£1500-2000 for First Car!
Discussion
Hey guys!!
I posted on here about a week ago but circumstances change and now im in need of advice for a 1500-2000 car for my Placement next year, I want a enjoyable car to just be my everyday driver but eventually turn it into a Track car so i can have abit of fun with it on weekends once uni is over!!
Ill need 4 seats and can be either petrol or diesel, and can be as old or new as you like!! BUT HAS TO BE DEPENDABLE!! (To a point anyways)
I was told BMW a good way to go for that money?? especially the 96-03 BMW 5 series, e39 i think, the 530d?
But as my budget has changed i was wondering what else i should look for?
I posted on here about a week ago but circumstances change and now im in need of advice for a 1500-2000 car for my Placement next year, I want a enjoyable car to just be my everyday driver but eventually turn it into a Track car so i can have abit of fun with it on weekends once uni is over!!
Ill need 4 seats and can be either petrol or diesel, and can be as old or new as you like!! BUT HAS TO BE DEPENDABLE!! (To a point anyways)
I was told BMW a good way to go for that money?? especially the 96-03 BMW 5 series, e39 i think, the 530d?
But as my budget has changed i was wondering what else i should look for?
Dependable is a tricky one as any car can throw up a big bill at anytime. You have to have a bit of luck.
I had a CLS500 until Friday - £72k new and a 2005 car - air suspension and all manner of high tec gadgets included. The potential for borkage was right up there with the best.
I escaped pretty lightly only having to replace a door handle and get the dash sorted by BBA Reman in 2 years, costing less than £400 - the rest was just maintenance.
I could easily have spent thousands on it if things had gone wrong- in fairness it did have a few faults when I sold it, but nothing terribly major.
I would maybe look at something a bit older and more "interesting" as insurance may surprise you.
I had a CLS500 until Friday - £72k new and a 2005 car - air suspension and all manner of high tec gadgets included. The potential for borkage was right up there with the best.
I escaped pretty lightly only having to replace a door handle and get the dash sorted by BBA Reman in 2 years, costing less than £400 - the rest was just maintenance.
I could easily have spent thousands on it if things had gone wrong- in fairness it did have a few faults when I sold it, but nothing terribly major.
I would maybe look at something a bit older and more "interesting" as insurance may surprise you.
stedaley said:
Hey guys!!
I posted on here about a week ago but circumstances change and now im in need of advice for a 1500-2000 car for my Placement next year, I want a enjoyable car to just be my everyday driver but eventually turn it into a Track car so i can have abit of fun with it on weekends once uni is over!!
Ill need 4 seats and can be either petrol or diesel, and can be as old or new as you like!! BUT HAS TO BE DEPENDABLE!! (To a point anyways)
I was told BMW a good way to go for that money?? especially the 96-03 BMW 5 series, e39 i think, the 530d?
But as my budget has changed i was wondering what else i should look for?
Are you very young? If you're 17-20, and just past your test I can't imagine you'd insure any BMW for less than £8k, or something silly anyway. If you're a bit older it might be more sensible but I can imagine it is still going to be pricey. Also if you really have plans of turning it into a track car, an e39 530d is not a good starting point! On top of that, if something goes wrong you could be facing a massive bill - my fathers auto box went on his e46 330i, and BMW wanted £6k to put a new one in!I posted on here about a week ago but circumstances change and now im in need of advice for a 1500-2000 car for my Placement next year, I want a enjoyable car to just be my everyday driver but eventually turn it into a Track car so i can have abit of fun with it on weekends once uni is over!!
Ill need 4 seats and can be either petrol or diesel, and can be as old or new as you like!! BUT HAS TO BE DEPENDABLE!! (To a point anyways)
I was told BMW a good way to go for that money?? especially the 96-03 BMW 5 series, e39 i think, the 530d?
But as my budget has changed i was wondering what else i should look for?
I'd look for something smaller, lighter and more nimble...
Ford Puma (does have 4 seats but two are pretty questionable)
Fiesta Zetec S
Honda Civic type S
Clio 172 (probably closing in on silly insurance again)
but you get the picture.
Big Rumbly said:
I just bought small rumbly a car for his 21st birthday. 2005 Vauxhall Signum 2.2 i petrol 60000 miles 1 owner.£2000. £850 to insure with no no claims. Great cars.Mrs has the 3 ltr turbodiesel, which she inherited from me when I bought the ALfa.
