Help with a new car please (£3k)

Jotun

Jotun

Jotun

Soldato
Joined
11 Jun 2005
Posts
3,606
Location
Liverpool
Hi guys, been lurking here for a few months but not really posted much.

I've been driving for just over 2 years, had a 2003 Fiat punto 1.2 for the whole time and decided it's time to upgrade and could do with a bit of advice. I plan to sell the punto and use some of the money to go towards the replacement.

I'm looking at spending around £3k if possible, and an absolute max of £4k on a car, and will be turning 20 in a few weeks, so with insurance I've found group 3 (my current car) the cheapest quote is £650, and for a group 9 car it is about £940, so am looking at group 9 or less really.

My driving is split around 50/50 driving in built up areas and on dual carriage ways, with the occasional longer motorway journey (~2-3 hours), and the main issue I have is the car tends to have reached its limit around 60-70, so whilst it manages, isn't the best for the job, or most comfortable for longer drives. Recently I drove a Mondeo 2.0TDCi LX for work and found it a lot better for motorway driving, but a bit bigger than I'm used to.

I've had a look at a few cars, mostly of the hatchback variety:

Ford Focus
Seat Toledo
Volkswage Bora
Ford Mondeo
Vaxhaull Astra

But having trouble deciding on anything. I did phone up a dealer to have a look at an 2002 Astra 1.8i 16V Sri with 52k on the clock for just under £4k, however it was sold at the weekend. Only requirement really is air conditioning, not too bothered about petrol/diesel.

Any thoughts or recommendations would be appreciated, and I am open to suggestions.

Thanks :)
 
I would have suggested a search but it's down atm. Looking to buy the same before September - Mondeo, Focus and astras. I have also considered Puma and 306s but the former is an acquired taste and the latter a bit small for an adult. (/edit-civic and accord worth a look too.)

Years for that budget would be around 99-01 and I'd probably say sticking to 1.6/1.8 to keep the insurance down.

I presume you tried confused.com for quotes; try churchill and the others online too - got a few quotes even cheaper.

I also tried Whatcar and Honestjohn to read up on the cars.

On a related note, are Astra Coupe or Astras in general as well regarded as Focuses or Mondeos for that sort of money?
 
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Check out the Seat Toledo V5. It is a serious piece of kit for the money. They usually come highly specced with heated leather, sat nav, cruise, climate control etc..

You should have a load of examples to choose from at that price. It doesn't fit into your group 9 stipulation but I can't see it being extortionate on the insurance.
 
Scuzi said:
Check out the Seat Toledo V5. It is a serious piece of kit for the money. They usually come highly specced with heated leather, sat nav, cruise, climate control etc..

You should have a load of examples to choose from at that price. It doesn't fit into your group 9 stipulation but I can't see it being extortionate on the insurance.
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2.3L!! Ins group 13/14 - surely that's going to cost a lot.
 
I'd get a 98/99 Audi A3 1.8T Sport with 3K.

I'm 18 with 0 NCB and Bell only wanted £1,500 fully comp to insure me on one. Although without my parents as named drivers it was £2,600.
 
Adam18290 said:
How much you selling your old car for? drop me an email and I may be interested ([email protected])
Thanks
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Been offered about £2150 to part ex it, but it's most likely going to a friend who is interested, sorry.

Scuzi said:
Check out the Seat Toledo V5. It is a serious piece of kit for the money. They usually come highly specced with heated leather, sat nav, cruise, climate control etc..

You should have a load of examples to choose from at that price. It doesn't fit into your group 9 stipulation but I can't see it being extortionate on the insurance.
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I've had a look at them but the cheapest insurance I've found is about £1700 with Bell, which rules them out unfortunately :(

I'm looking at Focus's and Astras mainly. The one I saw seemed pretty much spot on for what I was after, shame it sold. May wait and see if there are any others, but I really could do with something in the next 2 weeks.
 
Jotun said:
I've had a look at them but the cheapest insurance I've found is about £1700 with Bell, which rules them out unfortunately :(
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Did you add your parents (or at the very least an older female) to the policy as named drivers? If not - I'd expect that to drop by a considerable amount with an older female added to the policy!
 
ConfusedTA said:
Did you add your parents (or at the very least an older female) to the policy as named drivers? If not - I'd expect that to drop by a considerable amount with an older female added to the policy!
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Yup, that's the total with both my parents and my older sister, all of which brings the total down.
 
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A followup if anyone was cared how I got on,

I've just put down a deposit for a Y reg astra 1.6 16V with about 40k on the clock, for £3.5k, with £2400 part exchange on my punto. :)

Thanks to those who offered advice :)
 
No pictures yet, as I am picking it up on the 21st when I renew my insurance, it's not an SXi, it's the 1.6i 16V CD
 
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