After rolling my car and writing it off on Tuesday (don't ask), I now need to replace it (obviously). It was a Citroen C1, poverty spec petrol, no air con or electric windows, which I principally had to commute to university and back (~50 miles each way, 2-3 days a week), and also to work and back (~10 miles each way, 3 days a week). This amounts to ~12k a year.
So, I have a budget of £3500 maximum, but would rather £2500-3000 if possible. The car will generally be used by me, but also occasionally by my dad, who'll want to use it for tip trips and so on (which is a shame as it rules out an MX5...).
I'm after something fairly comfortable, with decent fuel economy (45 ish real MPG would be a good target, if not better), though would also like some interesting handling for the B-roads to Uni. Bear in mind that I'm 20 and would like insurance to remain reasonably close to my C1, which after my fault claim works out at ~£720/year from EUI group companies (over 2 years license, 1 fault, no injury, write off claim) with both my parents on the policy. Somewhere like £1k per year would be acceptable at this point (as Elephant will happily re-insure the car for the difference between my current premium and my new premium, so that's about £400 if the insurance is £1k).
As for purchasing, unfortunately as this is not entirely self-funded, my parents have stipulated dealer only cars, as there is at least some recourse. Also, preferably ~50k mile cars max, so they're a little way off a major service. Age isn't too much of an issue, but again preferably 2006 onwards - don't hate on me for these...
So, summary:
-£3000 budget, £3.5k max
-Decent comfort
-Decent economy
-Some fun handling
-Sub £1k insurance
-~50,000 miles (forget this)
-~2006 onwards (forget this)
Can this be done or does something need to go?
Thanks for any input.
So, I have a budget of £3500 maximum, but would rather £2500-3000 if possible. The car will generally be used by me, but also occasionally by my dad, who'll want to use it for tip trips and so on (which is a shame as it rules out an MX5...).
I'm after something fairly comfortable, with decent fuel economy (45 ish real MPG would be a good target, if not better), though would also like some interesting handling for the B-roads to Uni. Bear in mind that I'm 20 and would like insurance to remain reasonably close to my C1, which after my fault claim works out at ~£720/year from EUI group companies (over 2 years license, 1 fault, no injury, write off claim) with both my parents on the policy. Somewhere like £1k per year would be acceptable at this point (as Elephant will happily re-insure the car for the difference between my current premium and my new premium, so that's about £400 if the insurance is £1k).
As for purchasing, unfortunately as this is not entirely self-funded, my parents have stipulated dealer only cars, as there is at least some recourse. Also, preferably ~50k mile cars max, so they're a little way off a major service. Age isn't too much of an issue, but again preferably 2006 onwards - don't hate on me for these...
So, summary:
-£3000 budget, £3.5k max
-Decent comfort
-Decent economy
-Some fun handling
-Sub £1k insurance
-~50,000 miles (forget this)
-~2006 onwards (forget this)
Can this be done or does something need to go?
Thanks for any input.
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