wild foamy Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 Hi everyone. have been discussing first cars with a friend of mine, his dad bought him an MGB GT for Xmas for £500 and im helping him restore it so he can use it as his first car (1.8 liter, woot!). ive been thinking about my first car for a while now. i want something nice, something with prestigue, none of these horrible little chav chariots or peashooters that fall down every pothole they come to and have currently decided on a ford capri laser, insurance is £2,700 TPF&T and ive already put £106 towards that so i dont mind if the insurance is a little bit pricey aslong as its a nice car. anyone got any suggestions as to what i should look for that matches my criteria?, ideally under or around the £1,000 mark - Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madison Motorsport Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 I wouldn't touch a Crapi TBH. You will be lucky to find one within your budget that isn't as rusty as a Suzuki. Have you considered an original Mini Cooper? Proper go karts and lots of fun to drive. Plus, they are cheap to run, tax and insure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pilninggas Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 £2700? no way Steve you must be mad!!! like ^ said a mini is a great choice, my mate collects em, the amount of bits you can get for them is amazing. if i was in your shoes id get an old fiat panda! (of course staying on bikes for a few years would be better!!!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator drewpy Posted January 25, 2009 Moderator Share Posted January 25, 2009 BMW 2002 touring is a nice small car circa 1970 ford escort MK 1 2 or 3 ford cortina Mk1 (pricey especially in Lotus form) Sunbeam Alpines series 1 to 5 ('59 to '67) I restored one, lovely car. could get one cheap all these could be on classic insurance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pilninggas Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 BMW 2002 touring is a nice small car circa 1970 ford escort MK 1 2 or 3 ford cortina Mk1 (pricey especially in Lotus form) Sunbeam Alpines series 1 to 5 ('59 to '67) I restored one, lovely car. could get one cheap all these could be on classic insurance steve probably wont be able to get classic insurance as he is a young 'un! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator drewpy Posted January 25, 2009 Moderator Share Posted January 25, 2009 steve probably wont be able to get classic insurance as he is a young 'un! dad with named driver? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ500 Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 dad with named driver?get a three weeler.greatfun and cheep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wild foamy Posted January 25, 2009 Author Share Posted January 25, 2009 the original minis look like a good choice but the decent ones are a bit pricey, and they look a bit too small for my liking, as for insurance i will have to have a word with my dad and see if i can be a named driver on his insurance. like the sunbeam alpine though... but they are too expensive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m3-paul Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 If you can afford the insurance then a BMW E30 318is would be fabulous. Often referred to as the mini M3. Superb handling, good strong 1.8 16v engine and reliability. If insurance is too much on one then try the standard E30 318i. One like this . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackhat250 Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 , ideally under or around the £1,000 Stevy mate / don"t spend a lot of money on ur first car [ u"ll prang it for shure] Its a learning curve .I had a Morris Minor [ WOLF-RACE Wheels 205s on back 195s on front] metalic two tone paint job . austin healy TC. engine [the bollocks] Rolled the fkr on a corner. all that money and wrk waisted , get a £500 mondeo . if it lasts a year" good and well ,it"l soak up the bumps and crashes [ them old minis have no protection] + how many piston has that dt50 had now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wild foamy Posted January 25, 2009 Author Share Posted January 25, 2009 how many piston has that dt50 had now ... including the big bore its on its 3rd... its not easy finding a modern car that is good looking, under 1.6 capacity, not rotten and cheap to insure. even a 1L suzuki swift will cost me £2,000 to insure it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slippery When Wet Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 OK Few things: Most classic car policies are for age 25+ You cannot be a young named driver on a classic policy You can insure a classic car on a normal policy as a named driver providing the car is no more than 25 years old (some policies are 20 years old) Norwich Union do a policy whereby you can be a named driver providing your dad is the legal owner and they do a deal if he has another car insured with someone else and switches it across to them, Dad gets a better deal on his car and you get a very reasonable quote on your car PLUS (big plus here) Dad's no claims will not be affected if you have a accident ie he keeps his record intact on his car, only the insurance on your car would go up next year. My partner's son is 18 drives a mark II capri (1.6 litre