Potential First Car.

[seanny]

Hi all, I'm new here and i want to view your opinions on a Peugeot 206 1.4 HDI.

I, along with help from my dad, have narrowed my choice down to this taking into account value, road tax and the insurance costs. Wanted to get some feedback from those who have good knowledge or experience with this particular model. I am willing to spend no more than £2000 on a good condition used car and then insurance following that, which isnt too varying so far from the cars ive looked at. I'm 18 btw.

P.S. If i have posted this in the wrong place feel free to move it.

EDIT: Here is a Saxo i could get at about £800. Does it appear to be a good buy? We have been to see it and everything is in good nik

http://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbikes/citr...

Edited by seanny on Sunday 26th August 13:45

[Raize]

It's a car. You can drive it to places. There's really not a lot else to say about this kind of vehicle.

[seanny]

Hi. Would you consider it to be bad or basically just nothing too exciting? Keep in mind it is just my first car and i'm on 'R's' anyway

[seanny]

I guess what i really want to know is if they are a good reliable first car.

[JayTee94]

I am in a similar situation as I am having lessons at the moment and looking for first cars. I would not be looking at a 206 at that price, as they are not the best bet. If you have one that is offered or in good condition close by, then by all means consider it as then it is a set of wheels, but as I have said I would be looking elsewhere and/or considering alternatives.

I am sorry that i do not know much as they rarely crop up on my radar - i am not sure how reliable they are, and unsure on what age you are looking at, but the HDi engine will go on forever looking at some mileages in the classifieds. It will sound like a tractor though. Maybe some others to consider: Toyota Yaris, Fiat Punto Sporting, Seat Ibiza, Skoda Fabia or even a Mk4 Astra.

In my opinion those are much nicer cars for £2,000 (I assume you meant £2,000 for car and insurance on top) and dependant on insurance prices you may be able to get a slightly sportier engined examples.

..or were you considering a diesel for the miles you would be covering?!

Hope that helps.

[seanny]

Anybody got any input

[Papa Hotel]

seanny said:

Hi. Would you consider it to be bad or basically just nothing too exciting? Keep in mind it is just my first car and i'm on 'R's' anyway

They haven't got R plates here in mainland UK, this mob mostly won't know what you're talking about. They don't have them in Ireland either...

[seanny]

JayTee94 said:

I am in a similar situation as I am having lessons at the moment and looking for first cars. I would not be looking at a 206 at that price, as they are not the best bet. If you have one that is offered or in good condition close by, then by all means consider it as then it is a set of wheels, but as I have said I would be looking elsewhere and/or considering alternatives.

I am sorry that i do not know much as they rarely crop up on my radar - i am not sure how reliable they are, and unsure on what age you are looking at, but the HDi engine will go on forever looking at some mileages in the classifieds. It will sound like a tractor though. Maybe some others to consider: Toyota Yaris, Fiat Punto Sporting, Seat Ibiza, Skoda Fabia or even a Mk4 Astra.

In my opinion those are much nicer cars for £2,000 (I assume you meant £2,000 for car and insurance on top) and dependant on insurance prices you may be able to get a slightly sportier engined examples.

..or were you considering a diesel for the miles you would be covering?!

Hope that helps.

Thanks for the response. Really £1500 would be the top for the car alone but as high as £2000 if it was in really good condition. Yeah i will be travelling quite a distance to University so will be in need of a diesel car. ATM there is no certain year i am after but i guess 2001-2004 is probably the best bet in my price range.

[ryanthescot]

what about a suzuki ignis sport? the insurance might be a bit high if you are a new driver (insurance group 9) but they are nice cars and very reliable.

[seanny]

Papa Hotel said:

They haven't got R plates here, they don't know what you're talking about. They don't have them in Ireland either...

Oh... I'm in Northern Ireland. I guess i should of made it clearer that i'm restricted to 45mph.

[Papa Hotel]

seanny said:

Thanks for the response. Really £1500 would be the top for the car alone but as high as £2000 if it was in really good condition. Yeah i will be travelling quite a distance to University so will be in need of a diesel car. ATM there is no certain year i am after but i guess 2001-2004 is probably the best bet in my price range.

Two trips a week to and from university might not warrant the extra cost of diesel, you should figure out whether diesel is worth it over a couple of years.

