Dirt cheap student car
- Thread starter fuzzy
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3.8m is that it, wow a whole foot and bit extra must me like driving an artic.
no i didnt say i could.
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so what has the length of a new mondeo got to do with a £500 runaround?
2 ft is a lot in town driving. that was going from old mondeo length to new polo length.
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not really and to be fair a polo is about as small as you can get and a mondeo is about as common....see the link?
![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
You just dont get it do you? The point is when spending 500 quid stuff like the exact length in metres, the colour of the seat fabric and whether it has an ipod connector as standard takes a back seat to:
a) How good/bad value is it
b) How reliable is it
c) What condition is it in
The above three dictate buying a knackered old 106 which has had 7 previous owners since new including 2 grannies, 2 new drivers and 3 people called Kevin is perhaps less sensible than buying the Jones familys retired family car.
Everyone thinks crap like fuel consumption matters. It doesnt. People, especially students, dont buy cheap nails and then drive 50k a year in them. They'll use them occasionally, perhaps to go the supermarket, maybe take some mates out, then the trip home twice a term. Thats it. The difference between 30 and 40 and 50 mpg becomes far, far less noticeable.
Lets have a basic economics lesson.
Supply and demand - the more demand there is for something, the higher the price will be becuase the supply on the used market will reduce. The less demand there is for something, the lower the price will be as the supply on the used market increases.
Everyone with 500 quid wants a 'cheap runabout'. So they all buy a horrible nasty little box of crud. Nobody with 500 quid wants 'a mondeo/406/vectra/whatever'. So they all become virtually worthless and you get a decent car in great nick for 500 quid, or a car from the scabby end of the learners market.
Thats it - thats my opinion on this matter. I can't be bothered to argue it anymore, I've made my point as clear as I can make it.
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yawn....
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so does that mean you dont have answer?
EDIT: its a forum, as said earlier you say you opinion and back it up, all you have said is that a polo is smaller (just) and that a new mondeo is massive (not quite) and i said why are you bothering to mention a car 30x more expensive.
note to the op, read foxes post above and thoughts recommendations are a 106d but deffo not a brand new mondeo.
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read through my posts and I have given plenty of reasons why.
the length thing is because he clearly wants a small car not a mondeo which is about 1 meter longer. i only used the new length because i didnt know the old lengths, however fox let me know it was 4.4 which isnt far off 4.7...
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and 4.4 isnt that far off 3.8, and as i said a polo is about as small as you will get, and beggars can't be choosers.
Just been reading this thread as I too am a student in the market for a used car. Not trying to hijack, hoping I can bring something to the thread!
It's given me some food for thought anyway, I hadn't considered the idea of getting a car like a Mondeo, Vectra or 406 and was looking at the Ford KA, Pug 306 and Fiat Bravo.
Fox - you make a very good point about the MPG thing and it's true I would mainly use it once or twice a week, shopping and visiting the peak district/ generally just getting away, so the difference would be far less than if I was driving 80-100miles a week +
Do I NEED a car? No, but my mum lives in devon, my dad in Winchester and friends are spread out all over the country - I have an ever growing dislike of trains and I love the feeling of freedom that driving gives me. So there are my rough reasons for buying one. Also that I could start building up a no claims discount now.
The idea of 'the jones family's' retired car is appealing, but the insurance seems to be a lot higher.
Looking on Moneysupermarket, my best quote for a 1.8 Mondeo Zetec is over £800, whereas I have quotes for a KA around £400 and for the Bravo around £550. *edit* pug 406 over a grand insurance
Any recommendations for cars in this kind of class that are cheaper to insure? The Zetec is group 9 apparently whereas the Bravo and 306 are 4 or 5.
Renault Megane only £460 insurance..
It's given me some food for thought anyway, I hadn't considered the idea of getting a car like a Mondeo, Vectra or 406 and was looking at the Ford KA, Pug 306 and Fiat Bravo.
Fox - you make a very good point about the MPG thing and it's true I would mainly use it once or twice a week, shopping and visiting the peak district/ generally just getting away, so the difference would be far less than if I was driving 80-100miles a week +
Do I NEED a car? No, but my mum lives in devon, my dad in Winchester and friends are spread out all over the country - I have an ever growing dislike of trains and I love the feeling of freedom that driving gives me. So there are my rough reasons for buying one. Also that I could start building up a no claims discount now.
The idea of 'the jones family's' retired car is appealing, but the insurance seems to be a lot higher.
Looking on Moneysupermarket, my best quote for a 1.8 Mondeo Zetec is over £800, whereas I have quotes for a KA around £400 and for the Bravo around £550. *edit* pug 406 over a grand insurance
Any recommendations for cars in this kind of class that are cheaper to insure? The Zetec is group 9 apparently whereas the Bravo and 306 are 4 or 5.
Renault Megane only £460 insurance..
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mondeo 1.6?
look at the cost of the car and factor in repair bills and insurance as well as living with it, you wont find a nice ka for less than 1k, then add £400.
Mondeo is £500 add £800 for insurance, i see your point and to be honest i would definetly have the mondeo..i have one. Although it was free, but if you can get over the insurance i would say they are much better than something like a ka, although they are not bad cars they are ok for long journeys at best and you can 4 for adults in, but it isnt roomy.
If you can find a ka for similar money go for it, but they are not as solid as a mondeo and they have generally been driven badly (look at all ka front wheel trims and alloys)
look at the cost of the car and factor in repair bills and insurance as well as living with it, you wont find a nice ka for less than 1k, then add £400.
Mondeo is £500 add £800 for insurance, i see your point and to be honest i would definetly have the mondeo..i have one. Although it was free, but if you can get over the insurance i would say they are much better than something like a ka, although they are not bad cars they are ok for long journeys at best and you can 4 for adults in, but it isnt roomy.
If you can find a ka for similar money go for it, but they are not as solid as a mondeo and they have generally been driven badly (look at all ka front wheel trims and alloys)
1.6 just shy of £600 so yeah much better with a slightly lower engine size.
I was actually planning on spending between 1000-1500 for the car as I'd rather get something that will cost less on maintenance than one that has to be scrapped at MOT time because it's not worth repairing...
Others under consideration are the Focus, Astra, Octavia, Megane.. megane apparently has reliability problems so might have to be ruled out. A Golf would be nice but there seems to be a bit of a premium attached to the brand so it's probably not worth it.
*edit* from reading around on parkers and elsewhere it looks like a 98 onwards Ford Focus 1.6 is a pretty good buy.. 4 stars for the car and a really good used market to pick from apparently...
I was actually planning on spending between 1000-1500 for the car as I'd rather get something that will cost less on maintenance than one that has to be scrapped at MOT time because it's not worth repairing...
Others under consideration are the Focus, Astra, Octavia, Megane.. megane apparently has reliability problems so might have to be ruled out. A Golf would be nice but there seems to be a bit of a premium attached to the brand so it's probably not worth it.
*edit* from reading around on parkers and elsewhere it looks like a 98 onwards Ford Focus 1.6 is a pretty good buy.. 4 stars for the car and a really good used market to pick from apparently...
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[TW]Fox;12269288 said:
he's hijacking the thread
