I Need A New Car

[Sneakers O'Toole]

Right i need a new car but i can't decide what i want. I've looked at a mini cooper s which i liked and looked at some mk4 golfs which were nice too. But then today i saw a VW Corrado which i pretty much fell in love with, the shape of it rocks but i hear they're abit dodgy.

Anyway, gimmie some suggestions for me to look, no bangers or chavvy modded cars please. Got about 10k to spend so go crazy.

[CurtisRider]

any particular engine/car size you are after? just 10grand can get you a fooking crazy ass car thats expensive to insure so people will make some pretty stupid suggestions....

i recently bought a seat toledo 1.9tdi 110se mk 2, and love it to bits, its got the same chassis/engine as the audi a4, vw passat and the skoda octavia and its awesome. so if mines anything to go by, id really recomend an audi a4 for looks, style, comfort, performance, economy, reliability...blah blah, fantastic cars

piss over chavs, and have something with a decent resale value too

[Heatsink]

Cue us all recommending our own cars

I've come to the conclusion that if you get "into" cars then it is one of the ways to waste alot of money. I'd put £9000 in the bank for a time when you'd really need it, and spend only £1000 or less. What are you wanting the car for?

I want a car for driving in comfort (including decent space in the rear for adult passengers), having acres of room for bikes, having cheap replacement parts, having a bit of poke for safe overtaking, and not standing out in the crowd so I don't need to worry about where I park it.

If you can get a few years out of a car that cost you less than £1000 then you're laughing all the way to the bank, and probabily later on life will be more complicated so saving up £9000 will be impossible and you'll wish (like I did) that I had hung onto the money for the time I hadn't anticipated I'd need it!

A great value car doesn't have to be a banger or boring! If I'd had more time to choose I could have picked out some great fun cars, but needs must and I picked up a bargain because of how dented the body work on my car is

Steve

[Fish-Finger-er]

bmw 3 series. take ur pick, e36 m3, e36 m3 cabrio, e46 coupe, e46 cabrio. youll get a mint car for well under your budget(cabrio not so much). you get performance, reliability, style, the badge, reasonable economy(for a car of there performance).and there RWD

other options within your budget.

new shape accord(even the diesels are sexual) elite business looks,very plush,but doesnt stand out and say key me up.

lotus elise(dont need to explain this, so i wont)

honda type-r (not a personal favourite, but meh,everyone else loves them)

focus 2.0 zetec(150 bhp, insurance group 8, cheap to buy, fast, and again, get a high model, there luxury, but dont stand out)

lexus is200 (stands out a bit more, but quality car with reliable toyota underpinnings,roomy, classy, luxury, and again RWD).

then theres your impreza's and the like.

s14 180sx -(if you want a fast,fun, turbo'd car, cheap then look no further).

[Sneakers O'Toole]

I'm not too bothered about mega performance really, got to do alot of travelling so i want something that'll cruise the motorways easily. Ford Focus sounds alrite but it's just abit bland and i'd rather have a Golf than a focus.

Top choice is still the Cooper S, just love the way they drive, but it'll use all my cash. I've had plenty of cheap cars but i want this one to last me quite a long time so i'm going to have to chose wisely, but Heatsink makes a good point about saving some of the cash. Wouldn't mind a Saab 93 (think it's that one anyway), drove one of those for a while but don't know much about them.

Hmmmmmm gunna be a hard thinking process in this one.

Cheers for the suggestons.

[Smo™]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1996-200SX-Nissan-Si...1QQcmdZViewItem

[CurtisRider]

I'm not too bothered about mega performance really, got to do alot of travelling so i want something that'll cruise the motorways easily.

audi, audi, audi, audi.....get a diesal and you are laughing-comfortable AND will do a decent mpg, as well as the engines lasting forever...dont bother with the likes of ford and that, they lose value in nano seconds and dont really compete

was taken for a spin in one of those 93s the other day, the seats in that were tooo comfy it was heaven in a car look wicked too

[TomR]

Mk4 Astra GSi, SRi Turbo, Coupe turbo (can get most of them for under 7k if you hunt around, all have the 200bhp Z20LET turbo engine, can also get 1.8 & 2.2 NA coupes) or if youre not fussed about performance a DTI SRi (although they still pull well). Even a 1.9CDTi Mk5 astra? Can get them fairly cheap as theyre so common. Very good engines in 130 or 150ps.

My dad has a 1.9TDI 150ps Saab 93 which is a good car, and goes well, buts its pretty big and i dont like the dash.

