Thanks all. My ex-wife drives a Toyota so not a popular choice with my fiancée (nor my eldest son!) so I won't be experiencing that famous reliability. I'll have a look into all suggestions. Started to get very excited for what it'll mean to the family and to my choice of routes 
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Help wanted: Car for new driver?
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Posted 2 years ago #
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so I won't be experiencing that famous reliability.
No offence but I'm not sure I could sanely rule out cars because people I dislike own them?!
Posted 2 years ago # -
Buy a Toyota or a Mondeo estate and everyone will try climbing in late at night in towns or at traffic lights. You have been warned.
Ps. Toyota famous for their reliability? Oh yes and VW famous for their reliability.....yeah right. Ever brand is similar. Its advertising and perception. You might not know someone who has had something go wrong with their Toyota but thats because you dont know anyone dull or retired in your life.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Nothing wrong with French cars
I had the misfortune to a own a Citroen BX Diesel estate that was probably one of the worst cars in the world EVER!!!! When I swapped that for something else i swore NEVER to own another french car while there was still a hole in my arse....
....however, I broke that pledge and now own a Clio 172 with 106,000 on the clock and it is probably the best car I've ever had. The dealers are crap, the interior is not the last word in luxury/solidity and certain well known shortcomings are best avoided, but after a few years of VW (old and crap interior) Skoda (very good, cheap as chips family car) and BMWMINI ownership (very nice, but after you've pressed all the buttons, it's still an over-designed, very big city car, and dealers were the worst of all!) I find it's best to first find what you need and choose a car based on that and not on someone else's idea of what a good car is
Probably not best for you, but if you ever need a scarily rapid, fast-road/trackday car a renaultsport clio is good value for money
I'd be looking for cheap insurance and running costs, and adequate seating for all of those burdens on the world-at-large children 
that you have. can't think of anything better than the 206 SW at the moment, but just be sure to find a good one and enjoy, it's only a car. so a tool for a job.P.S. Olly, is that a pic at 24/12 last year? looks familiar.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Hit the North 1 trusty rusty
cant imagine my 206 is too easy to work on, shoehorning a 2l engine and all those fuel pumps into a "super mini" leaves bugger all room in the engine bay for things like "tools" and "hands"
not my problem though!
Posted 2 years ago # -
Who'd have thought that northern feilds would look like soft, southern feilds eh?
Posted 2 years ago # -
Dumb question #2312
We're getting close to choosing something but one thing I can't get any agreement on from the people around me is what's an acceptable mileage for a used car.
All the cars we're looking at are 5yrs old or more and the figure I've come up with is less than 50k (ideally less than 40k) for a petrol but for a diesel I've no idea: everyone says something different. Any ideas?
Posted 2 years ago # -
If you are selling a car 20k per annum is fine for modern engines. If you are buying 10k a year is about spot on
The golden rule is regular oil changes and maintanence- like clockwork.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Multipla.
Next question
Posted 2 years ago # -
I STILL think the Berlingo. Why? The kids, kit that comes with them. Its big, cheapy secondhand and a fun practical economical vehicle. Plus- you dont have to worry about kids swinging their doors open into traffic or in carparks etc (sliding door).
Estates are good but are still saloons with a big boot tacked on. Go and test drive one with all your kids along!
Posted 2 years ago # -
The trouble is that we have a v.short space in the front of the house but we still want to park on it rather than on the road. A Berlingo would give us 3cm clearance each side which, for a new driver (and my missus who should pass her test by Feb) is a bit tight.
I might double (treble) check the measurements tho.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Understand but I'm thinking of your family and all the kit that comes with them. Even with A.N.Other car- you will still really struggle to open and shut the doors comfortably- plus you'll end up with chunks out of the doors.
My drive is circa 5cm each side (concrete posts) and I STILL managed to graze the side reversing out. Its sods law- early morning, tired, winter.
My subaru Forester is big enough for me, missus, bike and one dog. When our first comes along we wont have enough room in the Forester. Three kids, kit and bike- I'd go for something bigger like a van-based car. Low insurance and highly practical
All the best.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Cheers. At the moment a Mitsubishi Colt is looking fairly good..
Posted 2 years ago # -
My vote would be for a Zafira (bacause I've got one). Ideal with 3 kids as you can fit a couple of their mates with the additional 2 seats up - stops them bickering - or 2 in the middle and 1 in the back - again to stop bickering.
I've got the 2.0 DTI ('03 plate diesel) huge amount of room for bikes and stuff with the back seat down, hits 90mph on motorways with no problem (not much left after that though), 40+ mpg, cheap servicing and parts interior hasn't fallen apart yet despite the best intentions of the kids.
One thing to be aware of - the spare sits under the rear of the car in an unlocked cage so depending upon where you live they do have a habit of getting nicked.
Not exactly a "driver's car" though.
bbA
Posted 2 years ago # -
Cheers. At the moment a Mitsubishi Colt is looking fairly good..
I test drove two of these when I first passed as well- the engine choice is critical. One of the petrols I drove was zippy, the other lethargic but I cant remember which was which!
Posted 2 years ago # -
Ta - 1.1 gets v.good write up from lots of places (honestjohn.co.uk and Top Gear bimonthly car guide mag off the top of my head) and happily that's the one for sale - only 18K on the clock too. Strong contender
Zafira was a thought but wouldn't fit on our mini-drive.
Posted 2 years ago # -
£500 banger to find out what you really need, how bothered you are for fixing stuff yourself and to not give a damn about bumps and scrapes
will get you almost any 90's hatchback, mark 2 golf gtd or driver would be my choice
Posted 2 years ago # -
timber- agree but ..in winter and with kids. Well I wouldnt!
Posted 2 years ago # -
Heathenwoods - my sister used to have a Mitsubishi (Shogun Pinin) and servicing costs/spare parts were horrendous.
I don't know how important this is to you, but it might be worth ringing a Mitsi dealer & asking how much a minor/major service is for a Colt.My sis had the car as a company car, so didn't actually end up paying but a standard service used to come out at about £400 from the main dealer. Probably a lot less I guess from an independent garage.
Something to bear in mind though, perhaps?
Edit - just to add a couple more to the list. Have you looked at the Renault Modus or the Nissan Note, yet?
Posted 2 years ago # -
Renault Modus
We had one as our second choice but were a bit thrown by tales of electronic/electric faults that have just begun emerging.
I don't know how important this is to you, but it might be worth ringing a Mitsi dealer & asking how much a minor/major service is for a Colt.
£130 at a main and the one we bought yesterday (this one) was given a minor service by the dealer. Very nippy, nimble and versatile. Rear seats are foldable in multiple directions or removable making for a lot of bike space
Thanks to everyone for their help and advice (here and on the thread about the possibly dodgy motor - which turned out to be the dealers' innocent mistake. He'd sent off for reg plates with his garage name on, had two renaults and mixed up their reg plates)
Posted 2 years ago #
Topic Closed
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