Well, I am after a new car and have about £7000 to play with. I can't afford to insure a Scoob or any car over group 10 which some what limits my options.

I have been leaving my options open so far, I have taken out a 3dr Renault Megane 1.6 Sport Coupe for a test drive and was very impressed, I have also taken out a Saxo VTR and was quite impressed but the young, cap wearing boy racer’s image (sorry to generalise!) worries me.

I have also been looking been thinking about the following:
Pug 206 1.6 XS
Pug 306 1.6
Audi A3 1.6 or 1.8 (Insurance permitting and if I can find one in my price range - unlikely)
Alfa 147 (once again insurance permitting and if I can find one in my price range – unlikely)
Volkswagen Golf mk4 1.6 or 1.8

The criteria for the above cars was:
Small-ish car (don’t need a big car)
Reliable
Got some go (all around the 100+ bhp mark)
Look good in 3 dr models (I don’t want or need a 5 dr)
Come with decent standard extra’s (e/w, s/r, Alloy’s, Air Bags, pas, abs, leather, A/C etc.
Most fit under my 7k budget
Most fit under insurance group 10

If any one has got any suggestions on cars that may fit what I want or have any advice on the cars listed above it will all come in very handy.

Many Thanks
Darren

 

I would suggest a Ford Focus 1.8 Zetec (possibly a 2.0 esp if you could get one for the price)
Cracking handling for a fwd, decent equipment levels and only group 6 or 7 insurance..

 

Yup,

Focus 1.8/2.0 pretty sound choice - but a bit slab sided and bland to look at though (IMO), and build quality generally isn't fab.

Rover 218iS 16v is great ! 3 door looks great too ! Build quality generally a lot better than a Ford and it has the fab K-Series 1.8 litre, 120bhp engine out of the MGF and Lotus Elise.

You should be able to find a late one (around 99 S/T) with naff all mileage on it for under £7k no probs.

You get sports seats, 15" 5-spoke rims, 6 spkr stereo, PAS, ABS, leccy sunroof, wheel mounted stereo controls, front fogs, height adjust on drivers seat, usually all c/coded spoilers etc.. It'll manage 0-60 in around 8.5 secs and go onto over 120mph too.. It'd happily stuff a standard VTR, Focus 1.8/2.0, Megane 1.6 etc.. and sounds great above 4k revs (where it really comes into its own) and it all falls into group 9 !! Hooray !

Forget all that banter you hear about 'head gasket trouble' this mainly occured on under-serviced vehicles and on some early MGF's due to poor cooling and ventilation of the engine. The only problem with it is that its a bit snug inside if you regularly carry more than 2 peeps and headroom isn't brill if you are well over 6ft in height (like me !)

I'll probably get slagged off for liking a Rover on here but I really rated mine. The fact that it was very understated and the handling/grip and looks on some people's faces when they were left at the lights, was great fun !!

The later 25 had the silly Steptronic gears and was a bit pointless and also the build quality on these wasn't as good apparently.

I have a 200Vi now and that's even more fun... the Scoob's on the Xmas list !!

Seat's Ibiza 1.8 GTI 16v was fun and if you can find a good one (which isn't easy) they are worth a look - they are group 12 unfortunately but are faster than most Golf GTIs that are 3 or 4 groups higher !! They currently go for around £3.5 to £5.5k for a 1996/7 P.

Hope this helps you..

John

 

Why not brand new,have you thought of a Toyota yaris sport you may be able to pick one up for 7 grand if you go to one of them car supermarkets

 

Thanks,

Focus is worth bearing in mind. I'll look into that.

I put the same post on EVO and got a lot of replies suggesting that I buy a slightly older car (Pug 106GTI) and put a bit towards the insurance hike. Is that a good idea?

Thanks again
Darren

 

What about this...




You've already said Pug 106 GTi and I am selling mine.

Superb car, but I won't give you a load of babble. Go and find some independant magazine reviews of the 106 (from Autocar, Evo, etc..) then you'll see just how good they actually are!

Let me know if you're interested!

 

I'll let you you know Rich.

Lets see what my insurance company says. hmmmmm

Darren

 

or what about this...


It's my mates 8-Valve Ibiza Cupra (bloody quick and very rare), really nice condition and v.low mileage etc. My mate Bob is selling it and you'd get it for about £5k.

ta,
Matt

 

I am still looking for a car. I will have a think and get beack to you

Thanks
Darren