What car on a budget?
Discussion
Ok, I know these are the most common topics started on PH but I really need help from the knowledge base of pistonheads! Situation is this:
I am 23, been driving nearly 3 years, 2 years ncb, CD10 with 5 points and I am a student. I need a car to goto uni and back (10 miles each way), be ok on a motorway and not be boring. My budget is £700 tops and insurance is a killer for me because of the points and I need it to be reasonably economical enough for me so then I dont work every week just to cover petrol and insurance(being a student, i like beer too). Current cars I have looked at are:
Rover 100/metro - had a few of them, love the handling and they are cheap to own and run
Volvo 940 - had one previously, just worried about the sub-20 mpg i got from it
BMW 323 - never had one but hear BMW's are good cars, worried about cost of parts
Thats it really, broadest range of cars as possible please but see what you can find but I want it to be enjoyable to drive. Using a 206 derv atm and it has killed my love of driving and makes me want to take public transport.
I am 23, been driving nearly 3 years, 2 years ncb, CD10 with 5 points and I am a student. I need a car to goto uni and back (10 miles each way), be ok on a motorway and not be boring. My budget is £700 tops and insurance is a killer for me because of the points and I need it to be reasonably economical enough for me so then I dont work every week just to cover petrol and insurance(being a student, i like beer too). Current cars I have looked at are:
Rover 100/metro - had a few of them, love the handling and they are cheap to own and run
Volvo 940 - had one previously, just worried about the sub-20 mpg i got from it
BMW 323 - never had one but hear BMW's are good cars, worried about cost of parts
Thats it really, broadest range of cars as possible please but see what you can find but I want it to be enjoyable to drive. Using a 206 derv atm and it has killed my love of driving and makes me want to take public transport.
Noticed you started a thread about the 323 - 2 pages at the minute.
Sounds like your not happy about the MPG of the volvo and sound enthusiastic about the metro.
I drive an E36 Cabriolet (323) on 99 plate daily and it goes ok and has been remarkably solid apart from snapping the rear springs
and the odd bush and consumables (3 year motoring).
If you aren't sold by the E36 in the thread you started it sounds like you have made your mind up! (the metro btw) although I am sure there are plenty of cars within the price range that could be suggested.
Sounds like your not happy about the MPG of the volvo and sound enthusiastic about the metro.
I drive an E36 Cabriolet (323) on 99 plate daily and it goes ok and has been remarkably solid apart from snapping the rear springs
and the odd bush and consumables (3 year motoring).If you aren't sold by the E36 in the thread you started it sounds like you have made your mind up! (the metro btw) although I am sure there are plenty of cars within the price range that could be suggested.
Well metros rust, are uncomfortable and need modifying slightly to get the most out of them(standard suspention is crap) so I am open ot anything people can suggest. The volvo is cheaper to insure(randomly) but does worse mpg so they would work out the same over a period of 6-12 months, dependant on useage.
Look around at what is available, you may find something fun but a little under appreciated, I've got a mate who does the bargain barge / shed route buys something fun and runs it till the repair bill is too high then scraps it. Going out with a list of cars you are looking out for means you could miss the house clearance car that is being sold cheap because no one wants it or knows what it's worth.
morgrp said:
Volvo 850 2.0 20valve. Cheap, indestructible, comfy, cheap to run and insure, 143bhp, sound like an Audi quattro and loves to be driven everywhere on the redline
Annoyingly dad wont let me get an 850 as he says they are too big but doesnt mind a 900 series or a rover 600 which are both bigger cars! Thanks for the suggestions so far though, I keep looking but nothing is catching my eye and i dont know if i am overlooking cars which would be perfect for me just because I dont know about them(like the 323 which annoyingly is now sold).Ahhh but i am settled in a long-term relationship so most of those points are void! I do like to have a drink but I love driving and play paintball for a team so travel around the country and need a car to cart my gear about in! I know what you mean but I do all my own servicing(and do it on mates cars as well) and dont mind paying insurance costs etc as its cheaper than public transport to uni and back as well as its cheaper than living at uni too!
Hitler Hadrump said:
Well I was going to say get the Metro but after reading musclecarmad's post, I'm changing my vote to having a bath with the toaster.
