Small car high mileage

[davidjpowell]

Thanks Guido for that excellent information.

Girls being girl's she has still got a leaning towards a French car. The latest option is pushing my budget to the limits. I am amazed that the insurance is still acceptable.

Regards
John

Sorry John - I am a bit slow in coming in here. I have just old one of these which is near identical in all but year (mine was a 2000).

It was a lovely car and in 2 years cost me a brake stop switch and a set of discs (through rust because it was not used much). Car handled well, and always felt safe with penty of airbags and seemed reasonably ecoomical (mid 30's).

The A/C pipes corrode in front of the radiator so need checking.

If you have gone for something else already good luck!

Kind regards

David

 

[st4]

Is a 1.0 or 1.2 Skoda Fabia Classic in reach. Excellent little cars....

 

[Dieselman]

Is a 1.0 or 1.2 Skoda Fabia Classic in reach. Excellent little cars....

I can't believe you said that......wash your mouth out...

always good for keeping your hands warm on the rear window though, I suppose...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2001-Skoda-Fa...ryZ18275QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[st4]

I can't believe you said that......wash your mouth out...

always good for keeping your hands warm on the rear window though, I suppose...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2001-Skoda-Fa...ryZ18275QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Having had a friend who owned one and one as a hire car, it stuck out as a good supermini. Better built than most (Vee dub made) and more practical. It drove fine @ 90mph unlike the much newer design Fiat Panda that was Sh** in every single way.

I know they are the butt of Jokes, but its just a VW with a crappy badge. For a new driver it ticks all the right boxes IMO

 

[drbsheffield]

Get a fabia, I have had loads of cars, including Mercs and currently a BMW, I had a 1.4 fabia, a 2.0 fabia (a total bargain has the old 2.0 golf GTi engine, and then a vRS 1.9 TDi) I would never knock them at all, fantastic build quality and reliability (much better than my Mercs and MINI's my mum had one, my brother had a vRS an my best mate has a 2005 1.2 which is driven frequently to the very north of Scotland a 1000 mile round trip and has never given any problems despite being driven hard from day one. They are really tough little cars and fantastic value. They would be my first choice everytime!

 

[timskemp]

My vote would go:

Polo/Ibiza/Fabia - reliable, solid, well built, all around the same platform.

Fiesta / Ka - note though that more than half the people I know who've had a Ka have got rid of it by putting it off the road or on its roof - they oversteer, sometimes unexpectedly. Either car with any engine will be cheap to buy, insure run and repair.


Old shape Volvo S40 is a good bet too, as is a 190E. Nothing like a bit of basic but solid motoring to start off with and far more resistant to minor bumps than the smaller stuff.

Safety? None of the above will result in serious injurys at town speeds, having seen what happens to a Ka after leaving the road backards at approx 60 I would want my kids to be in a Volvo.

 

[st4]

My vote would go:

Polo/Ibiza/Fabia - reliable, solid, well built, all around the same platform.

Fiesta / Ka - note though that more than half the people I know who've had a Ka have got rid of it by putting it off the road or on its roof - they oversteer, sometimes unexpectedly. Either car with any engine will be cheap to buy, insure run and repair.


Old shape Volvo S40 is a good bet too, as is a 190E. Nothing like a bit of basic but solid motoring to start off with and far more resistant to minor bumps than the smaller stuff.

Safety? None of the above will result in serious injurys at town speeds, having seen what happens to a Ka after leaving the road backards at approx 60 I would want my kids to be in a Volvo.

But a 190E and S40 might be a tad large for a very new driver. Parking etc and fuel consumption for a young wallet is a big issue. If she does very little town driving then the above suggestions make perfect sense.

If she heads off to uni (a lot do these days) a big car may be good for carrying luggage etc that students have.

I learned in a corsa and then was chucked into my mothers shogun, and it was great as from day one I was able to deal with a broad car as thats what I just grew to accept road cars to be. I never pranged it either. I do think being chucked into the deep end will make a better, safer, driver of her. But that theory may not win much empathy @ glojo's home.

 

[timskemp]

But a 190E and S40 might be a tad large for a very new driver. Parking etc and fuel consumption for a young wallet is a big issue. If she does very little town driving then the above suggestions make perfect sense.

If she heads off to uni (a lot do these days) a big car may be good for carrying luggage etc that students have.

My first car was a Rover 213, it met its end on an icy road and the metal post that terminated the slide early would have gone a lot further into a contemporary smaller car.

Fuel consumption of a diesel or GDi petrol S40 would be no more than a Ka (not an economical thing) and yes, for city driving there's no substitute for a smaller car, but the other thing to remember is other road users, my S40 survived a 40 mph side impact, with me intact, on the drivers side. Unfortunately accidents happen, statistically more to young, new or high mileage drivers...

The 190E suggestion was more an attempt to suggest a merc - how about an A class?

 

[st4]

I agree with all of this, but will say an older design larger car be safer in an impact than a newer design smaller car. I reckon a relatively contemporary car like an S40 vs Fabia will, but an older (i.e. 190E) vs Fabia won't.

Again we are slightly comparing apples with pears here. A suggestion would be that she does the pass plus programme, and attempts IAM. Prevention is better than cure....

 

[timskemp]

Would second the pass plus idea

 

[grober]

Fabia.

