Bora good for first car?

Phaser

Phaser

Phaser

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Would a Bora be good for a first car?

Girlfriends passed her test and been driving round in a 106 for 6 months, made me positive I don't want your typical small car.

I'm 19, just passed with pass plus and got around 3-4k to spend.

I did look at Primera GT's and was getting quotes of around 1500 TPFT which is cheaper than the quotes I was getting for 8 year old 1.4 CL Focus's. :confused:
 
Phaser said:
Would a Bora be good for a first car?

Girlfriends passed her test and been driving round in a 106 for 6 months, made me positive I don't want your typical small car.

I'm 19, just passed with pass plus and got around 3-4k to spend.

I did look at Primera GT's and was getting quotes of around 1500 TPFT which is cheaper than the quotes I was getting for 8 year old 1.4 CL Focus's. :confused:
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I wouldn't get a Primera GT for your first car unless you want to hurt yourself badly. Although is ten times more fun to drive then a Bora. Insuring a 2k car on Third party is also a bit risky. Whats going to happen when you prang it?
 
£2k car is about borderline whether its worth it for comprehensive to be honest.

I mean he's going to have what, a £500 excess. So he'd get £1500 back if he stacked it. But the policy will have cost him an extra £500 anyway so a grand in real terms back. And now he's lost his NCB for claiming which could well cost 500+..
 
Bora is cool car, its a golf with a boot but insurance is cheaper and they are much less desirable to thieves.
Bear in mind servicing is hideous and if it needs a cambelt anytime soon it'll cost your first born to get done at VW.

Also, if first car, anything with a a boot is likely to take rear end damage as most driving school cars are hatch backs and people aren't trained to compensate for a boot they cannot see!

Try a 5 year old Alfa, great cars, very reliable, cost peanuts and insurance is tiny as they are worth nothing!

PS No-one nicks them as they have a ridiculously complex immobiliser system!
 
My dad used to have the 1.9 TDI Bora as a company car and it was great ... I'd happily buy one and wouldn't be dissappointed with my choice.... loved driving it

It's big enough without being HUGE like a passat so it still has some of the charm of the Golf's sporty looks!

Not a bad idea at all
 
andymac said:
Also, if first car, anything with a a boot is likely to take rear end damage as most driving school cars are hatch backs and people aren't trained to compensate for a boot they cannot see!
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A good point. Most first cars are going to get pranged, something small, cheap and relatively safe is best for the first 12 months.

The bootlid on the Bora isn't that big - rear window slopes so much that it's only about a foot long. It's quite easy to park, you can see the bonnet for an start which disappears out of sight on my current Fabia.
 
Phaser said:
I presumed these were as far from reliable as you could get? What model should I be looking at?
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Not as bad as they are made out to be if you look after them.

Don't be under any illusion though that they are cheap to run. They may look attractive alternatives to the Mondeo or Focus as they are priced similarly, however they have far greater running costs.

If you can afford it then you will get a car that will bring a smile to your face everytime your behind the wheel.

3-4K would buy you an early 147 or a later 156. Personally I would go for a newer 156.

A mile of difference an Alfa and a Bora-ing
 
As a first car its a fairly decent choice, though you'd probably be better off with something smaller, lighter and cheaper so you can tot up some NCBs for your next bigger, heavier, more expensive car.

As for the Bora being a cool car? Nice car?

Are you lot on drugs?

It's as ugly as sin. It's a mal-shaped Golf IV with even squarer body, tacked on boot and is without a doubt one of the dullest, squarest, looking cars on the roads. Has dull, wooden handling, and the diesels engines are hideously slow, one of the noisiest around and agricultural in terms of refinement (or lack of refinement).
 
andymac said:
Bear in mind servicing is hideous and if it needs a cambelt anytime soon it'll cost your first born to get done at VW.


Try a 5 year old Alfa, great cars, very reliable, cost peanuts and insurance is tiny as they are worth nothing!

PS No-one nicks them as they have a ridiculously complex immobiliser system!
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Which planet are you from?

VW servicing costs have in real terms become quite reasonable and changing a cambelt/water pump needn't cost the earth as dealers price it quite competitively now and they even price match in their locality.

And as for buying an Alfa Romeo as a first car.... and describing them as reliable is a joke.
 
Baron_Samedi said:
Which planet are you from?

VW servicing costs have in real terms become quite reasonable and changing a cambelt/water pump needn't cost the earth as dealers price it quite competitively now and they even price match in their locality.

