My daughter has just passed her car driving test [1] and it's been put
to me I *need* to buy her a car [2].

I've been looking at leasing and it's too expensive for her (and me).

I've fallen back on the old, tried and tested bangernomics method.

My normal approach is to get a SAAB of some description for £500 or
something really old (pre-1968). That may not be the best thing for
her.

During my research I have learnt two things:

1. I haven't a clue about "modern" cars
2. How FUCKING much!

I saw a hybrid [3] 2006 Honda Civic £2,500 reasonable condition but
then read hybrid batteries only last 10 years - what's the risk with
them?

The requirements are:

£2,500 budget
Automatic [4]
It's a first car so a Jag, Merc or BMW probably not great
She's over 30 so insurance isn't a massive issue.
Not a Ford [5]
Not a Fiat 500 [6]

Has anyone got anything suitable for sale or a suggestion of where and
what to look for?

[1] First time, better than me.
[2] What's wrong with her buying a scabby old Morris 1000,
realising you'd bought a heap and then learning to fix it?
[3] Cheap tax.
[4] I know, I know...
[5] Irrational on my part
[6] She doesn't want it to be obvious Daddy has bought it.

--
Simon

On 01/06/2022 07:30, sweller wrote:

>
> My daughter has just passed her car driving test [1] and it's been put
> to me I *need* to buy her a car [2].
>
snip

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/115380420252

El Wed, 01 Jun 2022 08:02:00 +0100, Nick Brooks escribió:

> On 01/06/2022 07:30, sweller wrote:
>
>
>
>> My daughter has just passed her car driving test [1] and it's been put
>> to me I *need* to buy her a car [2].
>>
> snip
>
> https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/115380420252

"...as all Honda's runs very smoothly". That's got to be worth a
substantial discount.

--
Paul.

https://paulc.es/elpatio

On 01/06/2022 07:30, sweller wrote:
>
> Not a Ford [5]

> [5] Irrational on my part

Perfectly understandable. We're never allowed to buy a Nissan, because
they didn't give Mrs E a job, back in the days when she was a Quality
Engineer, saying that she came across as too aggressive in the group
exercise. Too aggressive, in *Sunderland*.

--
Eddie eddie@deguello.org

On Wednesday, 1 June 2022 at 07:31:01 UTC+1, sweller wrote:
> My daughter has just passed her car driving test [1] and it's been put
> to me I *need* to buy her a car [2].

We have had a Clio 1.4 Auto in the family for many years, been all over Europe without a hiccup and served as a disabled waggon when required. .
Similar to www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202202272994867
It's been excellent and for under £2.5k you can get something clean with less than 60k miles. Easy to work on and parts are cheap as chips.

It's also galvanised, like our Trafic van, no visible body rust or chassis corrosion on either.

On 01/06/2022 09:19, Hog wrote:
> On Wednesday, 1 June 2022 at 07:31:01 UTC+1, sweller wrote:
>> My daughter has just passed her car driving test [1] and it's been put
>> to me I *need* to buy her a car [2].
>
> We have had a Clio 1.4 Auto in the family for many years, been all over Europe without a hiccup and served as a disabled waggon when required. .
Great little cars, and if you get one with a sunroof, even better :-)

--
Bruce Porter
"The internet is a huge and diverse community but mainly friendly"
http://ytc1.blogspot.co.uk/
There *is* an alternative! http://www.openoffice.org/

On 01/06/2022 07:30, sweller wrote:
>
> My daughter has just passed her car driving test [1] and it's been put
> to me I *need* to buy her a car [2].
>

> 2. How FUCKING much!
Yep, it's all gone tits up

--
Bruce Porter
"The internet is a huge and diverse community but mainly friendly"
http://ytc1.blogspot.co.uk/
There *is* an alternative! http://www.openoffice.org/

Nick Brooks <just4pip@almostfinished.org> wrote in news:t772t8$g4u$1@dont-
email.me:

> On 01/06/2022 07:30, sweller wrote:
>
>
>>
>> My daughter has just passed her car driving test [1] and it's been put
>> to me I *need* to buy her a car [2].
>>
> snip
>
> https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/115380420252
>

she won't get comments about daddy buying it but her peers will ask if
grandad has gone into a home

On Wednesday, 1 June 2022 at 07:31:01 UTC+1, sweller wrote:
> My daughter has just passed her car driving test [1] and it's been put
> to me I *need* to buy her a car [2].
<snip>
> what to look for?

I've been through similar.

Vauxhall Corsas (Corsa B models so around the £1000-£1500 mark) were fairly
good, had an automatic with the 1l engine.

Nissan Micras were boringly reliable. Didn't have an auto one but I'm sure it'll
be similarly well built. Sorry Eddie.

