Young People and Cars

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tyred

Squire
Location
Ireland
A basic model Peugeot 106/Citreon Saxo would be my pick for budget motoring.

Cheap to buy and fuel, child's play to service, parts are much cheaper than anything Japanese or German, they are as rust resistant as you get and good to drive with a ride quality which will make mincemeat of any comparable Jap or German car. Just find a decent one that hasn't been messed about with by the Max Power brigade. The XU series engine was never refined but will rattle away indefinitely if you don't run it low on coolant or oil, synchromesh can get weak on old Pugs with age but the gearbox will last forever if you use mechanical sympathy and don't try to force it into gear. Front suspension bushes can wear but are cheap and easy to replace. The one thing to really watch on any old Pug is the condition of the trailing arm bearings at the back. Be wary of squeaking over bumps or thumps or rattles from the back and stand behind the car and check for excessive camber.
 

SteCenturion

I am your Father
Dacia .... deffo a Dacia :-)
Are they on the list of terrorist splinter cells ? :whistle:
 
Do people still run old bangers?
If you do, select something with cheap and easy to find spares.
Our second car is a Fiat Panda, the present shape
It's just gone 2 years old, with about 9, 700 miles showing
When we decide to sell it (soon as possible, I hope!!), my intention is to either replace it with a Skoda CitoGo, or a Fabia (to match my Octavia estate)

That said, if the heart was allowed to rule, & tell the financial side of the brain, I'd be looking for a VGC (or rebuilt) Morris 1000 Traveller
That way, we can run it, & maintain it myself
Plus, when (if?) the time came to sell it, there shouldn't be too much difference between what we'd pay & the price we'd get for it?


A basic model Peugeot 106/Citreon Saxo would be my pick for budget motoring
.
Sadly, have you seen the way they 'fold' in a serious RTC
Citroen/Peugeot Origami, would be a better model name

I've seen the Fire Service, & ParaMedic photographs that they sometimes bring to Hospital, to help the A&E Doctors better understand the level of impact
 

bigjim

Legendary Member
Location
Manchester. UK
I don't think you can beat Japanese for quality and reliability. Japanes parts are not that expensive these days as the roads are full of Japanese cars. Not that you need the parts that much. My water pump was £15. I would not touch anything French with a bargepole. The really early stuff was ok/good mechainicaly, but later cars full of sensors and electronics can be a nightmare.
 

Brandane

Legendary Member
Older Toyota gets my vote. I've got a 2006 Corolla and have now had it for 7 years. 93k miles on the clock. I change the oil and filter every 7 or 8k miles (simple diy job) and other routine maintenance as and when needed. Other than that, it had to get new front wishbones for its last MOT and that's been it. Even the bulbs are original apart from one headlight and a reg. plate light.
It drives like new and insurance is low grouping. Can't recommend it highly enough.
Buying new? Unless you have money to throw away it's a mugs game IMHO and still no guarantee of trouble free motoring.
 

Jody

Stubborn git
Buy something cheap in the lowest insurance bracket poissible and run it for 2-3 years whilst getting some no claims. New quality cars cost lots of quality money to repair and service and its inevitable that it will get knocked and scraped.

Something for a couple of grand outright is less than a newer car will deprciate in the same time scale. Doesn't matter how new the car they all still go wrong.
 

dim

Guest
Location
Cambridge UK
I have 2 old cars

A Lexus LS400 .... never misses a beat and I paid £1250 for it (in pristine condition, 102 000 miles on the clock and full service history. I use this as my 'Sunday' car or when we go on long trips .... it's a V8 so a bit heavy on fuel for town driving. It also costs a fair bit for a service but that is only done once a year. The car was originally bought for £52 000 (the receipt came with the log book)

My 2nd car is a Volvo S80 .... 97 000 miles on the clock, I'm the 2nd owner and it has never ever given me any problems ... I paid £600 for it from one of my clients who had it from new ... spotless, leather seats, all the bells and whistles (cd player, aircon, etc etc)

My daughter also just passed her driver's licence (3rd attempt). I told her that she can have the Volvo for free but she refuses and wants something smaller and more 'sporty' and newer. Kids never listen :wacko:
 

Sixmile

Guru
Location
N Ireland
One of the most important things with a banger - other than going German, Japanese or Korean (and avoiding French or Italian at all costs) - is a service history.

