Best Car For Newly Qualified Driver

[securespark]

Wow. I would not expect that.

Mind you, since the days of the E36 Compact, I think their quality has nose-dived.

 

[scaffers]

Fiat 500 or similar age Ford ka, both same car.

 

[SammyInnit]

Fiat 500

https://twitter.com/fiat500tw1tt3r?lang=en

 

[motorbiking]

I sold this for £600 earlier in the year

Chain drive, not diesel

Not recent photo either was rather rusty when it went.. Still drove like new.

 

[Ian H]

My sister has a 59reg Fiat 500 sat on her farm doing nothing. Could be a good buy?

 

[SirGalahad]

I sold this for £600 earlier in the year

Chain drive, not diesel

Not recent photo either was rather rusty when it went.. Still drove like new.

£600 - you might as well have given it away.

You kept it from new?

Has it been reliable?

 

[SirGalahad]

Wow. I would not expect that.

Mind you, since the days of the E36 Compact, I think their quality has nose-dived.

The Turbo went on mine and wrecked the engine - it was 18 months old. All fixed under warranty and then I had a X6, horrible swapped it out after a year. I haven't tried a Lexus maybe that is my next car. I've driven a Tesla but it doesn't feel that well put together.

 

[motorbiking]

one owner from new - I was offered 100 quid trade in on the new car, bunged it on eBay with a buy it now, sold in a few hours. The rust meant it wasn't going to get more. Yep very reliable, just tyres and oil, had a few faults when sold, but nothing major. 140k in 18 years.

was looking at Tesla also model 3 for the mrs, ended up replacing the above with a 435d convertible - the turbos do worry me. Its a lot of power coming out of a 3l diesel.

 

[securespark]

My sister has a 59reg Fiat 500 sat on her farm doing nothing. Could be a good buy?

Ian, thank you.
Unfortunately, the insurance (for some weird reason) is quite high.

 

[securespark]

Increasingly, my search is becoming focused on cars with a low premium and sometimes it's not always the low-output engine that has lower premiums.

I am looking at a 1 litre petrol Yaris, (£1000 premium), a 1.2 petrol Clio or Fabia (£1200) or a 1.3 diesel Meriva (£1200).

These are the lowest I can find, premium-wise.

The cars are all around 100-120K and 2008. I guess they may need a belt change.

Which would you have? I'm guessing the Vauxhall will be cheaper to fix?

 

[securespark]

Some confusion about 1.3 diesels having belts or chains. It would seem the 2004+ cars are chain-driven, but are prone to stretching and jumping.

Am I right in thinking it's a Fiat engine??

 

[SammyInnit]

Am I right in thinking it's a Fiat engine??

Yes.

A small 1.3 L (1,248 cc) version (called the SDE, Small Diesel Engine) introduced in February 2003[4] is produced in Bielsko-Biała, Poland,[5] and in Ranjangaon, Pune, India, by Fiat India Automobiles.[6] The Multijet 75 PS version was chosen in 2005 as the International Engine of the Year in the 1-litre to 1.4-litre category.

 

[Ian H]

It’s been nearly a year. How’s he been getting round since then?

 

[securespark]

He's not passed his test yet! I know, I started early. I know I'm a procrastinator and cannot make up my mind.....but I knew this, hence the head start!

He took his test last year and failed, so he's having a few more lessons and his second test is booked for Valentine's Day. Lucky for some!

He's using Mum's Taxi Service mostly...

 

[EddieM]

He's not passed his test yet! I know, I started early. I know I'm a procrastinator and cannot make up my mind.....but I knew this, hence the head start!

He took his test last year and failed, so he's having a few more lessons and his second test is booked for Valentine's Day. Lucky for some!

He's using Mum's Taxi Service mostly...

Lucky for you, mine took his over and over for 3 months, eventually passing (and 6 months later writing the car off)