On 01/06/2022 07:30, sweller wrote:
>
> £2,500 budget
> Automatic [4]
> It's a first car so a Jag, Merc or BMW probably not great
> She's over 30 so insurance isn't a massive issue.
> Not a Ford [5]
> Not a Fiat 500 [6]

We've stuck with Fords for years now - SWMBO has a 2004 Focus, I (after
a succession of Mondeos broken by a disastrous Vectra) have a Jag X-type
(Mondeo in a posh frock). Avoid Vauxhalls, cast your prejudice aside and
get a Ford.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-search?postcode=b11aa&radius=1500&make=Ford&model=Focus&include-delivery-option=on&price-to=2500&transmission=Automatic

sweller wrote:

>
> My daughter has just passed her car driving test [1] and it's been put
> to me I need to buy her a car [2].
>

>
> The requirements are:
>
> £2,500 budget
> Automatic [4]
> It's a first car so a Jag, Merc or BMW probably not great
> She's over 30 so insurance isn't a massive issue.
> Not a Ford [5]
> Not a Fiat 500 [6]
>
> Has anyone got anything suitable for sale or a suggestion of where and
> what to look for?
>

https://www.carandclassic.com/car/C1460150

Bit over budget mind.

--
Geoff

"GeoffC" <me@home.nl> wrote in news:t77n2j$658$1@dont-email.me:

> sweller wrote:
>
>>
>> My daughter has just passed her car driving test [1] and it's been put
>> to me I need to buy her a car [2].
>>
>
>>
>> The requirements are:
>>
>> �2,500 budget
>> Automatic [4]
>> It's a first car so a Jag, Merc or BMW probably not great
>> She's over 30 so insurance isn't a massive issue.
>> Not a Ford [5]
>> Not a Fiat 500 [6]
>>
>> Has anyone got anything suitable for sale or a suggestion of where and
>> what to look for?
>>
>
>
> https://www.carandclassic.com/car/C1460150
>
> Bit over budget mind.
>
>

I think the integral garage of my 1970s house was built with that car in
mind. You would struggle to get out of anything wider. Perfect garage for
bikes though.

wessie wrote:

> "GeoffC" <me@home.nl> wrote in news:t77n2j$658$1@dont-email.me:
>
> > sweller wrote:
> >
> >>
> >> My daughter has just passed her car driving test [1] and it's been
> put >> to me I need to buy her a car [2].
> >>
> >
> >>
> >> The requirements are:
> >>
> >> £2,500 budget
> >> Automatic [4]
> >> It's a first car so a Jag, Merc or BMW probably not great
> >> She's over 30 so insurance isn't a massive issue.
> >> Not a Ford [5]
> >> Not a Fiat 500 [6]
> >>
> >> Has anyone got anything suitable for sale or a suggestion of where
> and >> what to look for?
> >>
> >
> >
> > https://www.carandclassic.com/car/C1460150
> >
> > Bit over budget mind.
> >
> >
>
> I think the integral garage of my 1970s house was built with that car
> in mind. You would struggle to get out of anything wider. Perfect
> garage for bikes though.

Haha, I just checked, compared to a Toyota Aygo it is only 4in lower
but a full foot narrower.
We had a 46 and a mate commented that at 6'2" it was one of the few
cars where his head didn't reach the roof.

--
Geoff

On Wednesday, 1 June 2022 at 11:59:47 UTC+1, Stephen Packer wrote:
> On Wednesday, 1 June 2022 at 07:31:01 UTC+1, sweller wrote:
> > My daughter has just passed her car driving test [1] and it's been put
> > to me I *need* to buy her a car [2].
> <snip>
> > what to look for?
>
> I've been through similar.
>
> Vauxhall Corsas (Corsa B models so around the £1000-£1500 mark) were fairly
> good, had an automatic with the 1l engine.

Correction, it was the 1.4, four pot engine rather than the 1l three pot engine (which
I really quite liked).

In article <jfp0k3FpdlU1@mid.individual.net>, Mike Fleming says...
> Avoid Vauxhalls, cast your prejudice aside and
> get a Ford.

I've not long sold(1) a Vx Signum that I ran pretty much trouble free for the past seven years.
Mileage was over 200k and I did 80k of those. You obviously had a Friday afternoon car.

(1) Oddly enough, for £150 more than I paid for it.

On Wed, 1 Jun 2022 09:36:19 +0100, YTC#1 <bdp@ytc1-spambin.co.uk>
wrote:

>On 01/06/2022 07:30, sweller wrote:
>>
>> My daughter has just passed her car driving test [1] and it's been put
>> to me I *need* to buy her a car [2].
>>
>
>> 2. How FUCKING much!
>Yep, it's all gone tits up

It's why I'm hanging onto the Hyundai for another year, at least.
Original plan was to sell it with a year left on the cambelt, but that
ship has sailed now.