OP, I expect a Pug 205 GTI 1.6 will be too expensive to insure (try it out by all means), but the lesser versions are supposed to be good fun too. A while ago I got quotes on 205s ranging from the 1.1 to 1.4 (I think) and there wasn't much difference. The 1.4 is probably pretty good.
The 850 suggestion is also good; even the diesels are alright. Prove to your dad that they're smaller than 940s.
Bangernomics is your friend here I had 3 years motoring back when I was your age in a pink (faded red) E30 316i with rust on most panels, it didn't go to quickly tappets were noisey buy when it warmed up it went up and down the motorway every day for 3 years I treated it to one oil change and when it failed its MOT and needed more than £200 to get it through (£200 was what I paid originally) I ended up taking £70 from the scrap man.
Good hunting.
Good hunting.
musclecarmad said:
My advice is this mate:
1. Don't waste your money on a car - insurance will prob be £1,000 (or a holiday with the lads in other words)
2. Tax will prob be £180 (or in other words a weekend away with the boys)
3. Petrol and servicing and parking and repairs will be another few hundred quid a year (or a holiday with the lads)
I'd honestly stick to public transport, save your money for the fun things in life like beer, nights out and girls and get public transport. You will probably still be pissed most mornings going to uni anyway.
Plus as brutal as it sounds a £700 is a s
tter and it won't pull the birds anyway so just get the bus or a lift with a mate - think how many £1 a pint nights out you can go on.
You'll never look back and think 'wow, i'm glad i had that st heap through uni' but you may think 'wow, i partied hard through uni, banged a lot of fitties and fk me, I actually have lived more than most at uni'
I have been there, done it, worn the t-shirt and there is plenty of time in later life (when you are married, impotent with stty kids and your wife's tits are down on the floor) when you can't spend your money on going out as you aren't allowed and you can't pull anyway so you can spend all your discretionary on a Porsche 911. But then, there'll be no point anyway as it's not like you can use your todger anymore as you'll be married so you'll be a middle aged guy trying to look good in a 911 but using your todger less than when you were skint and at uni. (Also at uni you will be nailing 18 year old hotties and when you are middle aged a 35 year old that's been around the block and isn't completely ugly will adorn the passenger seat of your 911)
Yes, I do drive a 911, but i'm single!
Dayumn, im glad im part of the 12 inch club1. Don't waste your money on a car - insurance will prob be £1,000 (or a holiday with the lads in other words)
2. Tax will prob be £180 (or in other words a weekend away with the boys)
3. Petrol and servicing and parking and repairs will be another few hundred quid a year (or a holiday with the lads)
I'd honestly stick to public transport, save your money for the fun things in life like beer, nights out and girls and get public transport. You will probably still be pissed most mornings going to uni anyway.
Plus as brutal as it sounds a £700 is a s
tter and it won't pull the birds anyway so just get the bus or a lift with a mate - think how many £1 a pint nights out you can go on.You'll never look back and think 'wow, i'm glad i had that s
t heap through uni' but you may think 'wow, i partied hard through uni, banged a lot of fitties and fk me, I actually have lived more than most at uni'I have been there, done it, worn the t-shirt and there is plenty of time in later life (when you are married, impotent with s
tty kids and your wife's tits are down on the floor) when you can't spend your money on going out as you aren't allowed and you can't pull anyway so you can spend all your discretionary on a Porsche 911. But then, there'll be no point anyway as it's not like you can use your todger anymore as you'll be married so you'll be a middle aged guy trying to look good in a 911 but using your todger less than when you were skint and at uni. (Also at uni you will be nailing 18 year old hotties and when you are middle aged a 35 year old that's been around the block and isn't completely ugly will adorn the passenger seat of your 911)Yes, I do drive a 911, but i'm single!
If you want to go for something which is cheap to insure, good on motorways, even better on the twisties, and easy to get parts for, how about a Focus? There isn't the demand for them like there is for Fiestas (new drivers mainly) which helps push the prices down.
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1965982.htm
Im sure they'd knock £50 off if you asked nicely. 1.6 seem to go for more than 1.8s for some reason.
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1965982.htm
Im sure they'd knock £50 off if you asked nicely. 1.6 seem to go for more than 1.8s for some reason.
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