A What car thread?!

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In about a month i am going to take a trip to a place like motorpoint or carcraft and im looking to buy a car (on finance)

I will be looking to spend at max 3.5-4k.

Here is my criteria:

Medium sized i.e. not a clio size but also not 5 series size was thinking something like a golf/seat leon size.

preferably be diesel

New as possible

Obviously if an extra 1k would make a world of difference it would be a consideration but the cheaper the better

I want to say i would like an MG ZR but i will await the abuse on that. Im at a loss as to what to go for, i have wanted a new car for a long time and next month i start work so i though why the hell not.

Normally i hate reading these threads, however im sure i can get some good advice.

Im 20 been driving for 3 years can always go on the parents insurance if its something that may cost a lot on my own!

ta!
 
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Finance on a cheap car? Hmmmm, make sure you can actually afford a car, usually finance is taken out to get something more expensive not a cheap car.

Go for something like.. blimey, this is actually a REALLY hard budget - it's not QUITE enough for really decent stuff like the Focus TDCi but it's really too much to spending on an old 306.

Maybe a Seat Toledo TDi actually, thats a good suggestion.

Or don't stack yourself up with a big loan and spend £2k on a 2000 Mondeo 2.0 with all the toys, barely any older than the hatchback you'd get for £4k on finance and smaller than a 5 Series.
 
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[TW]Fox said:
Finance on a cheap car? Hmmmm, make sure you can actually afford a car, usually finance is taken out to get something more expensive not a cheap car.

Go for something like.. blimey, this is actually a REALLY hard budget - it's not QUITE enough for really decent stuff like the Focus TDCi but it's really too much to spending on an old 306.

Maybe a Seat Toledo TDi actually, thats a good suggestion.

Or don't stack yourself up with a big loan and spend £2k on a 2000 Mondeo 2.0 with all the toys, barely any older than the hatchback you'd get for £4k on finance and smaller than a 5 Series.

I do like seats i often drive my sisters leon se tdi which is lovely.
 
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Marshmule said:
When i start work ill be doing aprox 150-200

Less than 10,000 miles a year, so below average mileage.

You don't need a diesel, it's not going to save you any real amount in fuel, a few hundred quid a year tops.

Go for a petrol car, you'll have a lot more choice - get a nice Focus 1.6-2.0 Zetec for this sort of money.
 
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I am going to not advise what car but what budget.

Places like car craft make their money on the finance deals. They are not overly interested in selling you a decent motor, more so a fat finance package.

If you were to buy a car outright, how much could you afford.

I have only ever bought <£1k cars and every time I have been gob smacked by what is available for around £1k budget! Some real bargains!
 
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Tesla said:
I am going to not advise what car but what budget.

Places like car craft make their money on the finance deals. They are not overly interested in selling you a decent motor, more so a fat finance package.

If you were to buy a car outright, how much could you afford.

I have only ever bought <£1k cars and every time I have been gob smacked by what is available for around £1k budget! Some real bargains!

My only worry is buying something that is obviously older and then going to need a lot of time and money spent on it, thats what i thought with a car from there i may get some sort of warranty etc with it
 
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Marshmule said:
My only worry is buying something that is obviously older and then going to need a lot of time and money spent on it, thats what i thought with a car from there i may get some sort of warranty etc with it

One not worth the paper it's written I would suspect. You don't really have the money for a nearly new car with cast iron warranty.
 
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AcidHell2 said:
don't do finance, get a bank loan out, It'll be a lot cheaper..
Not always the case.

Ask yourself this.

If you buy a newer car on finance, you will obviosuly have a monthly outgoing to cover this.

What if the car then needs some work done. All of a sudden you need to spend money on finance and car repair.

OK, a newer car should cost less to run, however, all cars cost money to maintain. Just because it's newer certainly doesnt mean no maintenance costs.
 
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Tesla said:
Not always the case.

Ask yourself this.

If you buy a newer car on finance, you will obviosuly have a monthly outgoing to cover this.

What if the car then needs some work done. All of a sudden you need to spend money on finance and car repair.

OK, a newer car should cost less to run, however, all cars cost money to maintain. Just because it's newer certainly doesnt mean no maintenance costs.

It doesn't mean you wont have maintenance costs no. I have a regular outgoing for my bank loan on my car, plus tomorrow i'm getting tyres and brakes done (big £££).

However that doesn't detract from the "bank loan = cheaper than carcraft finance". Bank loan will almost ALWAYS be cheaper than bloated finance deals, im paying under 6% on mine.
 
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I'd spend up to £2000 or so, get something that's 5 or 6 years old, in good condition. A Focus, or Golf, something like that.

Honestly - 5 or 6 years old is still pretty new in car terms, it's not going to cost anything more to maintain than something that's 3 years old. It's only really 10+ year old cars with high mileages that things can start going wrong.

Plus, if you buy the car outright, then little £100 odd jobs here and there aren't the end of the earth, because you don't have a finance payment going out each month.
 
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timbob said:
I'd spend up to £2000 or so, get something that's 5 or 6 years old, in good condition. A Focus, or Golf, something like that

£2000 for a 5 or 6 year old Golf or Focus?

Whoa, dream on. Try well over £3k for that. The only 5-6 year old cars for £2k are stuff like Mondeo's and inherently gash stuff like Matiz's, IMHO.

A 2000 Golf is approaching £5k..
 
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According to parkers guide you should get a half decent '99 focus 1.6 for around the £3k mark however they are snapped up damn quickly at this kind of price (the decent lower mileage ones anyway). I reckon your looking at nearer to £3.5-3.8k for a decent 1.6 99-01 1.6 zetec (which is what I'm on the market for :p)

For your said budget and requirements I definitely thing a Focus is going to be your best bet. Lots of the market so you should be able to find a good one without too much hassle. Then there’s the benefits of cheap car insurance (1.6 zetec is ins. grp. 5 (not 6 like parker says)) and cheap well stocked car parts!
 
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Soldato
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If I were in your shoes now I wouldn't spend that much on a first car. When I got my first job from Uni, I got a 7.5k loan to pay off my uni debts and spend 4 grand on a car. It took me 4 years at ~ £200 a month to pay it off, and that was a lot of money when I'd just started work.

I still think you can get a decent car though. For 2 grand, you can get a decent 5-6 year old car. You can't get a MG ZR - but you can get an identical car with a few different bits of trim and not such a cool badge.

 
Soldato
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get something german or japanese.

there should be an FAQ about "what car to get". make sure its from either germany or japan and within your budget and youll be a happy chap.

i cant beleive these people are trying to trick you into buying a rover ffs :p
 
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Matt82 said:
get something german or japanese.

there should be an FAQ about "what car to get". make sure its from either germany or japan and within your budget and youll be a happy chap.

i cant beleive these people are trying to trick you into buying a rover ffs :p

Give over, a golf for the same money as a focus will be older and have higher mileage. VWs aren't exactly the pillars of reliability they used to be either, and the Focus is very reliable. Factor in the fact tht the focus is a far better car to drive than the golf and you probably won't be a happy chappy if you choose the golf!
 
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