My sister has a Cooper S and stuff keeps falling of it, everything creaks. Not impressed for 15k.

Mk 4 Golfs are good, but lacking in performance in comparison to others, and pretty expensive repair/servicing costs.

[dave85]

For motorway cruising, saab 95. I've not been in many top end cars but its a lot more comfy than the big beemers. The griffin version goes like the clappers of hell too

[Joe Aston]

Carnt talk from actually experience but from what my old mans had the sabb 93 and 95 of both beast of cars rapid mid range speeds. But for something a little more classy merc e200 estate masses of leg room big enough boot to get couple of bikes in can push 4 with the seats down. Think my dad sold his last one for around 6 grand . So with in your budget to.

Hope this helps and hope you get a car you like!

[tipsy Jock]

I've always had a soft spot for Corrados ever since my dad looked at them years ago, god knows why he bought a rover coupe instead

[Fish-Finger-er]

right, now we know you aint into your super cars list changes a bit.

stil standing by my accord, focus, 3 series diesels,or the lexus(come on startin a 5k, for a lexus, just ignore that alan partrdige has one)

as for the 9-3's driven plenty at work, and love them from the TiD's to the 290bhp hot aero, but a lot of thought from the people at work is that the 9-3's are over priced. as there gm,veccy chassis,etc. but i still like them.

as for the point about the focus's etc losing there value, simple answer is....buy them second hand so cheap.

audi...never had to much experience with any of the vag group, so wont comment on them, as i only driven a few examples of each for short mileage and worked on very few of them. but from what ive seen of the new seat's, there very nice for the price.

heres another sexual option, good mileage muncher, comfy, a touch of class, fast and economical, and within your budget. signum 1.9 cdti (150 bhp version).

[TomR]

Signums are growing on me alot. Same engine as the astra's, mega reliable, a (very) good bit of poke and great for motorway stuff.

[tank_rider]

If your going to be doing more than about 13000 miles a year then a diesel is the way forward, specially as most modern diesels perform damn well too.

I'd also recommend something family car sized, a mondeo, vectra, octavia type size, but for good solid motorway chugging i would have to say go with a beemer, there just known for going on and on and on. look after it will and it will last forever.

[TomR]

The problem is, looking after a beemer costs alot. And alot of people who'd buy it afterwards will probably be fussy about dealer stamps, but thats just BMW drivers for you.

[Fish-Finger-er]

Signums are growing on me alot. Same engine as the astra's, mega reliable, a (very) good bit of poke and great for motorway stuff.

yea, real comfy and plush too, and different in that "head turning so people take a second glance, but not enough so that every burberry wearing blade carrying cider drinking asbo holdin idiot wants to take a key to it" plus the whole rear seat issue on them is cool, 2 massive seats that are fully adjustable and a centre console, for everyday use, or when you need to cram 5 in, its just like a regular rear bench. we got an irmscher styled one at work in black, with a chip taking it to just off 180 bhp, which is mental out of 1900 diesel, which still does 50ish to the gallon if your careful. its the sex.

[tank_rider]

Yeah thats very true. Hense i guess the argument for a ford, vauxhall or skoda i guess, means that you can pick one up cheap and offset the cheaper maintenance against the lower re-sale value.

[nmt_oli]

Im another vote for german here, nick picked his A3 up for not a lot of cash, and its lovely. get something a bit bigger, A4 for example shouldnt be too much more and should be very solid.

I personally prefer older cars, and classics but obviously that isnt practical. If i had that much cash i would probably be tempted to 20vt a mk2 golf lol. for you stick with something known.

Find a repmobile with good service history and you should have thousands of miles of trouble free motoring.

[Fish-Finger-er]

The problem is, looking after a beemer costs alot. And alot of people who'd buy it afterwards will probably be fussy about dealer stamps, but thats just BMW drivers for you.

looks like im quoting everyone of your posts, but not at all, over a year ago i payed 920 for my beemer, its now approaching 140k and stil runs swet as a nut. and maintenance costs aint that bad, unless you want full bmw service history, but then its the same with vee dubs,audis, etc. but places like LS:UK do services which are very competively priced,same price for any model, something like mot style inspection,oil,filter, and air filter. for £49.99. as above but with wiper blades,fuel filter,pollen filten,spark plugs and a load of other stuff for £150, parts inclusive.

genuine bmw oil filter for a e36 3 series, receipts on my desk, retail £3.68 + vat. hardly breaking the bank if you take it to a non franchise dealer.or do the servicing yourself.