Mk1 Focus alternatives?
Discussion
My Astra is all but dead 
Need a shed to tide me over until May (insurance renewal), budget of £1k max. Was looking at W124's but irritatingly my insurance won't cover me on even a 230E due to my age (20)
My only real requirements are reliable (or cheap to fix), ideally 35mpg, preferrably no smaller than the Astra but above all cheap insurance.
I keep coming back to the Focus 1.6 in Ghia flavour. A grand seems to get a pretty tidy one and my mum's 1.4 is like a cockroach. I just wondered if there are any less obvious choices that I may have missed??
Need a shed to tide me over until May (insurance renewal), budget of £1k max. Was looking at W124's but irritatingly my insurance won't cover me on even a 230E due to my age (20)
My only real requirements are reliable (or cheap to fix), ideally 35mpg, preferrably no smaller than the Astra but above all cheap insurance.
I keep coming back to the Focus 1.6 in Ghia flavour. A grand seems to get a pretty tidy one and my mum's 1.4 is like a cockroach. I just wondered if there are any less obvious choices that I may have missed??
vit4 said:
My Astra is all but dead
Need a shed to tide me over until May (insurance renewal), budget of £1k max. Was looking at W124's but irritatingly my insurance won't cover me on even a 230E due to my age (20)
My only real requirements are reliable (or cheap to fix), ideally 35mpg, preferrably no smaller than the Astra but above all cheap insurance.
I keep coming back to the Focus 1.6 in Ghia flavour. A grand seems to get a pretty tidy one and my mum's 1.4 is like a cockroach. I just wondered if there are any less obvious choices that I may have missed??
My W124 was half the price of a 1.0 Yaris insurance wise - make sure you are quoting on one old enough and stick the 300E in there (that's what mine is), also look round all the comparison websites.Need a shed to tide me over until May (insurance renewal), budget of £1k max. Was looking at W124's but irritatingly my insurance won't cover me on even a 230E due to my age (20)
My only real requirements are reliable (or cheap to fix), ideally 35mpg, preferrably no smaller than the Astra but above all cheap insurance.
I keep coming back to the Focus 1.6 in Ghia flavour. A grand seems to get a pretty tidy one and my mum's 1.4 is like a cockroach. I just wondered if there are any less obvious choices that I may have missed??
0a said:
My W124 was half the price of a 1.0 Yaris insurance wise - make sure you are quoting on one old enough and stick the 300E in there (that's what mine is), also look round all the comparison websites.
CIS won't even quote me because 'Its engine is too big and it is too high an insursnce group for an under 25'. Irritatingly with Admiral it isn't much more but I can't afford to lose 6 months no claim bonus. Hence transferring this policy to another car 
vit4 said:
0a said:
My W124 was half the price of a 1.0 Yaris insurance wise - make sure you are quoting on one old enough and stick the 300E in there (that's what mine is), also look round all the comparison websites.
CIS won't even quote me because 'Its engine is too big and it is too high an insursnce group for an under 25'. Irritatingly with Admiral it isn't much more but I can't afford to lose 6 months no claim bonus. Hence transferring this policy to another car How much for a 1.0 Yaris then? Surprisingly fun to drive, not heavy and with a nice VVTI engine that is capable of late 40s (but does drop if you thrash it). Take a look on 'trader at the number with over 150k on them, these little cars are tough. Perhaps something like this:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2012...
To be honest the Mk1 focus is idea, if you can find a suitable example. My mother also runs one (abeit the tractor diesel 1.8) and at 130k the thing drives really well. She smashed the door mirror and housing a few months back and was upset she'd done so - a pattern part that looks fine was £12 delivered and easy to fix. Other parts are the same. Watch for rust though.
A friend has a dirty 1.6 on 160k, and another a 1.8 on 175k.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2012...
To be honest the Mk1 focus is idea, if you can find a suitable example. My mother also runs one (abeit the tractor diesel 1.8) and at 130k the thing drives really well. She smashed the door mirror and housing a few months back and was upset she'd done so - a pattern part that looks fine was £12 delivered and easy to fix. Other parts are the same. Watch for rust though.
A friend has a dirty 1.6 on 160k, and another a 1.8 on 175k.
EDLT said:
vit4 said:
0a said:
My W124 was half the price of a 1.0 Yaris insurance wise - make sure you are quoting on one old enough and stick the 300E in there (that's what mine is), also look round all the comparison websites.
CIS won't even quote me because 'Its engine is too big and it is too high an insursnce group for an under 25'. Irritatingly with Admiral it isn't much more but I can't afford to lose 6 months no claim bonus. Hence transferring this policy to another car Suzuki Ignis Sport?
In the "like a Golf, but cheaper" range there is the Seat Leon/Toledo, VW Bora and the Skoda Octavia, though the Octavia is a longer car than the rest but has an enormous boot.
In the "like a Golf, but cheaper" range there is the Seat Leon/Toledo, VW Bora and the Skoda Octavia, though the Octavia is a longer car than the rest but has an enormous boot.
Mr2Mike said:
I had no idea these were so cheap?! Will definitely have to check insursnce, always admired these 
The Yaris isn't something that I'd considered; it's a bit smaller than I'd like but if I got money back on the insurance I could be tempted. Cheers!
vit4 said:
Mr2Mike said:
I had no idea these were so cheap?! Will definitely have to check insursnce, always admired these The Yaris isn't something that I'd considered; it's a bit smaller than I'd like but if I got money back on the insurance I could be tempted. Cheers!
However, have you considered a Mondeo. For cars this age under a grand then generally the bigger the car the better the value simply because smaller cars are more in demand so they hold their value better. So Mondeo better value than Focus which is better value than Fiesta etc..
http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...
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