Daughter wants small Auto - BMW 116i SE?

[PH User]

ElectricSoup said:

PH User said:

I'm not your mum so let's try and keep this as a grown up conversation.

Oh that's a relief.

Did you have any suggestions for the OP, like maybe a FIAT Tipo or a Vauxhall Astra?

The C'eed idea is good, I didn't know they had TC autos. Maybe the Hyundai i30 does as well. Which makes me wonder if there's an auto Hyundai Veloster, that would be a striking car for a young 'un.

The reviews are really poor for the Tipo, so I'm not sure that I would suggest that personally. It's also a rather boring looking car, so I would have thought that an Alfa would be a better bet for her, or maybe even the 500.


Life's too short for boring cars.

[anonymous-user]

My daughter is not old enough to drive yet, but I know buying her a Vauxhall or a Fiat Tipo would be the equivalent of making her wear Asda trainers tp school instead of Nike Air Force 1s.

I know the car she wants is purely going to be driven by what her friends have and perceived image. I suspect it is going to go in a sliding scale of something like

1)Audi A1
2)VW Polo
3)Mini
4)VW UP!
5)Fiat 500

Things are a bit different now compared to my first car which was a Maroon MK3 Escort Popular with plenty of rusty bits. I just accepted it, I knew my parents didn't have enough money to buy me something "cool".

I think ultimately you should just get her the car she wants, kids don't listen to their parents and don't give a hoot about perceived reliability from some middle aged men on the internet.

Get the 1 series if that is what she wants.

[ElectricSoup]

PH User said:

ElectricSoup said:

PH User said:

I'm not your mum so let's try and keep this as a grown up conversation.

Oh that's a relief.

Did you have any suggestions for the OP, like maybe a FIAT Tipo or a Vauxhall Astra?

The C'eed idea is good, I didn't know they had TC autos. Maybe the Hyundai i30 does as well. Which makes me wonder if there's an auto Hyundai Veloster, that would be a striking car for a young 'un.

The reviews are really poor for the Tipo, so I'm not sure that I would suggest that personally. It's also a rather boring looking car, so I would have thought that an Alfa would be a better bet for her, or maybe even the 500.


Life's too short for boring cars.

Well I've driven Tipos a bit so I'm well placed to recommend. I find them no better/worse and/or more boring/less boring than a low powered automatic Focus, Astra etc - but better value than most in the class. This is why I said that in my opinion, they are under rated. OP asked for opinions, this is an informed one from me. Do you have expereince of the model or are you just going on the reviews of others?

I thought we weren't allowed to call things boring though, aren't cars more than just transport? Wasn't that the theme of one of your lectures?

If we're going Alfa Mito (or Gulietta come to that), we're in the realms of dual clutch transmissions I think. Reviews of FIAT/Alfa DCTs are really poor, so I'm not sure I'd suggest that personally. It's why I picked out the Tipo, which, as I said, has a 6-speed TC auto.

[PH User]

Not wanting to get into that Yorkshire man sketch, but you were lucky to get a rusty escort, I had to buy my own car!

Kids haven't changed though, they've always wanted something cool.

[PH User]

ElectricSoup said:

PH User said:

ElectricSoup said:

PH User said:

I'm not your mum so let's try and keep this as a grown up conversation.

Oh that's a relief.

Did you have any suggestions for the OP, like maybe a FIAT Tipo or a Vauxhall Astra?

The C'eed idea is good, I didn't know they had TC autos. Maybe the Hyundai i30 does as well. Which makes me wonder if there's an auto Hyundai Veloster, that would be a striking car for a young 'un.

The reviews are really poor for the Tipo, so I'm not sure that I would suggest that personally. It's also a rather boring looking car, so I would have thought that an Alfa would be a better bet for her, or maybe even the 500.


Life's too short for boring cars.

Well I've driven Tipos a bit so I'm well placed to recommend. I find them no better/worse and/or more boring/less boring than a low powered automatic Focus, Astra etc - but better value than most in the class. This is why I said that in my opinion, they are under rated. OP asked for opinions, this is an informed one from me. Do you have expereince of the model or are you just going on the reviews of others?

