Small, fast, auto, £4k. Am I barking up the wrong tree?
Discussion
A "what car" thread, much like many others...
MrsD200, a recent test-passer, has decided that normal-sized cars (her E90, my Volvo) are too big to be practical in Central London where we live. I take her point to some extent, and the mark on my rear bumper from an unsighted bollard(!) would probably testify to that.
The car will spend 99% of its life in stop-start traffic, or dumped (parallel parked) on a street where parking is oversubscribed. For odd weekends away and the annual Le Mans drive, it would be nice to have something a bit more fun.
So far, at the budget, I've considered/researched:
- Audi TT 3.2 DSG
- Audi A3 3.2 DSG
- BMW 325ti Compact (E46)
Before I go and drive these, does anyone have any better suggestions?
Cheers in advance.
MrsD200, a recent test-passer, has decided that normal-sized cars (her E90, my Volvo) are too big to be practical in Central London where we live. I take her point to some extent, and the mark on my rear bumper from an unsighted bollard(!) would probably testify to that.
The car will spend 99% of its life in stop-start traffic, or dumped (parallel parked) on a street where parking is oversubscribed. For odd weekends away and the annual Le Mans drive, it would be nice to have something a bit more fun.
So far, at the budget, I've considered/researched:
- Audi TT 3.2 DSG
- Audi A3 3.2 DSG
- BMW 325ti Compact (E46)
Before I go and drive these, does anyone have any better suggestions?
Cheers in advance.
279 said:
With all due respect to your partner I suspect either more driving experience or lessons would be more useful than a smaller car.
Thousands of people manage to commute and work around C London without incident in vehicles far larger than a 3 series.
Thanks. Not sure what I've done to earn the respect, but the issue is parking rather than driving. Quite often we pass up spaces that aren't physically big enough for the cars, making life a touch painful. Losing a foot and a half of boot would help immeasurably. Thousands of people manage to commute and work around C London without incident in vehicles far larger than a 3 series.
Thanks all - some food for thought.
CLKs are out, as they are bigger than the E90 we just got rid of.
The C-class coupe is also out, as they tend to have a certain image associated with them South of the river.
I've made my peace with it being £3k+ for the next year, and we'll take it from there. In the general scheme of things it's not a huge amount - but it's just a bit galling that our very nice area is classified in the lowest possible postcode grouping for insurance by virtue of proximity to Central London.
CLKs are out, as they are bigger than the E90 we just got rid of.
The C-class coupe is also out, as they tend to have a certain image associated with them South of the river.
Vaud said:
How does the insurance stack up in London for a recently qualified 2nd driver on the larger engines?
In a word, disappointingly.I've made my peace with it being £3k+ for the next year, and we'll take it from there. In the general scheme of things it's not a huge amount - but it's just a bit galling that our very nice area is classified in the lowest possible postcode grouping for insurance by virtue of proximity to Central London.
rallycross said:
Dave200 said:
In a word, disappointingly.
I've made my peace with it being £3k+ for the next year,.
£3k is crazy just buy a cheap small auto diesel for the first year, EG these go quite well with the Mercedes 100 bhp 3 cylinder motorI've made my peace with it being £3k+ for the next year,.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2007-Mitsubishi-Colt-1-5...
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.
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.
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.
confused_buyer said:
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.
0a said:
Mercedes c32 Amg - http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...
It's £1k over budget, and longer than the E90 it would be replacing. Am I missing something?mrf said:
Hmm I'd be tempted by something dirt cheap for central london (as its more than likely going to get dinged, scratched, scraped, trashed by stop start traffic etc)
Spend the rest on something fun and find some covered long stay parking to keep it in?
A lovely idea, but £4k wouldn't even pay for a year's covered parking where we live.Spend the rest on something fun and find some covered long stay parking to keep it in?
mrf said:
205GTI...there seemingly were some autos out there built for the Jap market...
Not for the motorway driving, thanks!dme123 said:
You can get the small 2004 ish onwards Volvo S40 saloon with the T5 engine (225bhp tune, same as the Focus ST) and a 5 speed auto for that sort of budget. Nice left field choice.
A nice idea, but practically the same size as the E90.blearyeyedboy said:
I think your ideas are pretty decent.
Have you considered a BMW Mini?
I know- and agree with- your reservations about small cars for the occasional trips that need some motorway ability. However, Minis do motorways better than many small cars, and better than some bigger ones. If the idea appeals in town but you're worried about longer trips, test drive one on a motorway before striking one off your shopping list.
At the other end of the scale, expanding on your BMW E46 Compact theme: Any E46 will be shorter than your E90 and the turning circle is great, meaning you can take advantage of that short length and get into even tighter gaps.
(I know nothing about Crossfires except what I've read, so I'll leave comments on those to others.)
Absolutely love the idea of a MINI, but unfortunately the auto thing trips us up here. In budget we either have an asthmatic 115bhp auto, or a 160bhp manual. Neither fit the bill, otherwise it wouldn't have got as far as a thread on here.Have you considered a BMW Mini?
I know- and agree with- your reservations about small cars for the occasional trips that need some motorway ability. However, Minis do motorways better than many small cars, and better than some bigger ones. If the idea appeals in town but you're worried about longer trips, test drive one on a motorway before striking one off your shopping list.
At the other end of the scale, expanding on your BMW E46 Compact theme: Any E46 will be shorter than your E90 and the turning circle is great, meaning you can take advantage of that short length and get into even tighter gaps.
