A young drivers history of less than exciting motors
Discussion
I hope this lot doesn't bore you all to death too much but here is my short car history and a little bit of an upkeep on my latest purchase and hopefully one that I will keep until I finish my degree.
I passed my test at 17 after learning in a lovely beige Nissan Micra, but my instructor was brilliant and I spent a lot of time driving around in my mums little 206. So the time was right for me to somehow buy my first car. After much deliberation with my family I managed to put together and borrow enough for something. My family for reasons unknown to me insisted I had a saxo out of the collection of s
tboxes I could just about to buy and insure. So here it is in all its French glory... A 2001 1.1 Saxo with some questionable electrics and NO breaks, thanks to my stepdad test driving it and saying "well it stopped didn't it?"
I had some great times in that car with my mates, it got me to sixth form daily and work of a weekend (even managed to use it to carry trampolines to customers houses for work). Even though it was a little chav mobile it was my first car and I will never forget it. It went ok for what it was and cost barely anything to run or maintain as it could be fixed with some gaffer tape and a butter knife. Even replacing all the brakes cost just £100. Anyway, it had to go after nearly a year of ownership due to moving to university and the fact that it was about to die. The clutch was on its way out from when I brought it and it became temperamental to start. Sold it for about what I paid for it and gave me that all important first year of driving.
After nearly a years gap I finished my first year of UNI and went back to my old place of work and was also working in a pub straight afterwards. So I needed a car again. At this point I was POOR, so I needed whatever I could, cheapest thing to buy and hopefully something that wouldn't need much maintenance. In stepped Vernon the Lupo. It was brought for a steal and had relatively low mileage for a VW. No creature comforts what so ever due to being the base model (Even the saxo had broken central locking and 'leccy windows) But it was a car, even my sister used it to learn to drive in, (this helped as the family paid the insurance for this year) Yeah I know, typical kid getting his parents to pay for insurance. Luckily my sister ended up getting brought a ford teapot so I gained the Lupo when I went back to UNI.
I didn't really gel with that car, maybe due to a bit of car snobbery and maybe due to to the fact that I had quite a bit of trouble with it. After getting an oil change it developed an oil leak (my family will NOT have cars with oil leaks anywhere near the drive) then I also had the common problem with the coil packs and leads. After spending quite a bit of money on it and having to travel 100 miles each time I took it back to the VAG specialist who were doing all the work under parts and labour warranty both problems persisted. In the end I decided to cut my losses and get my money back from the specialist, get my local mechanic to fix it (in which he did) and sell the car on. Again sold for what I paid for it.
After that I needed a stop gap car until I found the right car, so I ended up borrowing my mums 206 that id previously learned to drive in. (she learned to drive in it, I learned to drive in it, my sister and step sister both also leaned to drive in it) the head gaskets about to go, the gearbox is clunky as hell and its unrefined. But it just wont die! Its only been serviced once in the time its been in family possession for some reason, its just the family's go to car. Never once putting a foot wrong (apart from an exhaust falling off on the way to Lincoln) Luckily my mum only works at the bottom of the road, and she has the use of my sisters ford teapot and my stepdads fiesta van aswell.
I dont know why, but everybody seems to like this car, the 1.4 isnt exactly fast or economical, but the car is just like a donkey, and I don't think my mum will ever get rid of it.
So after a great deal of saving and working in a job in my uni town I pulled together enough money to purchase something half way decent. Here it is, a 57 plate Seat Ibiza Formula sport. as far as I can tell, the only difference is a 100bhp engine rather than the mixture of 75bhp and 85bhp from the other 1.4s about and some very nice seats with red on them
. This particular example was found very close to my home away from uni and was completely immaculate. Not a single scratch on it and all the wheels recently refurbished.
Unfortunately I don't have anything but the sellers images due to a combination of crap weather, nowhere to park and laziness.
I really do like this one, due to a bit of snobbery and having lots of buttons to press, even a little whatsit for my ipod. Obviously due to having to travel 100 miles ish each way to UNI and back when I go home and then 8 ish miles along dual carriageways to work I needed a car at UNI, and I needed something more capable than the Lupo. This came up at a great price and I immediately wanted it. So I transferred money over to my parents after I went to look at it, they picked it up for me on the Thursday and I was home to swap from the 206 by the Friday afternoon.
