I have 1-2weeks to buy a car

[Matthoulb]

I've just gotten a placement job and so NEED a car!

I have ~£5k for the car itself, and don't want to spend more than ~£1k on the insurance (20, no ncb, 3yrs driving). The plan is to keep this car for a couple of years and change when i finish uni, though this all depends on what happens with my life i guess.

Here's the problem My family are VAG fans and have only had VW's for years (well, apart from the Impreza and my sisters Seat Ibiza's). So that's what i like to, but then i pay a premium for this, but that's the way it is, lol.

I'd like a smallish car, my ideal car would be a Seat Leon 1.6s but i don't think that i'll find one in time. So NO bigger than a Leon (don't even mention a Mondeo please, it's not even funny).

My list at the moment is:
- Seat Leon 1.6s
- Seat Ibiza 1.6 Sport
- Skoda Fabia 1.4 16v

What else should i consider? What are Polo's like?

The car will mainly be used around town, but will go on occasional motorway journeys. I'd like something fairly modern and reliable (i am in no way mechanicaly minded).

What i don't want:
- Citroen (ugly)
- Peugeot (bad interior, on the 306 anyway)


Any help would be appreciated

[Nox]

anything german gets my vote

Nox

[dkmech]

How about a Lupo. Thats small And german.

[Matthoulb]

That's too small

[XTR]

Ya could get a nice Renault Megane Coupe for that 1.6 16v....

When i first bought my Megane Coupe i was 21, 0ncd, and 3 years experience...... insurance quote was just shy of £1000....

[Zak33]

Seat Ibiza......good to go, cheaper than a Polo, well built.

But you'll always regret not getting a 306 German tanks dont handle.....French balerina's do

[Matthoulb]

Ok, current thoughts are:
Skoda Fabia 1.4 16v Comfort - ~£5.4k with insurance
Ford Focus 1.6 Zetec - ~£5.8 with insurance (if i can find one)

[Stoo]

Fabia VRS?

[Matthoulb]

How the hell am i going to afford that.

[Stoo]

It's not that much more than the one you're looking at new, maybe you could find an older one?

[Matthoulb]

£5.4k includes insurace at ~£900. Insurance on a VRS would be a LOT more, so there is no WAY i can afford it.

[Stoo]

It was worth a try

Actually, why don't you try one of these lease or own deals that are quite popular at the moment?

You know exactly how much to budget for every month, you don't have to worry about any servicing, mot's etc, and you can either pay the balance, git it back, or get a new one and start again?

Quite often you get stuff like free insurance etc with them too if you press the right buttons

[Matthoulb]

The cheapest VRS on Autotrader is £10k.

[Stoo]

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[Matthoulb]

There is NO CHANCE i'm buying a new car! Madness. I'm a student doing a placement year, hence money is tight

[J4MES]

corolla? 323?