Someone help me choose a car!

anksta

anksta

anksta

Soldato
Joined
19 Jan 2005
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Ok, when I passed my test when I was 17 my mum bought me a car for my 18th, typical first car, L reg white renault clio, I was well chuffed they'd got us a car but the first thing my grandad said when he gave it me was "now I didnt quite manage to get rid of the rust"

3 years on now and still got it, the rust is terrible now, all down the side, pretty much 3 holes in the side panel now where the trim thing was.

Anyway, get my loan tomorrow and even though I'm in 2nd year uni only just a student account sorted so got an overdraft now as well, also I've just started the process of gettin my bank charges back, should be a grand give or take.

So in total I've got about 1500 that I'd like to spend, still leavin my ample to live etc.

Ideally I would like a golf mark IV but have accepted I'm not goin to be able to afford that so I would like a 306, a megane coupe or maybe another (newer) clio.

After livin with no radio and no power steerin I wouldnt mind a couple of luxuries, RCL, PAS, cd player maybe aircon.

Any advice as to what I can or should get? Have heard about big car places like carcraft doin deals like guaranteed trade in or whatever, my car is worth 150 200 at most so a deal like that would be great.

Any advice or anythin would be greatly appreciated, I'm the type of guy that unless I find a one off mint deal I'll be thinkin about what I could have had for ages.

Cheers
 
Guaranteed tradein deals are a ripoff. Look at it from the traders point of view.

He gives you a grand for your nail of a Clio worth £100. Whats he gonna do with it? Sell it for a grand? Nope. Throw it away or auction it for closer to £100? Yup. So he's lost £900 out of the goodness of his heart?

Hell no. The car he is selling will be overpriced by such a margin that he can easily absorb the loss he's made giving you way over book for the old Clio.

So, don't bother. Infact, at this price point, don't go near a dealer. Dealers like to have £500-£1000 profit in a car they sel otherwise it isnt worth selling. So a £1500 car is a car which the dealer bought for £500 to £1000. Why pay someone elses profit margin?

Pick something nice out of the Autotrader from a private seller.

Right, before I go any further, some notes about £1500 cars.

This is a very popular budget, especially amongst people new to the world of driving, and younger people like us. Now, people who are new to the world of driving want a nice small little car, and younger guys want something that looks cool. New young guys want something small that looks cool.

So, thats the popular cars in this market. And you know what demand does - it pushes up the price. So you'll pay dearly for a Clio or a 306 at this price point. So you need to find the cars that are less popular.

Why would a £1500 car not be very popular? Number of reasons:

a) It's unreliable
b) It's just rubbish
c) It's too big
d) It has high running costs
e) It is perceived to too big or have high running costs
f) It isn't trendy
h) Not many of them around so people don't realise they exist.

Clearly you don't want something rubbish, so you need discount the stuff thats not really very popular becuase its plain crap, or unreliable, such as a Renault Megane. You also don't really want something thats going to cost you a fortune to run either, so you can rule out stuff that is expensive to run, like a 2.5 litre Mondeo.

So where are the gems? e, f and h. Cars people THINK will cost lots to run, cars people THINK may be too big and cars people don't consider trendy etc.

Enter... the Citroen Xsara. This is a perfect example of a car thats actually pretty damn good but nobody wants. It is mechanically the same as the Peugeot 306 - Peugeot Citroen are the same company, the engines are the same, the chassis is the same, the suspension is the same, etc etc - its the same car, but it looks different on the outside and as it was introduced 5 years after the 306, is more modern on the inside.

But nobody wants one. Why? Well, compared to the 306, it's a little bland. 306's are cool, Xsaras are not. Also, the perceived size thing. People THINK its bigger than a 3 door 306 - becuase its got more doors and the way the boot looks. It's actually pretty much the same size.

So, you can pick up some real bargains - your £1500 budget will get you a 1.6, 1.8 or 1.9TD SX with air conditioning, full electric windows, remote locking, etc etc, on a 98, 99 or maybe even a 2000 plate. 306 wise, you are going to be looking at scabby 96/97 models.

Another great example is the Ford Mondeo. Obviously you don't want one of these, right? I mean, its massive, it costs a load to run etc etc... nope. Easy to drive, loaded with kit and cheap as cheaps to buy and repair.
There are numerous other cars like this - seek them out and get a bargain.
 
