Not driven for 3 years - second car advice - Page 5 - Car Buying

Stallzy

Original Poster

166 posts

63 months

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Wednesday 7th December 2022

ZX10R NIN said:

No problem, they were just to give you an idea of what they were & looked like.

I'm not sure where about's in the UK you are but I'd say widen your search to 80 miles/around an hour away & see what comes up.

Near to Manchester Airport I guess as a rough location. Leeds is about 1hr30-1hr45 (feels more like 2hrs) from me, and that's 80 miles. I'm not sure I'd even really travel that far. Looking more at within 40-50 miles at very max, even better if it's closer than 25, but trust me it's tough to find much old stuff unless I'm willing to travel like 30 miles out which is a bit tough on my own without taking multiple trains or train + tram etc

ZX10R NIN

27,764 posts

127 months

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Wednesday 7th December 2022

Abarth 500:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202210140...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202212052...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202203033...

1.4T Astra GTC SRI:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202211171...

Swift Sport:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202212072...

Stallzy

Original Poster

166 posts

63 months

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[news]

Wednesday 7th December 2022

ZX10R NIN said:

Abarth 500:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202210140...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202212052...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202203033...

1.4T Astra GTC SRI:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202211171...

Swift Sport:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202212072...

Wow, that second Abarth looks pretty clean besides the steering wheel to be honest. Not sure how much service history the owner has though, and also should've mentioned this earlier but I love seeing previous paperwork, like that adds value to me. The other two Abarths aren't for me because of the interior or the roof pattern on the red one.

That Astra GTC is a LOT of car for the money wtf... makes these £2-3k MK6 Fiestas, some without climate control but even with seem like a joke. I don't think I could go to another grey car after the last one though. Open to basically any other colour.

ZX10R NIN

27,764 posts

127 months

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Wednesday 7th December 2022

Anyone who buys an Esseesse is an enthusiast so I'd give them a call.

Stallzy

Original Poster

166 posts

63 months

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[news]

Wednesday 7th December 2022

ZX10R NIN said:

Anyone who buys an Esseesse is an enthusiast so I'd give them a call.

You trying to sell it for them haha?

From my research it's not actually an Esseesse, it's just Esseesse styling on a regular Abarth 500.

Stallzy

Original Poster

166 posts

63 months

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[news]

Wednesday 7th December 2022

MOT history seems to make me think that it's not been particularly well kept after mechanically. Rolling around with corroded springs for multiple MOTs worth of advisories at a time and that last one...

Plus like I said, shiny steering wheels are a big put off and maybe tell a fair amount again of how well they keep on top of things.

Stallzy

Original Poster

166 posts

63 months

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Saturday 24th December 2022

Hey guys, reviving this thread and may make a new one in the new year if this one doesn't find traction again when I'm actively looking and travelling around to test drive (but probably will just keep updating this one tbh), but had a pretty lengthy and interesting (somewhat odd, according to some) thread in the Finance secction where I went more into details with my personal situation etc and what I should be doing.

Edit: maybe consider reading that first, or idk, don't biggrin

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

Anyway, I'm either looking at something in the £2000-3000 area, or maybe something up to 6 or 7k, but the cheaper / better value for money, then the better I guess as I may be able to get some help to reach the latter budget, but then I will have to pay it back, or I would want to because my last car was paid for me and I don't really feel like I deserve a 10k+ car now, and also think the older cars have a bit more charm and project potential.

Some options I have found over the last week or two which I had never thought of before are the Suzuki Ignis Sport and Toyota Corolla T-Sport.

I may want to look at something more like a FN2 Type R or a MK5 GTI though, as more of an all round package with a bit more structural safety for motorways etc than those other things.

Perhaps the Alfa options suggested before aren't bad but I feel like going either Japanese or German is the way to go. Or I could get a Ford again.

