PICK ME A CAR!

[Ape]

Okay, so this is the first topic I've posted in around 3 years so I think a little re-introduction is in order - Hi. I'm Mitch and I'm an addic- Sorry, wrong group, it's becoming a habbit. :rolleyes: Just kidding! Hey, I'm Mitch and I'm not an addict! :D But I have been lurking around these forums for a good 5 - 6 years, with time not on my side, I haven't been able to be that active. Re-introduction over, you can all wake up now.

 

So here's the scenario: I've just turned 19, passing my driving test in the June of 2008 (when I was 17 for the lazy, non-mathletes) and I bought a £7500 Citroen C2. In the May of 2009, I was involved in an "accident" which managed to totally write off my car. Now every driver knows that for the first couple of years (when you're young and have recently passed), insurance companies are the bane of our finances; the prices, quotes, "deals" are all unbelievably astronomical. As a named driver, with my Dad as the main driver with maximum no claims bonus, I paid £1300 for the year of insurance on the Citroen C2 1.4ltr Furio. So, back to the story... In the accident, I wrote off the car (damaged it to the extent of where the cost becomes silly to repair, so the insurance company essentially buy the wrecked car off you for the bottom book price), and I recieved £6500 from the insurance.

 

Now, this is where it becomes annoying, complicated, intere--- forget interesting... Just annoying and complicated - I bought a 1.4 Fiat Punto Active (2002 model) in July 2009 for £2000 and overall, the insurance has obviously gone up.... To £3000. I've been paying it monthly, as obviously, not alot of people have a spare £3000 in their bank. Baring in mind, my Dad has lost his max no-claims as they weren't protected (for some silly reason) and this is still under a similar policy to that of the C2.

 

I travel quite alot and the Fiat Punto is, to say the least, unreliable and my Dad has decided that he wants to treat me to a new car (ooooh yeaaaaah). So taking my history into consideration it can't be anything with a large engine size, or anything highly modified. I've been looking at the new Fiat 500 1.4 Sport (the car styled by Diesel), the Suzuki Swift Sport, the new Vauxhall Corsa and the new Renault Clios. I just wanted some advice on which to choose and if there's any other suggestions out there other than the cars I have looked at. :) Sharing experiences with these cars would also be much appreciated.

 

PICK ME A CAR! :lol:

[stevepole]

Well I really don't know much about european automakers besides the ones that sell in America but after looking up each of the cars you listed I like the Cilos the best but I don't know much about those brands and their reputation to give a really valid reason.

[Jaziek]

1.6 clios seem to be pretty popular in my social circles, I'm not a fan though.

 

I like the lower end minis, which a few of my friends have.

 

Maybe a golf?

 

I don't know what your price range is, but man don't get a corsa, chav car.

[mcneilp]

I learned to drive in a Clio, don't think i'd buy one though.

Had a Peugeot 106 for a year with no major problems, got me where i needed to go and what not but my parents had another Peugeot (306 i think) which just caused problem after problem and a few folks i know have had bother with their 206's, so i wouldn't recommend a Peugeot. Basically got told to steer (lol) away from French cars in general (Citroen, Peugeot, Renault) and go for a Japanese manufacturer but i don't know how credible that idea really is.

 

I love VW Golf's (GTi/R32 <3:) so thats what i'd pick if i had the money without a doubt. The Suziki swift sport looks pretty cool and i've not really heard any bad things about the quality or whatever so that might be one to consider. Friend just got a new Ford Fiesta which he says is pretty good, theres always the sporty ST version as well. Theres quite a large choice in the UK of smaller cars, hatchbacks and the like. All depends what you're after, just a regular run-around or something kinda sporty? Out of the ones you suggested, i'd go with the Suzuki.

[Iamdan]

Get a hilux dual cab. Not only is it indestructible, (watch the top gear episode on it, or read any review of the car) but it's extremely useful if you ever need it for camping. towing, moving large items etc.

 

You can get a bull bar to protect the front, and even if you do crash it chances are you can just bang it out with a hammer yourself because dents don't make it look terrible.

 

Insurance is cheap and it has good fuel economy.

[Danqazmlp]

Go with something a bit different like I did.

 

Rover 25's are the direction I went:

[hide][/hide]

 

 

They don't look overly sporty but they are good cars. They have cheap insurance for what they are too, mine costs me around 1k a year, and that's after having an accident. But the best thing about them is that they are fairly uncommon in respect to clio's, peugeot's and corsa's. Plus i have not had a negative comment yet about the small single piece of immitation wood finish on the dash.

 

That's my recommendation.

[topham]

Depends on how big you are really. I can't sit comfortably in a new corsa because the whole car is really laid backwards. I was in my friends and was having trouble really finding a good spot for the seat to see over the wheel reasonably and not be squished up against it. I have an old corsa and its perfect for me, but again its all about how big you are, probably just for the corsa tho.

The new clios are rocking tho and the swift is a nimble little car so I would pick one of those at the moment.

Try them out =) go find some dealers and test them, its the only way to really decide.

[Pinkbullet3]

:XD: It's nice that you get to choose a car for yourself. As stevepole mentioned, a few of us here are Americans and so we can't provide you with too many details on European automakers, but... how much time do we have until you have to make the final decision?

[____]

Firstly... Hellloooooo Ape. Haven't seen you in a long time.

 

 

Get a hilux dual cab. Not only is it indestructible, (watch the top gear episode on it, or read any review of the car) but it's extremely useful if you ever need it for camping. towing, moving large items etc.

 

You can get a bull bar to protect the front, and even if you do crash it chances are you can just bang it out with a hammer yourself because dents don't make it look terrible.

 

Insurance is cheap and it has good fuel economy.

