Girly friend needs a £3.5k car

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Soldato
Joined
4 Nov 2004
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Any good ideas would be apreciated guys.

£3.5-£4k
Smallish hatchback
Smallish engine
Cheap insurance
3 or 5dr
Yadda yadda

Already recommended a fiesta, she also thought of that and possibly a polo. I threw a curve ball 172/182 suggestion in there as she is a 22 yr old girl :D and also the possibility of a mini cooper. She then came back with a Fiat Panda but only the 1.1 or 1.2 which are both slower then tectonic plate movements.

:)
 
get her a bus pass, women shouldn't be given cars :p

fiesta would get my vote if you absolutely have to give her the keys to a deadly weapon
 
She is a girl who wants a 1.1 hatchback, why would you possibly suggest her a Clio 182? Bonkers.

Any sort of generic hatch should do, Panda is as good as any.
 
Oxide™ said:
maybe a Ford Puma? based on the fiesta and a bit more sporty
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Very underrated, if you can get past their age and inherent rust issues they're a great drive, relatively good fuel economy (for a 1.7) and not bad on insurance either and cheap parts when they break :)

A good well-looked after one will set you back about 2k.
 
[TW]Fox;19698994 said:
She is a girl who wants a 1.1 hatchback, why would you possibly suggest her a Clio 182? Bonkers.

Any sort of generic hatch should do, Panda is as good as any.
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She isn't after a 1.1 though, I told her that's the last thing she wants to live with for a few years.

Insurance curve ball for a 182, thought it might be higher on a small girly hatch as many young lasses drive them, but not so much a 182. And it doesn't hurt to try :)

Good find Wizardskills, that's exactly what I suggested to her but couldn't find one for that price.

She did look at a fiesta the other night and likes it, but I've warned her off as it hasn't been serviced since Jan 09, done around 8-10k since then and the oil was very low when she checked it. The link can't be found on AT, I hope she didn't buy it :eek:
 
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Kenai said:
Is she not? Or have you just told her she's not?
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Quite. I honestly doubt she cares, she wants something reasonably nice to tool around town in. Just LOL at the Clio 182 recommendation. Yea, because wants a car with a 2 litre engine, £100 a corner tyres, Group 16 insurance..
 
Pumas are incredibly overpriced on the used market for what they are - an old Fiesta but with even crappier brakes. Noisy too. a lot of them will be disintegrating by this time.

For £3.5k be sensible and get something like a Micra, current shape Yaris, or even a Suzuki Swift. If you don't mind iffy build/reliability, a Punto Grande a possibility too.

I've been driving around in '60 plate Corsa 1.2 over the few days and I'm amazed how good small cars seem to be these days.
 
Yeah, a Swift might be a good option, could get something like a 55 or 06 plate 1.3 for that money, decent enough car
 
MarkDavis said:
Pumas are incredibly overpriced on the used market for what they are - an old Fiesta but with even crappier brakes. Noisy too. a lot of them will be disintegrating by this time.

For £3.5k be sensible and get something like a Micra, current shape Yaris, or even a Suzuki Swift. If you don't mind iffy build/reliability, a Punto Grande a possibility too.

I've been driving around in '60 plate Corsa 1.2 over the few days and I'm amazed how good small cars seem to be these days.
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I was in a 1.2 Corsa 2 weeks ago, same friend who bought a colt. She got thhe Corsa as a courtesy car as her old 1.3 KA was written off when got rear ended. She hated that Corsa, she says she has the foot to the floor and it won't move, I thaw no pull. The engine is too small for a car that size.
 
^ Oh yeah, you're definitely not overtaking anyone in 3rd at 50mph. In fact, I don't think I would try to overtake anything above 35mph. But apart from that, its fine for the usual city fayre, sprinting off at the lights etc. If you want mid-range pull, you need a bigger engine, but nipping around town, zigzagging through traffic, the cars fine - very easy to drive, refined etc. These current Corsas are nothing like the Corsas of yesteryear.
 
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