(I know nothing about Crossfires except what I've read, so I'll leave comments on those to others.)
I thought this deserved a quick update by way of feedback. Work has meant that I haven't managed to make as much progress as I would have liked - so my efforts will be renewed!
Crossfire: Mega disappointment. I arrived wanting to love it, and realised it wasn't for me within 100m of the test drive. The driving position is just awful - pedals offset right, seats too high/flat, no wheel adjustment.
A3: Dullsville. I could have been in any one of a hundred automatic hatchbacks. I don't mind making trade-offs, but this is too far down that road for me.
TT: Scotch mist. I cannot find one that I would want to own/drive in budget - perhaps this is telling.
325ti: TBC. I haven't yet been able to summon the enthusiasm to test one, which in itself probably rules it out.
The result
Time to throw more money at the problem, and perhaps relax the size parameters a tiny bit.
I can't find anything that does what I want for £4k, so I'm going to go drive the following with a budget of £6-6.5k:
- TT 3.2 DSG
- Z4 3.0 convertible auto
- Boxster 2.7 tiptronic
- 350Z coupé auto/tip
- Mk5 Golf GTi DSG
- SLK32 (although I think it's probably too small, the performance is hard to ignore)
Any thoughts/hints/tips from owners/drivers would be appreciated.
Crossfire: Mega disappointment. I arrived wanting to love it, and realised it wasn't for me within 100m of the test drive. The driving position is just awful - pedals offset right, seats too high/flat, no wheel adjustment.
A3: Dullsville. I could have been in any one of a hundred automatic hatchbacks. I don't mind making trade-offs, but this is too far down that road for me.
TT: Scotch mist. I cannot find one that I would want to own/drive in budget - perhaps this is telling.
325ti: TBC. I haven't yet been able to summon the enthusiasm to test one, which in itself probably rules it out.
The result
Time to throw more money at the problem, and perhaps relax the size parameters a tiny bit.
I can't find anything that does what I want for £4k, so I'm going to go drive the following with a budget of £6-6.5k:
- TT 3.2 DSG
- Z4 3.0 convertible auto
- Boxster 2.7 tiptronic
- 350Z coupé auto/tip
- Mk5 Golf GTi DSG
- SLK32 (although I think it's probably too small, the performance is hard to ignore)
Any thoughts/hints/tips from owners/drivers would be appreciated.
Vaud said:
The 350z coupe is quite addictive; mikes a nice noise, bit plasticky on the inside but pretty comfy. Sightly thirsty but well worth a try. Watch the RFL differences; 1st of april 2006 is the current cut off for the cheaper tax.
Have you tried the auto/tip gearbox? I'm trying to compare it to the (brilliant) BMW offering.otolith said:
Vaud said:
It's her 1st 2 years that will hurt the most, regardless of postcode. Let's face it, a newly passed driver in a crowded city is a high risk for bumps and scrapes.
Depends - I put my wife on the insurance for a Civic Type-R shortly after passing her test, and with a bit of shopping around I was able to match the best quote I'd had for me alone. She was in her mid 20's at the time, though, and living in a rural area. Might not work out quite like that now that they can't discriminate on gender, I suppose.I'm a bit fed up with the usual insurance suspects (particularly those whose premiums who practically double for monthly payment!), and keen to put a bit of business the way of the smaller providers in exchange for a (slightly) more reasonable quote.
I've tried Adrian Flux and Footman James without any success at all. The former was significantly more expensive than the usual comparison site suspects, and the latter refused point blank to quote me.
Any recommendations?
otolith said:
It was a long time ago, so probably not relevant, but I think we ended up insuring it with Admiral. At the time, adding a newly qualified spouse actually reduced their quote to the best I was getting from anyone else without her on it. I think that was a peculiarity of their rating system, don't know if they still work like that.
Unfortunately, Admiral (group) are my current providers, and one of the worst offenders for adding ludicrous interest rates to monthly payment arrangements.Direct Line and Aviva also declined to quote, so I'm looking for a smaller broker with a perhaps more personal service.
Vaud said:
Try Saffron. There were helpful when my wife had only recently passed her test.
Thank you - Saffron were more competitive than the usual crowd, so very much appreciated (albeit with a £3,000 excess!). Oddly, Footman James wouldn't even quote for me alone on fairly mundane 'sporty' cars, so perhaps their issue is more location-based.Edited by Dave200 on Wednesday 1st July 16:33
Vaud said:
Dave200 said:
Thank you - Saffron were more competitive than the usual crowd, so very much appreciated. Oddly, Footman James wouldn't even quote for me alone on fairly mundane 'sporty' cars, so perhaps their issue is more location-based.
Glad to be of help. Of note they were less competitive once she had a few years experience.I just wish there was an insurance company that could explain the rationale behind the seemingly random prices...
Edited by Dave200 on Wednesday 1st July 16:55
Vaud said:
Dave200 said:
talksthetorque said:
Oddly, I think a lot of your insurance issues might be with inexperience of RWD.
I somehow doubt that - I haven't yet been asked, in spite of fairly extensive experience...I'll concede that insuring a non-Brit, Masters Student, in her early 20s, on a sporty car, with 18mths experience, in Central London is a fairly sizeable risk.
I'm just looking for an insurer that will take 8,000 miles a year in a £6k car seriously, in spite of the above...
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff