Motors Advice wanted for my first car purchase :)

I have been having driving lessons since November 07 average of 3-4.5 hours a week, and my instructor (an independent, works for himself not an organisation like rac or aa) he was saying it was time I started thinking of what car to buy.
I'm a total noob when it comes to technical talk about a car.

I have a budget of £3000 (can be slightly flexible on it)

I don't want a corsa (been suggested to me many a time)
reason: My dad needs a 4x4 for towing and had a Isuzu Trooper. No problems whatsoever. It just kept going.
He traded it for a Vauxhall Frontera (low floor 4x4) and he found many a problem with it (we suspected it may possibly be the dealer doing something dodgy). I also saw these problems, and we both really began to dislike it. He now drives a Land Rover Discovery mark2

I live a 10min walk from work (probably won't use it unless the weather is really bad), and will use it to go places if I want to go and get something etc around work.
I have been bought a subscription/membership to the ramblers association, and will probably be driving to the start of walks on my days off.

I know nothing about car buying, so all advice is welcome. inc insurance, and all other costs.


I will be wanting to make some slight mods to it. changing the head unit to allow me to play my iPod (2nd gen 8gb nano) and I will be using my mobile for sat-nav.
The techyness in me would want me to put in a CarPC and run all from there. The sensible in me says not to do that, and just use my iPod and mobile.

 

For your budget I'd be looking for a mk1 focus or a mk3 mondeo.

 

For the record, the Isuzu Trooper and the Vauxhall Monterey are the same thing. Fronteras are generally reliable, but the vauxhall diesel engines were prone to headgasket issues, the Isuzu ones were fine though. Corsas are overpriced, so I don't blame you for not wanting one.

If you don't need to use the car often, I don't see the point in spending £3k. I'd go for something like the astra at the bottom of this page: http://www.ideal-motors.com/catalog.php

..but bear in mind you can find them for £3-500 privately. Mk3 Astras and Mk3 Cavaliers are always undervalued, so you get a lot of car for your money, and you wouldnt have to worry about depreciation. The wiring is pretty straightforward, (me and a friend had hell wiring in things in his mazda mx3) and the boots are bigger than they look.

Also, you could consider Volvos like these http://www.expolicecar.co.uk/stock_special.asp .

 

I think I should have made it more clearer. I don't want a Vauxall, due to the bad experience with the Frontera.

 

Don't try and get one of the big, newish Volvo's though - apart from the insurance being high (for the non-T5 version) the servicing costs are pretty damn high.

 

If you want a 4*4. Get a landrover 110 or 90deisel. £3000 will be buy you very nice example plus if you geta classic one lower insurance. Ill have non of that chelsea tracker rubbbish. How old are you. Remember as a new driver your main cost is going to be insurance.

 

With a 110 your main cost will be Diesel, looked into them (years ago) very very slow and about 20mpg with Diesel only going to get more expensive only get one if you really need the go any where, fix in a blacksmith ability.

Edit: I might have looked into a 109 so the above may not be quite as true for the 110

 

if yoy were to think of getting something fun, and built like a tank. get a Daihatsu Sportrak, 4x4 with a 1.6 twin cam petrol. trust me there fantastic off road, better than the lazy defenders.

we got a transit flat bed stuck in the mud, with 3 ton of gravel of the back, we chained my bosses Vauxhall Frontera to it and tried to tow it out, the Frontera had locking diffs and the preffered 2.2 petrol unit, even using the reverse gear the poor Frontera couldn't shift the transit. so we fired up the little Daihatsu and it required a little effort to get it out the yard, we blocked the enterance with the transit...

anyway the little Daihatsu dug down and pulled the transit straight out no worries. the problem was the Frontera gearbox is really designed for the school run, lots of nice roads, so long gears for economy and road speeds, where as the little Daihatsu is ment to off road!!!

i drive a volvo myself 440 1.8, with a mighty 95hp! but its light, and toasts my friends mondeo MK2 2L Zetec, power to weight ratio is key there!

 

A 2002 Ford KA would be well within your budget, with about 30k on the clock.

I had one of these as my first car and it was brilliant, great visibility, easy to park, nice gear box, group 2 insurance, reasonable boot, good space with the seats down. Handles well and is cheap to run, a full set of new tires only came to £130 for me (steel rims granted, not alloys).

It's got to be the best first car out there I reckon.

You sit much lower to the ground than you do in a clio/yaris. I'm 6ft2 and was never anything but comfortable.

I'm pretty sure that you aren't after a 4x4 as your first car right?

 

odd im 6ft 2in and my girl friends cilo is fine for me, thing i hate with small cars like pug 106, 206, citroen saxo, ford ka and vauxhall corsa's is the pedal boxs, the pedals are far to close to each other, i going to take a guess thats why so many get smashed up.

my next car will either be a ford puma 1.7 (123hp) model, or VW Passat 1.9TDI (130hp) but insurance will be cheap, as im an old git!

Fiat punto 1.2 three door, cheap and cheerful, and 85hp, will toast corsa'a and well most little cars out there! tho they do have fiat build quality.........

