Why is it i'm finding myself...

[Phil W]

I see his dilema though.. it's hard to find cars that are nice to drive, but cheap enough to run that being 'occasional' use is not too wallet denting

About the closest post to understanding in this thread

The GF has no influence over the car what so ever, but the idea is for me to have a nice car, so that i can then carry on concentrating on saving for a house.

Semi-pracitcal in the sense that 3doors and 4/5 seats is a must, anything else really is a bonus. I've looked at lots of cars over the past couple of months, and to be honest, none of the car i'm looking at will ever jump out and say "wow, look at me", but thats not what i'm looking for

 

[Phil W]

Doesn't she have a Corsa?

Phil - if you cant buy anything decent, live with that corsa. Wait until your accidents are 3 years in the past - then you're into cheap insurance-o-rama.

I can buy something decent, i just need to decide what

 

[[huzeeee]]

I dont know about your initial choices, despite being good cars they are family hatch's made to transport your kids hapily. Maybe look for something a bit more fun and japanese Could get a good MX-5, 200sx, mr2 or fto with tiptronic for that cash, that way you get the fun of a crazy japmobile with reliability and not necessarily high insurance.

 

[Demon]

Which brings us back to the fact that Fox pointed out, he either needs a car or doesn't.

His girlfriend has a car to ferry around her offspring.

LOL... so he buys a 2 seater, then what, lets assume his missus can't get Child Minders easily, so he has to drive around in his 2 seater alone, all the time, he can't go out for a sunday drive to somewhere nice with the missus, he has to go on his tod, all alone, like a sad muppet... so he ends up going everywhere in the corsa, with no enjoyment whatsoever..

 

[Phil W]

Another good point, Demon.

The car has to be a useable everyday car, really.

I'm not sure why people have assumed i want a 2 Seater, when i initially wanted a Focus?

I'm off to look at an MGZS on Monday, not necessarily looking to buy, i just thought i'd go and have a look/drive of one, and see what i think.

 

[SoliD]

If I was in your position and didnt need a car I wouldnt buy one, they are a great waste of money when I look at it but as I need it for work I have no other option, get that cash saved up for something you really want in a year/2years time, you never know you might wanna buy your own place and it would really come in handy.

 

[bigchez]

What IG is a toyota starlet/galanza turbo (I don't know, so don't jump on me!!)? Can be made to go VERY fast. Bit different as well.

 

[Fantom]

looked at 306 HDi DTurbo?

remappable to 120ish bhp
insurance group 5
looks the danglies, especially in Astor Grey

Only thing is its a diesel... but saying that they are remarkably fun to drive (especially when mapped) and you cant help but look back and smile as you look back and lock it... they come with pretty good trim aswell and you can pick up a really decent one for that budget

really cant fault the car, im missing my HDi

 

[Bat]

He quite clearly states insurance is an issue so why mention a Group 20 Japanese import?

[Pedant]
The Celica GT4 was available as a UK registered car.
[/Pedant]

 

[Chris1712]

Astra mk4 coupe? The 1.8 is gutsy enough for an around town car, plenty of toys on the proper bertone version and in the right colour imo look really nice. The 2.0T is the engine of choice but falls out of your 4k budget.

 

[whitecrook]

Buy a classic beetle and restore it up.

 

[Leeum]

What IG is a toyota starlet/galanza turbo (I don't know, so don't jump on me!!)? Can be made to go VERY fast. Bit different as well.

Good suggestion actually.

 

[Phil W]

Could be on to something with the Glanza idea, Googling comes up with them falling anywhere between IG 8 and 16, so i guess i'll have to ring my insurance company for a couple of quotes

 

[Phil W]

Well, waiting back for a quote from Adrian Flux (email quote as i'm at work) on the Glanza V. Tried with my current insurance company, they said they'd call meback (as they are a broker so have to call thecompany who actually insure me), and never called back.

Been looking at them and have seen a few nice ones for around the £3.5k-£4k mark, however i'd like to go and have a test drive of one first, and see what i think

Insurance seem reasonable, quite a few 18/19YO's with no NCB are insured on the Glanza V's for £1400ish FC, so with my 2yrs NCB (crashed regardless) i should get a reasonable quote...

Phil

 

[saitrix]

I'm liking that Glanza idea. Hadn't thought of that! Meant to be able to get quite good amount of power out of them once tune, really surprise people at the lights!

 

[commited]

If insurance is an issue then tuning is a no go.

 

[Phil W]

If insurance is an issue then tuning is a no go.

Not too fussed about that really, i'd be happy with having the car in the short term (first year or so). Who knows, modifying it might not turn out to be that costly.

Just finished my set of night shifts, so i'm calling up for some quotes when the office opens.

 

[russ9898]

is a golf gti mk4 (previous generation golf) an option?

 

[Phil W]

Not really, insurance on the 1.8T is a little steep, and i wouldn't settle for anything less.

 

[Shimmy]

I'm going to be in the same sort of position in a year or so.

I'm looking at yaris t-sports. don't know if it's your cup of tea. Warm hatch, reliable and cheap insurance. All the stuff I'm looking for.