The Car thread - The Bear and Badger

Bob

Cambelt is all you need to worry about really.

ZMM

I wouldn't touch an under £1000 VW, and don't get a diesel unless you're going to be doing tonnes of miles. I would rather go for something Japanese, or a mid to late naughties French hatchback. Don't get a Corsa I've seen ones from 2008 that are already rusted to hell! Look for a nice privately owned car that's been taken good care of. Most of these small garages just buy cars at auction then add a couple grand to the asking price.

Here are my £1000 picks:

Toyota Auris, high mileage on this one but nice car https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201904146960948 good looking cars IMO, for a grand you can't go wrong.

Honda Jazz, this one is a bit denty but depending on the size of car you'd want, it's a decent shout https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201904267348638

Citroen C4, has a modern interior including a neat steering wheel that doesn't move, safe cars: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201903286353319

Renault Clio https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201904297429215 would be comfortable af, looks good, safe.

Suzuki Swift https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201904267359711 the mid naughties ones look better than the new ones, imo, plus it would be reliable af

poprock

My first Porsche was under a thousand pounds. OH MY HOW THE WORLD HAS CHANGED.

ZMM

Also a Golf diesel would be pretty hefty insurance wise for a new driver, which gav is, right? New-ish?

Dinostar77

ZMM, gotta disagree with you buddy. We own two golf's in our household a MK4 and MK5. We dont do loads of miles and both have been bulletproof. Also very cheap to insure and have alot of space for 4 adults and a good boot that can hold a full sized spare. There a reason why its one of the most popular family cars in the uk.

ZMM

I mean, look at this Punto! Would be much more suitable. Just 40,000 miles. Smart looking car, safe, would be much cheaper to run and insure and much less could go wrong with the engine than a VW diesel. Just don't buy a Golf, man, just please. I have heard nothing but bad things from friends/colleagues.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201903316466385

ZMM

@Dino that's fair enough, I just think for the £1000 price range, to find one that is going to be reliable and well looked after would be a hard stretch, as they're overvalued anyway, compared to like a French/Japanese/Korean equivalent

ZMM

Case in point: look at all the things wrong with this car, and the mileage, and yet he still wants £850 for it?! https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201903316476415

afgavinstan

Many thanks Dino and Pug for the links. I'm still relatively new to all this so differing opinions are more than welcome! Mind though Pug I'm 6'4" so nowt too tiny. If I'm being facetious, I'd like enough space for an arm rest haha

Bob

And deffo don't touch a C4 for around or under a grand.. absolute bag of french shite.

ZMM

You're 6ft4? I had no idea. Same! I think we're ok for the majority of cars. I was concerned I wouldn't fit in my MiTo but with the seat lowering, it's amazingly roomy inside, doesn't feel like I'm crammed in or anything. I think most cars from 2008 onwards we'll be fine with regards to height, even with the Aygo's and C1's.

ZMM

Yeah French cars will always have an air of unreliability, but they are comfortable and safe, and that's important.

afgavinstan

I learn in a brand new Mini and even with all its niceness I still feel a little hedged in. Its more that feeling rather than any headroom issue. Though obviously I'll concede some wants of mine, if the car/deal is too good to pass up.

I sat in a DS version of the C4 a while back and it was spot on space wise, but yeah, I've been warned off the French.

ZMM

It's a lottery, really. You will never know how a car has been looked after, or not, or to the standard of which it was built. But I see no evidence of any German car being more reliable than anywhere else in Europe, personally. I sometimes think the image of reliability even clouds the owner's minds as to how reliable it actually is. And both VW and Audi lied about emissions for years, the bastards, and you can tell. If you're stuck behind a naughties Audi or VW diesel you have to close your air vents it's that bad.

afgavinstan wrote:

I learn in a brand new Mini and even with all its niceness I still feel a little hedged in. Its more that feeling rather than any headroom issue. Though obviously I'll concede some wants of mine, if the car/deal is too good to pass up. I sat in a DS version of the C4 a while back and it was spot on space wise, but yeah, I've been warned off the French.

Hmm, I don't feel hedged in at all in my MiTo, and on comparing the interior, it does feel hugely claustrophobic in the Mini. I don't think the squished speedometer and rev counter, and how high the centre console sits are helping matters.

Everyone should buy a MiTo IMHO. If it didn't have a fidgety ride it would be perfect. Good looking, reliable and ridiculously economical diesels and multiair petrols. Just look at the owner reviews: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-reviews/alfa_romeo/mito/c958b14da3b2ab01755662ecafdad12b

Plus, you get so much for your money because, in the UK at least, the car was routinely (and unfairly) panned by the motoring press.

cockbeard

I do think that at under a grand paying a badge premium for VW is madness, go for the Skoda/Seat equivalents, save loads compared to Golf equivalent, and basically the same car

poprock

ZMM wrote:

Everyone should buy a MiTo IMHO.

The Mito is a Fiat Grande Punto with fancy pants on. Fair enough though – the Alfa interior is light years beyond anything you’ll find in a Fiat, and that’s what makes it a nice place to sit.