I've still got mixed opinions on used car dealers at the moment and the one which had a MK5 GTI a few weeks back and apparently sold at the higher end of the market (£6900 or so), has a Mini up for sale now but three of the tyres are Pirelli P Zeros and then the fourth is some random eco brand. Stuff like that is a bit annoying, like their prices on the market are a bit premium and they can get away with it a bit because of low mileage, but might as well put a quality fourth tyre on or swap one of the Pirellis out and make sure both on the front/rear match at least. I could rant more and I considered maybe leaving a Google review but I didn't actually go through with a purchase and it's probably not worth the headache.

It's an awkward one as used dealers have their margins they want to hit and thus can't do absolutely everything to get the cars into tip top shape for sale, but prices are at a premium with inflation and the spike probably in the last couple years, plus just newer cars being really expensive for what they offer tbh and still lots of first time drivers or people wanting sporty hatchbacks. You would hope that you haven't got to buy a car and then end up doing things to it in addition to the car sale price, but I guess that's just part and parcel of it, or it seems to be with a lot of the independents.

I'm starting to catch myself going off to ramble here, but yeah, if you have any suggestions then let me know. There's still a private sale MK5 GTI with great spec down south but it's 180 miles from me, but if it's still there mid January onwards then I may be tempted. Hopefully the guy still has his ad up on AutoTrader by then, or I could give him a ring between Boxing Day and New Years to get his actual number so we can message.

An EP3 still could be quite cool and I think either or both that and the FN2 are probably worth me at least checking out, but as before, I'm still a bit stuck mobility wise in terms of trying things out so I may end up just going with something without trying all of the options.

It may turn out that I get something quite simple and not sporty so that I can build my experience up and travel around to do the test drives etc and have my mind made up for what I want to go after maybe a year or two down the line. I honestly don't know.

Would a E46 like a 330Ci etc be a good idea? MK1 TT also seemed not too bad but I can't find many 225s that came out after 2003, maybe the 225 was an older reg thing. The 180 still seems alright but doesn't have the dual exit exhaust or the same sort of intake system it seems, but those aren't deal breakers.

ZX10R NIN

27,764 posts

127 months

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Saturday 24th December 2022

You do make me laugh, you keep saying you don't want a hot hatch or anything to powerful & then go on to list powerful/hot hatches biglaugh

Happy holidays

Stallzy

Original Poster

166 posts

63 months

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Saturday 24th December 2022

ZX10R NIN said:

You do make me laugh, you keep saying you don't want a hot hatch or anything to powerful & then go on to list powerful/hot hatches biglaugh

Happy holidays

Hi dude, I was hoping you'd pop by. You're the man biggrin

I guess this has been your thing the whole time, but if you sent the link and cut everything after and including the first question mark, that would get rid of your postcode overwriting mine every time I click, as the distance is likely different. Also it changes the search results to your filters used to find them, but that can be handy, I guess.

Re. Sensible options:
I don't think I want an auto unless it's something like a DSG / S tronic type, but to be honest I'd rather go with manual for now.
Hadn't thought of CLCs at all though!

Mito Veloce / Cloverleafs are tempting but a tidy MK5 GTI is around 5.5k ish if prices are fair, but the Mito is probably a bit of me in terms of dimensions. Focus ST170 is also interesting but not sure whether the engine reliability is perfect with them or how much rust will be an issue. I look at MOT history for the most part if not described in the descriptions for any car, but it can vary garage to garage on whether they note corrosion much.

Re. Hot Hatch Options:

Wouldn't go with that exact ST, way too asbo spec for my liking and would be looking for a blue, black, or grey example if I got one of those, and not sure if I'd hate the fuel economy on one of those, but to be honest the fuel cost is probably the least of my worries, because if I drive the miles then I'd probably be willing to pay that versus other transport.

It throws me off a bit when sellers don't really take any extra photos than the stock background ones that the BCA auction provides, but that silver TT may not be too bad. I always look at how shiny the leather is, and that may be a bit too worn for my liking and also the date on the clocks seems to be often wrong. Doesn't appear to have a messed up info screen though with lines missing etc.

Not sure I want a soft top, I've never really been a fan of them but I guess it's a unique experience to have the roof down. Same appeal could be there for a 330 ci convertible, which is much easier to find than a 6 speed manual coupe.