I think the car looks great compared to the likes of the fiesta and clio alternatives. Practicality is good, its even giving better real world MPG than the 206. At the end of the day I couldn't be happier with this little motor and I feel very lucky to own something like this at just 19.
I've done about 1500 miles in it so far, all completely trouble free and perfectly relaxing in anything from the motorway cruise to city traffic. Its even quite chuckable on the windy roads on the outskirts of Lincoln. I dont really have any plans to modify the car due to insurance and it being such a good example.
The only problem I've had so far is a bird dropping something on my screen (see other thread) leaving a cross hair like crack right in my line of sight, but hopefully the windscreen people do a good job on Thursday.
Thanks for reading and not giving up out of boredom. I hope you like my slow progression of small hatchbacks.
I passed my test at 17 after learning in a lovely beige Nissan Micra, but my instructor was brilliant and I spent a lot of time driving around in my mums little 206. So the time was right for me to somehow buy my first car. After much deliberation with my family I managed to put together and borrow enough for something. My family for reasons unknown to me insisted I had a saxo out of the collection of s
tboxes I could just about to buy and insure. So here it is in all its French glory... A 2001 1.1 Saxo with some questionable electrics and NO breaks, thanks to my stepdad test driving it and saying "well it stopped didn't it?"I had some great times in that car with my mates, it got me to sixth form daily and work of a weekend (even managed to use it to carry trampolines to customers houses for work). Even though it was a little chav mobile it was my first car and I will never forget it. It went ok for what it was and cost barely anything to run or maintain as it could be fixed with some gaffer tape and a butter knife. Even replacing all the brakes cost just £100. Anyway, it had to go after nearly a year of ownership due to moving to university and the fact that it was about to die. The clutch was on its way out from when I brought it and it became temperamental to start. Sold it for about what I paid for it and gave me that all important first year of driving.
After nearly a years gap I finished my first year of UNI and went back to my old place of work and was also working in a pub straight afterwards. So I needed a car again. At this point I was POOR, so I needed whatever I could, cheapest thing to buy and hopefully something that wouldn't need much maintenance. In stepped Vernon the Lupo. It was brought for a steal and had relatively low mileage for a VW. No creature comforts what so ever due to being the base model (Even the saxo had broken central locking and 'leccy windows) But it was a car, even my sister used it to learn to drive in, (this helped as the family paid the insurance for this year) Yeah I know, typical kid getting his parents to pay for insurance. Luckily my sister ended up getting brought a ford teapot so I gained the Lupo when I went back to UNI.
I didn't really gel with that car, maybe due to a bit of car snobbery and maybe due to to the fact that I had quite a bit of trouble with it. After getting an oil change it developed an oil leak (my family will NOT have cars with oil leaks anywhere near the drive) then I also had the common problem with the coil packs and leads. After spending quite a bit of money on it and having to travel 100 miles each time I took it back to the VAG specialist who were doing all the work under parts and labour warranty both problems persisted. In the end I decided to cut my losses and get my money back from the specialist, get my local mechanic to fix it (in which he did) and sell the car on. Again sold for what I paid for it.
After that I needed a stop gap car until I found the right car, so I ended up borrowing my mums 206 that id previously learned to drive in. (she learned to drive in it, I learned to drive in it, my sister and step sister both also leaned to drive in it) the head gaskets about to go, the gearbox is clunky as hell and its unrefined. But it just wont die! Its only been serviced once in the time its been in family possession for some reason, its just the family's go to car. Never once putting a foot wrong (apart from an exhaust falling off on the way to Lincoln) Luckily my mum only works at the bottom of the road, and she has the use of my sisters ford teapot and my stepdads fiesta van aswell.
I dont know why, but everybody seems to like this car, the 1.4 isnt exactly fast or economical, but the car is just like a donkey, and I don't think my mum will ever get rid of it.
So after a great deal of saving and working in a job in my uni town I pulled together enough money to purchase something half way decent. Here it is, a 57 plate Seat Ibiza Formula sport. as far as I can tell, the only difference is a 100bhp engine rather than the mixture of 75bhp and 85bhp from the other 1.4s about and some very nice seats with red on them
. This particular example was found very close to my home away from uni and was completely immaculate. Not a single scratch on it and all the wheels recently refurbished. Unfortunately I don't have anything but the sellers images due to a combination of crap weather, nowhere to park and laziness.