I’ve got a Giulietta, and that bigger brother knocks the Mito into a cocked hat for comfort, handling, power, and anything else you can think of really. Except price, of course. It’s well out of Gav’s intended price bracket.

But isn’t a Mito out of his range too? Last time I looked the majority were still over five grand.

afgavinstan

Yeah was gonna say!

And yer quite right Cocko. I'd have no problems with a Leon.

ZMM

poprock wrote:

ZMM wrote:

Everyone should buy a MiTo IMHO.

The Mito is a Fiat Grande Punto with fancy pants on. Fair enough though – the Alfa interior is light years beyond anything you’ll find in a Fiat, and that’s what makes it a nice place to sit. I’ve got a Giulietta, and that bigger brother knocks the Mito into a cocked hat for comfort, handling, power, and anything else you can think of really. Except price, of course. It’s well out of Gav’s intended price bracket. But isn’t a Mito out of his range too? Last time I looked the majority were still over five grand.

There's a 2010 one here for £2100 https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201904116847140 but I reckon you could get it if you went with £1500 cash, he even says he's open to offers in the ad.

Ah yeah I remember you have the Giulietta! I am tempted to upgrade... Do you have the diesel or the multiair?

HawBawJaws

cockbeard wrote:

I do think that at under a grand paying a badge premium for VW is madness, go for the Skoda/Seat equivalents, save loads compared to Golf equivalent, and basically the same car

Been saying this for years. Owned 2 leons in my time, first was a 700 quid banger, but i got a year out of it, and 500 quid back when i traded it in against a mk2 diesel fr leon. That thing was fucking rapid.

poprock

ZMM wrote:

Do you have the diesel or the multiair?

The ‘surprisingly rapid’ two litre turbo diesel. There is huge variance in how fancy the interiors are on Giuliettas – we found one with every option ticked and it’s like a different car from the boggo ones I see about.

Dinostar77

cockbeard wrote:

I do think that at under a grand paying a badge premium for VW is madness, go for the Skoda/Seat equivalents, save loads compared to Golf equivalent, and basically the same car

Hes rights skoda or seat are golfs underneath.

Bob

MiTos are shit absolute garbage for build quality and every part needs coding to
The car costing fucking £££s avoid like bad aids

ZMM

My MiTo has needed a new heater fan and some suspension strut mounts in 3 years and 20,000 miles, and that's it. I use Shell 99 ron fuel which easily gives me 70mpg at 40mph, and mid 50s at 60mph. Around town it's usually around 45mpg. I put an AGM battery in it for the stop/start which works well. It's got 135 horsepower which is more than enough for me, 0-60 is like 7.5-8 seconds. Insurance was £248.11 for the year. It's eminently economical and (touch wood) has been really reliable. As I said, apart from the fidgety ride, it's the perfect car for me, that's why I've had it for 3 years. The only car I've been tempted by recently is one of these:

Because it has the same engine as my MiTo, so it will be as economical and torquey, but has a great chassis and rear wheel drive. I wouldn't even care about the horrible old man image the car has because who cares, I'd be having fun, and the wind would be blowing through my thinning hair. Honestly the Multiair engine was years ahead of its time. Ford's Ecoboosts have only just caught up (the Fiesta ST with a 3 cylinder, 200ps 1.5 engine, that is pretty impressive) But Multiair still pisses all over VVTI, or standard 16 valve ones in terms of torque, power and economy.

GooberTheHat

ZMM wrote:

My MiTo has needed a new heater fan and some suspension strut mounts in 3 years and 20,000 miles, and that's it.

My mazda has needed some new tyres and brake pads in the 5 years and 50,000 miles I've had it.

Bob

ZMM wrote:

My MiTo has needed a new heater fan and some suspension strut mounts in 3 years and 20000 miles.

So you’ve basically left it in the box for three years and it’s still broken?

LivDiv

Alfa innit

Bob

Nice work keeping up

ZMM

GooberTheHat wrote:

My MiTo has needed a new heater fan and some suspension strut mounts in 3 years and 20,000 miles, and that's it.

My mazda has needed some new tyres and brake pads in the 5 years and 50,000 miles I've had it.

Yes well, Japanese vs Italian is no contest. We were comparing German with French, earlier, I don't think there's that much of a difference, you'd never pay as much in repair/maintenance costs than the difference in the price of a VW/Audi and its French/Italian equivalent. It's like the value of these big V6/V8 petrol SUVs vs the diesel one. Even after 3 years of fuel bills you'd still pay less overall for the petrol than the diesel.

Bob

German vs French ? Christ i’d eat French but for cars it’s German every time

poprock

Now lads, let’s not turn this into the Next Gen thread. These manufacturer pissing contests make as little sense as the Xbox vs Playstation ones.

There’s no such thing as a genuinely crap modern car (not mass-market anyway). Just degrees of decent/good.

I’ve had shitty Alfas and I’ve had amazing ones. It’s about looking after the car properly, is all.

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