 

Ford Ka's... Pleh... Very outdated now, even in 2002 a much nicer car can be had than those. Weedy 1.3 petrol with not-awesome economy, cheap interior with loads of painted metal making you feel like you're riding in a cheap toy, not a car.

Find a nice, well looked-after one with a decent service history (cambelt done as early as possible, preferably at <50k miles) and they're actually very good. I've had one for 4 years now and it's never let me down, ever.

 

Ford Fiesta, the old shape can be had pretty cheap. excerlent first car imo.

 

I found the KA was alright, I've got size 12 feet so i am all to aware of the peddles in french cars, what a mare!

Interesting looking at your next cars, I was looking at the Fabia vRS (same engine as that passat) and the new Kia Pro_Cee'd (which I test drove the other weekend and OMG what a brilliant car! 1.6 CRDi 115bhp and 188ft lb of torque get's it zipping around very nicely).

Outdated true, but still popular, having all that painted metal inside is quite cool, much easier to look after as well, but I have to agree with the plastics, in my 97 model it was brilliant, I had to drive a 2004 whilst mine was being serviced and it was awful, a real shame!

The colour you get is really important, silver paintwork inside looks awful but red looked great.

I changed that for a 3dr Rav 4 NRG 6 months ago....I'm selling that already lol

 

My instructors car is a Clio.
I find that I have to place my left foot on the clutch, before I move off. I'm moving my leg towards the right, to get the correct position.
Is it like that in most cars or just specific to the model, or just the instructors car?

I have been thinking a Fiesta for my first.
Something smallish, but with still enough room if I go away somewhere (walking or camping etc)

A 4x4 is not the sort of car I need. I'm sticking to the road, and will not be towing. (my dad tows, so needs a 4x4)
I've been advised against a Ford Ka

Anyone know where would be the best place to look?

 

Yeh I think a Fiesta would be good for your needs. The Whole moving of the leg thing is probably down to thee pedal layout in the clio.

The problem you will face is that you don't have your liscence yet therefore won't be able to test drive it. So make sure you're dad has a go.

As for where to go, get in auto trader, find some local cars that are up as trade, then your dad will be able to test drive them, private sellers probably won't let you (well, your dad) drive it as the insurance won't cover it

 

if you are not going to drive long distances and very often then get a gasoline car (it has lesser MPG and gasoline is more expensive, but so is a diesel car, you have to weigh "cost of car" vs "cost of fuel X time of ownage X distance"), if it is mostly you alone in the car get a small car, it is easier to park and is more maneuverable in traffic, think about a smart for 2 or a peugeot 107 or a similar citroen, vw lupo (the 3L version is very nice, i have a friend that got one some days ago and he is loving it to bits), nissan micra, if you drive with your friends get a more comfortable car like a peugeot 206, 207, fiat punto, vw polo, chevrolet kalos (i have a friend that has one and it is very nice for the price), maybe a the new and nice honda civics (i love their shape).....

i am saying these cars because i have seen them in action and they are relatively popular around here, i live in an island full of inclinations and weak and crap cars don't survive long here....

 

what year is the cilo? i know in my girl friends cilo the pedal box is slightly off centre of the drivers seat, closer to the centre console. this is because the car was originally a left hand drive, and well they bodged it into a right drive. in a left hand drive cilo the gearbox would be in front of the driver and it makes the seating position slightly better as thiers more room for the foot well.

best engineering cock up was the porsche 911 and the right hand drive has a petrol tank in the drivers foot well basically, you feel as if your sitting sideways its that bad!

fiesta 1.25 zetec, gives 73hp, so dont be tempted by a 1.3, as it only puts out 59hp and if its a 5DR then milk floats will overtake you!

best bit about a fiesta is the amount of them on the second hand market, plus spares. makes super cheap motoring.

 

I'm not sure what the age of the instructors Clio is.


I still have to take the tests theory and practical.

What order of things I should take?
when would be the right time to buy the car?
before my test or just after?

I suppose if it's just after I can then test-drive the car.

 

The choices are huge buddy...
For absolute reliability then go Japanese, Nissan or Toyota for preference, people will tell you the parts are expensive and if you go through a dealer they are... but you can get parts from Hong Kong for bargain prices even with shipping
4X4's are great first cars, don't be put off by people telling you that they're slow, my first car was a BMW 518 it lasted 4 weeks before i wrapped it round a tree my second was a Golf GTI that lasted two months before it hit a wall ... Besides who needs speed when you can Off Road


'Daihatsu Sportrak' finding them is hard work down here but my old boss had one and they're proper... towed a 17m Keelboat (1500kg of lead Keel alone...) all over without a single problem

 

How old are you?

You can get good Honda Civics fairly cheap, insurance should be OK if you are 21+, might be OK if you're 19/20 but could be a shafting if you're 17/18!

I got my '94 M reg 1.3 hatch for £820 with full service history and low mileage, recently passed the MOT first time with no issues. Tyres are cheap (less than £30 for a Michelin), does 45mpg, nippy performance and nice to drive. Some parts would be expensive from the dealer (£300 for a radiator anyone?!), but you can get aftermarket ones for quite reasonable prices (£60 for an alu radiator).