Spec my GF a first own car! ~1000

413x

413x

413x

Caporegime
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GF needs a new car, she is currently borrowing..wait for it

a vauxhall agila.. lols! she hates it but it is funny, it also smells of dog!

now seeing as she definitly will not be driving my s2000 or ibiza fr she needs a car, she does about 40 miles each way.
apart from the normal 'put 1000K in autotrader and see what comes up' is there anything a not girly girl should be looking for?

important, she is under 25 and has had her license for less than a year. so needs to be cheap to insure

EDT i will include a pic of said wagon if it helps get replies!
 
maccapacca said:
40 miles each way is quite a lot, she does know that a £1k car could / will be a money pit
Click to expand...

it is quite a lot, for me its diesel territory i know 1k isnt a lot, but she needs insurance too, and yeah 1k cars will probably suck the money up as you say
 
You could get a 1.6 Mk1 Focus for that kinda money, chuff-all to insure, won't be too bad to drive 40 miles a day and reliable too if you hunt around a bit for a half-decent one; mine's not missed a beat in 4yrs.
 
Yaris and Fiesta 1.25 were both cheap to insure for my gf (under 25)

Yaris may be slightly above that price range, not sure
 
Something Japanese from the 90s with a small to medium sized petrol engine would be my advice.

My boring T plate 1.4 Honda Civic has been faultless for well over 150,000 miles now. Something like that, or a 1.4 Nissan Almera maybe? I think the Toyota Corolla had a 1.3 petrol engine. Buy something in good condition that's been looked after, and she should have a car that will outlast her desire to own it - i.e. she'll be bored and looking to upgrade in a few years time, and the car will still be going strong.
 
Yaris hold their value too well, did look, she likes jap cars, she likes my s2 and my old celica T sport but I haven't seen many civics in that price range

That link, dunno if she will like it, but I will show her
 
I dont know that i'd want to drive an 80 mile round trip daily in a charade - would be suited to around town work but it's not going to be comfortable on regular longer journeys.

I would personally have a look around some focus/civic sized cars, no point in getting something that isn't comfortable to be in. If she could stand to be seen in one you could pick up an old corolla for literally a few hundred - they're really quite hard to break too so should actually do the job.
 
I commute that distance daily in my diddy Lupo TDI no problem. Hell, I survived commuting 450 miles weekly in a fiat cinquecento! If I was placed in a first-tim******* situation now I wouldn’t be picky given insurance prices. The Charade would be the one I’d pick and here’s why.

They are not seen as a trendy car; kind of under the radar as driven by fuddies and middle aged ladies but that will mean they have been pretty much straight dealer serviced. Never seen a chav driving one that’s for sure so won’t have been ragged rotten like a common folk fiesta, corsa or clio.

They don’t seem to go for a lot of money either for such a modern car compared to Aygos/C1’s. You can find at least half a dozen on autotrader, gumtree and the bay for under a grand or not much over which am sure you can barter.

Tax on an old pre-2001 Focus/Civic would be 200 quid plus! Compared to 30 quid? No brainer when the tax month bites you when your strapped.

30% better economy extra urban than even the base 1.6 focus and it isn’t much slower either given power to weight. 70mpg is redonkulous mileage only otherwise seen on Aygo/C1 or Smarts of likewise age. Also being petrol means cheaper per litre at the pump upping equivalent mpg putting it even over my current 1.4TDI in yearly fuel costs! It won’t have all the expensive potential diesel failures as well like fuel pumps, injectors etc.

Charades are reviewed to be pretty well built and solid. I reckon given their modern age they would be safer than a bigger but older safety standard focus ala 2001. They are also known for having good equipment like aircon if you can live with a dull interior but what jap car doesn’t?

They have high gearing so would be ok at legal motorway speeds np. Compared to a 12-year old focus, a 6 year old charade will have less worn out bits like rubber bushes & wish bones which all start to go after 10 years.

If you think to go the opposite way and get a budget luxo barge it will be old and bits will break and nowadays economy figures add up. My 2 cence. Otherwise, try and find a CAT-C Aygo/C1.
 
I dont doubt they're decent enough cars but I simply couldn't get comfortable driving a car that size reasonable distance. Anything smaller than focus size (with a few exceptions) provides me with next to no elbow room (and I'm not tall or particularly wide)generallylegs are cramped in to the pedal area, typically no armrest and the driving position is often terribke - these things matter when trying to get comfortable to do a reasonable distance

Obviously its perfectly possible to get by with a car like that, but if you dont have to then why bother? Tax is a non issue the cost over the year is minimal. You're quite right r.e the age of car but to be honest a 1k focus etc isn't going to be ancient either and it very much depends whay kind of life its had.

I wouldn't dream of telling anyone to buy a 1k luxo barge to commute in
 
I'll have her look at it, she doesn't like big cars, my ibiza I think is on the limit as well as a focus. A mondeo or corolla is def too big.

She's probably too fussy for the budget tbh, think she is after corsa etc in her head

Edit. She is fairly tall for a girl 5'9 but not fat lol
 
I think it'd be worth saving up for a bit to buy a car that would cope with the 20k reliably and something that is comfortable. Yeah you could do it in a tin can but I think the OP's other half would prefer to get to work without headache/feeling like ****. Even the difference between my old Fiesta and MK1 Focus is remarkable - I can do the same journeys I managed in the Fiesta but I arrive feeling so much better for it. Cheapest option isn't always the most ideal.
 
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