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[Help] Recommendations for a cheap car please



hans kraay fan club

The voice of reason.
Helpful Moderator
Mar 16, 2005
62,759
Chandlers Ford
I should pass on the I10. Even driven as economically as possible, I struggle to get 35mpg out of mine, even on motorways. 0-60 in five minutes too, unless you use lower gears to get there, which knocks the mpg way down even further.

Wow. I'm astonished that any small (modern) cars even exist with such poor fuel economy.

I drive a bigger car than that, with a 2.0 engine and am annoyed if the mpg drops below 60 on long runs!
 




mejonaNO12 aka riskit

Well-known member
Dec 4, 2003
21,921
England
Sure, it's no looker but I can't recommend the below ENOUGH.

I bought a 2003 Seat Ibiza 1.9 TDI six years ago when it had 80k on the clock. I spent £1750

I look after this thing like a piece of crap. Don't maintain it, don't clean it, just get in it and drive 45 miles a day.

It's WONDERFUL. Passed every MOT with ease (just passed last month). I've driven it 70k miles. Does 55+ mpg with ease. Does 65+ if I actually think about driving economically.

1.9 so not sluggish and actually fun to drive. Sure it's basic but It's been stunning value for money. Also, I'm LANKY so a lot of smaller cars are a nightmare. This has been great.

When it dies I will simply get anther Seat Ibiza but maybe around 2008ish
 


hans kraay fan club

The voice of reason.
Helpful Moderator
Mar 16, 2005
62,759
Chandlers Ford
Sure, it's no looker but I can't recommend the below ENOUGH.

I bought a 2003 Seat Ibiza 1.9 TDI six years ago when it had 80k on the clock. I spent £1750

I look after this thing like a piece of crap. Don't maintain it, don't clean it, just get in it and drive 45 miles a day.

It's WONDERFUL. Passed every MOT with ease (just passed last month). I've driven it 70k miles. Does 55+ mpg with ease. Does 65+ if I actually think about driving economically.

1.9 so not sluggish and actually fun to drive. Sure it's basic but It's been stunning value for money.

When it dies I will simply get anther Seat Ibiza but maybe around 2008ish

I don't own a small car, but through work I've driven most of them. Once or twice every month I fly to Dublin / Belfast / Edinburgh / Glasgow, etc and always have a class 1 car for the day.

In my experience VW's are the best built of the main (small car) marques, by some distance, but they are expensive for what you get. If I were looking to buy a car (any size) I would 100% be looking at the VW 'sister' brands of Seat and especially Skoda, to see if they retain the quality, at a better price.
 








BigBod

Well-known member
Dec 12, 2014
380
Despite the blip with the class action on Prius in the US, Toyotas still top the reliability charts. We've just sold our 2005 Previa (NO faults in 4.5 years) to import a 2003 Alphard from Japan. If anything the older ones are even more reliable.

Love Japanese imports...on my second van from Japan, was a toss up between the Alphard and Elgrand, I went with the Elgrand, amazing bit of kit, had it 4 years now, great family car...
 


Goldstone1976

We Got Calde in!!
Helpful Moderator
NSC Patron
Apr 30, 2013
14,124
Herts
Thanks so far everyone :thumbsup:

Another question - this time about insurance.

If I'm the registered keeper and main driver, with my better half as a named driver, the insurance is ~ £300.

If she's the registered keeper and main driver, with me as a named driver, it's ~£650.

I assume the difference is largely due to my NCD. I know that if I'm the keeper/main driver she won't build any NCD of her own.

Q: If we plump for me being the main driver/keeper and either of us prang "her" car, does that mean I'd lose NCD on my existing car too (even though I hadn't claimed on that policy), or only on "her" new car?
 


GT49er

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Feb 1, 2009
49,181
Gloucester
Wow. I'm astonished that any small (modern) cars even exist with such poor fuel economy.

I drive a bigger car than that, with a 2.0 engine and am annoyed if the mpg drops below 60 on long runs!