Second... This I agree with. And if you can find it in a diesel.. even better. The petrol is good, but eh.. leaves much to be desired, especially if the engine ever finds itself underwater. But if you have no intention of taking it off the road.. stick with the petrol. Slightly more fuel cost, but better mileage iirc.

[Faux]

only car i really ever drive is a 07 civic. no complaints. if anything i learned to love the digital speedometer

[n00bfiterpk6]

out of the cars you have listed, id go for the swift sport. But i have never driven any of these (or seen many of the other ones around here in australia, although that Vauxhall is just a holden or something yea?)

 

I kinda love a nice vw golf though, especially an old VR6 or an R32.

[Faux]

 

I kinda love a nice vw golf though, especially an old VR6 or an R32.

black GTIs look so nice

[Skully]

I dunno anything about engine sizes, but if you can go for the Honda Civic, my brother had an r-type, that was sexy.

That's probably a stupid suggestion, but I know nothing of the technical side of cars.

[obfuscator]

I hate civic's with a passion.

 

And I know nothing about euro automakers, so can't help much.

 

Hyundai has been doing really well recently though.

[Faux]

i don't mind having a civic. the worst part is the fact that it's as common as corollas.

 

i want an s2k or a base bimmer when i get my first job out of uni

[Shovelmeface]

Civic Type R. (pre 2007 as the newest one is a piece of crap)

 

Good luck getting insurance on it though.

[Shovelmeface]

Go with something a bit different like I did.

 

Rover 25's are the direction I went:

[hide][/hide]

 

 

They don't look overly sporty but they are good cars. They have cheap insurance for what they are too, mine costs me around 1k a year, and that's after having an accident. But the best thing about them is that they are fairly uncommon in respect to clio's, peugeot's and corsa's. Plus i have not had a negative comment yet about the small single piece of immitation wood finish on the dash.

 

That's my recommendation.

 

My mate bought a '98 Rover 25 and the engine blew up within three weeks, lol.

[Ape]

Insurance companies wouldn't touch me on a Hilux, else I'd undoubtedly get a big jeep-thing. I'm quite tall, I've driven a Corsa and just found it ridiculously slow. The Civic would be a dream, especially a Type-R, but again, insurance companies would laugh. My girlfriend has a Rover 25, but they're getting old and I'm sure it's quite hard to repair them due to the liquidation of Rover or something? But that just may be me being over-thinking it. :P

 

I want to go test drive the Suzuki Swift and will hopefully like it. Bit small though, I was looking for a larger hatch-back.

 

Hey Rick, long time no speak. :P I'll make an effort to pop into #Darkwebz sometime soon. :D

[Iamdan]

Insurance companies wouldn't touch me on a Hilux, else I'd undoubtedly get a big jeep-thing.

 

You might want to call up and double check. Hiluxs aren't fast cars, and since minor scratches and dents don't look bad I really doubt many people would bother claiming on them.

[jemathonical]

You can't go wrong if you buy a ute. Bullbar, spotties, take the sides off the tray - Good rig.

[Ape]

Insurance companies wouldn't touch me on a Hilux, else I'd undoubtedly get a big jeep-thing.

 

You might want to call up and double check. Hiluxs aren't fast cars, and since minor scratches and dents don't look bad I really doubt many people would bother claiming on them.

 

It's not that it's fast, it's that it would do a heeeeell of alot of damage if I hit another car with it. :P I'd get a mitsibushi (sp?) Warrior if I got a jeep. I might ring up and find out though, but I doubt they'd consider it.

[mcneilp]

Insurance is a [bleep] in the UK. Buying the car is the cheap part lol. New drivers usually pay through the nose for basic cover.

[____]

It's not that it's fast, it's that it would do a heeeeell of alot of damage if I hit another car with it. :P I'd get a mitsibushi (sp?) Warrior if I got a jeep. I might ring up and find out though, but I doubt they'd consider it.

If you're keeping the Hilux stock, I see no problems with it. If, however, you want to add in a decent amount of lift, run say.. 31/33 inch tyres.. then you have potential problem, not just insurance but registration too. Seriously, they are no different to any other ute that has a 4x4 transfer... and if they give you trouble, you can always loophole it via your parent's insurance and list you as a driver... just underestimate how often you would be using it (eg: school and back.. or after school sports, etc). Something that only happens a few times a week, if that.

 

Problem solved? :)

 

 

And, if you can find the chat.. well done. I don't even know where it is these days :lol:

[Ape]

It's not that it's fast, it's that it would do a heeeeell of alot of damage if I hit another car with it. :P I'd get a mitsibushi (sp?) Warrior if I got a jeep. I might ring up and find out though, but I doubt they'd consider it.

If you're keeping the Hilux stock, I see no problems with it. If, however, you want to add in a decent amount of lift, run say.. 31/33 inch tyres.. then you have potential problem, not just insurance but registration too. Seriously, they are no different to any other ute that has a 4x4 transfer... and if they give you trouble, you can always loophole it via your parent's insurance and list you as a driver... just underestimate how often you would be using it (eg: school and back.. or after school sports, etc). Something that only happens a few times a week, if that.

 

Problem solved? :)

 

 

And, if you can find the chat.. well done. I don't even know where it is these days :lol:

 

Yeah, true. Well I'd probably go through my parents insurance anyways, it's too expensive otherwise. Any idea on the cost of running something like a Mitsibushi Warrior?

 

Ah, the chat's gone? :| Still keeping in touch with many of the DW crew?

[____]

There's a FB group for it, fairly sure the details are on there.. but that's OT. No idea on the running costs of the Warrior tho. Don't think AU has that.. or if we do it goes under a different model.