Girlfriends first car - ~3k budget

fRostiE · 2 Jul 2009 at 08:16

hey,

I'm sure we've not had a thread like this in a while, 1st car.. heres my budget whats good sort of thing:

So, my girlfriend has been driving for 2 years now and has been insured on my civic (1.6) and her dads rover 25 (1.4)... its worth mentioning at this stage that she likes the rover 25 and has often spoken about getting one... but im trying to talk her out of it as everyone around me who owns one or knows someone who owns one is having general trouble / head gasket failures (may just all be duff ones - but i dont think so)

anyway, she has £3k to spend on her first car not including insurance - which we're hoping wont be more than £500.

Another car she quite likes is the skoda fabia.. looks like a reasonable 1.4 one of these can be had for the 3k mark and being a new skoda should be fairly reliable / cheap to run / tax / insure?

Am i steering her in the right direction by looking at fabia's first or should i just let her get a Rover 25?

Shes not after anything more than a 1.4 really, power and speed isn’t what she’s after.

any other suggestions also welcome!

Thanks

Howard · 2 Jul 2009 at 08:23

Fiesta or Polo

thewanted · 2 Jul 2009 at 08:28

Howard said:
Fiesta or Polo

Just out of curiosity, why a Polo over a Fabia?

Howard · 2 Jul 2009 at 08:34

Personal preference really, the Fabias look horrible IMHO

Fiesta would be my first choice for value for money anyway

thewanted · 2 Jul 2009 at 08:38

Ah ok. I sold my GTi recently and am thinking of replacing it with a banger until I find out if I have to move to London early next year, so this thread interests me as well

ethos · 2 Jul 2009 at 08:39

I'd prefer a fabia over a fiesta... good cars.

Know a few people with various models and have nothing but good things to say for them. Reliable and cheap to maintain.

fRostiE · 2 Jul 2009 at 13:29

is there much of a reliability gain in going down the Fabia route rather than fiesta?

i guess the flip side is that a festa will be cheaper to fix due to the volume of them on the road

Tute · 2 Jul 2009 at 13:30

Focus, Fiesta. Anything VAG - Polo, Golf, Fabia et al.

I'd personally have a Fabia over a Polo but not over a Golf.

Get her to test drive a couple if she's up for it.

Unlight · 2 Jul 2009 at 15:05

How about a Seat Ibiza? I think they look a bit better than the Fabia, and should be around the same price.

You should get a 1.4 16v or a 1.9Tdi at a push for 3k.

Ricochet J · 2 Jul 2009 at 16:09

Skoda Fabia 1.4 16v Comfort or Elegance.