Ah the French, always good for a bit of badge bashing. I must say my Citroen C4 (1.6hdi) is hitting 100,000 now and hasn't given me an inch of bother in 50,000 miles bar the usual wear and tear. It's the longest I've ever kept a car. Mine's the Loeb version and is a lovely place to sit.

I would tend to avoid German due to numerous and costly previous experiences but I agree with Japanese or Korean. Our current and previous Civic have given little bother, a bit more than the Citroen, but not much really.
 

Chris S

Legendary Member
Location
Birmingham
Do people still run old bangers?
If you do, select something with cheap and easy to find spares.
Like a Nissan Micra K12. They don't even have timing belts to replace, just a chain that lasts the life of the car.
They usually last 120-130,000 miles before they fail the emissions test. I'm on my fourth, none of them had less than 90,000 mile on the clock when I bought them. By the time they've reached that mileage the brakes, clutch, exhaust, etc will have already been replaced and will last the remaining live of the car.
 

Noru

Well-Known Member
One thing to watch out for on the finance/rental/lease options is the finance provider, as a younger person they might refuse due to lack of detailed credit history, non-permenant job or lowish wage etc.

I bought a 54 reg 1.4 Ford Fiesta with 19k on the clocks 5 years ago. I paid £900 deposit plus a ~£3400 loan. After interest I've the 3 year deal it probably cost me £5000+ in total for the car. My priority at the time was low mileage & ok insurance.
After 5 years it's now at 101k and returns 40mpg and has been fairly reliable. But the cost of the finance hurt over the 3 years due to working temporary fixed contracts and brief employment gaps. Now I've a permenant more stable job finance would make more sense.

If I could go back in time, I'd of used a £1000 car swapping and changing as they needed big repair bills rather than fixing. I'm sure it would've cost less over the 5 year period.

Since Diahatsu have left the UK there are cheap cars available; low mileage with service history, fairly good mpg, low insurance groups and some like the Charade 1.0L are only £30 a year road tax. If my Fiesta was to bite the dust in the next year I'd probably get one.
 
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Milkfloat

An Peanut
Location
Midlands
Banger'nomics is a great game to play. For someone who can get cheap insurance it can be very affordable to run a £250 car until it fails an MOT or just dies. The problem being young and with no history is that you need to be really careful with insurance - that £250 car could suddenly cost £3250 with insurance a year, whilst the new car with free insurance for a year could work out cheaper. Don't be afraid of a 10-15 year old car, they are made a hell of a lot better than 25 years ago.
 

Dave 123

Legendary Member
Recently my lad has purchased a 54 plate Corsa. I told him about getting something new(ish) for the less trouble option- I like that.
But he only wanted to spend 5-600 quid as he wants to take a month off work and go to Japan next year,that's what he'd like to do with his money. His choice.
 

skudupnorth

Cycling Skoda lover
Do people still run old bangers?
If you do, select something with cheap and easy to find spares.
Well I run an old car with a few scuffs but I would not say she is a banger. Also I chose to run an old car due to being very cheap to fix if required. Bought my 21 year Skoda 3 years ago for the terrible sum of £150 and that came with a boot full of brand new spares which I either kept for the future or sold on.......a good deal because most of them paid for the car !
 

mustang1

Legendary Member
Location
London, UK
I'd go the quality route. Maybe try finding one of those places that give one year free insurance or something, might help with the costs. Though I guess they don't give a discount in the car in that case.

All subjective though, idk what kinda price range we are talking about. I just wouldn't want him to be stranded if he's about to go out on Friday night then has a problem with the motor.
 
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