That Civic definitely isn't an example I'd buy. Pretty faded red paint, grubby interior and look at that engine bay! Yikes. £4.5-5k can get a decent one I believe, so I'd stretch the extra

Re. Powerful car options:

Those Mercs are very lowkey for their performance, wow.

Audi A5 is probably too big / dealer looking car lol for my liking

The CLK320 also may be a bit too big still, I only have experience driving two types of car being around three or four different iterations of a VW Polo and my MK7.5 Fiesta ST-Line (and the couple I test drove). Very smart looking car and like the interior, minus the need for some upgraded infotainment / connectivity perhaps. Auto may be an issue though as I'm not sure I want that and have no idea how these boxes drive.

Those BMWs, especially the 325i M Sport saloon seem very nice. I like the spec on that. Not too opposed on white leather, but black leather would maybe be preferred, and red leather on any car is probably a no-go for me unless the price is really competitive, for example like the 330ci coupe I found while searching earlier.

There is probably still some flexibility in budget as I say up to 7k or so, as any higher is probably too much in my current situation, but the more you can squeeze into a lower price the better.

Crtieria really is fairly simple (or so I hope):
- Black or Blue colour preferred, however may be open to red or silver (My last car was grey and not sure I want another grey car, for a change)
- Manual preferably, unless it is a reliable auto or fast changing like DSG / S tronic with paddles
- Petrol is a must. I don't feel like driving a diesel unless it was something like a LR Defender lol, where you don't have much choice.
- Full service history (+ extra paperwork ideally, I like to see it)
- No more than 125k miles probably or say 8k per year of it existing
- Understated / slightly sporty look or something without too much reputation if it does look sporty, e.g. Ignis Sport or Twingo RS
- Reliable + maybe cheap parts and either good quality tyres or not too expensive to find tyres that fit as may change the tyres to something more premium early on
- Perhaps have some petrolhead recognition and be displayable at car meets / shows

Also, maybe this is me being paranoid, but if I deal with a private seller, I wonder if there's any risks to get scammed i..e. you get threatened to transfer your money over in the seller's home, or the payment is sent, you take the part of the V5 document, and then the seller just goes and asks DVLA for a brand new logbook so it seems like the transaction never happened. I guess the safer thing would be to have them fill in the online transfer thing while you're there, and then leave.

I guess the safest thing is to travel along with somebody else, but that may be difficult for me if it isn't local, and a lot of the good examples aren't. Also as I still don't have much experience driving in a while and never driven on a motorway, bringing the car back is a worry. I did get a quote from one of the platforms mentioned when searching this forum (forgot the name) and it was coming out around £150 or so to bring that Abarth 500 "esseesse" we saw those few weeks ago 30 miles from Stoke, so could always do that I guess but would probably be less hassle to just drive it back myself, or take a family member along who does the drive back.

Hope this helps and I was just about to head to sleep and probably spent around 30 mins or so forming this reply biggrin

Hope you guys also have a nice Christmas, and my car search will be underway from mid January or Feb once the trains are back to some sort of normalcy, or maybe March/April at latest to close a deal. Weather and sunlight are factors too.

James

ZX10R NIN

27,764 posts

127 months

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Saturday 24th December 2022

The 330 is nigh on the same size as the CLK, so if the Merc is to big then that'll rule out the 3 series.

The examples were all at the lower part so there's no point comparing them to 5-7k options, again it comes down to criteria, so you're saying nothing bigger than a Focus sized car?

Hot Hatch? Warm Hatch? Under 150bhp or 200bhp & over?

Stallzy

Original Poster

166 posts

63 months

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Saturday 24th December 2022

ZX10R NIN said:

The 330 is nigh on the same size as the CLK, so if the Merc is to big then that'll rule out the 3 series.

The examples were all at the lower part so there's no point comparing them to 5-7k options, again it comes down to criteria, so you're saying nothing bigger than a Focus sized car?

Hot Hatch? Warm Hatch? Under 150bhp or 200bhp & over?

