I don't want to state the bloody obvious here or anything, but you know how you crashed the car you had within like a month of passing your test, do you really think that spending that much money on a MORE powerful, MORE expensive car is a good idea?

I feel I'm probably wasting my breath, but it'd be better to get something cheap (you can get a 2L V6 Mazda 323 for under a grand!) and save the money for when you have some NCB and you're less likely to end up in another bush

Quote from Forbin :

Ford Mustang, Chevy Camaro, Pontiac Firebird/Trans Am, Holden Monaro, Holden Commodore.

Or a pickup truck.

Or a bike. I know you've already got one but if you want something quick and fun, nothing beats a nice bike. Maybe S14 will sell you his.

he needs something insurable and practical.... and they call me a noob


would you not buy a gsr lancer and just do a transplant ?

or just buy a toyota starlet glanza ?? 1.3 turbo, needs some suspention tweeking and a turbo timer but its quick all the same...

haha jakg lost his reputation of driving skills for driving n a bush
Get beemer, some of them are really cheap and still good +rwd

Quote from gezmoor :

Haven't read all the posts so appologies if it's already been suggested.

How about a Clio? I used to have an 1.4RT (93 model - you should be able to get something newer), that was sub 12 sec 0-60, nimble and fun to drive. No idea what kind of condition you'd get one for under 2k though.

My missus has a '01 Clio 1.5 diesel, the common rail one, she paid well under £3K for it, it does close to 70mpg, costs £35 a year to tax, and is MUCH faster than my Pug 307

Quote from danowat :

My missus has a '01 Clio 1.5 diesel, the common rail one, she paid well under £3K for it, it does close to 70mpg, costs £35 a year to tax, and is MUCH faster than my Pug 307

is it the auto box by any chance ?


quite nippy as all the clios are actually...


but its too new a model, the older ones, you dont have to remove any body panels, the new ones you do !!


pain in the bum imho

No, it's a manual.

hmmm, everyone wants the auto version since cpt. slows rave reveiws...

Quote from Dajmin :

I don't want to state the bloody obvious here or anything, but you know how you crashed the car you had within like a month of passing your test, do you really think that spending that much money on a MORE powerful, MORE expensive car is a good idea?

Like I said - it wasn't really my fault and a faster car wouldn't really of been any worse.

I'm just looking at the options available to me atm...

EDIT Yeah swapping engines - my insurer will love me...

"It wasn't my fault" - I bet no new driver has ever tried that one before

Quote from Jakg :

EDIT Yeah swapping engines - my insurer will love me...

Depends which car it comes from. For example dropping the 2L from a Mondeo into my old Fiesta would barely raise insurance as they are (I think) in the same insurance group (9).

Sensible Idea:

If you want something that does 0-60 in sub-11 seconds, gets 35-40mpg (which is good!) and is cheap to insure, get a 1.6 Ford Focus. Go for the Zetec model as it has the "sporty" suspension setup, unlike the LX and Ghia.

You really do not need anything quicker, and you won't get better fuel economy without buying a diesel.

I would suggest a 1.6 Puma, but the insurance would kill you. I'm 19 now and still pay £1300 FC a year.

Quote from TiJay :

I would suggest a 1.6 Puma, but the insurance would kill you. I'm 19 now and still pay £1300 FC a year.

Jebus, it never fails to amaze me how much insurance costs for young-uns

If you want a car that is cheap and great fun to drive its the old mini. You feel very close to the machine when you drive one.

They might not be "fast" by current standards but that just misses the point, the mini is all about the fun in corners

The Puma is a prime candidate for high insurance, being a popular choice for the boy racer, 2 door hothatch and still fairly new. I prefer the Cougar, it's slightly bigger and I bet it's still cheaper to insure because it's less common.

I like my car not just because both the car and the insurance were (relatively) cheap, but also because you don't see many of them on the roads and it's one of the few cars of that age I actually like the shape of.

Peugeot 206, Opel Corsa, Ford Fiesta?

Quote from Dajmin :

"It wasn't my fault" - I bet no new driver has ever tried that one before

Well to be honest I if i'm on a single track road with a car coming the other way fast, on ice, I had two choices - hit him or beach it (and do little damage).

Just got a quote on this bad-boy - £3k a year TPF&T!

When you're looking for insurance are you only doing it for yourself or are you including your parents on it? When I insured my car it was going to be ~£1600 a year for just me but came down to ~£1000 for me as the policy holder and my parents as named drivers.

You do realise that car has 180BHP! What do you expect?

Quote from TiJay :

Sensible Idea:

If you want something that does 0-60 in sub-11 seconds, gets 35-40mpg (which is good!) and is cheap to insure, get a 1.6 Ford Focus. Go for the Zetec model as it has the "sporty" suspension setup, unlike the LX and Ghia.

You really do not need anything quicker, and you won't get better fuel economy without buying a diesel.

I'd agree with that. I have a 2003 (03 plate) Focus LX 1.6 - cost me £5,000 about 1 1/2 years ago. I'm 20 now, insurance (fully comp) cost me £750 (1 year NCB), but with multi car (Admiral) it's £600. Last year with no NCB it was £900 with Elephant.

The suspension on the LX isn't bad at all (I've never driven a zetec so couldn't tell you the difference), it's still great around corners and brilliant fun to drive. Nomatter how hard I drive it ('eco-drive' or full revs drive), I get about the same fuel milage to a full tank (20-30 miles difference). It's a great car for country lanes and motorways, comfortable and very easy to drive. To a full tank of fuel (which is about £40 at current prices) I can get around around 350 miles.

I am calling BS on the "sporty" suspension setup on a Zetec, I had a Zetec S mondeo, and apart from the big wheels, I am pretty sure the rest of it was the same as all the other ones.

Quote from WhizzkidOne :

You do realise that car has 180BHP! What do you expect?

It was worth a shot - £1,500 for that car seems crazy cheap.

Quote from Jakg :

It was worth a shot - £1,500 for that car seems crazy cheap.

And cars like that will get cheaper, I saw a full spec V8 Lexus for £700 the other day.

People just can't afford to run cars like that anymore, but if you can afford it, there are some SERIOUS bargains to be had.

Dan the Mondeo and Focus are two completely different chassis... I donno what the difference in trim levels are though. I didn't think you could get suspension upgrades unless you with the RS package. The ST package only gives a HP increase and a change to the powersteering rack. Different wheels, which would help with cornering, but geometry and stiffness remained the same.

It is a buyers market ATM, but thats only because nobody has any huge amounts to cash to spend! On that note WTS 2005 Dodge SRT-4 ACR =) It's probably one of the few cars in the states that hasn't lost it's value...

Regardless of the chassis, I still think the zetec is just a trim and has no mechanical improvements

Quote from danowat :

Regardless of the chassis, I still think the zetec is just a trim and has no mechanical improvements

Yer tis just a trim level these days.