[Papa Hotel]

seanny said:

Oh... I'm in Northern Ireland. I guess i should of made it clearer that i'm restricted to 45mph.

That's better.

For those who don't know, new drivers are restricted to 45mph in NI for a year.

[seanny]

ryanthescot said:

what about a suzuki ignis sport? the insurance might be a bit high if you are a new driver (insurance group 9) but they are nice cars and very reliable.

Never seen one of those before around here. Probably wouldn't go for it just because of that.

[seanny]

Papa Hotel said:

Two trips a week to and from university might not warrant the extra cost of diesel, you should figure out whether diesel is worth it over a couple of years.

I think my course will be 3/4 days a week, but not certain. I will be travelling approximately 100 miles each day to and from University as i'm about 50 miles away from it.

How about a clean 1.5 Diesel Saxo with 88k miles on the clock?

[JayTee94]

Papa Hotel said:

That's better.

For those who don't know, new drivers are restricted to 45mph in NI for a year.

I did not know that. It must be a pain as I have been faster than that multiple times on my lesson today. Is it a fine, or ban if you get caught?
____________________________

I am not sure if prices in NI are any different to UK and some cars mentioned may not be in budget (for a good 'un)

If you need a diesel how about a Mk6 Ford Fiesta?! It may seem that I am negative about the Puegeot that you mentioned, but if the 206 came about into showrooms in 1998 and you were (for example) looking at a 2004 model - it would be a dated design as there were just subtle changes made throughout the model life.

Maybe a good idea would be to provide links to certain cars that take your fancy, and see if anyone can help.

[seanny]

JayTee94 said:

I did not know that. It must be a pain as I have been faster than that multiple times on my lesson today. Is it a fine, or ban if you get caught?
____________________________

I am not sure if prices in NI are any different to UK and some cars mentioned may not be in budget (for a good 'un)

If you need a diesel how about a Mk6 Ford Fiesta?! It may seem that I am negative about the Puegeot that you mentioned, but if the 206 came about into showrooms in 1998 and you were (for example) looking at a 2004 model - it would be a dated design as there were just subtle changes made throughout the model life.

Maybe a good idea would be to provide links to certain cars that take your fancy, and see if anyone can help.

I believe it is a fine and i'm guessing it would result in points on your license too, but i'm not really too sure right now, Sorry.

[seanny]

Ford fiesta's aren't too bad IMO, but my dad said to avoid fords for now atleast. I think it is mainly due to them not being as safe in his eyes and also might be something to do with gettiing parts for them, but i'm not certain on the latter.

[Vince70]

seanny said:

Ford fiesta's aren't too bad IMO, but my dad said to avoid fords for now atleast. I think it is mainly due to them not being as safe in his eyes and also might be something to do with gettiing parts for them, but i'm not certain on the latter.

Froggy Cars do have a tendency to have more electrical problems than most, so just try all the switches etc before buying.
But i know someone who bought an old 1.4 petrol about 4 years ago and it's been trouble free.

The problem with old fords are they have a tendency to rot on the sills and arches etc, with the pug you shouldn't have That problem as they are zinc coated.

I've had a few older pugs over the years and can honestly say they have all been reliable, so an old 206 is most probably a good call.

[seanny]

Thanks. At the moment these are the main options i have:
206 1.4 hdi
106 diesel
306 diesel
saxo 1.5 diesel

Those are the main ones my dad is thinking i should get. There is a pretty good standard 206 near me but sadly he wont lower his price from 1.5k

There is a nice little saxo with all of the fixes already done to it for under a grand, but im not sure what the insurance is like on one of those :/

[Gooly]

Buy a MK4/5 Fiesta 1.25 for about £600 or £700. Spend the money you saved on the purchase cost on any extra fuel bills you'll have by buying a petrol (won't be much though). Smile lots because of it's great driving dynamics and the fact that you didn't buy something french.

Once you get bored of it you can stick a 1.7 lump in it (straight swap, same mounts and the standard box is compatible) or sell it on for about the same price since it's at the bottom of the deprecation curve.

Only real problem with it is rust in the rear arches but it's pretty easy to find a rust free one and pretty easy to keep it rust free so it's a non issue. It's a buyers market out there so it won't be hard finding a good one.