I thought we weren't allowed to call things boring though, aren't cars more than just transport? Wasn't that the theme of one of your lectures?

If we're going Alfa Mito (or Gulietta come to that), we're in the realms of dual clutch transmissions I think. Reviews of FIAT/Alfa DCTs are really poor, so I'm not sure I'd suggest that personally. It's why I picked out the Tipo, which, as I said, has a 6-speed TC auto.

I'm going off reviews of the Tipo and they aren't great. It is a really boring looking car and as cars are more than just transport that's important for us petrol heads.

I haven't read the reviews of the Alfa autos.


Oh and I'm not your mum and I'm not lecturing you, so let's please just keep this about the cars.

[MDifficult]

Cheers everyone - apart from the inevitable bickering the suggestions have been really helpful.

That said, I've suddenly found myself blind-sided by the Renault Zoe. Close to the budget, effectively 'auto' and lower running costs. Plus, her commute is ideal for electric.

Hmm.. more to ponder!

[ElectricSoup]

MDifficult said:

Cheers everyone - apart from the inevitable bickering the suggestions have been really helpful.

That said, I've suddenly found myself blind-sided by the Renault Zoe. Close to the budget, effectively 'auto' and lower running costs. Plus, her commute is ideal for electric.

Hmm.. more to ponder!

Oh. Well. As a Nissan Leaf owner for 4 years, I can heartily recommend electric if it fits with the daily routine, and she has home charging available. My Leafs have been utterly reliable and almost free to run (workplace charging), aside from insurance.

[PH User]

MDifficult said:

Cheers everyone - apart from the inevitable bickering the suggestions have been really helpful.

That said, I've suddenly found myself blind-sided by the Renault Zoe. Close to the budget, effectively 'auto' and lower running costs. Plus, her commute is ideal for electric.

Hmm.. more to ponder!

Make sure you factor in any battery lease costs as they can cost a fair bit.

[MDifficult]

PH User said:

Make sure you factor in any battery lease costs as they can cost a fair bit.

Ah, just seen that. Looks like £49 a month but includes breakdown cover and battery warranty?

[PH User]

MDifficult said:

PH User said:

Make sure you factor in any battery lease costs as they can cost a fair bit.

Ah, just seen that. Looks like £49 a month but includes breakdown cover and battery warranty?

Yeah, so it depends on her monthly mileage, the £49 might be more than she would spend on fuel and possibly on tax.

[ElectricSoup]

This is why Leafs are more popular than Zoes. The vast majority are battery owned, not leased.

[eleveneleven]

Joey Deacon said:

My daughter is not old enough to drive yet, but I know buying her a Vauxhall or a Fiat Tipo would be the equivalent of making her wear Asda trainers tp school instead of Nike Air Force 1s.

I know the car she wants is purely going to be driven by what her friends have and perceived image. I suspect it is going to go in a sliding scale of something like

1)Audi A1
2)VW Polo
3)Mini
4)VW UP!
5)Fiat 500

Things are a bit different now compared to my first car which was a Maroon MK3 Escort Popular with plenty of rusty bits. I just accepted it, I knew my parents didn't have enough money to buy me something "cool".

I think ultimately you should just get her the car she wants, kids don't listen to their parents and don't give a hoot about perceived reliability from some middle aged men on the internet.

Get the 1 series if that is what she wants.

Spot on!

I'm in a similar position as the OP looking for an auto for my 19 y/o niece, (6k budget) Despite me telling her about all the potential repair costs & reliability issues across different cars she doesn't seem to be interested in anything else other than the 1st 3 you mentioned. She'll most likely end up with a Polo DSG A Suzuki swift would have been the better option IMO but it is what it is.

[biggbn]

eleveneleven said:

Joey Deacon said:

My daughter is not old enough to drive yet, but I know buying her a Vauxhall or a Fiat Tipo would be the equivalent of making her wear Asda trainers tp school instead of Nike Air Force 1s.

I know the car she wants is purely going to be driven by what her friends have and perceived image. I suspect it is going to go in a sliding scale of something like

1)Audi A1
2)VW Polo
3)Mini
4)VW UP!
5)Fiat 500

Things are a bit different now compared to my first car which was a Maroon MK3 Escort Popular with plenty of rusty bits. I just accepted it, I knew my parents didn't have enough money to buy me something "cool".

