First car, £3k budget - what's good?

[SidewaysSi]

I needed to get a first car for the wife. Looked at all the usual suspects including everything mentioned on the thread.

Nearly went for a Focus as it made a lot of sense but the thought of something so dull on the drive meant I steered clear. Ended up with an Alfa 147 2.0TS for around a £1000.

Looks good, goes well and even I enjoy driving it. Been reliable and insurance isn't bad at all if you shop around. Much recommended.

[veccy208]

What about a 1.6VTEC civic? (04 onwards) Cheap to buy and insure and pretty reliable being Japanese. Not the most exciting thing granted.

[ZX10R NIN]

I thought the insurance for the OP would be to high on the Alfa but if that's not the case OP get yourself a 147.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

Or a Mito

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

So OP have you drawn up a shortlist?

[justanother5tar]

If suggest a Focus too. Had a few in the family and none have every really had any issues.

Volvo C30 is a good call, too. No 5 doors though unfortunately.

[HJMS123]

veccy208 said:

What about a 1.6VTEC civic? (04 onwards) Cheap to buy and insure and pretty reliable being Japanese. Not the most exciting thing granted.

I ahd one a couple of years back ... loved it! Uber reliable, looked 'sporty' and felt a lot quicker than the stats suggest due to little insulation. Highly recommend one for someone doing lots of town driving.

[R E S T E C P]

I don't normally rate them, but you can't deny the value of used Dacias. They start off cheap and the price still plummets!

3 years old and decent spec, might get it close to £3k: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

Personally I'd go for a Focus, though. Good value, feel nice to drive and are easy to live with.

[SidewaysSi]

ZX10R NIN said:

I thought the insurance for the OP would be to high on the Alfa but if that's not the case OP get yourself a 147.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

Or a Mito

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

So OP have you drawn up a shortlist?

Insurance when you are the wrong side of 30 is not an issue on a 147. Our has just 53k mikes, FSH and is a bit of a laugh. For the money, infinitely more interesting than a Focus. Good engine and quick steering keeps me entertained.

[outsidetown]

ZX10R NIN said:

So OP have you drawn up a shortlist?

Yeah, it's just ever-changing haha. I thought the deciding factor would be insurance, but living where I live and being 31 it's actually been pretty even for everything I've checked, and I'm happy to spend £150 more for anything over a Yaris at this point.

Some great suggestions in here for thing I'd never thought of looking at, the only factor narrowing it down is the location - this being my first car even though I've done a lot of reading up I'm going to take the old man along to check them out, so won't be travelling too far. I've only driven my instructors D3 properly before!

Current top of the list is still the Focus, purely for the availability of good FSH one owner models with some perks. The drive doesn't seem too boring to me, but then I've not driven that much, and parts are everywhere.

Gonna look for a 147, they do look fun! And cheap.

Focus seems like the most sensible option at this point, until I get bored of it. They all look a bit OAP inside but I can see things like climate control being really useful. It's annoying after browsing PH for a while to be so practical about this haha

[vtecyo]

A Corsa.

People on here despise them, but as a first car they're pretty spot on. Economical, reliable, ok to look at in the right spec, pretty safe, cheap to repair / replace parts, and cheap to insure. I had one as my first car and to be honest I loved it. 75bhp of absolute fury.

Get a year or twos driving that under your belt, then move on to something a bit more powerful. A 300bhp MR2 in my case The look on my poor mums face when I turned up in that.


ETA: Just spotted that you're 31. Not a Corsa then.

An Auris probably represents some of the best VFM in that price bracket.

Edited by vtecyo on Friday 17th June 10:17

[R E S T E C P]

outsidetown said:

Focus seems like the most sensible option at this point, until I get bored of it. They all look a bit OAP inside but I can see things like climate control being really useful. It's annoying after browsing PH for a while to be so practical about this haha

A Focus can be loads of fun! Especially the Mk1 which was made when Ford were miles ahead of the competition for FWD handling and driving pleasure. They still are IMO, but everyone has taken a few steps backwards in that regard and Ford are only just the leaders of a bad bunch.

[daniel-5zjw7]

Another vote for a Ford Focus here, if insurance is OK try to seek out an ST170 5 door, should cover all bases for you and if you buy the right one may even go up in value over the next few years.

[anonymous-user]

SidewaysSi said:

Ended up with an Alfa 147 2.0TS for around a £1000.

Nice to look at but I found these a bit claustrophobic, especially in the back. Don't forget there's a Ford dealer on every street corner, cannot say that about Alfa unfortunately.

[SidewaysSi]

wormus said:

SidewaysSi said:

Ended up with an Alfa 147 2.0TS for around a £1000.

Nice to look at but I found these a bit claustrophobic, especially in the back. Don't forget there's a Ford dealer on every street corner, cannot say that about Alfa unfortunately.

It is mid way between a Fiesta and Focus in size and not huge in the back (ours is a 3dr). There are plenty of Alfa specialists about and at this level I would never go near a main dealer anyway, irrespective of marque.

Literally just got out after doing 200 miles and it has been great. Fast enough, agile and didn't see another the whole journey.

[ZX10R NIN]

Get what you like you have to pay insurance so pay it on something you wanted.

[outsidetown]

These topics never seem to get an end reply, do they?

And the OP rarely buys a car that gets recommended, do they?

Well...errr...

I decided to be slightly more sensible and try to fit as much of the insurance cost as I could into my budget. 2 pretty solid months of looking at everything under the sun was getting on my nerves, and I was beginning to add an extra grand on for silly reasons. Went through insurance options and got boring/realistic. I was pretty set on a Focus, and they're definitely the most comfortable car I've sat in, but I've gone for a Fiesta, which I don't think was mentioned here. I'm off to pick this one up on the weekend!




It's not very PH, and it has a weird grin, but after a load of searching and bad experiences with private sellers I found this little one the most pleasing option. Cam belt's been done, service history is great, 12 month warranty, 1,4 engine is enough for now, and it's pretty pristine. Leg room in back is limited but I don't think I'll have passengers that often, and when I do there'll likely be a baby seat behind me. I can't see it failing to do the job, and there's something comforting about my first car being a stereotypical first car, haha!

Have to say though, I learned a lot about cars just from looking at your suggestions here. Now to think about what to get next...

[ambuletz]

+1 fiesta "Zetec blue".

[poing]

Perfect first car, congrats!

[ZX10R NIN]

Glad you got sorted OP.

[outsidetown]

ambuletz said:

+1 fiesta "Zetec blue".

I wanted a white one I saw, but we have 8 dogs and live in Wales. It was never going to work.