Hatchback help

shadowcreaper

shadowcreaper

shadowcreaper

Associate
Joined
29 Jul 2008
Posts
692
Hi all, looking for my first proper car(not a banger :-) ).
Am 24 and hopefully insurance will be lowish.
Im looking for a small hatchback with a budget of £4.5k, no more. Have set aside £1kish for insurance and other costs.

I'm looking at golfs 1.4 ideally but finding mostly 1.6.
Also looking into susuzi swift(heard it good).

With both cars so many models its quite bewildering.
Would like some advice on what to look for. Atm petrol is a must and less than 60k miles.

Thanks
 
You say you are looking for your first proper car, then say you want a small hatchback... Which is it?

Also, regardless of wanting a "proper" car or not, what do you expect to gain from adding an arbitrary requirement of 60,000 miles maximum?
 
paradigm said:
You say you are looking for your first proper car, then say you want a small hatchback... Which is it?
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What is the current accepted OcUK Motors definition of a 'proper car' then? And if a Golf is a small hatchback, what constitutes a regular hatchback or a large hatchback?
 
Ford Focus. Golfs and Focuses aren't small hatchbacks really.

I wouldn't pay too much attention to paradigm's "small hatchbacks aren't proper cars" jibe by the way :).

Kenai, why are you asking paradigm to speak on behalf of OcUK motors as regards the definition of a proper car? Nobody takes him seriously since he constantly espoused the benefits of 6 cylinder petrol engines for months, then promptly bought a 2.0 diesel.
 
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shadowcreaper said:
Hi all, looking for my first proper car(not a banger :-) ).
Am 24 and hopefully insurance will be lowish.
Im looking for a small hatchback with a budget of £4.5k, no more. Have set aside £1kish for insurance and other costs.

I'm looking at golfs 1.4 ideally but finding mostly 1.6.
Also looking into susuzi swift(heard it good).
Click to expand...

If you're looking for a cheap Golf, you should take a look at the Skoda Fabia. They are basically rebadged golfs built on the same body plan, and are quite a lot of fun to drive. VW own Skoda and Seat, so they share designs.
 
Steampunk said:
If you're looking for a cheap Golf, you should take a look at the Skoda Fabia. They are basically rebadged golfs built on the same body plan, and are quite a lot of fun to drive. VW own Skoda and Seat, so they share designs.
Click to expand...

No, the Fabia is the same platform as the Polo, one step smaller than the Golf, the Golf platform is shared by the Octavia.
 
Kenai said:
No, the Fabia is the same platform as the Polo, one step smaller than the Golf, the Golf platform is shared by the Octavia.
Click to expand...

Exactly this, the Octavian is a Golf with a larger boot (which is why I want one so bad :()

The Fabia is not a bad shout, anything built around a VW basically so, Polo, Fabia, Golf. Well that's about it really, Skoda have the Yeti but that thing looks fugly

Edit: iOS y u no like me?
 
Don't mean to hijack but certainly interested in this thread as am pretty much in the exact situation as shadowcreeper.

Bout 5k to spend on first "proper" car after my £650 206, ideally 60k max mileage as wanted to keep it a while.

So far been leaning towards Mk5 Golf over the Ford Focus, I like the mk1 Focus exterior but the interior does nothing for me, mk2 focus its the other way round!
 
I wouldn't write off a Polo to be honest, I was quite impressed with the newer models. Don't have too much oomph but the build standard inside even on the basic models is pretty decent and the last 3 years or so they have a sportier look.

Can see quite a few decent 09 model Polo's with mileage as low as 30k in 3/5 door variants, most with full dealer service history and varying from 1.2 to 1.4 and varying spec models within a 100mile radius of me for your budget.
 
With such a broad criteria we could just dish out car models.

What is your NCD at the moment?

For a young chap with that kind of budget you can get a few nice cars. If you are interested in driving some older hot hatches are easily in that price range Civic Type-R, Clio 182.

More regular cars: Ford Focus, Ford Fiesta, VW Golf, Renault Clio, Renault Megane, Vauxhall Astras etc etc
 
I'm not looking for a hot hatchback of sort's as these tend to increase premiums quite a lot.

Someone told me a1.6 is higher band than 1.4 so better to get 1.4l... Problem being most golfs I see are all 1.6.

I'm sticking to either a golf, susuzi or if that Skoda is decent (reliable, nice drive) then will consider that.

I'm sticking to 60k miles Max.

Susuzi swift question: so many models which is a good model? (Heard sport version is very good, not sure what initials =sport though lol?)

Golf wise I'm looking at 2006 onw, any recommendations?
 
Well if you are worrying about insurance, run a couple of the cars through a comparison site and see what the change in premium is. There are lots of factors when it comes to insurance so experiment, you might be pleasantly surprised. :)

Personally the only Swift I would buy is the Sport. The are all badged as Suzuki Swift Sports and all are 1.6, twin exit exhaust etc. If you are looking at this kind of car don't discount the Fiesta Zetec S or Renaultsport Twingo, all are great cars and shouldn't hit you too hard on insurance while still being fun.

Go and test drive loads, that is part of the fun of car buying!
 
The susuzi swift sport is which model though? Sz2,gl?
Also Skoda Fabia seems only available in 1.2:-\

Question though, running costs for golf are they very high given its German car?
Driven ford fiesta(new model, nice but nothing that stands out, can't find any fiesta sports though only the brand new one for £17,999 Lol)
 
shadowcreaper said:
The susuzi swift sport is which model though? Sz2,gl?
Also Skoda Fabia seems only available in 1.2:-\

Question though, running costs for golf are they very high given its German car?
Driven ford fiesta(new model, nice but nothing that stands out, can't find any fiesta sports though only the brand new one for £17,999 Lol)
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I really think you need to swot up on your car models and educate yourself. It sounds like you don't really know what you want or have any idea of running costs, running a Golf is probably not that expensive, depending on if you insist on servicing at VW or a specialist. Car owners clubs are a good place to find information and the best specialists in your area.

The suzuki swift sport, is this http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/suzuki/swift/suzuki-swift-vvt-sport/1300261#

There are a few fiesta "sporty" models. Zetec S / ST
 
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