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  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    thanks for everyone's replies :)

    ive pretty much decided im going to get a KA. im only going to have it for a year or so anyway (unless i like driving it, hehe) until ive got a bit more free cash. im on a small budget at the min due to a house move.

    i think im just gonna try and spend a little more on one. i definately want power steering so i think ill try and get one as young as i can!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    i'd honestly honestly honestly stay away from a ford KA. poor engine, rusts badly and suffers steering rack problems quite often.

    All which will cost you a fortune in the long run.

    you wanna go for a Japanese car, a few years old you'll find something for £800. German is probably out of your budget.

    Go for a small nissan micra, or you may even pick up a decentish yaris for about £1000.

    you'll have problems with a £800 Ford KA, trust me.

    Also try not to focus on the age or the milage of a car...doesnt always make it a better deal. Check out the service history, a well serviced older car will be miles better than a newer one thats been ragged about, and lets face it Ford KA is the choice of a lot of poorer new drivers.

    Just advice, but good luck with whatever you go with

    for example...i've found a nissan micra, P reg, 50000 miles (great for its age), FSH, £595...you'd have enoug cash left over to put towards insurance
  • SkiveSkive Posts: 15,282 Skive's The Limit
    g_angel wrote: »
    KA = perfectly fine little car.

    For a girl :p
    g_angel wrote: »
    For the money, you can do a LOT worse.

    True, and you can do better too.
    Weekender Offender 
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    what about a ford puma?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    for 800? hmmm
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    my budget is a little higher now...boyfriend told me last night he doesn't want me buying something i'll get crushed in (he has no confidence in me driving at all!!!!!) so he'll help me buy something a bit better :):heart:

    eta: its my boyfriend who has suggested that i buy a puma. i didn't actually know what one was until last night :o

    anyway, he has said he'll give me £500 towards it. sooo errr, i guess that makes my budget £1300-or slightly more if i stretch my budget slightly.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I think really the same kind of things apply. You want something in the bestest possible condition for the money, reliable and cheap to run.

    My ex advised me to go for something japanese - Toyota, Nissan as these makes are supposed to be good for your money. I ended up getting a Polo, he's very good :)

    Puma's are quite sporty imo have you looked to see if this will effect the insurance?

    Seriously, have a shop around, look at lots of different cars...actually go out and see them and take someone who knows about cars with you. This is an absoulte must before any money changes hands! Do not buy a car unless someone who knows what they are looking at/for has seen it.

    Use autotrader and gumtree and other places like that to give you an idea of how much cars of similar age, mileage and condition go for.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    thanks :)

    yeah, have checked the insurance. will affect it by about £200-£300. not too bad.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Puma is just a Fiesta with a different body. :)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    yeah thats what my fella said, lol. they look better than fiestas though i think.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Yeah, but they cost more to insure, are move expensive to buy, and common impact bits - bumpers, etc - will cost more to replace, as they aren't as common.

    Get a Fiesta 1.25. Good little cars, I hugely enjoyed thrashing one around as a hire car a decade ago. :)
  • SkiveSkive Posts: 15,282 Skive's The Limit
    My standard advice for all car threads on thesite is get a 205 :D
    Weekender Offender 
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    You should do what they do on Top Gear and put your money into buying a really old supercar.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Personally I like Nissan Micra's I had my first one which cost me just over £1000 for 3 years then a brand new one for another 3 years, I didnt have any problems with either of them. I only swapped it for a bigger car when I moved in with my bloke and he refused to drive it. I would recommend Nissans, VW's and Toyotas.
    I don't know much about cars but before you buy one have look on line for common problems with them and you will get a good idea about the faults.

    I don't like french cars, they seem to be unreliable from the experience of my friends and family although there are people that would completely disagree with me.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    http://vbulletin.thesite.org/showthread.php?t=132477&highlight=fireyfirenze

    blah theres a thread i made a while ago where i realised i couldnt afford a puma, even though iv been driving 7 years :p it costs more in petrol, insurance and has a higher car tax tooo...dunno if its any help to you though :}
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    thanks :)

    yeah, ive checked out the insurance. its about £200-£300 more. mmm, didn't think about the petrol and stuff...think i might look at a smaller engine then. im going to be travelling 40 miles per day.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    To be honesty, contrary to popular belief, fuel economy shouldn't be at the top of things to consider. Price and availability of spare parts, insurance, road tax, ease of use and cost of repairs... they'll easily outweigh the fuel costs between most cars.

    Even my V6 gives 29.7-31.3mpg with just local hopes, and breaks 40mpg on a run. All measured over a long period of time... it's how you drive it, rather than what you drive, more often than not.

    Price up bumpers, windscreens, headlamps, wheels, mirrors... all the things that new drivers have a habit of damagine once or twice. Batteries, alternators, exhausts, catalytic converters, suspension wishbones... they're all common failings on older cars. A £60 difference in the cost of one component compared to another car... You'd have to use a lot of petrol yo use £60 more.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    mmm im looking at a toyota yaris. even though its a cheap car though and has a small engine, the insurance is quite high? why is this? its practically the same as the insurance for the puma!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    How much do they typically cost to repair?

    You also have to factor in that little old Mavis, the 75 year old Grandmother - and all her friends - are more likely to buy a Yaris than a Puma. The more a certain type of car has bumps and scrapes, and goes off into the front of the shop when she hits the wrong pedal, the higher the perceived risk of drivers in the same model car to the insurers.
  • littlemissylittlemissy Posts: 9,972 Supreme Poster
    mmm im looking at a toyota yaris. even though its a cheap car though and has a small engine, the insurance is quite high? why is this? its practically the same as the insurance for the puma!

    I have a yaris and i heart it. I didn't find insurance overly high when I first got it. M&S were the cheapest for me.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    its only high compared to having a KA :) its a few hundred pounds more. its still relatively cheap considering im a new driver (only passed my test last year) and i haven't built up a years ncd yet but even so, every penny counts! im paying it all upfront you see so i need to take everything into consideration :) arrrgghhh, car shopping is a pain!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Have you thought about a mid '90s Polo? There's some 1.0 models around which are pretty bulletproof. You should find one without intergalactic mileage for £800. Ther's an example below.
    http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/VOLKSWAGEN+POLO/Ne-2-4-5-6-7-8-27-44-49-53-61-64-67-103-133-146-236,N-12-29-240-4294966576-4294966886/advert.action?R=200931339079075&distance=175&postcode=SW1E+5JL&channel=CARS&make=VOLKSWAGEN&model=POLO&min_pr=500&max_pr=1000&max_mileage=&vehicleYearOfManufacture=1998&vehicleRegLetter=R

    Lots of Nissan Micras too, usually cheaper than Polos. Very nippy and they just go on and on. 1.0 Corsas are around as well for that sort of money.

    The Ka is a nice little car though. They're usually reliable mechanically because of its simplicity (the engine is basically a version of the old pushrod motor found in Harry Potter's Ford Anglia) but they tend to rust, especially earlier cars.
    The 1.3 MK4/5 Fiesta is basically a Ka with a different body.
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