I think ultimately you should just get her the car she wants, kids don't listen to their parents and don't give a hoot about perceived reliability from some middle aged men on the internet.

Get the 1 series if that is what she wants.

Spot on!

I'm in a similar position as the OP looking for an auto for my 19 y/o niece, (6k budget) Despite me telling her about all the potential repair costs & reliability issues across different cars she doesn't seem to be interested in anything else other than the 1st 3 you mentioned. She'll most likely end up with a Polo DSG A Suzuki swift would have been the better option IMO but it is what it is.

My daughter has been delighted with every car we have bought her, first car was a mk4 golf tdi match se, then a Beetle tdi convertible, both of which were north of 160k miles, a nearly new Kia Picanto and a new shape Beetle tdi, the only one she had any choice in.

[PH User]

Wouldn't it be better if she bought her own cars?

[MDifficult]

PH User said:

Wouldn't it be better if she bought her own cars?

I can't speak for the other posters, but the model in our household is that, while the kids are in full-time education (this commute my daughter will be doing is to her year-out placement in her law degree) then I buy the cars, I run and maintain them (bar fuel) and I sell them again when they're done.

I do it that way because I don't want them driving 'my' cars, and I don't want to spend time & effort on resolving issues and breakdowns with stboxes, which is what they'd have if they had to buy them themselves. I want them in something safe, reliable and enjoyable so that I don't have to spend any time worrying about it. I also want them in something they like, because I want them to become active, confident, engaged, independent motorists rather than relying on some lad in a flash motor to ferry them around.

I'm fortunate enough to be a position where tying up a few grand for an easy life is 100% worth it. Yes, I'll lose a little bit when I sell it in a year or two but on both the previous 'first' cars (both MINIs) I've not really lost much on the car itself. Insurance has always been the biggest expense.

[Tophatron]

MDifficult said:

Anyone got a view on the VW Up! Auto?

Didn’t realise they did an auto but turns out they’re reasonably common.

The auto gearbox in the Up is a single clutch automated manual and one to be avoided in my experience.

Same type of gearbox as the Fiat 500 - they're also pretty crap as autos.

Renault Zoe is a good call - I think you can buy out the battery leases now so they're not the end of the world. The Nissan Leaf is probably a better bet in the £5k price point, but I appreciate they're not exactly "cool".

[RizzoTheRat]

Tophatron said:

Renault Zoe is a good call - I think you can buy out the battery leases now so they're not the end of the world.

You can, a mate has. They're a bit finickety about chargers though, they need a very very good earth, it took my mate about a month and several visits by the fitters to get his charger working properly.

[biggbn]

PH User said:

Wouldn't it be better if she bought her own cars?

I'm not well off, but don't need much cash, I'd rather make sure my daughter was in a decent safe car and she can spend her money enjoying life while she still can. We do not have to this, we are never asked, nor is it expected...she tried to pay for her new beetle, but we like to do it because we can.

[Court_S]

2 sMoKiN bArReLs said:

If it's going to be an older 1 series it will be RWD. They are tricky things in bad weather.

(I hadn't even noticed our car park at work had a slope. Everybody got out except for 3 x 1 Series BMWs.)

Edited by 2 sMoKiN bArReLs on Monday 21st June 16:39

They’re really not, especially the lower powered ones like the 116.

I know it looks like the 1 series is off the cards, but I thought I’d chip in my experience of her old 116.

We bought it cheap from her parents, I know it had the N43 engine and I think it was the 1.6 but can’t quire remember, I know these engine had a really bad reputation but ours was fine and I felt relatively safe buying the car because we knew it with her parents having owned it for so long.

It was dog slow but not actually that bad to drive once up to speed. It did cost st loads to tax given the lack of performance (virtually what her 125 costs) and it used a lot of fuel for the performance too. It was certainly a better / nicer car when I sold it having fitted leather seats, a double din for CarPlay etc. It sold pretty quickly after an idiot on eBay kept lowballing me and telling me that I’d never get what I was asking for. The couple who bought it work with a neighbour and are pleased with it.

They get a bad rep, but I don’t think they’re all that bad.