I really do like this one, due to a bit of snobbery and having lots of buttons to press, even a little whatsit for my ipod. Obviously due to having to travel 100 miles ish each way to UNI and back when I go home and then 8 ish miles along dual carriageways to work I needed a car at UNI, and I needed something more capable than the Lupo. This came up at a great price and I immediately wanted it. So I transferred money over to my parents after I went to look at it, they picked it up for me on the Thursday and I was home to swap from the 206 by the Friday afternoon.
I think the car looks great compared to the likes of the fiesta and clio alternatives. Practicality is good, its even giving better real world MPG than the 206. At the end of the day I couldn't be happier with this little motor and I feel very lucky to own something like this at just 19.
I've done about 1500 miles in it so far, all completely trouble free and perfectly relaxing in anything from the motorway cruise to city traffic. Its even quite chuckable on the windy roads on the outskirts of Lincoln. I dont really have any plans to modify the car due to insurance and it being such a good example.
The only problem I've had so far is a bird dropping something on my screen (see other thread) leaving a cross hair like crack right in my line of sight, but hopefully the windscreen people do a good job on Thursday.
Thanks for reading and not giving up out of boredom. I hope you like my slow progression of small hatchbacks.
Had a 2004 Ibiza SX, brilliant looking cars these ibizas, probs the best looking in their class at the time IMO hence why I Bought one. Utterly crap though reliability wise, spent a huge amount in maintanence and in the end it gave up on me and scrapped it for £150 just as i'd put it up for sale, great timing..
Well there was the suspension issues which were typical to the model which cost around £400, cant remember exact details. The engine gave in due to the timing belt issue is it? Heard that is what usually kills these engines. Will def buy a chain belt car next time. Still, great looking car and loved it as my first car, excellent stereo in them too!
lewisf182 said:
Well there was the suspension issues which were typical to the model which cost around 400, cant remember exact details. The engine gave in due to the timing belt issue is it? Heard that is what usually kills these engines. Will def buy a chain belt car next time. Still, great looking car and loved it as my first car, excellent stereo in them too!
Ive heard about the suspension issues with them. Was it a particularly high mileage car may I ask? Hopefully with this one being a low mileage example it shouldn't suffer such a fate for a while. Bit of an update. Now hit 24k miles. The car hasn't once missed a beat although it was starting to show a little bit of wear and tear due to its car park hopping lifestyle. A few scratches here and there but nothing too major it turns out. I've done a fair few trips too and from Lincoln with way more comfort than anything I've owned previously.
Although I did get a stone chip right in the drivers line of vision. National windscreens came out quickly, even arriving early and doing a great job on the screen to secure it. Although Ill probably replace the screen at a later date. MOT soon and the dreaded insurance renewal.
I'm also looking at changing the exhaust to something more fitting with the car. Due to the standard pea shooter exhaust looking a bit daft sitting in a huge gap in the bumper where a Cupra exhaust would normally fit. So I think a tasteful exhaust mod, just to fit the hole in the bumper a little better is in order soon. Does anybody have any recommendations other than the obvious Cupra back box? (if it fits?) However I don't want a loud Barry boy style back box thingy.
Anyway, I gave the car a right good clean when I was back home and had a drive and a hose pipe to my disposal. Here's the end results. Scrubs up well don't she?
Thanks
Although I did get a stone chip right in the drivers line of vision. National windscreens came out quickly, even arriving early and doing a great job on the screen to secure it. Although Ill probably replace the screen at a later date. MOT soon and the dreaded insurance renewal.
I'm also looking at changing the exhaust to something more fitting with the car. Due to the standard pea shooter exhaust looking a bit daft sitting in a huge gap in the bumper where a Cupra exhaust would normally fit. So I think a tasteful exhaust mod, just to fit the hole in the bumper a little better is in order soon. Does anybody have any recommendations other than the obvious Cupra back box? (if it fits?) However I don't want a loud Barry boy style back box thingy.
Anyway, I gave the car a right good clean when I was back home and had a drive and a hose pipe to my disposal. Here's the end results. Scrubs up well don't she?
Thanks
Edited by megatron on Sunday 22 April 23:17
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff