What should I do about getting my first car?

[Ferrer]

I'd recommend a nice Mk I 5-door Focus 1.6. We had one it was a very good car.

[Matra et Alpine]

Hmmm, I'm not convinced about the Quantums...they have the advantages of being cheap, individual, small and light but that's not really the sort of thing I'm looking for...is there anything out there with a more modern and comfortable interior? My family wouldn't let me buy a kit anyway, they'd go mental... I don't have the necessary skills / space / tools or even time lol.

Time you put that bias aside and actually went and LOOKED at a kit car.
The Quantum uses the donor car interior.
Many of them are running Recaro leathers filched from "better" XR2s and Turbos.
Don't buyt the car AS a kit ... buy it with soeone ELKSE having invested teh effort.

Matra - what do you think to the Astra in one of my previous posts? I was looking at one that had done low miles (for me it has to have air con as well), actually, here's my thoughs so far on the Astra:

+ It's a 1.4i16v 90BHP engine, not a 75BHP from Peugeot, VW etc.
+ It's in a car the size of a Focus / Golf but it's still reasonably quick and only in insurance group 4.
+ There are plenty about, it's easy to find one with low miles and in a good spec.
+ We used to have a diesel Astra LS (same apart from the engine) and it was really comfortable and I could see myself getting on well with the car.

It's an all right car.
You'll get enough performance to get in to trouble and not enough performance and handling to get out of it .... so remember that when "cruising".

BUT if you want to go Vectra then like most family cars they are good.
You could put any mainstream UK car and it will be the equvalent.
Ford, Seat, Vauxhall, VW, etc etc all pitch a smiilar car at a similar price.
GO with the one you are comfortable with ( having had one in teh family ) and liek.

- I might still end up with a massive insurance cost (but then again, i would no matter what I wanted to buy

I contend ONLY because you've not actually gone and LOOKED at a kit .... find a local kit car club/show and go and talk to some folks if money really is tight.
Here endeth teh kti car sales pitch ... not for everyone.

Only after that do I expect to have cash to spend on the car.

OK, one more time .... ..... with all you've just said then a kit is ideal
PS we've policemen in the kit car club, they're perfectly legal

I'm just bouncing ideas around in my head at the moment. I'm interested as to what you guys can come up with and whether you think I'm thinking the right way or whether I'm living with my head in the clouds.

Sounds like you've made your mind up and really only want us to say yes ?
If costs really are your limiting factor then you're going to lose money on the car in question as depreciation bites and insurance and running costs.
Yes, it's a good buy, so are dozens of others and if the look of the Astra is the car you want then of course go ahead and get it.
I was only trying to widen your options and open your eyes to kits and get your head involved in the decision as well as your heart ....

[drakkie]

without reading the majority of the thread:

the 1.4 is a good choice. However DON'T get the 1.8 engine. It knows quite a lot of inexplainable problems... My family experienced it.. Also dont service it t Opel dealerships cos they really learned how to calculate (atleast in the ntherlands).

[Clivey]

Time you put that bias aside and actually went and LOOKED at a kit car.
The Quantum uses the donor car interior.
Many of them are running Recaro leathers filched from "better" XR2s and Turbos.
Don't buyt the car AS a kit ... buy it with soeone ELKSE having invested teh effort.

I made the comment after looking at the car. It's an XR2i interior complete with Recaros, but the design and layout of the dash, doorcards etc. (the seats are fine) isn't as "good" (for want of a better word) as the Astra Mk4, there's about 20 years between them.... I'm not disputing that it can't be well put together or that it is a normal road car interior. I'm just thinking that I need a more comfort-biased car (and space for four adults with a decent boot).

It's an all right car.
You'll get enough performance to get in to trouble and not enough performance and handling to get out of it .... so remember that when "cruising".

I'm not a chav - that means I wont be terrorising supermarket carparks or the local high street "cruising". I've seen the idiots in the closest town on friday and saturday nights and I don't want any of it.

BUT if you want to go Vectra then like most family cars they are good.
You could put any mainstream UK car and it will be the equvalent.
Ford, Seat, Vauxhall, VW, etc etc all pitch a smiilar car at a similar price.
GO with the one you are comfortable with ( having had one in teh family ) and liek.

What would you suggest in that market? I'm talking about an engine no bigger than a 1.4 (for insurance purposes) in a body the size of an Astra.

I contend ONLY because you've not actually gone and LOOKED at a kit .... find a local kit car club/show and go and talk to some folks if money really is tight.
Here endeth teh kti car sales pitch ... not for everyone.

What other kits are available? The Quantums don't really appeal to me from a styling point of view, and you'll find I'm not the biggest Ford fan out there.

