Buying a car, heres my list of options have i missed something obvious

Cyrus

My girlfriend and I are looking into buying a car in Jan, im 24 full licence for 5 yrs but ive never had my own policy, ive been a named driver on my mums car for that period.

My girlfriend is 24 as well, as of yet she hasnt attempted her test shes also been a named driver for a similar time

Ive been looking at golf sized cards circa 1.4-1.6l, not looking for a smaller car or smaller engine tbh i just wouldnt be comfortable driving something slower or smaller, im used to a 1.7l ford puma so im trying to ease the blow

Heres what ive taken from cbg:

Make Model Engine Year Price

Seat Leon 1400cc 2000 9000
Seat Leon 1600cc 2000 10000
Alfa 147 1600cc 2001 14500
Alfa 156 1600cc 2000 10000
Alfa 156 1600cc 2001 11950
Ford Focus 1400cc 1999-00 9,500-10,500
Peugeot 307 1400cc 2001 12000
VW Golf 1400cc 2000 11500
VW Bora 1400cc 2000 10000
Audi A3 1600cc 1997 9000


Am i missing anything, what looks best value to any of ye, ins quotes for all the above are fairly similar, circa 5k for the two of us

Kaskade

From that list I would go with the ford focus. I hate european cars and I dont see one Jap car on your list. What about mazda 323(f), nissan almera (new shape), new shape civic...

Would love a 147 cos they are really nippy and handly well but they are just too unreliable and I would hate to have spent that much money on a car and than it to break down.

Cyrus

love a 147 myself infact that or the leon would be my choice unless i can find a nice focus, decent 3 door one with colour coded bumpers and alloys etc

323 f not my thing, i dont like mazdas tbh drove one for a while years ago and didnt like its 'feel'

Almera really really hate them again a personal thing

Civic not taken with the mini people carrier look or the gearstick position but tbh i never thought about it must take a look

Kaskade

I think the civic saloon is way nicer than the hatch.

HashSlinging

im selling a 01 1.6 leon at the moment for 10k... its in the evening herald under FIAT for some reason... :rolleyes:

needs to go !!

Kaskade

why did Seat not take a trade in off you if you just bought a new Cupra???

Funny I know a fella who did the exact same thing, bought an ibiza cupra and then couldn't sell his old ibiza!!

Gmodified

alfa is nice but unreliable.

focus is ok car but has to be cheaper then 9500 which wil be good value for money.

audi is overpriced and vw's come with f@ck all equipment so look for better spec model

Is1ldur

Can all those who posted that Alfa Romeo's are unreliable please tell me their own personal experience of this, or is it just 'I heard it was true so it must be'.
I admit Alfa did and still does have a bad reputation, however much of this is due to cars produced during the late 80's early 90's. They really have come on in recent years. Everyone has heard a bad story about Alfa's, but if you ask around you will hear similar stories about other marques.
One thing if you are considering an Alfa, service costs can be high, and if you are buying one a few years old, be sure to check if it is due a timing belt anytime soon, as it can cost up to EUR850 from a main dealer.
BTW, timing belt should be done before 70,000 miles, and preferably, as mine was, in and around 34-40,000 mile mark.

Sleipnir

Chap in my office in the U.K. had a 156 and the engine had to be replaced 3 times in one year.
Then they gave him a new car.

My friend bought a brand new alfa at the beginning of 03 and in that year it spent a total time of 3 months back in the dealerships garage.

Where my GF works, when benefit-in-kind tax came in and people starting handing back their cars they couldn't shift the Alfas. One chaps dad owns a garage in the north and wouldn't buy them because he'd have to give a warranty on them and he said
"they'd break his heart"

So no, they are not reliable generally.

I've owned 3 honda's and nothing has broken on any one of them. Ever.

Tommy Vercetti

If it's just the two of you then get this
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=156246

if you occasionally need space for 4 get this
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=146590

if you're gonna moan about insurance and running costs, then get this!
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=144523

Cyrus

Mx-5 is nice and theres some good ones in the buy and sell still rather a bigger car

never get ins on the integra

and ill never never never drive a micra

Gmodified

Is1ldur wrote:

I admit Alfa did and still does have a bad reputation, however much of this is due to cars produced during the late 80's early 90's. They really have come on in recent years. Everyone has heard a bad story about Alfa's, but if you ask around you will hear similar stories about other marques.
One thing if you are considering an Alfa, service costs can be high, and if you are buying one a few years old, be sure to check if it is due a timing belt anytime soon, as it can cost up to EUR850 from a main dealer.
BTW, timing belt should be done before 70,000 miles, and preferably, as mine was, in and around 34-40,000 mile mark.

