Cars!!

[Cute Quo Chick]

Hi people Im gettin 2 the age that Im gonna learn 2 drive n hopefully pass my test. Plz tell me what car do u think i should get. If U choose others plz tell me what car u think I should get. Thanx! xxxx

[xxdebbiexx]

wat cars will u b able 2 get? hmmmmmmmmm 1from a garage sale

[Cute Quo Chick]

hmmmmmm mayb from arnold clark or reg vardy or any car company.

[Captain]

I can't drive, it's so embarrassing. I've been learning and i'm getting there though

[minigirl]

[Cute Quo Chick]

its after i pass my test. I wanna see wht the best car is 4 me. by conducting the poll on here . i need a nice car even if its not on the list please mention.

[K-Babe]

Ford Fiesta or a Ford Focus

[Cute Quo Chick]

i like the new shape focus not seen the fiesta tho both nice cars created by ford

[K-Babe]

http://cache.jalopnik.com/assets/resources/2007/08/ford_verve_concept.jpg

Thats going to be the new Fiesta.

Ive got the previous one myself and i love it!

[Cute Quo Chick]

I like te new fiesta might have that its lovely . the mondeo is nice as well but the fiesta is nice too. so is the mercedes c-class. any other nice cars???

[minigirl]

looks like you have a thing for vauxhalls and fords - and why not? they both make good cars. but what size and type of car do you want or need? the list so far has one of the smaller "people movers" (zafira), two small cars (corsa and fiesta), a coupé (hyundai) and two medium sized cars (mondeo and c-class). is there any particular size of car that you feel more comfortable in? and would you need to carry anything in particular on a regular basis?

the amount of money you have available would have quite a bearing on it too. a mercedes-benz c-class would obviously cost a fair bit more than a vauxhall corsa or ford fiesta. are you looking for a new or a used car? if you were looking for a used car several years old, i would not include anything korean on the list - their quality has improved remarkably in the last few years, and some of the current offerings (particularly hyundai) are equal to those from the established manufacturers, but it was a different story a few years ago.

[Cute Quo Chick]

im looking for a well kept used car if it was a merc n hyundai but a well kept used car wud b preferable. my man hates bmw's and fiat's too and he wants me to get a half decent car like a vauxhall ( he has the 2002 shape) or something else for when i pass my test so thats why im confused cos theres so many lovely cars out there and i dont know whats good for me. I need a car tht can carry shopping , take people places ,comfortable for long distance traveling nothing to heavy like cookers , etc. My dad has the zafira but there are only me , him and me mum in the family but my mum forced him to buy it when he seen the vauxhall vectra so all that space is still there so why have a big car if there are only 3 people??? So a car thats a reasonable size not too big yet not to small just a perfect size and a 2 or 4 wheel drive car. I wouldnt go for a 4 x 4 car as if i was traveling down to england you need to pay congestion charge and now wiv alistar darling's boring budget for this year he's putting it up which i find outrageous. so anything a perfect size abd gets me around from A to B .

[minigirl]

if there's going to be three people using the car, i'd suggest going for something a bit bigger than the ford fiesta or vauxhall corsa and something slightly smaller than a ford mondeo. a two door coupe would be a nuisance if you carry more than one passenger (as would a three-door hatchback), and (i hope you do not mind me saying this) a mercedes-benz seems to me to be an unnecessary extravagance. i don't think that you need a 4 wheel drive car.

now, i'm not familiar with everything that's available on the uk market, but given the cars you have mentioned so far, i think the best options for you would be either the ford focus or a vauxhall astra. i've never been in a ford focus, but you see plenty of them about, and it seems to be the sort of package you might need. as for the astra, i was in holiday in the uk about a couple of years ago and rented a vauxhall astra while i was there. it seemed to be a well built, strong (for a car of its size) car that handled well. inside it's rather like the zafira except that you don't sit so high up. i also have a friend who has a current model holden astra (same car - they just sell it under a different brand name in australia) that i have driven on a number of occasions and, if i was looking for another car for myself, this would be on my shortlist.

as i mentioned earlier, if you are carry more than one passenger, i would suggest that you get either a four-door car or a five-door hatchback.

anybody else have any suggestions or comments?

[K-Babe]

The Focus has been Britain's best selling car for the last 9 years. Its a great car. I have been in one and they're very good. And i find they have more quality and is more pleasing than the Vauxhall Astra.

But really, i'd never say the Ford Mondeo is too big either. Its bigger than the previous ones yes but its so sexy i could marry it But they would also be very practical. The 1.8 TDCi will do nigh on 50mpg and theres plenty of space in the car.

[Mr JACA]

OK a quick lesson here:
You don't buy cars based on a forum.

The process is simple:
1. Decide what you want it for (If you live on a farm an AMG Merc ain't gonna be ideal, if you live in the city a 4x4 Hilux is going to suck). If looks, performance, features, size are important then this is where you identify this.
2. Work out your budget.
3. Look at new and second hand cars in your budget.
4. shortlist 10 car models (you have already done 3).
5. Test drive each model.
6. Look at the highest model you can afford (less likely to be reps/fleet cars so built better).
7. Merc X1XX or BMW X1X aren't worthwhile cars. Do yourself a favour and buy a badge from the dealer and stick it on your wall. Then buy the mid range Vauxhall or Ford for the same money.
8. check insurance costs for your shortlist (have a look at a Subaru WRX for a shock).
9. Research what goes wrong with each model. The internet rocks for this, just take a look for Astra Turbo stuff and failed water pumps will dive out at you for example (I have one and it did, big mess $$$$).
By now your shortlist probably has far less cars left in it.
10. Work out which ones to go and look at, look at them and get the service history (if second hand).

In many cases the security of the new car warranty may be valuable, especially if you intend to sell it around the time the warranty runs out.

Take someone who's done it before with you so they can help with the pitfalls.

Good luck. There are some great cars out there. Peugeot, Renault, Vauxhall, Merc, BMW etc...etc

Mercs and bimmers aren't that extravagant in Europe I realise (here in Australia they are OVERPRICED) but they are more expensive.
Here in Australia we can buy a 6 litre V8 car the size of a 7 series with performance that puts some big names to shame for the price of an A200 Turbo Merc or slightly more than a Mini Cooper S. This is a car with 0-62mph time of 5.2 seconds and a top speed of about 160mph. Hard to ignore performance value like that, especially with the added benefit of seating 5 adults comfortably and easily getting 35mpg on the highway. The point is that in Oz the decision is made much harder when the local manufacturers cars are so much cheaper. Not that that helps you but it does put minigirl's comment into perspective a little. With all due respect to minigirl of course.