OK, one more time .... ..... with all you've just said then a kit is ideal
PS we've policemen in the kit car club, they're perfectly legal

But what others are available? I wouldn't want a convertible (It's not really worth it for the amount of good weather we get in this part of the world)

Sounds like you've made your mind up and really only want us to say yes ?
If costs really are your limiting factor then you're going to lose money on the car in question as depreciation bites and insurance and running costs.
Yes, it's a good buy, so are dozens of others and if the look of the Astra is the car you want then of course go ahead and get it.
I was only trying to widen your options and open your eyes to kits and get your head involved in the decision as well as your heart ....

I'm looking primarily at Astra, Golf, Leon type cars with 1.4 engines, wondering if I've overlooked any. I have about £4k to spend but I am interested in seeing which kits I could be owning...It's just that the Quantum doesn't really float my boat.

[Clivey]

I'd recommend a nice Mk I 5-door Focus 1.6. We had one it was a very good car.

the 1.4 is a good choice. However DON'T get the 1.8 engine. It knows quite a lot of inexplainable problems... My family experienced it.. Also dont service it t Opel dealerships cos they really learned how to calculate (atleast in the ntherlands).

I'd only be able to afford to insure the 1.4s in this sector, which limits the Focus to the 1.4CL if I'm not mistaken. Although there have been plenty of good reports about the Ford, I have a love/hate attitude to the styling. I love it because it's different and you can tell it apart from other cars but I hate the styling itself, It's for me much like TG's opinion of the original Multipla.

What were the problems with the 1.8i16v? It's a strong performer in the Astra Mk4, 0-60 comes up in just 8.5 seconds. (unbelieveably the 2.0i16v manages it in just 7!)

[Matra et Alpine]

I made the comment after looking at the car. It's an XR2i interior complete with Recaros, but the design and layout of the dash, doorcards etc. (the seats are fine) isn't as "good" (for want of a better word) as the Astra Mk4, there's about 20 years between them.... I'm not disputing that it can't be well put together or that it is a normal road car interior. I'm just thinking that I need a more comfort-biased car (and space for four adults with a decent boot).

That's your ARSE, back and position of hands and feet.
The rest is all just gloss and not "comfort" really
I think I get it now ... it's "image" (sic) !

What would you suggest in that market? I'm talking about an engine no bigger than a 1.4 (for insurance purposes) in a body the size of an Astra.

That woudl be an Astra.
As I'd said before if you've decided this is the car for you then GO FOR IT.

What other kits are available? The Quantums don't really appeal to me from a styling point of view, and you'll find I'm not the biggest Ford fan out there.
But what others are available? I wouldn't want a convertible (It's not really worth it for the amount of good weather we get in this part of the world)

You're going to regret Vauxhall "engineering"
The reason I suggested you got to WHSmith, go to kit car meetings, go to kit car shows is so you CAN see the options.
If I spend two pages writing up all of them we'll jstu get some retard smart-arse complain about my knowledge
So I'm not .... go find it by looking in the places already pointed out.

I'm looking primarily at Astra, Golf, Leon type cars with 1.4 engines, wondering if I've overlooked any. I have about £4k to spend but I am interested in seeing which kits I could be owning...It's just that the Quantum doesn't really float my boat.

You've just listed all the Chav cars !!
WHat kdin of "image" is it you want the car to have ?
Vauxhall is "would have bought a Ford if I could afford it"
Golf is "borrowed mom's car"
Seat are "borrowed mom's car and she couldnt' afford a VW"
Noticable by their absence are numerous Pacific Rim vendors.

Go for the Vauxhall, you're going to lose 2 grand anyway and if it meets the criteria you have for a car then go for it.

[Ferrer]

I'd only be able to afford to insure the 1.4s in this sector, which limits the Focus to the 1.4CL if I'm not mistaken. Although there have been plenty of good reports about the Ford, I have a love/hate attitude to the styling. I love it because it's different and you can tell it apart from other cars but I hate the styling itself, It's for me much like TG's opinion of the original Multipla.

I actually at first we thought the car looked very ugly, but with the time you get used to it... I'd go for the Focus before the Astra.

[Lagonda]

Get a Clio 1.4 16V or maybe a 1.6. Also get a 4 door, your friends will like a four door (my friends all hate it that mine only has 2 doors). The Clio is pretty reliable and it has a great chassis. Sticks on the road like glue. And it's probably a lot cheaper in insurance. Get a Haynes manual (20 quid or so) and do as much maintance as you can yourself, things like changing oil and filters and lightbulbs isn't hard. Don't underestimate the cost of insurence, you'll have to pay it EVERY year, over and over. And it hurts when it's a large amount.

The Astra styling is...boring and sterile to say the least..Well IMO of course. Don't get anything VAG, all chav-mobiles.

[VtecMini]

Don't spend more than two grand on your first motor. Something like 80% of new drivers have an accident in their first year. Fully comprehensive insurance is a rip-off at your age and I don't suppose you'd really want to be the one left picking the pieces out of a ditch, would you?

