Car reccommendations?

[Little Monkey]

Oh dear.....

After 13 years of not driving, I now find myself in the position of having to start driving again - or become a hermit!

I'm moving in with my boyfriend, who lives out in the sticks where there's not as much as a local shop to get a pint of milk. I think the nearest tiny shop is over 30 minutes walk away, in the next village. So driving is all of a sudden a neccessity. Anyone who lives in the east of Scotland, now's the time to take cover. Little Monkey is about to be let loose on the roads! Obviously I am going to get driving lesons before I start driving again, as I have completely forgotten how this driving lark works, and I don't fancy killing myself or others! It's very strange to drive on the left side of the road, my brain turned to porridge the first time I tried.....

Anyhoo - what I really need is advice on what car to go for. Requirements are: A small car which is economical and easy to drive/park in the city, but which still has enough room for my dog (border collie) in the back, and has seats that can be folded down flat for transporting my work to galleries etc. Oh, and my budget is max. £2000!

My dear brother will only reccommend Japanese cars, which somewhat limits my choice! I quite like the look of the new Nissan Micra, but after looking at it more closely I discovered it's not got nearly enough space in the boot for my doggie. I like the Peugeot 206, but this has been poo-poo'd by nearly all my male friends, who won't let me buy any French car. The only car I can think of that won't be completely dismissed by my male friends is the Ford Fiesta: it's the right size, good size boot, economical and practical.

Anyone else who's got any good advice? Otherwise it looks like my choice will be Ford Fiesta or....... Ford Fiesta! Despite it not being Japanese.......

A Confuddled Little Monkey

[Lee Bartholomew]

Jap cars are norm very good quality and well built which is prob why your brothyer is recommending them.

French and Italian cars are fine but expensive if they go wrong ie even replacing a wing mirror needs specialist tools !!!!

German cars are pretty good but norm expensive Mercs BMW's etc

Fords are inexpensive if they go wrong as parts are pretty much readily available, as are Rovers (if you are getting an older car)

Maybe you should take a look at The Matiz (daewoo / Chevy), They are economical but quite small (900cc, 3 cyl engine !! )

The Fiesta is a good car too though and if you can find a good one at the price you are looking for then go for it :-)

[philsmove]

For a cheap reliable Japanese workhorse, have a look at the Nissan Almera


or from the VW group the Skoda Fabia The Fabia is a bit smaller than a Golf but bigger than a Polo

You wont find ether on the Top Gear Cool Wall, but both are difficult to beat when it comes to value for money

[Twirly]

Welcome to the world of driving LM - and congrats on moving in with the boyfriend

I only passed my test a couple of years ago, and bought a Fiesta just after passing my test. It's the only car I've driven since, but I like it. She seems to be fairly economical, the insurance isn't sky high either. I've had to have a few bits of work done, the most expensive bit of which was having a complete unit fitted for the fan/air con, as the old one had fused - had to drive up the motorway the other week with the windows open as it was too hot (cost £250, but apparently a rare complaint). It's easy to park too.

Only real criticisms are a bit slow going up hills unless you've already got some speed up on the flat first as it's only a 1.25 (which might be a bit of an issue up your way, so you might want to look for something beefier), can be a bit of a squeeze if you've more than one passenger with long legs - Beo tends to push the passenger seat right back to accomodate his legs, which can be a problem for anyone sitting behind him. And limited capacity if you want to take lots of things with you... such as shoes to a dance weekender. Did some calculations recently and we worked out that you could fit one woman + dance weekender luggage and 2 men + dance weekender luggage in, or 2 women + dance weekender luggage, but that 2 women, 1 man and dance weekender luggage just wouldn't fit

[Clueless]

I'm a sucker for older cars and I had a K10 Mnissan Micra (The really old box one) and thats was ok, excellent fuel economy unless you hit the motorway (it has 4 gears so it was screaming at you if you exceeded 75).

The Fiesta would be a good one, but look around Scotads, Auto trader, even second had dealers. there will be something out there you like.

[Dreadful Scathe]

what it looks like is hardly important, it needs to be reliable - the most reliable cars are all japanese

it has 4 gears so it was screaming at you if you exceeded 75

or so you heard anyway, not that you actually broke the law yourself

[DavidY]

or from the VW group the Skoda Fabia The Fabia is a bit smaller than a Golf but bigger than a Polo

I'm on my second one of these - in an "Estate" version which gives more room for doggies and weekender luggage (and probably wouldn't cost much more than the hatch version). However it isn't a "box-shaped" estate like a Volvo so doggy headroom isn't that great if your dog is big.

Not entirely trouble-free, but I did 220,000 miles in the last one before I sold it so I couldn't really complain.

The Peugeot 206 is another small hatch that had an estate version too.

[Little Monkey]

K10 Nissan Micra (The really old box one) and thats was ok, excellent fuel economy unless you hit the motorway

Well, not so good then, as I'll be zooming up and down the motorway between Dundee and Montrose (keeping my studio in Dundee).

I'm on my second one of these - in an "Estate" version which gives more room for doggies and weekender luggage (and probably wouldn't cost much more than the hatch version). However it isn't a "box-shaped" estate like a Volvo so doggy headroom isn't that great if your dog is big.

Not entirely trouble-free, but I did 220,000 miles in the last one before I sold it so I couldn't really complain.

The Peugeot 206 is another small hatch that had an estate version too.