And as for buying an Alfa Romeo as a first car.... and describing them as reliable is a joke.
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VW's Bora are reliable and cheapish to service. However you will get a car with absolutely no character. Unfortuantely fun driving does come at a premium. Depends what the OP is looking for.
 
MarkDavis said:
It's as ugly as sin. It's a mal-shaped Golf IV with even squarer body, tacked on boot and is without a doubt one of the dullest, squarest, looking cars on the roads. Has dull, wooden handling, and the diesels engines are hideously slow, one of the noisiest around and agricultural in terms of refinement (or lack of refinement).
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What a load of Rot. Have you ever actually seen and driven one? Maybe you are confusing it with the Ssangyong Rodius under the ugly as sin Catagory.

The Mk2 Jetta had a tacked on boot, the Bora does not. It's similar to the contemporary Passat or Audi A6 sharing the curved roofline. The only panels it shares with the Golf IV are the doors. The bodyshell is stiffer and the handling and ride is better than the equivalent Golf IV. Steering is still typical VW numb but it grips and rides well. When they came out in 1999 there was nothing to touch the TDi for power and refinement. They're a bit noisy when cold by modern standards.

TDI = good. Avoid the 2.0 petrol as it's a rattly old bag of bolts.
 
andymac said:
Try a 5 year old Alfa, great cars, very reliable, cost peanuts and insurance is tiny as they are worth nothing! PS No-one nicks them as they have a ridiculously complex immobiliser system!
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Very reliable? You're on drugs.

Insurance is tiny? You've clearly never owned one, been quoted on one or have ever had any repair work on one.
 
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Which planet are you from?

VW servicing costs have in real terms become quite reasonable and changing a cambelt/water pump needn't cost the earth as dealers price it quite competitively now and they even price match in their locality.

And as for buying an Alfa Romeo as a first car.... and describing them as reliable is a joke.
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Oh dear, a VW fan I've managed to insult, oops.

Fair enough, VW will price match, but their work is over priced in the extreme in general. £85 an hour labour rate!

Alfa Romeos are stunningly reliable. In the last few years I've owned 2 Alfas, a 155 V6 and a 2.0 156 Selespeed.

The 155 took only regular servicing over 3 years and was fab to drive. No electrical faults at all at any time. The 156 I've had for 2 and a half years. It has also only needed routine servicing and a replacement clutch operating pump at 82 thousand miles for the sequential flappy paddle manual gearbox.

I'm 30 and fully comp insurance is £320 for my wife and I together.

Alfas have a bad name for reliability because a LOT of people don't follow the service schedule or maintenance guides.
Oil level check every week to 2 weeks, and a service every 10-12K or each year. In a BMW or VW you can go over this and you'll be fine, in an Alfa it will damage the car.

Back to the question of what car to really buy as a first car, I'd heartily advise a Ford Ka if you can get away with a 2 door. They are excellent cars to drive, very nimble, insurance group 2, and very forgiving. Great brakes and superb grip on the 15" wider width alloys. They are like a go-cart!

Yep, I have had one of them too! Best car I've ever owned for nipping about in traffic, doddle to park, and the ones with the grey plastic bumpers are extremely forgiving in car parks, next to walls etc!

Just my view!

A
 
Very reliable? You're on drugs.

Insurance is tiny? You've clearly never owned one, been quoted on one or have ever had any repair work on one.
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Yes insurance is tiny, Yes I have owned them, yes I have had quotes for both insurance and repair work, and yes I have had one repaired both for cosmetic damage and mechanical repair! I am talking for personal experience and feel that I have every right to be able to do so without being accused of illicit drug taking!

A
 
Get a toledo with the 125bhp 1.8 or the 110 1.9 TDI. A better engine than the 115bhp 2.0 in the bora. Toledos are generally better equipped too and you will get a much lower mileage/newer example for the same money.

3k should get you a mid-mileage 02/03 plate.
 
andymac said:
<snip>

Back to the question of what car to really buy as a first car, I'd heartily advise a Ford Ka if you can get away with a 2 door. They are excellent cars to drive, very nimble, insurance group 2, and very forgiving. Great brakes and superb grip on the 15" wider width alloys. They are like a go-cart!

Yep, I have had one of them too! Best car I've ever owned for nipping about in traffic, doddle to park, and the ones with the grey plastic bumpers are extremely forgiving in car parks, next to walls etc!

Just my view!

A
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Good call. Then go buy a proper car when you've got some experience.
18 months in a Nova 1 litre did me no harm at all back in the early 90s.

MarkDavis said:
A tractor would have been faster AND quieter.
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Find me a similar priced and sized car from 1999 with a more refined 110bhp diesel engine then!
 
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