Well, 80's car were much better maybe rusty but mechanically better.
156 is great looking car, with high reliability concerns .Variator reliability is very bad in pre 00 models so is front wishbone suspension (dealer managed to get another recall of 03 cars for "LOOSENING OF FRONT SUSPENSION" for certain models). In period of last 3 months i have seen quite few ads in buyandsell of people(including my friend):

-looking for 156 engine
-people selling perfect 97-00 156 without the engines

It's propably ok when you buy brand new alfa and sell it within 3 years. Also recomended oil change for this car is 10000 if you want to see it running for a bit longer. I wouldn't buy it used alfa.

Is1ldur wrote:

............ but if you ask around you will hear similar stories about other marques.
...................

well,i didn't hear anything about jap cars, maybe only about nissan with recent recall and older micras with noisy timing chains/ and failing mass sensors

Kaskade

Check out what owners think of their 147s yourself here:

http://www.carsurvey.org/othermodel_Alfa+Romeo_147.html

alias no.9

Sleipnir wrote:

Chap in my office in the U.K. had a 156 and the engine had to be replaced 3 times in one year.
Then they gave him a new car.

Not meaning to sound smart or anything but you'd have to question the driver in this case, statistically speaking, even if 30% of all engines were failing within the space of a year, the probability of a sample population of 3 engines all failing within one year is virtually nil.

Seth Brundle

Tommy Vercetti wrote:

If it's just the two of you then get this
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=156246

Don't you need to be a hairdresser to drive one of these?

Tommy Vercetti wrote:

if you occasionally need space for 4 get this
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=146590

Can't fault it!

Tommy Vercetti wrote:

if you're gonna moan about insurance and running costs, then get this!
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=144523

LOL
The owner attempted to make it sporty looking by sticking them alloys on it but tbh, it still is one ugly MF of a car

Sleipnir

alias no.9 wrote:

Sleipnir wrote:

Chap in my office in the U.K. had a 156 and the engine had to be replaced 3 times in one year.
Then they gave him a new car.

Not meaning to sound smart or anything but you'd have to question the driver in this case, statistically speaking, even if 30% of all engines were failing within the space of a year, the probability of a sample population of 3 engines all failing within one year is virtually nil.

Well, I would imagine the garage have to means to test max revs, milage and wouldn't be too keen to give out free cars if they honestly didn't know that it wasn't the drivers own fault.

alias no.9

Gmodified wrote:

well,i didn't hear anything about jap cars, maybe only about nissan with recent recall and older micras with noisy timing chains/ and failing mass sensors

Ever heard of mitsubishi? Did you know that they've been found guilty of falsifying customer complaint data for years? There is a certain 'cannot fail' mindset in japanese (and other oriental) cultures that most of the time motivates them to be the best but sometimes leads to deliberately covering up faults.

Sleipnir

Tommy Vercetti wrote:

If it's just the two of you then get this
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=156246

That is a woman's "sports" car.

Kaskade

Sleipnir wrote:

That is a woman's "sports" car.

I have to agree

Tommy Vercetti

bollocks it's a woman's car, MGF's and MR2's are, but an MX5 is all about the driving, try one and see.

unkel

Tommy Vercetti wrote:

bollocks it's a woman's car

It is but

Tommy Vercetti wrote:

but an MX5 is all about the driving, try one and see.

Fully agree. I wouldn't mind driving it now and then and couldn't give a sh1te if people think I'm a gay hairdresser (tautology?)

unkel

This is just about perfect for you Cyrus

And, you can overclock it as well

John R

alias no.9 wrote:

Ever heard of mitsubishi? Did you know that they've been found guilty of falsifying customer complaint data for years? There is a certain 'cannot fail' mindset in japanese (and other oriental) cultures that most of the time motivates them to be the best but sometimes leads to deliberately covering up faults.

That does not mean they are less reliable than alfas though.