I think I'll stick to a hatch rather than estate - I want a compact and bijou car! And I've looked at the Peugeot 206, and it had plenty of room for my ickle girl in the back, so that's the sort of size I'm looking for.

[Dreadful Scathe]

Well, not so good then, as I'll be zooming up and down the motorway between Dundee and Montrose (keeping my studio in Dundee).

but you clearly wouldn't be going over 75 and breaking the law, so would it matter ?

[ducasi]

I'd suggest a Fiat Panda. Very bijou, but surprisingly roomy! Aleks has one.

Here's one for sale in Dundee for £1995

[Little Monkey]

but you clearly wouldn't be going over 75 and breaking the law, so would it matter ?

Nah, I'm a good girl, plus there's too many speed cameras on that road to even think about speeding!

[Little Monkey]

I'd suggest a Fiat Panda. Very bijou, but surprisingly roomy! Aleks has one.

Here's one for sale in Dundee for £1995

That's a nice little car, but the boot looks rather narrow for my dog to fit in......?

[Villemo]

That's a nice little car, but the boot looks rather narrow for my dog to fit in......?

Needs room for TWO doggies in the car

[Little Monkey]

Needs room for TWO doggies in the car

Yeah, but yours is twice as big as mine, so if I were to accomodate him, I'd have to get an estate! NO WAY!

[ShinyWeeStar]

Anyhoo - what I really need is advice on what car to go for. Requirements are: A small car which is economical and easy to drive/park in the city, but which still has enough room for my dog (border collie) in the back, and has seats that can be folded down flat for transporting my work to galleries etc. Oh, and my budget is max. £2000!

or from the VW group the Skoda Fabia The Fabia is a bit smaller than a Golf but bigger than a Polo

You wont find ether on the Top Gear Cool Wall, but both are difficult to beat when it comes to value for money

I'd second that. I learned to drive in a Skoda Fabia (Car of the Year 2000) and it was lovely to drive. I still want one when I get round to buying my own motor! Glad to hear it's good value for money too. (We never tried to fit a doggie in the boot during my lessons, but I'd imagine it'd be big enough as it was a decent size for a small car.)

I also like the Mitsubishi Colt; it's economical to run, has enough power to cope with Scottish hills and fits at least one Collie in the boot. Apparently you'll have a job finding one these days (Colt, not Collie) but the Peugeot 206 is a good alternative.

A Fiesta would be cheap to run, good size boot, etc. - Dad says he wouldn't walk past one (he's talking in my ear, can you tell?).

He also recommends Mazda, which seem to be very reliable and well spoken of (but check insurance costs before you buy).

[philsmove]

I can get two (folded ) Moulton's bikes in the boot of my fabia Hatch

I have the 3 cylinder diesel 55 mpg and £35 road tax

but if I was looking for a second hand car under £2000 I would go for the Almeria

[Little Monkey]

I'd second that. I learned to drive in a Skoda Fabia (Car of the Year 2000) and it was lovely to drive. I still want one when I get round to buying my own motor! Glad to hear it's good value for money too. (We never tried to fit a doggie in the boot during my lessons, but I'd imagine it'd be big enough as it was a decent size for a small car.)

Yeah, I like the skoda, it's a nice little car, but roomy at the same time. Hmmmm...... I need to go around to some dealers just to have a look at the different ones, methinks.

[frodo]

I quite like the look of the new Nissan Micra, but after looking at it more closely I discovered it's not got nearly enough space in the boot for my doggie. I like the Peugeot 206, but this has been poo-poo'd by nearly all my male friends, who won't let me buy any French car. The only car I can think of that won't be completely dismissed by my male friends is the Ford Fiesta: it's the right size, good size boot, economical and practical.

Anyone else who's got any good advice? Otherwise it looks like my choice will be Ford Fiesta or....... Ford Fiesta! Despite it not being Japanese.......

Peugeot 206 may have more reliability issues, but for the model's age it is a relatively safe car (as is the Skoda Fabia).

The used prices of French cars do appear to reflect the expected reliability, so you should get a newer car for the money.

As a dancer you may value your legs. The (pre 2002) Ford Fiesta, Chevrolet Matiz and the (pre 2003) Micra don't do much to protect them (check out the Euro NCAP diagrams).

The worst is the Micra http://www.euroncap.com/tests/nissan_micra_2000/68.aspx

Fiesta http://www.euroncap.com/tests/ford_fiesta_2000/76.aspx

Matiz http://www.euroncap.com/tests/daewoo_matiz_2000/65.aspx

Panda http://www.euroncap.com/tests/fiat_panda_2004/198.aspx

206 http://www.euroncap.com/tests/peugeot_206_2000/72.aspx

Fabia http://www.euroncap.com/tests/skoda_fabia_2000/75.aspx

[Little Monkey]

Peugeot 206 may have more reliability issues, but for the model's age it is a relatively safe car (as is the Skoda Fabia).

The used prices of French cars do appear to reflect the expected reliability, so you should get a newer car for the money.

As a dancer you may value your legs. The (pre 2002) Ford Fiesta, Chevrolet Matiz and the (pre 2003) Micra don't do much to protect them (check out the Euro NCAP diagrams).

If I value my legs, the Skoda Fabia seems to be the way to go, then! Gosh, some of those other test results were rather poor....

[Little Monkey]

Needs room for TWO doggies in the car

I have a solution: Wolf just needs to lie flat, and Troll can use him as a rug and sit on top of him! That way she'll get a better view, too!