Always had a bit of a soft spot for these (bizarrely as I'm normally anti vauxhall) insurance seems very good especially zero no claims. 530d as a first car and then potentially track it?!?!?!
Aren't you getting a little carried away?
Insurance will be the biggest killer. Even a Fezza etc.. will be expensive to insure.
How much have you budgeted for that?
It needs to be reliable, you need to get to work every day.
Also cheap to run and insure. I'm guessing on placement you aren't getting paid a fortune.
I know the above is being sensible but you will be in a better position to buy a nicer car once you are in a full time job with a few year NCB under your belt.
A small low powered hatch can be fun to drive.
Just looking on Atrader and you can get decent (ish) hatches for under £2k.
Fezza 1,25 Zetec
Yaris
Micra
Newer shape Clio
Grande Punto
Ibiza
Mini One/Cooper
Aren't you getting a little carried away?
Insurance will be the biggest killer. Even a Fezza etc.. will be expensive to insure.
How much have you budgeted for that?
It needs to be reliable, you need to get to work every day.
Also cheap to run and insure. I'm guessing on placement you aren't getting paid a fortune.
I know the above is being sensible but you will be in a better position to buy a nicer car once you are in a full time job with a few year NCB under your belt.
A small low powered hatch can be fun to drive.
Just looking on Atrader and you can get decent (ish) hatches for under £2k.
Fezza 1,25 Zetec
Yaris
Micra
Newer shape Clio
Grande Punto
Ibiza
Mini One/Cooper
The £2000 market is where many people shop, so there's a lot of worn out over-priced tat. Your car is liable to be at least 8 years old and therefore liable to loose a clutch or a water pump the day after you bought it. So cheap spares might be one consideration, cheap insurance the other, a long list of service history the third, a dealer warranty of some sort the fourth.
Check insurance prices for a anything sporty first. You may be horrified.
The small city cars like the Aygo, Cit. C1 and Panda come up with regular low mileage examples as they are often used as second cars. Although they lack the machismo of a Focus RS they're fun to drive, cheap to fix and reliable.
The newer shape MkII Panda 1.2 petrol is a hoot to drive and good for extended motorway speeds. I have not driven one on a track. I did own an eight year old one a couple of years ago, for two years, and spent exactly £92.80 on maintenance.
If you want something flash for the weekend you can always hire it.
Or:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/articles/2014/01/cars/...
Check insurance prices for a anything sporty first. You may be horrified.
The small city cars like the Aygo, Cit. C1 and Panda come up with regular low mileage examples as they are often used as second cars. Although they lack the machismo of a Focus RS they're fun to drive, cheap to fix and reliable.
The newer shape MkII Panda 1.2 petrol is a hoot to drive and good for extended motorway speeds. I have not driven one on a track. I did own an eight year old one a couple of years ago, for two years, and spent exactly £92.80 on maintenance.
If you want something flash for the weekend you can always hire it.
Or:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/articles/2014/01/cars/...
Edited by Tyred on Monday 1st December 10:13
GreatGranny said:
530d as a first car and then potentially track it?!?!?!
Aren't you getting a little carried away?
Insurance will be the biggest killer. Even a Fezza etc.. will be expensive to insure.
How much have you budgeted for that?
It needs to be reliable, you need to get to work every day.
Also cheap to run and insure. I'm guessing on placement you aren't getting paid a fortune.
I know the above is being sensible but you will be in a better position to buy a nicer car once you are in a full time job with a few year NCB under your belt.
A small low powered hatch can be fun to drive.
Just looking on Atrader and you can get decent (ish) hatches for under £2k.
Fezza 1,25 Zetec
Yaris
Micra
Newer shape Clio
Grande Punto
Ibiza
Mini One/Cooper
Ive been trying to avoid all the small hatches because i will be doing motorway miles throughout summer and dont want a silly 1.1 struggling on the motorway! Aren't you getting a little carried away?
Insurance will be the biggest killer. Even a Fezza etc.. will be expensive to insure.
How much have you budgeted for that?
It needs to be reliable, you need to get to work every day.
Also cheap to run and insure. I'm guessing on placement you aren't getting paid a fortune.
I know the above is being sensible but you will be in a better position to buy a nicer car once you are in a full time job with a few year NCB under your belt.
A small low powered hatch can be fun to drive.
Just looking on Atrader and you can get decent (ish) hatches for under £2k.
Fezza 1,25 Zetec
Yaris
Micra
Newer shape Clio
Grande Punto
Ibiza
Mini One/Cooper
And when i say track it, i mean enjoy the odd raceway and throw it round a track every so often, so want abit of grunt from it!
