I've never done one of these so...what car?

[XitUp]

I was daft and wrote my MX-5 off on a slippery road earlier this year.
I'm buying a house soon so don't have much cash to spare so money is an issue.

- Budget, less than £1500.
- Cheap to insure while I rebuild my no claims bonus.
- Something that won't be too boring would be nice, but not essential.
- Not something that will break down too much.
- That's about it.

Thanks.

[Pints]

You don't live in Swindon, do you?
There was a binned MX-5 in the snow.

Why not get another MX-5?

[v8will]

850 T5 estate.

£1500 will get a very good one and they are pretty reliable. Good fun too and still surprisingly quick. You'll thank me for the extra room if moving house. Just check the insurance.

[VinceFox]

Another mx5?
E36 328i coupe?

That's me out of standard answers.

[nammynake]

A clean 1.7 Puma can be had easily within that budget. Make sure it's had the cam belt changed recently as they are quite costly to replace. Get on the classifieds on pumapeople.com.

Great handling car, rev-happy engine and a lovely precise gear change.

[VinceFox]

nammynake said:

A clean 1.7 Puma can be had easily within that budget. Make sure it's had the cam belt changed recently as they are quite costly to replace. Get on the classifieds on pumapeople.com.

Great handling car, rev-happy engine and a lovely precise gear change.

Pumas are silly cheap atm. Going on previous car patterns i reckon price will see a lot of them binned over the next couple of years. They stand to become a bit rare imho.

[VidalBaboon]

nammynake said:

A clean 1.7 Puma can be had easily within that budget. Make sure it's had the cam belt changed recently as they are quite costly to replace. Get on the classifieds on pumapeople.com.

Great handling car, rev-happy engine and a lovely precise gear change.

+1

Great cars, budget £600 for a reasonable one, £200 for suspension arms, £200 for a cambelt and £500 to have the rear arches done.

Lovely car for £1500 and it'll be sorted.

[XitUp]

Just checked autotrader. There's a Puma for £400.
Insurance is about £600 looking the comparison sites.

I like 'em.
Girlfriend has just asked if I'm planning on leaving her for a man, MX-5 followed by Puma is worrying her.

Keep the suggestions coming though.

[VinceFox]

XitUp said:

Just checked autotrader. There's a Puma for £400.
Insurance is about £600 looking the comparison sites.

I like 'em.
Girlfriend has just asked if I'm planning on leaving her for a man, MX-5 followed by Puma is worrying her.

Keep the suggestions coming though.

Six hundred fking notes to insure a puma? Are you twelve?

[Deerfoot]

VinceFox said:

Six hundred fking notes to insure a puma? Are you twelve?

I`m guessing he has a total loss claim against him since the MX-5 crash.......

[XitUp]

Indeed.

[VinceFox]

That still seems a little much. Did you have protected?

[Rollcage]

By heck, there are some cheap Pumas around these days, but not in the South West. Only five under a grand within 100 miles of Plymouth, and none cheaper than £900, but nationaly loads, and seven under £500!

Not looked at PH ads, but hadnt realised they were that cheap these days.

[mattley]

Get a V40, Cheap to run and insure, boring but IME utterly reliable and an estate is really handy when your making a new home.

[XitUp]

VinceFox said:

That still seems a little much. Did you have protected?

Sadly not.

mattley said:

Get a V40, Cheap to run and insure, boring but IME utterly reliable and an estate is really handy when your making a new home.

Her dad has a MPV thing we can borrow for Ikea trips.

[Yiliterate]

...with a few quid left over just in case:

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3513480.htm

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3131918.htm

But there's a bit of me that says life is too short not to:

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3548372.htm

[TheAlfaMale]

Tax exempt and in budget....