I've said this before. Young drivers with no no-claims can insure old Volvo's (the grandad mobiles) for peanuts.

Get a quote for a 340/360/440/740 you'll be amazed. A 2.0i RWD 360GLE can be bought for £300 and insured for less than a fiesta. Your mates will laugh at first, until they realise you've got sub 10s 0-60 and the ability to do tails-slides for fun.

They've all been looked after by geriatrics so they have been serviced every year and spend 99% of the time tucked up safely in the garage.

ps Avoid early car with Stromberg carbs.

Yeh but i wouldnt be seen dead in any of those volvos.

Ford Escort is dreadful! My money would go on an Almera. Cheap reliable and fairly nippy! What more do you want!

well said baldboy..my stable usually has a volvo or saab in it just for the days you really NEED to get somewhere inconspicuously yet quickly....my current(free)245 estate sits happily at 95-100 mph at 3600ish revs sipping petrol at 24mpg...what more do ya want ferchrissakes.....and it dont half scare mondeoman out of the fast lane...and never gets a second look from plod...except when its taking up both lanes of a wet roundabout totally sideways...jus for experimental purposes y'understand....

For 1500 Euros you can get quite good Golf.

Having been in your position for most of my driving life Quickblood (only recently affording newer cars) what I've always done is get all the local papers as soon as they arrive - free Advertiser types a good starting point - set your budget and get phoning!!!! Our local paper offers free advertsing and has about 5-6 pages chock full of classifieds every week.

As you are not too bothered about make/model just look for decent amount of tax and MOT. Start with the one you most like the sound of and phone 'em. Ask about history - they may have some service history, good if they've kept receipts/bills to prove work done. Get someone with some basic car knowledge to go with you when you have a look.

I always take a magnet - to check for filled in rust/accident damage as filler isn't magnetic. Check tyres, inside oil filler cap for white gunge (head gasket). On test drive listen for odd clanking or grinding noises - if it doesn't sound right then it probably isn't. Try all the gears, drive a bit in town and on m'way if possible. Blue/grey smoke from exhaust at start up is a no-no too.

Check paperwork matches the car - does the V5 and MOT have same VIN number as is on the car. Does the seller live at the house? Is he a trader on the sly trying get rid of dodgy stock pretending to be a private seller? Always ask about "the car advertised". If they say "which one?" they're a trader!!!

Use some common sense and if you don't like it or something seems iffy, say "not for me thanks" and phone the next one on your list.

At 25 Insurance is much less than it could have been. Within 2 years of driving your insurance will be fine. And with a £1000 budget there are lots of cars within your reach, including many that are better than the horrible old Escort.

Volvo? Citroen Xantia (providing it has the service history I can vouch for them being very reliable), Mazda 323? There are lots ot choose from and you'll easily get aircon included if you look around.

Things to watch out for are as said, regular servicing with preferably an elderly owner or enthusiast who has paid for new parts regardless of cost. And look for any crash damage, under/in the boot, around the front wings,etc. Dodgy paintwork is another thing to look for as a clue (if it looks like it's been resprayed, beware).

On cheap bangers like the Escort, beware of rust. Walk away if you see any, there are pleanty of cars *hint* like the Xantia *hint* that are entirely rust free thanks to a proper galvanised body.

Consider buying via either Autotrader or Ebay. Autotrader has reputable garages and so may be a best bet.

Just quickly looking on Autotrader...

There is a lovely silver 2001 Citroen Xantia 1.8i Forte M.O.T.ed and Taxed with only 53000 miles, ABS, Aircon, Body coloured bumpers, etc. Going for £1000 o.n.o.

Dear lord... in fact you could get a Xantia Activa for £995...

Lots of Mazda 323s as well.. and of course pleanty of Volvos.

I agree with Volvo thing, the old 400 series is very cheap to buy and run, the insurance is cheap and parts and servicing too. Its not the most realiable volvo or the best, buts its something to start of in.

A first car should ideally be something you don't care that much about that you won't be upset about if you get a few dents reversing in car parks and the likes. Reliability is a factor, but how long do you really want to keep his car?

The volvo 440 is perfect, solid body, cheap, durable, relaible if looked after, not bad drive, also not very trendy and the renault engines are quite oily. oh yeah spacious too.

Baldboy I gotta say I thought u were nuts, I know I could get a Volvo pretty cheaply but insure a 1.8L car for less than a Fiesta, surely not!

So I went onto Auto trader to have a look at what’s available and there just aren't any 340/360s, even if there were I just wouldn't go there, but the 440 is exactly what I'm looking for.
So I got an instant quote off The AA site and it's only £1200, which is high yes but compared to the other quotes I've had its pretty reasonable and on par with a Fiesta. Yeah every quote I’ve had is more than the value of the car :lol:

Then I checked it out on Parkers which said it’s less reliable than most Volvos so I don’t; know about that one!

So far I'm thinking it's between the Primera, Almera, Micra, Civic, Mazda 323 & Escort and possibly the Punto but can I really get a reliable Fiat or is that just asking for trouble. I’ve always liked the look of Puntos & Bravas, stupid reason to buy a car I know but anything to feel good about a purchase.