It'd recommend them (the original shape ones, that is): solid, not
uncommon, pretty reliable, quite a few autos about, available under
£2500 but as a 4wd softroader they're expensive to insure and quite
thirsty. And at the bigger end of 'medium', come to think of it.

--

-Pip

Nick Brooks wrote:

> > My daughter has just passed her car driving test [1] and it's been
> > put to me I need to buy her a car [2].
> >
> snip
>
> https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/115380420252

That's the kind of thing - whilst it's very well presented the seller
forgot to do the engine bay dodge of cleaning the battery with WD40.

Nice clean battery makes it look like its been cared for.

--
Simon

YTC#1 wrote:

> > > My daughter has just passed her car driving test [1] and it's
> > > been put to me I need to buy her a car [2].
> >
> > We have had a Clio 1.4 Auto in the family for many years, been all
> > over Europe without a hiccup and served as a disabled waggon when
> > required. .
>
> Great little cars, and if you get one with a sunroof, even better :-)

This is a very good example of how mad the secondhand car market has
gone.

I bought in 2015 (from a co-worker of Simon Wilson) a tidy little,
fifteen year old Clio for £500.

Seven years later, an eighteen year old Clio is over £2,000!

--
Simon

wessie wrote:

> they were car-less until they got their head around the economics of
> car ownership

My plan is buy it, insure it, tax it and she can have it as a present.
That then gives her twelve months to save enough each month for the
renewal and the MOT etc.

She hasn't got the highest paying job but has managed to buy her own
flat - she lives in Glasgow so Daddy's repair skills will not readily
be on hand.

Things have changed, when I asked my Dad for help buying a bike he just
said I'd better get a job...

--
Simon

Mike Fleming wrote:

> cast your prejudice aside and get a Ford.

I have had a lot of Fords.

Admittedly, they didn't have windows and I didn'thave them for long.

--
Simon

GeoffC wrote:

> https://www.carandclassic.com/car/C1460150
>
> Bit over budget mind.

That is magnificent. Where it creeps over budget it saves on tax and
insurance.

She'll have to learn to service a car in the street.

--
Simon

On 01/06/2022 07:30, sweller wrote:

> 2. How FUCKING much!

If you think cars are bad, have you seen the price of a 125. Dealers
selling 20+ year old GC125s[1] for around £2500, and half decent YBRs
are nudging £2k and up

Bit left field perhaps, but auto, really practical and under budget.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202205276248694

The oily bits are Polo/Golf so shouldn't be hard to keep running.

[1]MSOHP

--
Gyp

On Thursday, June 2, 2022 at 8:35:44 AM UTC+1, Gyp wrote:
> On 01/06/2022 07:30, sweller wrote:
> > 2. How FUCKING much!
>
> If you think cars are bad, have you seen the price of a 125. Dealers
> selling 20+ year old GC125s[1] for around £2500, and half decent YBRs
> are nudging £2k and up
>
>
> Bit left field perhaps, but auto, really practical and under budget.
>
Don't envy the task. Basically anything in beige that would be normally seen driven by a 90 year old is the way to go.

Not sure how well the classic car route works now, 20 odd years ago Niece and Nephew had an MGB and a Land Rover respectively. What they wanted was a Saxo but they changed their minds when they saw that they could buy and insure the MGB / LR for much less than the cost of insuring a Saxo. What we did with both of them was to insure a Puch Maxi for them, they did not even know, and leave it in my garage. When they came to get car insurance it was taken in to consideration and the reduction in car insurance was more than the cost of insuring the maxi. I guess that horse has bolted in this case.

We were lucky in that the Apprentice had a year on a moped and 3 years on an ETZ125 MZ before he got a car. Aviva gave him 4 years no claims discount. Sadly, "Occupation - Musician" sent the premium through the roof. However we tell everybody to try Aviva, they are not on comparison sites and are happy to talk on the phone. They usually are competitive.

Just been offered £2500 less than what I paid for my Leon Estate 5 years ago as a trade in, then again what I want is an XC40 Volvo and was quoted a March delivery date!

Good luck in the mine field

Boxerboy.

Boxerboy wrote:

> Not sure how well the classic car route works now,

I've seen a couple of 80's Renault 5s, Polos and the like within budget
that fit the bill

--
Simon

sweller wrote:

> GeoffC wrote:
>
> > https://www.carandclassic.com/car/C1460150
> >
> > Bit over budget mind.
>
> That is magnificent. Where it creeps over budget it saves on tax and
> insurance.
>
> She'll have to learn to service a car in the street.

Can be done.....

https://1drv.ms/u/s!AptckoyvaobmkdoiJlwYQsRPUc_4yA?e=fGQ7Fj

Hammer, screwdriver, adjustable.....fixes most things.

--
Geoff