It's not a dig at your driving or anything, since I don't have a clue what kind of driver you are, but it's just the facts. My mate spent about £3k on his first car and a further £1200 in repairs after the truck pulled it out of a ditch two months later. He's a tidy, sensible driver who was just a victim of his own lack of experience.

If you're struggling with the insurance, do a Pass Plus course. It halved my insurance for the first year. Costs about £120 to do it, saved me just shy of a grand.

Just my tuppence anyway.

[h00t_h00t]

Thats a bigger saving than usual, apparently most companys offer 20% off for pass-plus.

I was considering a Quantum Coupe as my next car (I REALLY don't want to pay for Suzuki parts) I can't find any online insurance companys that list it and I was looking for a "ball-park" figure of how much I'm going to be paying.

[Clivey]

That's your ARSE, back and position of hands and feet.
The rest is all just gloss and not "comfort" really

Good point, I guess I didn't mean "comfort" in the literal sense of the word but I'd like an interior that's preferably not straight out of the '80s.

You're going to regret Vauxhall "engineering"
The reason I suggested you got to WHSmith, go to kit car meetings, go to kit car shows is so you CAN see the options.
If I spend two pages writing up all of them we'll jstu get some retard smart-arse complain about my knowledge
So I'm not .... go find it by looking in the places already pointed out.

Well, I did try the net but the reason I haven't been into town yet is that I have 3 Business AS-level exams on Monday and I'm only on UCP in breaks from revision. I certainly wont be complaining if you showed everyone what sort of kits are now available (maybe put it in a seperate thread so it's easier for others to find later on), in fact a "thanks very much" is more like what I'd be thinking.

And what did you mean about me "going to regret V'hall engineering?"

WHat kdin of "image" is it you want the car to have ?
You've just listed all the Chav cars !!
Vauxhall is "would have bought a Ford if I could afford it"
Golf is "borrowed mom's car"
Seat are "borrowed mom's car and she couldnt' afford a VW"
Noticable by their absence are numerous Pacific Rim vendors.

I just don't really like the styling of the Quantum Coupe that much. To me it looks like someone's done that Plymouth did to the Charger in creating the Superbird, only the've done it to a Fiesta. Like a kind of full bodykitted '80s Max Power special.

If there was something insurable that looked like a modern TVR then I'd be ripping your arm off for it. A replica sports car with a little engine would do me, as long as I could commute in it and be able to do an actual journey (rather than a trip to the shops).

I disagree that Vauxhall's a kind of "cheap Ford", I've always thought that model for model, most times V'hall have been better. our family's had 3 Mk4 Astras in total (all diesels though) without a problem. Friend's Focus is slower and the interior's falling to pieces.

I've never seen a chav driving a Leon, and to me, Seat no longer has the "cheap VW" image. Especially the new ones.

I think I get it now ... it's "image" (sic) !

That woudl be an Astra.
As I'd said before if you've decided this is the car for you then GO FOR IT.

Go for the Vauxhall, you're going to lose 2 grand anyway and if it meets the criteria you have for a car then go for it.

I'm just toying with ideas. If I can find a kit I like then I may well go for it but at the moment I'm looking at these:

Seat Leon 1.4 S
Mk 4 Vauxhall Astra 1.4 LS (with Aircon)
Mk 4 VW Golf 1.4 S

And I didn't realise it was in my price range but I find it an interesting enough car to want a test drive but:

Mercedes A140

If you're struggling with the insurance, do a Pass Plus course. It halved my insurance for the first year. Costs about £120 to do it, saved me just shy of a grand.

Will do. Dad's a driving instructor...That's why I'm going to have £4k to spend instead of 2. I'm just looking at cars I can keep for a while whilst I save for a deposit on a house. I've noted what you said about young drivers. What happened to your mate? Did he simply drive too fast for the road?

[Ferrer]

I'm just toying with ideas. If I can find a kit I like then I may well go for it but at the moment I'm looking at these:

Seat Leon 1.4 S
Mk 4 Vauxhall Astra 1.4 LS (with Aircon)
Mk 4 VW Golf 1.4 S

And I didn't realise it was in my price range but I find it an interesting enough car to want a test drive but:

Mercedes A140

Out of those I'd probably go for the Golf, boring but a safe bet. A friend of mine has one in his family (with the 1.4-litre engine), and it's a fine car for doing the daily commute. But I wouldn't discard the Leon if it's cheaper than the Golf, underneath they are the same car.

[VtecMini]

I've noted what you said about young drivers. What happened to your mate? Did he simply drive too fast for the road?

Sort of. It was a country backroad, heavily off-camber corner at the crest of a hill, with a slight hump just before it. A more experienced driver would have been looking that much further ahead to be able see what was coming up. But like most new drivers, he was reading the road about 15m ahead of his bonnet. The bump gave the car a bit of lift, then the offcamber corner offered precious little grip. So it just bounced onward into the impending ditch. In all fairness it's a f**king horrible bit of road. I drove over it a while ago doing 40ish and it tried to throw me in the ditch too.