I would also recommend the Skoda Fabia except for the original 1.4 skoda design engined one which was prone to CHG failures. I had ruled out getting a good one on the grounds of the £1500 price limit. Its ironic that the Skoda pedigree goes back way before most of the contemporary manufacturers. http://new.skoda-auto.com/COM/about/tradition/history/Pages/History.aspx Admittedly there was a period during their history under communist rule they produced poor quality cars but these days are long gone. Anyone who rules them out on the grounds of badge snobbery is denying themselves access to a series of safe,well engineered and reliable cars.

 

[scumbag]

as for the Fabia VRs. You wont find one cheap. They only arrived in 2003.

And you really wouldn't want one, Honest, terrible cars! You wont catch me in one! Well, not unless you have something pretty damn fast and economical!

The other models are certaintly good cars, but you would be able to pick up a Octavia cheaper. And being sexist for a min, I do think that a young girl and a Fabia classic, or Octavia don't quite match!.

Unless she can get a bright purple or pink one, and really makes it ultra girly. Then they would be very good, Reliable, large, economical and above all, AUDI/VW parts for ford prices. Can't be bad.

VW's are common and you will find most anywhere can fix them like Fords.

It may be difficult, but she could do with going for a drive in each of these. I would be surprised if she went for the focus after seeing a Polo or Ibiza!

And I bet she would not even get in a Fabia.

 

[glojo]

I can't believe you said that......wash your mouth out...

always good for keeping your hands warm on the rear window though, I suppose...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2001-Skoda-Fa...ryZ18275QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I hadn't thought about E-bay. What ever car we get I want my daughter to take a pride in it and of course she will be the Officer in charge of the Bucket

Bodywork and interior are a thing I pay particular attention to when looking at a car. Your example sounds very nice but I'm turned off simply by the person's honesty.

My daughter wants me to look at any prospective cars and travelling will crucify me, so a 70 mile journey to look at a car that has signs of neglect is a non starter.

I am EXTREMELY grateful for this link and have NO objections to anyone putting up prospective vehicles. It might be noticed that my daughter has manipulated the budget by what she calls a little and I may disagree with but if we now set this limit as a cast in stone £1900. If using Auto-trader use the postcode TQ1 2JG

Will this new budget be enough for a suitable Skoda\Seat.

The Honest John review of the Focus has impressed me, BUT Scumbag's comments about the position of the throttle has also registered.

I go along with the comments about different sized cars and hopefully size is not an issue. I have also spoken with my daughter's driving instructor to make sure he is happy about our choices.

The older cars are a non starter for numerous reasons and I will tactfully say my daughter is not a fan of older cars.

Pass Plus is a great scheme and something we will be encouraging her to take.

Regards
John

 

[scumbag]

Actually, why not stick a £1500 deposit down on the new fiat 500 and let her pay the rest (£150 a month)


cooler than the MINI

I even fancy the arbarth version myself


and if they did the 1.4 in the 4x4 panda, I would have one parked outside!

 

[Dieselman]

I hadn't thought about E-bay. What ever car we get I want my daughter to take a pride in it and of course she will be the Officer in charge of the Bucket

My daughter wants me to look at any prospective cars and travelling will crucify me, so a 70 mile journey to look at a car that has signs of neglect is a non starter.

I did actually notice the swirl marks inthe paint so a good polish would be required, and dark green isn't the most lively colour.
The Burnt orange/copper/red is a very nice colour.

Colour example only..

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2001-Y-Skoda-...ryZ18275QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

same as:

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-u...A&model=FABIA&min_pr=&max_pr=2000&max_mileage

Will this new budget be enough for a suitable Skoda\Seat.

Yes..!!

The Honest John review of the Focus has impressed me, BUT Scumbag's comments about the position of the throttle has also registered.

Ford build quality and reliability isn't a patch on that of VAG, Toyota, Honda products.

I go along with the comments about different sized cars and hopefully size is not an issue. I have also spoken with my daughter's driving instructor to make sure he is happy about our choices.

Cars grow with each generation of new model. The Fabia/Polo/Ibiza is now the same length as the original MkI Golf and has more interior space due to better packaging.

 

[Dieselman]

You wont catch me in one! Well, not unless you have something pretty damn fast and economical!

Watch what you say else I'll set the Missus onto you...

I would be surprised if she went for the focus after seeing a Polo or Ibiza!

And I bet she would not even get in a Fabia.

Dunno, they're pretty spacious...

 

[Dieselman]

I even fancy the arbarth version myself

Get the Abarth SS thingy. IIRC it's about 250Bhp and rather quick..

 

[scumbag]

Get the Abarth SS thingy. IIRC it's about 250Bhp and rather quick..

No, its just a tiny 135bhp. Its a 1.4turbo. Its out later this year. Should be around £13k. press here

The only thing I would want, that they don't do are Xenons.


And as far as your missus chasing me, i shall wait here eating my MovenPick Panna Cotta. Can't say I can be more sporting than that.

 

[scumbag]

try here instead

 

[Dieselman]

No, its just a tiny 135bhp. Its a 1.4turbo. Its out later this year. Should be around £13k.

And as far as your missus chasing me, i shall wait here eating my MovenPick Panna Cotta. Can't say I can be more sporting than that.

She's not playing because you keep your chips in yours...


Fiat 500 Abarth SS. 180Bhp..

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/spyshots/211785/500_abarth_ss.html