Small, fast, auto, £4k. Am I barking up the wrong tree?
Discussion
Dave200 said:
A nice idea for the 99%, but the 500-mile motorway run to Le Mans would be miserable. I realise I'm looking for a fairly 'unique' combination of attributes, which is why I put it out for feedback - it wouldn't have taken much imagination to spend £4k on a Fiesta or Smart...
And getting the Smart for the 360 days in London and invest the money you don't spend with insurance in renting a nice car for the Mans trip?AlexIT said:
Dave200 said:
A nice idea for the 99%, but the 500-mile motorway run to Le Mans would be miserable. I realise I'm looking for a fairly 'unique' combination of attributes, which is why I put it out for feedback - it wouldn't have taken much imagination to spend £4k on a Fiesta or Smart...
And getting the Smart for the 360 days in London and invest the money you don't spend with insurance in renting a nice car for the Mans trip?Purity14 said:
Dave200 said:
AlexIT said:
Dave200 said:
A nice idea for the 99%, but the 500-mile motorway run to Le Mans would be miserable. I realise I'm looking for a fairly 'unique' combination of attributes, which is why I put it out for feedback - it wouldn't have taken much imagination to spend £4k on a Fiesta or Smart...
And getting the Smart for the 360 days in London and invest the money you don't spend with insurance in renting a nice car for the Mans trip?Smart cars are rubbish on the motorway (from experience - noise, stability, economy), and travelling further than 10 miles from Central London usually means I'll be using a motorway of some sort. These are probably 7-8 trips per year, and I haven't got the time/patience to hire something specially for the task.
Therefore, a Smart car is a crap suggestion.
mark.c said:
For my money you had it on the original list, 325ti. In fact I put my own cash where my mouth is and bought one last year for daily duties, it's a cracking little car.
My wife has had one for over eight years, it is good if not outstanding to drive. Nice raspy engine note when pushed on a bit.Check the rear wash/wipe, the design means that the wash liquid can get forced into the gear casing and it slowly locks up and strips the main gear.
The front suspension bushes can wear and cost several hundred quid to replace, listen/feel for clonks under braking/acceleration. Common e46 thing I think.
The 'hedgehog' that controls the interior fan can fail, not that expensive to fix, but a bit of a pita to get at.
I think you are making a big deal out of nothing. Me and my other half have to drive a lot in central London and never had the issues you mention. Ok, it's not a full time thing and we don't do any door to door deliveries but we never had any trouble with our 3 series estate anywhere... Parking not an issue really but each one to their own. I suppose a city car is easier... Shame you can't get a 500 Abarth for 4k... I would have kept the e90, is not that big... Pretty average size by today's standards.
Get a Fiesta, drives well and will do the job
Get a Fiesta, drives well and will do the job
CrgT16 said:
I think you are making a big deal out of nothing. Me and my other half have to drive a lot in central London and never had the issues you mention. Ok, it's not a full time thing and we don't do any door to door deliveries but we never had any trouble with our 3 series estate anywhere... Parking not an issue really but each one to their own. I suppose a city car is easier... Shame you can't get a 500 Abarth for 4k... I would have kept the e90, is not that big... Pretty average size by today's standards.
Get a Fiesta, drives well and will do the job
Thanks for the useless advice. If you engage your eyes, you will see that this isn't about driving - it's about the eternal parking war.Get a Fiesta, drives well and will do the job
We live on a very popular street, in a nice part of Central London. Most houses have a (on-street) parking permit, and thus space is at a premium. We're often turning down spots or squeezing cars into tiny spaces (we're both fine at parking), and would prefer not to have the arseache of doing this all the time. Owning something a bit better suited to the environment (as most of our neighbours do), will take this away.
I went through a similar problem (Mrs learning to drive 2-3 years ago) and bought an 1998 £850 VW 6N [for the model code geeks] Polo.
This isn't a suggestion of car. However what I found funny was the amount of incredulity we encountrered about the fact I used to take the Polo on the motorwat a fair bit instead of the train. I was either between cars or I was going to visit Liverpool in my M3 and needed the wheels to get back home
People would not believe that we would not die, the car would make it, we wouldn't arrive with broken spinal columns and bleeding ears after spending 3-4 hours in a car more than 5 years old.
Tell you what.. we arrive unharmed and without breaking up. It was actually OK, albeit a 1.4 not a 998cc etc. For once a month long journeys I just cannot see some of the suggestions being a problem really.
This isn't a suggestion of car. However what I found funny was the amount of incredulity we encountrered about the fact I used to take the Polo on the motorwat a fair bit instead of the train. I was either between cars or I was going to visit Liverpool in my M3 and needed the wheels to get back home
People would not believe that we would not die, the car would make it, we wouldn't arrive with broken spinal columns and bleeding ears after spending 3-4 hours in a car more than 5 years old.
Tell you what.. we arrive unharmed and without breaking up. It was actually OK, albeit a 1.4 not a 998cc etc. For once a month long journeys I just cannot see some of the suggestions being a problem really.
MK V Auto Golf?
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/v...
From my days of daily driving in London (goes all misty eyed) This would be small enough to park, comfy enough for long hauls and be practical enough for Euro trips.
In budget and ready for a load of London scrapes
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/v...
From my days of daily driving in London (goes all misty eyed) This would be small enough to park, comfy enough for long hauls and be practical enough for Euro trips.
In budget and ready for a load of London scrapes
T1berious said:
MK V Auto Golf?
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/v...
From my days of daily driving in London (goes all misty eyed) This would be small enough to park, comfy enough for long hauls and be practical enough for Euro trips.
In budget and ready for a load of London scrapes
Look at the state of the front wheel arch though... http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/v...
From my days of daily driving in London (goes all misty eyed) This would be small enough to park, comfy enough for long hauls and be practical enough for Euro trips.
In budget and ready for a load of London scrapes
Personally, I'd avoid anything with a DSG gearbox in this budget.
Crossfire isn't a bad idea - or even a Mk 1 SLK if you can get all your stuff in it. I doubt you'll find a Volvo C30 Auto in your price bracket which would also be a good shout if a C-Class is off the list.
Crossfire isn't a bad idea - or even a Mk 1 SLK if you can get all your stuff in it. I doubt you'll find a Volvo C30 Auto in your price bracket which would also be a good shout if a C-Class is off the list.
Edited by confused_buyer on Thursday 23 April 08:34
confused_buyer said:
Personally, I'd avoid anything with a DSG gearbox in this budget.
Crossfire isn't a bad idea
Slowly coming around to this way of thinking. I had initially worked myself into a bit of a corner with the DSG TT idea, as it seemed to offer so much practicality in such a small package. However, looking at the back seats of one I passed today, I can't see that they would be of much use to anyone with a head.Crossfire isn't a bad idea
The SLK is out, because we might occasionally need to carry more than one weekend bag - so perhaps it's time I drove a Crossfire.
Dave200 said:
Slowly coming around to this way of thinking. I had initially worked myself into a bit of a corner with the DSG TT idea, as it seemed to offer so much practicality in such a small package. However, looking at the back seats of one I passed today, I can't see that they would be of much use to anyone with a head.
The SLK is out, because we might occasionally need to carry more than one weekend bag - so perhaps it's time I drove a Crossfire.
Crossfires drive quite "old school" Merc. They're certainly not very inspiring to drive but are easy to drive and, despite initial appearances, very comfortable long distance cruisers. As long as you don't expect a sports car they are OK and certainly brisk enough with the 3.2 engine.The SLK is out, because we might occasionally need to carry more than one weekend bag - so perhaps it's time I drove a Crossfire.
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