In every reliability survey I have seen Japanese cars (including Mitsubishis) dominate the top of the charts. Alfas are never far from the bottom along with Ford (older models, they have improved recently), most French cars, and Fiat.

unkel

John R wrote:

That does not mean they are less reliable than alfas though

You're right, it doesn't. Alfas are less reliable. If it was my choice though between a €12k Golf and a €10k Alfa, I'd put the €2k on a savings account for contingencies and be a very happy driver with a smile on my face, driving a real car

Tommy Vercetti

unkel wrote:

Fully agree. I wouldn't mind driving it now and then and couldn't give a sh1te if people think I'm a gay hairdresser

And that's why I have one as a second car
I'm smiling every time I get out of it.

alias no.9

John R wrote:

That does not mean they are less reliable than alfas though.

In every reliability survey I have seen Japanese cars (including Mitsubishis) dominate the top of the charts. Alfas are never far from the bottom along with Ford (older models, they have improved recently), most French cars, and Fiat.

I never said that they were, just that sweeping generalisations can jump up and bite you. A friend of mine bought a second hand honda civic thinking it would be reliable but failed to check the car and it's history properly and ended up with the cam belt failing a few months later. The lesson here is that every second hand car has a history, and that history is always more important than the badge on the bonnet. Oh and speaking of reliability surveys, I can't remember which company it was, but it was one of the warrenty companies in the UK who published repair costs as well as reliability data and Fiat, on your list of unreliable, had the lowest warrenty claim costs, so you see it's everything in perspective.

Sleipnir

Well cam-belts need to be replaced on every car. That's not a reliability issue, it's your mates own error.
If I bought a 10 year old civic with FSH and a 10 year old Alfa with the same, the Alfa would break down first. That's the difference when it comes to reliability.

Fiats are unreliable but spare parts are cheap as chips which is why warranty claims are low-cost.

HashSlinging

Kaskade wrote:

why did Seat not take a trade in off you if you just bought a new Cupra???

Funny I know a fella who did the exact same thing, bought an ibiza cupra and then couldn't sell his old ibiza!!

Its going today, put off collecting the new one for a week to try and sell it. no luck though. :rolleyes:

Gmodified

alias no.9 wrote:

............ A friend of mine bought a second hand honda civic thinking it would be reliable but failed to check the car and it's history properly and ended up with the cam belt failing a few months later. ..............

I always change the timing belt after buying the car unless car has dealer service history. some people have no problems writing few numbers on the engine using tip-ex.

my civic had ´nearly 168k miles on the clock and got there without problems and it took some abuse . great car

Alfa is far away from Honda when comes to reliability, it's more like different dimension. On one end you have little people which started car manufacturing using motorbike engines and on the other end, people which design stylish cars with personality

then get drunk and put the mechanics using 4 egg epoxy pasta.


sloppy engineering and poor quality control

alias no.9

Gmodified wrote:

I always change the timing belt after buying the car unless car has dealer service history. some people have no problems writing few numbers on the engine using tip-ex.

my civic had ´nearly 168k miles on the clock and got there without problems and it took some abuse . great car


sloppy engineering and poor quality control

I didn't say it was a reliability thing, it was the fact that he looked at the badge ahead of the history and he got burned because he looked at the badge insteads of the history.

168k is hardly astronomical mileage for a civic. My dad had a fiat uno that did 250k, mind you it was an 1984 model and had to be treated for rust under warrenty.

Kaskade

alias no.9 wrote:

I never said that they were, just that sweeping generalisations can jump up and bite you. A friend of mine bought a second hand honda civic thinking it would be reliable but failed to check the car and it's history properly and ended up with the cam belt failing a few months later.

That is the first time I have ever heard of a cam belt going in a civic. I had a civic with 130k miles on it, sold it a year ago and I still see it around. Brilliant cars.

unkel wrote:

You're right, it doesn't. Alfas are less reliable. If it was my choice though between a €12k Golf and a €10k Alfa, I'd put the €2k on a savings account for contingencies and be a very happy driver with a smile on my face, driving a real car

But why would anyone ever want a golf anyway - (I am a german car hater if anyone doesn't know yet)

German cars are now starting to move down to the bottom half of the reliability table, VW, Merc and Opel. They are over priced, over weight boring cars.