I was orignally looking at the 133 twingo as that sort of ticked all the boxes being quite cheap to fix etc but would rather buy the car out right!
TheBALDpuma said:
Are you very young? If you're 17-20, and just past your test I can't imagine you'd insure any BMW for less than £8k, or something silly anyway. If you're a bit older it might be more sensible but I can imagine it is still going to be pricey. Also if you really have plans of turning it into a track car, an e39 530d is not a good starting point! On top of that, if something goes wrong you could be facing a massive bill - my fathers auto box went on his e46 330i, and BMW wanted £6k to put a new one in!
I'd look for something smaller, lighter and more nimble...
Ford Puma (does have 4 seats but two are pretty questionable)
Fiesta Zetec S
Honda Civic type S
Clio 172 (probably closing in on silly insurance again)
but you get the picture.
I wouldnt be getting an auto if at all possible, ive heard bad things about them! And ive heard that the bmw is a good all round car were you get performance and reliability and can be fun to throw around when you need to!I'd look for something smaller, lighter and more nimble...
Ford Puma (does have 4 seats but two are pretty questionable)
Fiesta Zetec S
Honda Civic type S
Clio 172 (probably closing in on silly insurance again)
but you get the picture.
In that case you could get a nice E46 328 ci for that money, or maybe a 330i if you are lucky. Not the best starting point for a track car but a very competent road car. Lots of manual ones about and generally very reliable.
Or what about something a bit daft like a Volvo 850 T5? I have seen a couple of them that have been tracked.
An E36 328i would be ideal but finding a sensibly priced manual one in good nick is nigh on impossible sadly.
Or what about something a bit daft like a Volvo 850 T5? I have seen a couple of them that have been tracked.
An E36 328i would be ideal but finding a sensibly priced manual one in good nick is nigh on impossible sadly.
Tyred said:
The £2000 market is where many people shop, so there's a lot of worn out over-priced tat. Your car is liable to be at least 8 years old and therefore liable to loose a clutch or a water pump the day after you bought it. So cheap spares might be one consideration, cheap insurance the other, a long list of service history the third, a dealer warranty of some sort the fourth.
Check insurance prices for a anything sporty first. You may be horrified.
The small city cars like the Aygo, Cit. C1 and Panda come up with regular low mileage examples as they are often used as second cars. Although they lack the machismo of a Focus RS they're fun to drive, cheap to fix and reliable.
The newer shape MkII Panda 1.2 petrol is a hoot to drive and good for extended motorway speeds. I have not driven one on a track. I did own an eight year old one a couple of years ago, for two years, and spent exactly £92.80 on maintenance.
If you want something flash for the weekend you can always hire it.
Or:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/articles/2014/01/cars/...
Really trying to avoid the small 1.2 litres etc, Check insurance prices for a anything sporty first. You may be horrified.
The small city cars like the Aygo, Cit. C1 and Panda come up with regular low mileage examples as they are often used as second cars. Although they lack the machismo of a Focus RS they're fun to drive, cheap to fix and reliable.
The newer shape MkII Panda 1.2 petrol is a hoot to drive and good for extended motorway speeds. I have not driven one on a track. I did own an eight year old one a couple of years ago, for two years, and spent exactly £92.80 on maintenance.
If you want something flash for the weekend you can always hire it.
Or:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/articles/2014/01/cars/...
Edited by Tyred on Monday 1st December 10:13
And insurance isnt a bad amount on the 530d for me so that would probably be my limit on size of engine wise.
I dont mind with the age of the car as long as its been looked after, and if i can find one where work has already been done on it!
stedaley said:
Sorry guys! Im 23 and had my license sice i was 17, so insurance isnt too bad for any car atm,
Porsche 924 on a "daily classic" insurance policy with Lancaster.You can pick up a good one for £2000. They're reliable, easy and cheap to maintain and insurance will be next to nothing, especially if you're insured on a parent's car as well.
ETA: You can just about squeeze four adults, camping gear and a weekend's luggage into one.
Jabosoc said:
Porsche 924 on a "daily classic" insurance policy with Lancaster.
You can pick up a good one for £2000. They're reliable, easy and cheap to maintain and insurance will be next to nothing, especially if you're insured on a parent's car as well.
What would i be looking for when searching for these?You can pick up a good one for £2000. They're reliable, easy and cheap to maintain and insurance will be next to nothing, especially if you're insured on a parent's car as well.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff