New or 2nd hand vehicle?

manic_man said:
Also, look out for the Fiat Panda, excellent little car.
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When I first started looking at driving when I was 17, my dad got hold of a very boxy panda (I havn't a clue what the age of the car would have been) .. anyway he paid £50 because it needed some repairs here & there, couple of hundred pound later it was on the road. I got distracted from learning to drive & my dad used it for carrying his work tools about. I'm still shocked to this day how long the car lasted considering the weigh it was being loaded with!

The only problem is I know my partner who is 6"6 would hate being in a car that small as he gets very bad leg cramps. I will be honest though I've not looked to see what the more modern Pandas are like, so maybe it wont be so bad for him.
 
PixieLandGirl said:
When I first started looking at driving when I was 17, my dad got hold of a very boxy panda (I havn't a clue what the age of the car would have been) .. anyway he paid £50 because it needed some repairs here & there, couple of hundred pound later it was on the road. I got distracted from learning to drive & my dad used it for carrying his work tools about. I'm still shocked to this day how long the car lasted considering the weigh it was being loaded with!

The only problem is I know my partner who is 6"6 would hate being in a car that small as he gets very bad leg cramps. I will be honest though I've not looked to see what the more modern Pandas are like, so maybe it wont be so bad for him.
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I'm 6ft 3 and because of its shape can happily sit in my mothers car for quite a while, my head is quite a way from the roof.

None of these small cars are ideal for very tall people, but I would go as far as to say the Panda is better than most of them.

Just had a very quick look on the trader to see what sort of price they are going for these days. Not quite as cheap as i thought they would be, but I think the price they are probably reflects the fact they are good little cars. Saying that they are also about £3k more than the Picanto is new.

have a look at this for an example of what I mean (this is a 1.2, though thats a good engine too) http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...mission/manual/sort/priceasc/page/2&logcode=p

Ultimately, you need to go and have a few test drives, its the only way to know what car you will really feel comfortable in, and annoyingly you will need to pass your test first before most dealers will let you.

But my suggestion for small cars is always the Panda, so I think I'll stick with it for now :D

Hmm they blocked t inyurl links...
 
iaind said:
Depends on the Citroen - they're not the best manufacturer out there

What's your budget? Presumably new Picanto money - 6~7k?
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Money wise, its a bit of a toughie. I would say 6-7k would be a absolute maximum, but obviously cheaper is always better as long as safety etc isn't compromised too much. I'm not looking for an engine really that is higher than a 1.4, mainly due to insurance & I don't really think there is much need for anything more powerful until i'm considerably more experienced. I'd consider petrol or diesel really :)
 
iaind said:
No need for a diesel at this sort of size - they're going to be pretty economical anyway. Some ideas

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1358877.htm
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1270881.htm
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1359908.htm
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1391496.htm
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1323019.htm
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1391597.htm
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After being given a new Clio as a courtesy car I can say without a doubt you want to stay away from one. Terrible cars.

Fiat Grande Punto/Panda/500? Fiat do one thing well, small, cheap, city hatchbacks.
 
Regarding Kia, as the others said, they aren't inherently bad cars per say, they are generally pretty reliable and come with the longest warranties I know of in the car world. But, that said, they are really a 'white good' more than a car you love and enjoy driving etc, it's like a washing machine or a microwave, it has no redeeming features particularly ...other than the fact it does exactly what it says on the tin, nothing more, nothing less really and costs you a minimal amount of money to keep doing it.

If you simply want cheap and cheerful transport from A to B, they work just fine, but with the budget you have, you can do better really, and get something that is nicer to own and drive.

You may not care much right now, but in a year or so, you might find that you do.

I'd say the new shape Panda is a good shout indeed.
 
Residuals are horrific on the Korean cars too, so if you ARE happy to own one after a test drive, they should be a lot cheaper for a 2 year old example, which will probably still come with a warranty etc if that is a comfort to you.
 
I can't tell you what a Micra is like to drive as a small girl but as a reasonably tall guy (6'4") it's ok, you're not going to find it particularly comfortable for long journeys (and nor is he) although I've done London to Edinburgh/Falmouth a couple of times and managed but it's cheap to run, easy to drive although you've got to really push it to get anything approaching decent performance from it. This is for a 1996 car, I don't know if newer models are better or worse in any regard but for something to start you off you could do far worse.
 
Peerzy said:
After being given a new Clio as a courtesy car I can say without a doubt you want to stay away from one. Terrible cars.

Fiat Grande Punto/Panda/500? Fiat do one thing well, small, cheap, city hatchbacks.
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I thought the new Clio was generally quite well regarded?

None of those were personal reccomendations, and definitely not specific reccomendations of the cars advertised - just "this is what you can get for the money, have a look"

The Panda's already been suggested further up, the only 500 I could find within budget was a CAT C and is the Punto not more a Focus sized car now?

Normally I think people getting small cars for the sake of it is pointless, but I can sympathise with the OP due to her height - it would be a physical impossibility for my mate to drive my car for example, she'd struggle even with something Focus/Golf sized
 
[TW]Fox;15805273 said:
It is - but he is very much a Fiat fanboy.
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iaind said:
Thought so, the suggestion to investigate them still stands then
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I've got the absolute povety spec Clio on an 07 plate at the moment and it's worse than the Kia Rio that I drove last year. It also feels much worse to drive than a Mk1 Clio.

The interior of the newer ones doesn't look too bad but to me, the one I have is a terrible car. I'd rather have a Corsa I think :eek:
 
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