What car for me?

[liamg1987]

Hi all,

Im just here asking for advice! Im 22 and travel 65 motorway miles a day to and from work, I have a rover 416 si and my insurance is 110 a month, I spend 60£ a week on fuel and my tax is through the roof.

Im looking for a new car, under £1000 which is reliable, cheap to insure/refill and a comfortable drive. Am I asking too much do ya think?

Hope you're all good

[Ricky_M]

Peugeot 306 D-Turbo.

[Carfiend]

Good call. Make sure you get the Turbo and not the Turbo Sport as despite the fact the too cars are the same having an extra badge on it makes it cost more than the non Sport.

[RB26DETT]

Puma or Focus.

[liamg1987]

whats the Peugeot 306 D-Turbo like to drive? are they good at picking up speed quickly?

[liamg1987]

Just tried to get a quote on a 306d (http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201030364713223/sort/priceasc/usedcars/price-from/0/price-to/1000/fuel-type/diesel/model/306/make/peugeot/page/1/postcode/wa74pq/radius/30?logcode=p)

£1,209.92, joke! ive been driving nearly 5 years but only built up 1 years no claims as I was a named driver beforehand.

[Ricky_M]

306 D-turbo won't be as quick as your Rover, but being an older Turbo Diesel the power delivery is very crude. It just lobs all the torque at you in one go, so it feels a lot faster than it is.

But mine was a hoot to drive. 45-50MPG, not the tighest handling car, but did hold the road fairly good and lift-off oversteer is great fun if you are feeling brave!

[liamg1987]

Brilliant, thanks ricky, Ill have a look into one!, should i look at a particular engine size/year?

[Ricky_M]

They are all 1.9 Turbo Diesels. D-Turbo is actually a spec name like LX, SRi etc. There are other models with the same engine. Mine was an XLDT which was the bog standard version, the D-Turbo is the sporty looking one and the Meridian is the top of the range.

Never did it to mine, but apparently you can wind up the fuel pressure and people have reported over 100BHP from them.

A video of mine doing 0-60.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrc16U49o4o

Insurance shouldn't be too steep, they are only group 5 I think.

[trickywoo]

liamg1987 said:

Just tried to get a quote on a 306d

£1,209.92, joke!

In what way is £111 cheaper than your 416 a joke?

[gareth.e]

liamg1987 said:

Just tried to get a quote on a 306d (http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201030364713223/sort/priceasc/usedcars/price-from/0/price-to/1000/fuel-type/diesel/model/306/make/peugeot/page/1/postcode/wa74pq/radius/30?logcode=p)

£1,209.92, joke! ive been driving nearly 5 years but only built up 1 years no claims as I was a named driver beforehand.

At 21 with 0ncb or named driver ncb I managed to get insured on a 306 gti-6 with modifications for £1100

You're looking in the wrong places!

(edit: this was 2 months ago!)

Edited by gareth.e on Wednesday 4th August 13:30

[Ben Hughes]

Even as an 18 year old with 0 NCB I've managed to get a quote on one for £1100. Which broker have you tried?

[liamg1987]

I used to have a 1.2 punto and i only paid 75£ a month, its just the price seems so expensive, thanks for your input everyone, bit of a random question, but whats the road/engine noise like in them?

[liamg1987]

another thing is i've noticed the longer, "saloon" style 306d and the short sporty looking ones, which would be best? or is it personal pref?

[GreatGranny]

What about an older car? Say over 15 years old. Might be cheaper to insure or maybe even get Classic insurance. Don't know if you are too young.

[liamg1987]

Im not too lucky with older cars, they always seem to go **** up on me after a month or so

[GreatGranny]

Ok fair enough.

You can't be too fussy at that price so I would just get the best condition newest low insurance car you can afford.

Or is that stating the obvious

[Ricky_M]

I won't lie, they are not quiet. They sound like tractors, but they are pretty civilized once moving.

I'd have another if I was in your position. If not a Focus isn't a bad idea, but you'll struggle to get anything but a 1.4 CL for that money!

[mig25_foxbat2003]

My mate had one and we took it on a road trip through the Evo Triangle then across Yorkshire to Whitby. In terms of real-world punch it was plenty quick enough and managed to stick with a Rover 220 Turbo and a stripped-out Civic VTI on the twisty bits (mainly because it doesn't have brakes like Jammie dodgers like the Tomcat and it wasn't as twitchy as the Civ)

I'd say go for it if you can find a goodun. The S3 ones still look smart - IMO a lot nicer looking than the 307 and 308 (but then Shrek is a lot nicer looking than a 308)