I don't have experience with anything that big, so I'm not sure how they would feel until I go around and sit in a few different things or physically drive one

I don't know either whether I want hot hatch or warm hatch or what power is best. A lot of guys here earlier in this thread say get something over 200 as over time, the lower power cars will feel like they're lacking, but my only experience is up to 140hp and my instructor's car that I drove a few weeks back is around 110 or 115 and didn't feel like I was lacking power except for once or twice when I had to be foot to the floor in 4th or something for it to actually pull on a dual carriageway. Think it was the same case with my 140 if you're trying to accelerate in 4th or 5th and then the turbo comes in a bit later.

Hope this helps and I may end up going back and forth with you in emails

sherman

13,460 posts

217 months

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Saturday 24th December 2022

OP you need to just go away and seriously look at your wants and needs. Theres no point in aimlessly looking at cars.
Think about what you want, find something that meets those criteria and put your big boy pants on and just buy something.
Its not that hard. If you dont love it you only have it for a few years at worst before buying something else starting this whole merrygo roubd again.

Stallzy

Original Poster

166 posts

63 months

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Saturday 24th December 2022

sherman said:

OP you need to just go away and seriously look at your wants and needs. Theres no point in aimlessly looking at cars.
Think about what you want, find something that meets those criteria and put your big boy pants on and just buy something.
Its not that hard. If you dont love it you only have it for a few years at worst before buying something else starting this whole merrygo roubd again.

Fair point. For me I'm thinking maybe something like a ST170 or MK5 GTI, or something Japanese and NA like a Swift Sport or Corolla T Sport

However a 3 series E9x might be a shout too

I guess you're right but as I said in one of my recent posts, I'm still not too sure about the private sale process and how far I can travel / am willing to travel to get the best example. I'm not convinced buying from an independent dealer is any safer than private for the pretty huge premium (1000-1500 or more over private sellers), besides you can get some credit card deposit protection perhaps

bearman68

4,679 posts

134 months

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Saturday 24th December 2022

I've been following your procrastination adventures for a while now. I've gone back to your original post to get a flavour of what you asked for in the first place.
Without wishing to sound critical, your first post was all about you wanting a car to get into to build experience and confidence. Hours building pilots call it.
I remain convinced the best course of action for you is to buy something small and nippy, and to just drive. Get the feel of driving again, and just have a bit of fun without spending a fortune. And you certainly don't need north of 150 bhp to do that.

Keep it cheap, and fun - I still think a Pug 107 or equivalent is about right for your mixed - mainly B road driving while you get some confidence back - these are everywhere, are peanuts to run, and cheap to buy. £1500 will get a really nice one, and buy it as local as possible from a private owner. There's not much that will be wrong with it. Run it for a few months, and use it to a) get some experience and confidence, and b) travel to have a look at what you may consider more desirable cars. These little cars are fabulous fun to rag about - and they perform much better than the headline figures would suggest.

If you want something a bit bigger, I'd suggest a Yaris, or a Swift, or a Fiesta, maybe a Clio or a bit bigger again, a Mk3 Megane, maybe an Astra H.
But smaller is better in my view:- strap on the big boy trousers, and get out there and buy something, and stop over thinking it.

Stallzy

Original Poster

166 posts

63 months

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Saturday 24th December 2022

bearman68 said:

I've been following your procrastination adventures for a while now. I've gone back to your original post to get a flavour of what you asked for in the first place.
Without wishing to sound critical, your first post was all about you wanting a car to get into to build experience and confidence. Hours building pilots call it.
I remain convinced the best course of action for you is to buy something small and nippy, and to just drive. Get the feel of driving again, and just have a bit of fun without spending a fortune. And you certainly don't need north of 150 bhp to do that.

Keep it cheap, and fun - I still think a Pug 107 or equivalent is about right for your mixed - mainly B road driving while you get some confidence back - these are everywhere, are peanuts to run, and cheap to buy. £1500 will get a really nice one, and buy it as local as possible from a private owner. There's not much that will be wrong with it. Run it for a few months, and use it to a) get some experience and confidence, and b) travel to have a look at what you may consider more desirable cars. These little cars are fabulous fun to rag about - and they perform much better than the headline figures would suggest.