Not half as annoyed as I am! I specifically bought the Hyundai as a cheap to run 'sensible' car for a grandad (I bought it to replace the Ford StreetKa I'd allowed myself as a treat - I only intended to keep it for a year for fun, but I've still got it; it's about as economic in terms of mpg than the far inferior performing Hyundai!)
 




strings

Moving further North...
Feb 19, 2006
9,969
Barnsley
Another vote for a civic here - they're brilliantly reliable and have a strangely massive boot.

Also, four doors is a must. Most child seats are isofix, which you will only find in the back seats. My wife used to really struggle getting the car seat in and our the rear of her old (two door) car.
 




AIT76

The wisdom of a fool
Jul 29, 2004
475
I should pass on the I10. Even driven as economically as possible, I struggle to get 35mpg out of mine, even on motorways. 0-60 in five minutes too, unless you use lower gears to get there, which knocks the mpg way down even further.

Which model have you got? I get 45 out of my 1.2 Comfort, and that's just doing a daily 10 mile round trip to work.

Never done any prolonged long runs, so don't know how that affects things.
 




Triggaaar

Well-known member
Oct 24, 2005
53,135
Goldstone
I’ve been tasked with finding my partner a cheap run around.
Give her a blank cheque so she can go and buy a nice new car and stop being so tight.
 










GT49er

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Feb 1, 2009
49,181
Gloucester
Which model have you got? I get 45 out of my 1.2 Comfort, and that's just doing a daily 10 mile round trip to work.

Never done any prolonged long runs, so don't know how that affects things.
1.2L 4 cylinder petrol, 2014 model, 30 odd thousand on the clock. The four previous owners obviously couldn't get rid of the bloody thing fast enough either.


Specification states "
Fuel economy: 51-55 mpg combined (38-43 city, 64-66 highway)
. Load of bollox!
 


AIT76

The wisdom of a fool
Jul 29, 2004
475
1.2L 4 cylinder petrol, 2014 model, 30 odd thousand on the clock. The four previous owners obviously couldn't get rid of the bloody thing fast enough either.


Specification states ". Load of bollox!

Weird that your experience should be so different to mine. Mines a 2009 but has the same engine as yours. You're not 28 stone, I take it?!!

I wouldn't have hesitated to recommend the i10 for what the OP wants.
 


crodonilson

He/Him
Jan 17, 2005
14,062
Lyme Regis
My good friend Dirty Barry is selling a Montego Estate at the moment, PM me if interested. He will do you a generous price.

montego-1.jpg
 




Lady Whistledown

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jul 7, 2003
47,630
Thanks so far everyone :thumbsup:

Another question - this time about insurance.

If I'm the registered keeper and main driver, with my better half as a named driver, the insurance is ~ £300.

If she's the registered keeper and main driver, with me as a named driver, it's ~£650.

I assume the difference is largely due to my NCD. I know that if I'm the keeper/main driver she won't build any NCD of her own.

Q: If we plump for me being the main driver/keeper and either of us prang "her" car, does that mean I'd lose NCD on my existing car too (even though I hadn't claimed on that policy), or only on "her" new car?


If you put yourself down as the main driver on a policy for a vehicle you're never going to drive, simply to get cheaper insurance for her, you might find you're on dodgy ground anyway. The insurer can theoretically invalidate a policy in the event of a claim if they think you're fronting...
 


Mackenzie

Old Brightonian
Nov 7, 2003
34,009
East Wales
I’ve been tasked with finding my partner a cheap run around. Not knowing much about the latest opinions on such matters, I thought I’d ask for suggestions here...

Budget: £2.5k tops.

Requirements:

Cheap to insure for a new driver
High MPG
Cheap to service/repair
Reliable
Small
Min 4 seats (but 2 door is ok)

Any help would be appreciated.

Just bought my daughter her first car. A Citroen C1, it seems to fit your criteria.
 


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