Got something to say or just want fewer pesky ads? Join us... 😊

[Help] Recommendations for a cheap car please







Goldstone1976

We Got Calde in!!
Helpful Moderator
NSC Patreon
Apr 30, 2013
13,766
Herts
If you put yourself down as the main driver on a policy for a vehicle you're never going to drive, simply to get cheaper insurance for her, you might find you're on dodgy ground anyway. The insurer can theoretically invalidate a policy in the event of a claim if they think you're fronting...

True enough. To be clear - I would drive it. Even, conceivably more than she would. But I take your point.
 




Gary Leeds

Well-known member
May 5, 2008
1,526
Which model have you got? I get 45 out of my 1.2 Comfort, and that's just doing a daily 10 mile round trip to work.

Never done any prolonged long runs, so don't know how that affects things.

I've got a 2001 1.2 Corsa comfort and do 120 miles every day to and from work and it costs me about £11 per day in fuel (admittedly petrol up here is £1.22 a litre at the moment) so I get about 60mpg from it. Most of the drive is motorway though and if you go faster than 70 the rev counter hits the 5000 rpm mark :)
 






jackanada

Well-known member
Jul 19, 2011
3,151
Brighton
Got an incredibly elderly (98) Renault scenic upon the recent rapid expansion of family.
Fantastic family car. Surprisingly roomy, lots of storage, rear seats can be folded down, flipped forward or taken out. Small enough footprint to park in towns without difficulty.
Get a newer one than me mind.
 


LlcoolJ

Mama said knock you out.
Oct 14, 2009
12,982
Sheffield
I don't own a small car, but through work I've driven most of them. Once or twice every month I fly to Dublin / Belfast / Edinburgh / Glasgow, etc and always have a class 1 car for the day.

In my experience VW's are the best built of the main (small car) marques, by some distance, but they are expensive for what you get. If I were looking to buy a car (any size) I would 100% be looking at the VW 'sister' brands of Seat and especially Skoda, to see if they retain the quality, at a better price.
This. I'm a massive VW fan but if I was looking for a budget runaround then I'd probably go Skoda or Seat.

The Polo is an awesome small car but you pay more than you do for a Fabia or whatever the Seat equivalent is.

My mum and my father in law have both had Fabias in the past and they were perfectly decent cars.
 




LlcoolJ

Mama said knock you out.
Oct 14, 2009
12,982
Sheffield
I don't own a small car, but through work I've driven most of them. Once or twice every month I fly to Dublin / Belfast / Edinburgh / Glasgow, etc and always have a class 1 car for the day.

In my experience VW's are the best built of the main (small car) marques, by some distance, but they are expensive for what you get. If I were looking to buy a car (any size) I would 100% be looking at the VW 'sister' brands of Seat and especially Skoda, to see if they retain the quality, at a better price.
Missed the last bit. Skoda/Seat can't compete at the top end (Golf GTI / R etc) but for the type of car the OP is after they're probably perfect
 




Knocky's Nose

Mon nez est en Valenciennes..
May 7, 2017
4,133
Eastbourne




boik

Well-known member
Love Japanese imports...on my second van from Japan, was a toss up between the Alphard and Elgrand, I went with the Elgrand, amazing bit of kit, had it 4 years now, great family car...

Picking up our Alphard next Friday. It's been converted to a camper. We converted the Previa ourselves as a camper but just would like slightly more space. Did you do the import yourself or through an agent?
 


Cowfold Seagull

Fan of the 17 bus
Apr 22, 2009
21,578
Cowfold
My wife wrote off her car in an accident last week, (fortunately she escaped without a scratch), but it left her urgently needing a replacement so that she could get to work in Dorking. She didn't want to spend silly money on a new car, so we went online to try and find another Ford C-Max that wouldn't cost the earth.

We came acrioss a few examples at United Car Centre in Portsmouth, went down there today, and returned home with a 2008, Ford C-Max 1.6 Style, which with a small discount for cash, set her back the grand total of 3,200 pounds. Two owners and only 74,000 miles on the clock, it has recently had a full service and was MOT'd just last month. The odd scratch here and there, but for a ten year old car that's only to be expected.

Very early days I know, but so far so good.
 


Cheshire Cat

The most curious thing..
Aygo.

Mrs Cat has one and swears by it. Easy run around, and did Cheshire to Sussex on motorway with no problem. Tax is free, low insurance, very reliable and last for ever. Not the cheapest to buy though.
 




BigBod

Well-known member
Dec 12, 2014
350
Picking up our Alphard next Friday. It's been converted to a camper. We converted the Previa ourselves as a camper but just would like slightly more space. Did you do the import yourself or through an agent?

I could have saved a ton of money doing it myself but I bought off a guy in Kent that imports, took the easy route but now I know a bit more about how it works I would probably have a go at doing it myself next time..mind, after 4 years I'm still loving the one I've got and can't see any reason to change any time soon.
 


Brighthelmstone

Well-known member
Nov 9, 2011
918
Burgess Hill
Thanks so far everyone :thumbsup:

Another question - this time about insurance.

If I'm the registered keeper and main driver, with my better half as a named driver, the insurance is ~ £300.

If she's the registered keeper and main driver, with me as a named driver, it's ~£650.

I assume the difference is largely due to my NCD. I know that if I'm the keeper/main driver she won't build any NCD of her own.

Q: If we plump for me being the main driver/keeper and either of us prang "her" car, does that mean I'd lose NCD on my existing car too (even though I hadn't claimed on that policy), or only on "her" new car?

Afraid you can only apply the NCD once. The insurers work in one of two ways. Some will ask for evidence, then when you provide it they will doublecheck with the previous insurer that they have cancelled the policy.Others will do nothing until you make a claim, then do the checks. As Edna says thats when you can get into trouble, at the least they will demand the extra premium and wipe out your NCD. I guess that technically they could argue that your not insured as (in their eyes) you fraudently claimed your bonus twice. Chatting to the Underwriters here and they take the first stance but know of others that are more 'creative' at getting out of paying.
 


TSB

Captain Hindsight
Jul 7, 2003
17,666
Lansdowne Place, Hove
I’ve been tasked with finding my partner a cheap run around. Not knowing much about the latest opinions on such matters, I thought I’d ask for suggestions here...

Budget: £2.5k tops.

Requirements:

Cheap to insure for a new driver
High MPG
Cheap to service/repair
Reliable
Small
Min 4 seats (but 2 door is ok)

Any help would be appreciated.

I was always under the impression that you were minted?
 











Paying the bills

Latest Discussions

Paying the bills

Paying the bills

Paying the bills

Albion and Premier League latest from Sky Sports


Top
Link Here