If you want something a bit bigger, I'd suggest a Yaris, or a Swift, or a Fiesta, maybe a Clio or a bit bigger again, a Mk3 Megane, maybe an Astra H.
But smaller is better in my view:- strap on the big boy trousers, and get out there and buy something, and stop over thinking it.

Hey, don't worry about being critical and I think you got the point across fine.

I actually saw one of those little Pugs go past my house the other day when looking out the window, and they're not like stupidly small!

I'll have another look for one perhaps on AT, or maybe there's some on here too, who knows biggrin

not sure whether gumtree or fb marketplace are worth looking at.

Ignis Sports are also in the 1.5k-2k area private but they don't seem to come up quite as much. There was quite a tidy Swift Sport in Nottingham ish way on gumtree for around 2k, but I don't know if that's stupidly cheap. Seemed to be owned by an enthusiast with the jdm related stickers and don't know if that's still there now too.

I guess you're right in getting something and maybe swapping it after 6 months or a year etc if my confidence is there and plus I will have the mobility and experiences to get to test drives. Everything might feel huge coming from something like a 107, but I'm sure it'd be easier to adjust

Thanks

ChrisH72

2,244 posts

54 months

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Saturday 24th December 2022

If I were you I'd go about £5k on a mk2 Swift Sport.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2022111516...

It fits a lot of your criteria. Japanese, reliable, quick enough and plenty of fun. Job done.

You mentioned the Corolla. Getting on a bit and probably not many around. I had the Celica T sport and really enjoyed it. I still think a tidy Celica looks the part today and you can always go for the 140 if you don't need the extra poke. But to be honest you'd be better off with the Swift.

Stallzy

Original Poster

166 posts

63 months

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Saturday 24th December 2022

ChrisH72 said:

If I were you I'd go about £5k on a mk2 Swift Sport.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2022111516...

It fits a lot of your criteria. Japanese, reliable, quick enough and plenty of fun. Job done.

You mentioned the Corolla. Getting on a bit and probably not many around. I had the Celica T sport and really enjoyed it. I still think a tidy Celica looks the part today and you can always go for the 140 if you don't need the extra poke. But to be honest you'd be better off with the Swift.

Yeah I'd probably agree to be honest. Prices on this generation seem to really fluctuate though. I'm sure I've seen them at dealers in the 6000 area, and there was a really tidy black one private with perhaps lower mileage for about 7, but I've seen that exact example you've linked in my searches also. I think the late 2015 or 2016 onwards ones have a better infotainment, but not worth the price difference, considering it's probably not a difficult swap to get a newer unit on the older car if need be. Think the one you linked has navigation and those older units have Bluetooth, so not essential. I don't have any experience with the Apple CarPlay / Android auto shiz so it's not essential for me unlike some people plus I've always been Android for the moment

Thanks

bearman68

4,679 posts

134 months

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Saturday 24th December 2022

ChrisH72 said:

If I were you I'd go about £5k on a mk2 Swift Sport.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2022111516...

It fits a lot of your criteria. Japanese, reliable, quick enough and plenty of fun. Job done.

You mentioned the Corolla. Getting on a bit and probably not many around. I had the Celica T sport and really enjoyed it. I still think a tidy Celica looks the part today and you can always go for the 140 if you don't need the extra poke. But to be honest you'd be better off with the Swift.

Funnily enough, I have a Celica T sport here at the moment. There's a lot to like about them, and I agree, I think they still look great. Not expensive to buy, and I suspect they are an appreciating classic at the moment.

LightningBlue

536 posts

43 months

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Tuesday 27th December 2022

Oh boy you really are overthinking the whole process. Really you can simplify it by walking around local dealers and if you see a car you like the look of drive it and if you like it buy it. Don’t worry about what other options there might be, it isn’t as hard as you think it is, but you should be more flexible on colours and irrelevant things like that.

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