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Got to say for £1500 I think Fox has got it spot on with the Xsara. I wouldn't totally disregard he 306. They aren't quite a popular as they were (especially the phase 2's) so have dropped in price a fair bit, or atleast round here they have. Worth a look anyway.

Engine wise I would personally look at a 1.6 for your needs assuming you don't do the miles to notice the economy benefits of a diesel. The 1.8 doesn't add much in the way of performance but is a bit heavier on fuel. After driving a 1.4 for the last 3 years near enough I can say that its adequate performance wise but nothing more and its a bit of a chore at motorway speeds. My 1.4 has cost next to nothing to keep on the road and I can't see the 1.6 being much different.
 
I had a J-reg Clio as my first car, also white, and I've just sold my second (a Xsara) for £1300 :p. It's a 99T SX with the common-rail HDi engine, so all the equipment on your list except the CD player - just an example of what you could get for your budget. Petrols are usually cheaper to buy than the diesels, so if you aren't doing a lot of mileage they're probably a better deal
 
ok, I hate to admit this but I love Renault Megane Coupés, my mum has one which is gorgeous and my mate also has one and I think they're amazin. Been lookin on auto trader, found a metallic blue R reg, 53000 miles 2.0l 16valve, was thinkin this has got to be too good to be true.

So I went and had a look at it today, took my mate who owns a coupé as well. The car is gorgeous, looks stunning, he took me out in it and it is rapid. Electric windows, pretty much everythin I wanted except AirCon and that was only a luxury.

Got a bit suspicious before I went to look at it, the advert on the site said call this number, Adam. So I rang it and this asian guy answered, now not that I'm bein racist but I was right cos that wasnt his name. If it had said some asian name I wouldnt have been bothered, if it was the other way round I'd have still thought the same thing.

Anyway, turned out his brother had it so I went and met him, started discussin it and my mate points out that the bumper isnt on properly and looks like it had been sprayed, also the inside fabric on the passenger side door didnt match so an obvious change here.

The guy was adamant that I txt this number and check it, even rang his brother to get the number when he couldnt find it. Did it, came back sayin Peugeout 306 totally wrecked so I panicked a bit and was like whats goin on. Realised I'd put the reg in wrong so I did it again, came back with multiple insurance losses the worst being Cat C on whatever date.

Still the guy was adamant that they were wrong and that I should ring them to ask why if there was Cat C damage why wasnt it in the logbook (which, although he said he had, all I saw was the form you send to change ownership). So I rang them, asked about it and they told me it had been written off twice, once Cat C in 2004 then again Cat D in 2005, they also said that the car might not have been called for a ?VCI? check yet and that might be why it wasnt in the logbook seein as its last check was just before the first time it had been written off.

The guy who I rang in the first place was apparently a trader (the advert said trade) had PXd it for a Lexus to the one owner the car had had and so they had made their money on it and were not bothered about lettin it go cheap (1350 sposed to be 1395 but seein as the tax was due at the end of the month he dropped it).

I left a 20 deposit askin him to keep it til Wednesday as I'll have made my decision by then and have the money as well.

My mate with the megane said he would get it as the problems all seemed cosmetic and a 100 quid on new bumper etc would see it fine, my other mate said definitely not as Cat C can mean it was royally screwed.

Still havent made up my mind, the consensus seems to be against meganes thus far but bear in mind I hardly ever drive as I'm at uni any everythin is in walkin distance.
 
I wouldnt buy a Megane Coupe anyway, moneypits, especially not paying that sort of cash for one thats been written off TWICE!
 
searched Category Damaged, first google result:
Insurance Companies will categorize a vehicle if the cost of the repair out-weighs the actual value of the vehicle. This is because Insurance Companies will use main Dealers to repair their client's vehicle, and main Dealers charge "main dealer" fees - hence the reason so many vehicles are categorized (written off).

Category C and D Vehicles are legally repairable, although officially, Category C vehicles are classed as extensive damage vehicles, whilst Category D vehicles are classed as moderate damage. It is important to understand that one insurance company may categorize a vehicle as a Category C, whilst another Insurance Company will categorize the same vehicle as a Category D.

In fact some vehicles have been categorized as a Category C (extensive damage), for simple things such as a broken headlight! Hard to believe ... but true!

Never let the Category of a vehicle put you off - without viewing and inspecting it first.
Click to expand...

