punto hgt diesel or 3dr stilo 1.9s, engine is solid, cars are cheap to buy, done a few 100k miles with a couple of these and they provide no bother and 12.5-13 miles to each litre so a sipper.
Golf Mk3 + Mk4 is where it's at. The Mk4 looks the business in black, and if you get the 5-door you can fit everyone in comfortably (all VWs are built for tall Germans). But yeah, the Fabia is the slightly cheaper option (not so much now that everyone knows they're just rebranded VWs). Oh, and diesel Cheesecake.
I dont see quite why everyone is comparing the golf and fabia so much when the fabia is based on the polo chassis. As a fabia owner I would say the cabin is rock solid, but mine has had a patchy mechanical history, including such fun things as the fan motor catching fire while i was driving
a (almost) mint condition classic mini Might not be very practical, but I have always wanted a classic mini, so you can live my dream
My brother picked up a very nice ford mondeo for around £3000 a while back and he his very happy with it as they seem to last a long time I have seen a few with 300,000 miles on the clock. I think the one he got had around 70-80K on it, I know its a big of a big car but the fuel consumption was also very good around 55+ MPG. He is looking for another one now though as a land rover decided to write his old one off.
I was in the same boat last month. My mondeo packed in, 10 year old. I was going to have to get some cash from somwhere. I got offered £3000 for a non working mondeo (it had a valid MOT and tax and thats all it needs) I used that as a deposit on a hyundai. not the sexiest car, but high spec, good build, quick, 5 year cover. took a finance package for it, but I was going to need a loan anyway.
Oh god no!!! MY fiances sister who has been living with us while she finished university had a bright yellow one of those with body kit and blacked out lights etc. It looked awful. Its a BMW, its supposed to be a sophisticated sleek looking car, not ricer'd up to death. It has ruined all BMW's of that type for me and still sends a shiver down my spine when i think of the banana mobile. It took her bloody ages to sell it too.
I was looking for a blue one badged up as an Alpina I saw the other day, that one looks similar (missing the black and red leather though ^_^ ) Don't let your sisters put you of. + OP get a prop0r car, none of this diesel rubbish!
Yar diesel is for tractors and you always get the smell of it on your hands after filling up. As Clarkson pointed out on TG the oher night it teases you with a bit of power then it dissapears.
Diesel engines have their place. All the ones I could afford to run aren't interesting enough to be worth it over their petrol equivalents. _tad's 130d is one of the more interesting ones that would certainly be worth thinking about.
I suppose i dont really *need* a diesel, its the fuel economy i like. My 1.9 Diesel polo is pretty dull to drive though. Cant really afford insurance on a golf / audi. Only been driving a year + < 25 so insurance companies like to bend me over.
I would be interested in how much you actually save with a diesel car, especially considering the recent disparity in petrol/diesel prices. Now the cost of both is the same (at least at my local garage) diesel is more attractive again. My actual real life experience of diesel is limited to one car so its just this car i really dislike although it is touted as one of the better diesels.
Something like this might be right up your street. It's pretty cheap to run and insure, but should provide some decent excitement. [edit] Actually that C2 GT looks like a lot of fun, I've never even looked at those before - a homologation special for the rallying efforts. Uprated suspension and 110bhp on tap should make for a classic little warm hatch...
