tallsteve

Not sure what mileage, could be high as course placements could be all over the country.

Ideally something very reliable, quick(ish!) or fun to drive and decent(35 mpg+) on fuel.

Budget is about 2-3K

Any thoughts?

Jonto

fiat punto gt

RON

get an old Mini for say £100, p1ss the rest up against the wall, at least that way you won't be wasting your student loan on beer!

RS Grant

Fiesta XR2i 16v Zetec... With a couple of mods, quickish, and returns a fair MPG!!

Cheers,
Grant

Brun

To this day the best cheap car i have driven is the AX GT.
Group 9 ins and is quick.
Cheaps as chips for a good low miler H plate (pre GTi)

LanciaChris

Lancia Beta HPE Volumex - big enough to carry your stuff to and from uni in, fast enough to run rings around a fair amount of modern stuff, handles superbly, gets plenty of attention. Its purely coincidence im considering selling one of mine at the moment. Doesnt break unless you want it to.

ps. just finished my degree at aberystwyth. Speaking from experience, its the best option.

tallsteve

Hi All,

Kinda surprised at some of the recomendations. Are Fiat Punto GT's that reliable?

Think that the AX and Mini are out as I don't fit in them!!!

Never heard of the Lancia, wouldn't know one if it bit me!! Again, thought that older Lancia's are a bit flaky.. I'm not mechanically minded, just want to fill it up, check tyres, oil and water and go...

Any more ideas?

Freak

Novas SRi (must be the injected one- late K reg)
Quite fast (for a 1.4) find a good rot free one for not too much.

PG

above all its a Nova

zoomzoom

Try an older Honda (Civic/Accord) or an older Subaru, I don't know. I see a dencent amount of these around Univ. of Florida (100,000+ students) whenevern I go into town, even w/ all the humidity from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic rusting everything in sight.

Jonto

I did 35k in my Fiat Punto in 2 years and in never, repeat never broke ! I was running around 20 psi and 160bhp for that 2 years aswell. Most reliable car i ever owned !

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

If you want a good cheapo, any late 80's/ early 90's Peugeot, 309's are really tough and nice to drive, low tech and if it does break, leave it where it stops and buy another !

Dont be tempted by daft stuff while at uni as it will cost you money when you (I assume) can least afford it, if you want a bit of poke, a MK2 Golf GTI is a cheap way of getting some performance.

Lancia HPE Volumex ?

Of the seven or so still running, how many are for sale ?
Arent they usually to be seen rusting at the back of rural car traders pitches ? Where would you get bits for it, why would you want one ?

Roojai

If you've not got too much stuff then an NA MK2 MR2 should do nicely

Andy Tang

iTrader: (3)

I'd say a mk2 Golf! I bit of performance from an 8v, or go for a driver (1.8 carb but more descrete than a GTI and cheaper insurance)

Also parts are easy to find, either new (from places like German, French & Swedish) or secondhand (from ebay, breakers yards or people just breaking MOT failures)

My first car was a mk2 1.3C and that was fine when I was 17, and more recently I ran a mk2 Golf GTI 8v. Both were fantastic cars for different reasons!

P1Fanatic

You want something reliable so you dont end up forking out for repairs whilst at uni. IMHO that doesnt include Vauxhall Novas - they are absolute crap and so far behind the jap cars of that time its embarassing. Try something like a mazda 323, cheap but can find em with aircon, pas, e/windows etc.

Are you mainly worried about performance or is it just practicality, reliability, cheap to insure etc?

If its your first car you cant go wrong with a small CC fiesta, cheap as chips, fairly reliable, ins cost is low, if it does go wrong parts are cheapest you will find. Anything over a 1.2 will rape you for ins (at 18 my nova 1.2 cost £670 to insure).

Simon.

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Yeah MK2, I just put two new wings on mine for 44 quid !

bricol

I too ran an HPE while at Uni - as well as a Coupe on odd occasions - excellent motors! Although that was 10 yrs ago!

I reckon a 3 door Peugeot 106 XT would be pretty good - 1100cc - cheap insurance, sips petrol, still winds up pretty quick, goes round corners in entertaining manner - ie fast and controllable. Bits are cheap.

And I've got a J-reg one to sell! With 10mths MOT and tax.

Bri

workshy_fopp

This is a bit sensible, but what about getting finance on something like a Mini One?
You will have zero running costs for years. No need to budget for tyres, servicing, breakdown recovery, cam belt services, any of that crap.
I know your budget is 3k, but almost anything you buy now for 3k and put lots of miles on, will only be worth a grand or less in two or three years time + running costs.