As far as auctions go I did think about chancing one but bottled it when I saw that even experts can get caught out (think it was Mike Brewer on Some discovery Show) seeing as I know next to nothing and my cousins aren’t exactly experts think I won’t risk it, this time anyway.

Most cars I see on Autotrader seem to be Trade I really want to know what I can expect if I buy from them, do I still have to beware, I would be anyway it’s just should I treat them as a private seller and accept the possibility that they’re trying to sell me a duff motor or do I have rights, I’d very much like a 16 day money back guarantee lol.

I’m not really a car bloke, I really want a motorbike and can tolerate Public transport (when it’s cooler anyway) so unless I get the job of my dreams this could be the only car I own in the next 3 years.

Gonna have to watch all those Deal on Wheels Re-run this weekend.

If you are still looking at Escorts, then also consider the Mk3 Astra - I much prefer the engines (1.4 or 1.6) to the Ford jobbies!

The Bravo/Brava is not a bad idea QB. Used Fiats are generally cheap and the Bravo/Brava isn't bad in the old reliability stakes.

Why not ring round a few Fiat dealers to see if they have had any in part ex? If pushed they might even stick a short warranty on it.

Just looked on T'Autotrader and found 7 Brava's (5 door) within 20 miles of our house - even a T-reg top of the range 100sx for £995!!

yes the 400 series aren't so realible, when a cambelt goes the whole engine goes along with it, the gearbox is also unrealiable, the elctrics are extremely weak, alternators need changing every week, but other then mechanical unrealibility, the are pretty good cars, nor bad looking, and i'm quite suprised at your qoute, if i was you i would buy some old run around, or maybe a Suzuki Baleno .

I've seen a 1999 Fiat Brava 1.6 SX for £1,095 57,000 miles with a full service that's very tempting.

Also looking at a 1995 Mazda 323 1.5i GLX 5dr Fastback, 86,000 miles, full service history £1,250 gonna have to knock a few quid off that though.

My money comes through on Monday so assuming they're still available I think those are the two I'll be going for.

quote:

Originally posted by Quickblood:
I've seen a 1999 Fiat Brava 1.6 SX for £1,095 57,000 miles with a full service that's very tempting.

Also looking at a 1995 Mazda 323 1.5i GLX 5dr Fastback, 86,000 miles, full service history £1,250 gonna have to knock a few quid off that though.

My money comes through on Monday so assuming they're still available I think those are the two I'll be going for.

They sound good - interior of the Brava a bit fragile (I busted the CD on a hire car and I'm not that brutal).

I reckon with friendly and persistent discussion you should get the Mazda for £1000.

Good luck with it!

bravo/brava is not a good second hand buy...dodgy electrics etc...better with the mazda fr a first car id say, or other cheap fiat, but bravo should be avoided...

So the Bravo is out then and I've only seen one 323 that I want.

I think I'll probably end up with a Punto then. Cheap insurance and theres a ton of them about only problem is I can only seem to find 3 door versions, ah well! sucks to be a passenger in my car lol.

Puntos aren't that bad, just make sure they're serviced regularly and don't expect a huge level of comfort on the old ones.

You can upgrade them with little luxuries like electric windows/central locking fairly easily. The engines are good and they're cheap to run/insure. Also remarkably easy to drive and if you dent a £1000 one it won't leave you in tears (providing you don't dent it on an Mercedes).

Make sure you get a good steering lock though (one that covers the entire wheel) if you're parking it anywhere risky.

Fiats aren't that bad for reliability, part of their reputation is due to the fact that they tend to be poorly maintained by people and there are an auwful lot of them out there.

Check on the reliability Index, the Punto has above average reliability with a fairly even spread on faults and a far above average age.

So to summarize this thread you could buy any car for £1k, ignore all the stories of poor reliability, just go for whoevers favourite you happen to like!

If we haven't confused Quickblood, then it'll be a miracle!

Cheap cars?

Look out for one owners, fsh, possible "classic" insurance to keep costs down?

Anyone else got any tips that don't recommend specific cars/makes?

Well, I think all of the bases have been covered here.

Good luck Quickblood, let us know what you buy.

If I was looking for a £1,000 I'd be looking at mainly Japanese makes (Knowing me I'd probably end up buying a Rover 400!) although beware as these tend to have higher insurance costs than the Euroboxes.

Oh, should have added "Keep fingers crossed" when handing over the dosh!

Yeah you really did confuse me but that's cool.

Once it had been recommended I had my heart set on the Mazda 323, I just love the look of it and it ticks all the boxes being Japanese, 5 door and unlike the Escort, Corsa or the Micra there aren't 3 of each model parked on my road. Unfortunately the £1600 insurance quote for the 1.5l put me right off.

I think I know how to buy a car, I've been watching Deals on Wheels and Used Car Roadshow quite a bit but this being my first time means I'm bloody naive and have no mechanical experience I'll be lucky to not get screwed.

Fingers crossed I don't

Get yourself a tame mechanic and take him (or her) with you - blimey why didn't I think of that tip before now!!