First car..bit of advice?

[arbitor]

Tbh are any vag cars fun even with power? few

[Howard]

My Cinquecento was fun, and it had no power. Fun in the sense of "one wrong move and you're dead" kinda thing

I'd love an RS6, I bet the endless thrust of accelleration is fun

[Spud1]

Just an update here - I had to drop down the budget a fair bit for various reasons, so been looking around again..realising now that a polo/fabia/ibiza in decent nick isn't viable for my new budget (5k for the car basically), i've been looking at clios/206's/puntos.

Drove all three of those today - the clio was an OK drive (in a 1.25 04 plate), but just felt so small and cramped. So thats out..Then the punto - nice to drive and I like the gimmicky 'city' button even if all it does is lighten up the steering something chronic..but it just feels so cheaply made, hard to explain really but didnt feel right to me.

Last car I drove today was a 1.1 206 S (54 plate) and a 1.4 206 (basic model, cant remember the exact one). Defintely the best car I drove today; it felt good, looked good (imo) and was really easy to drive. There was a clear difference betwen the 1.1 and the 1.4 in terms of power as you might expect, but both were quite nippy and I think the 1.1 will more than do me.

I found the driving position to be just about perfect for me - contradictory to what I expected from all the reviews I had read which talk about an 'odd' driving position. So..thats what I'm going for I think.

54plate 1.1 Peugeot 206 S in metallic black with only 5300 miles on the clock (its an ex motorbility car ). Assuming its still there tomorrow i'm going to put down a deposit and I should have it by the end of the week Should suit me down to the ground..nice to look at, comfortable, easy to drive, very low insurance (£550 fully comp) and within budget at 5k OTR.

Couple of pics to show its immaculate condition - its wet in the picture as it decided to rain this afternoon, but i've seen it in the dry too where you can see the total lack of bumps/scratches

outside:
http://www.pc-gamer.co.uk/hex/new_car.jpg

inside (no radio in this pic, just a hole )
http://www.pc-gamer.co.uk/hex/new_car_inside.JPG

[Vimeous]

If can compromise on age check out Big Leon's thread. An X-plate Fabia 1.9SDi for £2280 and it looks shiney too

[Spud1]

Don't really want to compromise on age at all really - this car I am looking at atm also comes with a few months of manufacturers warranty, and really is in mint condition with nothing on the clock..which should also make it easier to sell in a couple of years

[arbitor]

They 206 is built like crap dont buy one.

The doors get all creaky the interior is plasticy and crap, and the engine is dire.

You may aswell get a top spec 306 it will be a better car

I wouldnt buy any pug infact bar the one i have bought and the gti 106, they are just built crap and the interior is crap.

And the 1.1 will struggle up a big hill, really underpowered cars

[Vimeous]

Don't really want to compromise on age at all really - this car I am looking at atm also comes with a few months of manufacturers warranty, and really is in mint condition with nothing on the clock..which should also make it easier to sell in a couple of years

If you want a few months warranty a decent used car dealer should be able to sort you out with something reasonable (although not as comprehensive as a manufacturers) and if not there are plenty of companies offering a similar service for many cars.

Mint condition can be had at any age or mileage, it just depends on the owner and how well the trim lasts.

As for easy to sell.
Age has less impact than condition and price. Granted 206's are popular but there are loads about so buyers will have a field day chasing the decent ones and be after massive discounts on anything that isn't perfect.

In general I agree with arbitors sentiment if not his terminology.
However he's dead right about 1.1 performance in a relatively large car. A 106 1.1 will feel nippy in town but over stretched on a dual carriageway. The 206 is significantly larger and heavier so you won't threaten any speed cameras unless they're at the bottom of a long wind-swept hill.
Also they're often over priced because some of the fairer-sex feel they look cute (rather than gawpy or giant-o-faced). Just be careful.

One last thing.
I've had a nose on Autotrader (Parkers is down atm) for Fabia prices. There are loads of main dealer, low mileage, Fabia Classic 1.2's at sub-£5k and 1.4TDi PD's are the similar to 206 1.4's for mileage at this price (60k miles). I even spotted this if you could cope with the mileage and find one near you. So it can be done but ofc it's still not 6k miles

[Spud1]

I hear what both of you are saying..and I know the rep the 206 has believe me i've done the research. Its the car I want though, for the reasons i've said above..and is what i'm 99% sure to be getting come friday.

I'm (clearly) not a petrol head, and stick pretty rigidly to the speed limits everywhere - I've no cause to go faster than 70mph except for some nice slow overtaking so really dont see the point in getting a car with a bigger engine when its just not needed. Its a good buy for the money, and while I know th 206 itself has a bad reputation from many my families experience with peugeot in general has always been good..its a gamble thats true and it largely depends on what your local peugeot garage is like (ours is pretty good).

I may regret it in a few months time but who knows

[Fox]

You really, really don't a 1.1 litre 206. To be honest you are best off avoiding the 206 alltogether but if you are dead set on one please at least avoid the 1.1. It really is the wrong engine for the car.

Compromising on budget doesn't mean you need to suffer a 1.1 litre car. Becuase of the poor characteristics of the engine you will likley find fuel consumption to be the same if not worse than a 1.4 or a 1.6.

You could do a lot worse than buying an older 1.6 litre Focus Zetec. I bet it will give you less trouble in your total ownership than the 206 will in its first year.

[arbitor]

Its not a gamble the 206 is A LOT worse than the build qaulity of the 306 i found.

My mum had athe 1.4 one and it was hell to be inside, when you compare it to the inside of my 306 ( albeit top of the range) its nothing.

Peugoets are built like poo fact, only reason i have one is because its the only one of to exceptions imo.

So please do your self a favour and get either something VAg or a cheaper pug, and ffs dont get a 1.1.

In that 1.1 you will not be able to overtake things that are going at 40 mph without a long stretch the pick up was awful on the 1.4, i dread to think about the 1.1,

[Vimeous]

Whatever you choose (206 or otherwise) I hope you enjoy it and won't have to regret it.

arbitor I love to overtake (a sadly dieing art) but not everyones that keen

[directhex]

count the "my peugeot is b0rked" threads in the "my car is b0rked" forum. i'd really REALLY avoid a peugeot, considering the number of times they've let my dad down (incuding during a rather frenzied trip to the hospital). http://forums.hexus.net/forumdisplay.php?f=50

[Howard]

According to Parkers (yes, I know) the 1.1 will return exactly one more mile per gallon than the 1.4 Without trying to sound snobbish, I would definitely second everyone else's sentiments about it being an unnecessary cut back. You might not be bothered about speed but it will make life a whole lot easier when it comes to joining busy carriageways, roundabouts, etc, if you've got a little bit of poke. Go for at least the 1.4, it won't cost you barely any extra to run (If, again to echo the above sentiments, you must buy a 206)

[J4MES]

count the "my peugeot is b0rked" threads in the "my car is b0rked" forum. i'd really REALLY avoid a peugeot, considering the number of times they've let my dad down (incuding during a rather frenzied trip to the hospital). http://forums.hexus.net/forumdisplay.php?f=50

can we rename pitstop 'my car is b0rked' pls? lmao..

[kalniel]

Just rename it 'my peugeot is b0rked'

[arbitor]

I await spud coming back and saying hes bought a polo