Car for a 1st year Apprentice

[anonymous-user]

My brother is starting an apprenticeship, he’s in his first year and is looking for a car he can use.

Some criteria:

Petrol
5 doors if possible
Good spec with some optional extras
Sensible tax

He has around £2k - £4K to spend. Any help would be great

[Oilchange]

Alfa Giulietta 1.4 tb

[Ryyy]

I cant really recommend a car because the 3 I've had prior to owning my van were absolute crap.

A mk2 clio,mine was crap although my brothers was bulletproof. A mk5 astra with the 1.6 petrol engine was very crap. Then a mk2? Ibiza 02 plate anyway which tbf I loved the drive of it but had faults so cant speak very highly of it.

Is it a construction apprenticeship?

[anonymous-user]

Ryyy said:

I cant really recommend a car because the 3 I've had prior to owning my van were absolute crap.

A mk2 clio,mine was crap although my brothers was bulletproof. A mk5 astra with the 1.6 petrol engine was very crap. Then a mk2? Ibiza 02 plate anyway which tbf I loved the drive of it but had faults so cant speak very highly of it.

Is it a construction apprenticeship?

It’s an electrical one.

[Mo28]

Ryyy said:

I cant really recommend a car because the 3 I've had prior to owning my van were absolute crap.

A mk2 clio,mine was crap although my brothers was bulletproof. A mk5 astra with the 1.6 petrol engine was very crap. Then a mk2? Ibiza 02 plate anyway which tbf I loved the drive of it but had faults so cant speak very highly of it.

Is it a construction apprenticeship?

Counter argument for the 1.6 MK5 astra, me and my brother shared one as our first car and put that thing through hell and back. The only thing that went wrong with it was the coil pack (cheap fix) and one of the number plate bulbs needing a change.

Can't go wrong with a ford fiesta or anything Japanese.

[sjc]

Not a 5 door bit a C30 1.6 petrol is a good shout, you’ll get a nice one for 2k

[samoht]

Mr.Nobody said:

Ryyy said:

I cant really recommend a car because the 3 I've had prior to owning my van were absolute crap.

A mk2 clio,mine was crap although my brothers was bulletproof. A mk5 astra with the 1.6 petrol engine was very crap. Then a mk2? Ibiza 02 plate anyway which tbf I loved the drive of it but had faults so cant speak very highly of it.

Is it a construction apprenticeship?

It’s an electrical one.

In that case, buy a Renault Megane II and he'll get so much extra practice, he'll fly through his exams

[WonkeyDonkey]

Oilchange said:

Alfa Giulietta 1.4 tb

I'd second this. Ignore all the relics saying Alfas are unreliable, these tend to be more reliable than anything German. Badge means it tends to be cheaper than most things German also.

Great cars, we've had 3 Alfas (2 diesels, 1 petrol). All bought on over 100k miles and all were utterly reliable.

[The spinner of plates]

Ford Focus.

[Ryyy]

Back when I was an apprentice joiner my seats were forever dusty and had a cabin full of screws,plugs and any tools that made it into my holsters he shouldn't be too bad being a sparky but I asked because it was a messy trade then dont get anything too shiny

[anonymous-user]

He’s found a 08 plate Skoda Octavia with the 1.9tdi engine it’s had two owners, loads of paperwork, full service history and it’s recently had 4x new tyres, brake discs and pads all round, 4x new shocks and springs and a full service.

£1200 with 140k

Edited by anonymous-user on Friday 18th June 16:58

[Ryyy]

Will he get reasonable insurance on that? It's definitely practical and the 1.9tdi is highly spoken of and will be plenty powerful for him which is a bonus

[anonymous-user]

Ryyy said:

Will he get reasonable insurance on that? It's definitely practical and the 1.9tdi is highly spoken of and will be plenty powerful for him which is a bonus

He should do. Anything to look out for on them?

[Jazzy Jag]

Nissan Micra K11

You can pick up a mint one for well below £1000 leaving lots for an apprentice to spend on tools.
Pretty bullet proof.
Cheap to insure and run.

All 3 of my kids had a cheap one as their 1st car as it was almost disposable if they bent it.

[Ryyy]

I cant really help on that one buddy and I'm not saying it's an old shed but theres a thread on here called the joy of running an old shed and there will be plenty of people on there full of advice for you

[Seanseansean]

Mr.Nobody said:

Ryyy said:

Will he get reasonable insurance on that? It's definitely practical and the 1.9tdi is highly spoken of and will be plenty powerful for him which is a bonus

He should do. Anything to look out for on them?

I don’t think a old diesel is a good idea.
What if he gets sent into a clean air zone like birmingham/bath or London.

If he is working on site, his car is going to get damaged.

[anonymous-user]

We only work around Liverpool and the North West. He’s driving it to the office, then gets taken to jobs with the lads in the van anyway, plus on the odd occasion he may have to attend site which is mainly domestic and some commercial.

[How u doing]

My go to for cheap to run, cheap to buy, easy (and cheap) to maintain.
107/C1/Aygo.

Good seats too.

[braddo]

How u doing said:

My go to for cheap to run, cheap to buy, easy (and cheap) to maintain.
107/C1/Aygo.

Good seats too.

This.

Diesel-beating economy and vastly lower potential for nasty big bills compared to TDI. Low weight for fun - classic first car recipe for the past 40 years.

[SD_1]

Surely your best bet is searching the local classifieds with the budget in the parameters and then picking whatever is in the best condition and has the best history? Start with your usual Focus, Astra, Civic etc and take it from there.