Bought a new car

Insurance is a big problem, they are very easy to sell (usually), parts are very cheap, if some drunk kicks my mirror off I can get a brand new replacement for £15, they are very very popular cars here because they are so cheap to run.

I also feel I know what I am looking for with them, I would not have a clue with say an old Saab.

They are also one of the few 3 star NCAP superminis of the time, come standard with airbag, seat belt pretensioners, side impact bars etc. They have good ride quality too, none of that choppyness you get in a Punto etc.

And before you ask I have tried insurance quotes on all sorts, and the smaller it is the cheaper it is, for me it does relate directly to insurance groups.

£500 for a car like that with 12 months MOT, full service history, 1 owner would have been a bargain, all I would have had to is touch up the rust and a year time sell it on for £500. The wheel arches do rust but once they start it tends to take another 2-3 years before it becomes terminal/MOT problem and a £500 is never going to be a long term proposition unless you're mad enough to buy a Toyota Camry.

A car tax is also an issue, at this age any car under 1.6 is cheaper to tax.

I recently serviced my dads car for £30, I got my machanic do change the head lamp bulb and do an oil change (too messy to be bothered with and he gets the oil half price and charges us cost). I just did the air filter which cost a fiver, ok not a proper service but all the brakes etc have been done the MOT, and the tyres are all good so thats all it needed.

Remember all I am likely to be doing is driving to PCWORLD (1.5 miles away), driving to a train station (4 miles away), and doing a lot of picking up in my local area.

I will rarely exceed 40mph and for this sort of work a small car like the Fiesta just fits the bill perfectly, the MK4 didn't get 5/5 in the press back in the 90's for nothing.

 

Then look at KAs as well then restricting your search to a shite fiesta is going to lead you right back to where you always seem to be with cars.

we just sold our old KA 96 plate for 650 quid to a family member, we could have got 750 quid for it. Its done 156k miles, has a bit of rust that can be fixed and had never let us down ever in 8 years of ownership (And a slightly random maintenance regime)

 

Yeah I like Ka's they are ugly things but and people say they are girls cars, the rust is not a problem as longs as you are ware of it, my ex had a Ka it was a very reliable car she bought it blind though with no service history, I suspect she could have got a better car for the money. She has a Clio now, a 04 reg she has paid £3500 for, its a lovely car and its very very reliable, she has done 10,000 miles in it and not a single trip to the garage, the engine still sounds like brand new (54k). Its due a cambelt now though.

 

Perhapts he likes them.

I can think of worse things.

 

LIke is fine Dave, the risk is in the 'going for what you know.'

Fosters tastes like shit, I know that but have a habit of picking it if I do not know what else is on offer. Just think of what I am missing out on.

 

all lager's shit - and most defo for girls imo...

 

haha! I hate hosters init, but if I am in a strange pub I always ask for fosters I know its shit Mancuniun brewed crap, but I know what I am getting. Kronnberg etc its is all crap but I know I an can have 13 pints of Fosters and not drive for 3 days, but with anything else it might stay in my system for a week. Ok I am drunk, but once again I was taliking to John Robb abou the quality of race, seeme dmor emportant than cars :.

PS Rick Ashtley is the last of the audiophiles

 

Ok, I just got back, and the car isn't here at the moment, but I bumped into the guy selling it. He said it's gone for its MOT (it was originally listed with 3 months). There's a family friend interested in it, but I said once it was back I'd look over it, and mentioned that you were interested in it.

 

Nissan Micra, it'll never break, and never let you down.

 

Well hang on......isn't there a good arguement for him doing just that?

wouldn''t mind a pint of fosters just now, I have to say.....

 

yeah bu it''ll **** you right off.....and every one else on the road.

 

Also one of HJ's high death rate cars until the 2003 version came out. My grandad had one and it felt like a very tinny car, it had 138k on the clock it was reliable, my uncle did replace it with a 1.1 Fiesta but sadly my gradnad died before his Micra did, and my uncle knew the Micra was on its last legs.

Isaac thanks for that . I've seen a Fiesta Zetec in Sale its on ebay atm, if I can find time tomorrow I might go and have a look at it, its more basic than the one your neigbour has though so still interested in that.

I have decided Mondoes are just too big, but I am considering the MK1 Primera 1.6 if I can get one cheap enough.

There is also another 1.4 Ibiza I might phone up about.

The last thing I want right now is beer, been ill all day and its not a hangover, just a combination of car stress, jobs and no sleep. Yesterdays cars hunting threw up more sheds, did see a very nice Seat Leon which I fell in love with but it was too pricey and there was no way I could afford the insurance.

 

The Mk1 Primera has a fantastic chassis, hugely under-rated IMHO. I used to have a 2.0 GT - bought it at 16k miles and kept it until it died at around 150k miles. That's very unusual for me - I usually get bored of cars quickly but kept that one going because it was just such good fun and so very capable.

BTW the engine and drive chain were still going strong (which is in itself remarkable as I rarely show a car any mechanical mercy) - it was the body work that gave up. That was largely due to neglect on my part, but check it over carefully if you find one.

 

For some reason lilke a lot fo japaneese cars of that age insurance premiums are mad but once I get a few years no claims a 2.0 Primera is on my consider list now.

 

It's cost of repair and not great security that tends to get japanese cars on insurance. Recently they've managed to improve security (note E suffix on groups for some honda and subaru cars - it means that the group was reduced due to better than expected security), which has helped a lot.

 

Bought a new car now, its a N reg Fiesta 1.3 with 66k on the clock. Its had new sills, new brake pipes, new discs, new pads, new shocks, four new tryes all in the past 2 years. It runs very well no rust on it paid £350. Its a MK4.

It has no power steering which is a bit of an issue but I only need it to last a year at most, when I get my proper 1 year no claims I will spend some decent money on a good car.

All the cars I have looked at have been sheds, so I thought I pay as well pay shed money for a shed .

Saw it start from cold no smoke, reved it to about 5000rpm no signs of any blue smoke. No signs of any rattle from the chain. Machanic is checking it over on Saturday and doing an oil change on it.

All I need this car to do is allow me to pick up and drop off computers within my local area and when I get used to driving I will buy a proper car.

 

YOu can always be lucky with a cheapie...

Fingers crossed.

 

Until you AT I had never heard of anyone having an issue with brake pipes, I assume this is an fiesta issue?

 

Not just Fiesta, it is common with a lot of older cars but they are all nice and new so shouldn't cause problems. It has 6 months tax too, I've seen spares and repair ones like mine go for £200 on ebay, add the fact it has £66 worth of tax if it blows up tomorrow we have a source of parts for my dads car.

I've just lifted up the floor plan and its all the same colour as the body work, the only signs of welding is the recent sills. There is now way I would have bought this is a long term car, buts its cheap to insure, costs me no interest (paid cash) and will reduce my £30 a week I currently spend on public transport.

PS I've noticed a lot of MK2 Micras from circia 1994 have had new sills now.

We will just have to see how it goes.

 

Brake pipes are a fairly common issue, and cheap to replace on any car.

Good luck with the car AT!