Made me feel a bit better but I dont know if I'd be able to tell if there was structural damage or somethin, is it somethin you would spot lookin at it, in under or whatever?
 
anksta said:
searched Category Damaged, first google result:

Made me feel a bit better but I dont know if I'd be able to tell if there was structural damage or somethin, is it somethin you would spot lookin at it, in under or whatever?
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The only cars that will be Cat C becuase of a broken headlight are cars where a new headlight is £100 and the car is worth £130.
 
Anksta, you might have to up your budget to £2000, but you're not far off Hyundai Coupe money. If not I'd look for a Xsara, the VTR isn't too bad looking.
 
the only time to consider a dealer is when they clear out their part ex's thru autotrader rather than the auction. I got my Xantia HDI at below trade price and certainly lower than anything somebody would sell privately unless it was broken because the dealer had parked it round the back of the dealership and bunged it on autotrader without a 2nd glance. Obviously you need to be careful here just as you would be with anything you bought without warranty.
 
I know a guy who's got a Xsara, he also had a megane coupe before that, I think he had 2 actually. He drives it about like a madman though and wrecked the gearboxes on both. He was drivin his Xsara the other down a 20 mile an hour street and his wheel fell off, like the entire thing snapped off the axis, we had to carry his round the corner.

K.C. Leblanc said:
Anksta, you might have to up your budget to £2000, but you're not far off Hyundai Coupe money. If not I'd look for a Xsara, the VTR isn't too bad looking.
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I dont think Xsaras are that nice to be honest, they look a bit like a grandads car. However, Hyundai Coupés are awesome cars but I doubt I'd be able to afford one. How much have you seen them for?
 
anksta said:
I dont think Xsaras are that nice to be honest, they look a bit like a grandads car.
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Which is exactly why, for £1500, they are a great buy. If you want a cool car for £1500 you are going to be buying a scabby old nail becuase EVERYONE wants a cool car for £1500.

Becuase lets face it, a Megane Coupe isn't exactly an Aston DB9 in comparison to a Xsara Coupe, is it?
 
[TW]Fox said:
Which is exactly why, for £1500, they are a great buy. If you want a cool car for £1500 you are going to be buying a scabby old nail becuase EVERYONE wants a cool car for £1500.

Becuase lets face it, a Megane Coupe isn't exactly an Aston DB9 in comparison to a Xsara Coupe, is it?
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fair enough, but you can get a good megane coupe for about 1800, < 60 thousand miles, V reg etc. I reckon I'd rather pay a bit more for one of them than a Xsara I'm gonna regret gettin
 
There is, my aunt has one. The thing is, she didn't pay anything like £1500 for it and has spent a fair bit keeping it nice, which is the big problem with them.
 
[TW]Fox said:
becuase its plain crap, or unreliable, such as a Renault Megane.
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spot on. then along comes this reply....

anksta said:
ok, I hate to admit this but I love Renault Megane Coupés
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haha made me laugh :p :D

seriously DO NOT even touch that dodgy megane.... 1. awful cars anyhow 2. dont even look THAT great 3. generally unreliable 4. its been written off.... TWICE 5. your looking to buy it off some asian guys brother ffs!

i mean it doesnt take an idiot to work out you should have walked away as soon as you realised it had been repaired, let alone realising it had been written off........ again, TWICE lol!

obviously you are after nice looks then, and i admit the xsara is pretty ugly, but as Fox states, this is why they are cheap. However, a nice phase 3 pug 306 can be picked up privately for around 2k-2.5k mark... and these look smart! wont get the same spec as a xsara for the money but should be able to pick up a nice 1.6 or 1.8 with decent mileage etc...

just please do not touch that coupe lol.... :)
 
yeah I'm pretty sure I'm not gonna get that coupe but I'm definitely not ruling out a coupe as the car I want, for a bit over my preferred price around 1800 with decent miles (<60000) and still *** features, these ones with HPI certificates.

What about a one I've seen 1850 55000 miles Y reg I think in Blue?
 
I bet if you check the floor pan (lift carpets up in boot) you will see it has probably been in a rear ender.

If you like the Xsara, go for it.

The megannes are not the most reliable of motors tbh.

Not considering a Fiesta 1.25 Zetec? They are pretty nippy.

As for a 306, good choice. You will not pick a HDi up for £1500 so i'd say save an extra £500 and get a 1.8 XS or have a 1.9 d turbo for £1k-1.5
 
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