mentioned the PH favourite the Panda 100HP?
You can get them for 4k, well spec'd, cheap to run and insure...?
Something like this:
http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/2948037.htm
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