with Pinto engine) and got it insured (in style just described) for about £750 fully comp. You are going to struggle to get an Old Skool Ford for under £1000 that does not need some work doing, having said that, if you're willing to do the work you could end up with a very collectable car. Problem with capris is the the 1.3 and 1.6 engines are in high demand by young drivers. That doesn't mean you wont find one, just keep looking as it may take some time. If you can squeeze a couple of extra hundred quid out (eg if your Dad can help sort out the insurance and release some of those funds) you should be able to get a Mark II thats on the road and just needs a bit of TLC. Oh and if you do get a Capri, join the Capri Owners Club, well worth the subs and gives you access to a wealth of parts and advice The Sunbeam Alpines (Simon Templar style) will be too pricey for you and are prone to major rust issues. Another option on the Ford front is an Orion, yup I can hear the groans, unfashionable in their day as a new car, but these are becoming quite collectable classics with growing popularity in the modified scene. Also gaining street cred is the Vauxhall Viva (was my first car ) , get a 2 door model and they look really smart when done up in true coupe style One more suggestion - Triumph Herald, or the more sporty Dolomite. Roite I'll shuddup now and let your fingers do some web surfin. See if you can track down retro-rides forum, I looked for it but seems to have disappeared Feel free to PM me if have specific questions, we have a collection of classic cars, otehr half and his son do all their own work and we have lots of knowledgeable mates Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wild foamy Posted January 26, 2009 Author Share Posted January 26, 2009 theres nothing i love more than tinkering, repairing, replacing and rebuilding things, so i dont mind having to do some work on it aslong as it isnt too rusty, dont want to be forever welding the floor back in... the 1.3 capris, although nice, are said to be somewhat gutless and are rare as rocking horse sh*te, the 1.6s' are very nice and there was a very tidy one on ebay not too long ago for £699 (classified ad) which just needed a bit of paint tidying up but did not need welding or anything major and structural. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slippery When Wet Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 theres nothing i love more than tinkering, repairing, replacing and rebuilding things, so i dont mind having to do some work on it aslong as it isnt too rusty, dont want to be forever welding the floor back in... the 1.3 capris, although nice, are said to be somewhat gutless and are rare as rocking horse sh*te, the 1.6s' are very nice and there was a very tidy one on ebay not too long ago for £699 (classified ad) which just needed a bit of paint tidying up but did not need welding or anything major and structural. Luke is also restoring a 1.3 Mark I We're in Suffolk if you are ever over this way gimme a shout, give you a tour of the garage Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wild foamy Posted January 27, 2009 Author Share Posted January 27, 2009 how far away from Newbury (RG14) is suffolk?, if i can get there avoiding motorways then i can come have a look during the summer holidays (13th-21st Feb) i just dont want to end up with some pokey, horrible, un-stylish little peashooter that wouldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding and falls down every hole it comes too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator drewpy Posted January 27, 2009 Moderator Share Posted January 27, 2009 get the mag "practical classics" its a good read and there's ads too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madison Motorsport Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 If you can find a Talbot Alpine, they are a decent sized car and, for a 1.3l engine, like sh*t off a well greased shovel. Or, a Renault 9 or Renault 11 Turbo. I used to have an 11 Turbo. It had the same engine as the 5 Turbo (1.4l) but even though it was a bigger car, it was actually quicker standard because of the gearbox used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slippery When Wet Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 how far away from Newbury (RG14) is suffolk?, if i can get there avoiding motorways then i can come have a look during the summer holidays (13th-21st Feb) i just dont want to end up with some pokey, horrible, un-stylish little peashooter that wouldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding and falls down every hole it comes too It's a bit of a hike if you dont do M4, M25 to be honest, about 160 miles on the A roads. Classic car show at Ally Pally should be on soon, sure it's normally in March. Be all shiney stuff, but should be some club stands where you can have a chat to some bods who have done restos. I'll keep you posted of any shows in your area Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
choppernorgate Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 Hi everyone. have been discussing first cars with a friend of mine, his dad bought him an MGB GT for Xmas for £500 and im helping him restore it so he can use it as his first car (1.8 liter, woot!). ive been thinking about my first car for a while now. i want something nice, something with prestigue, none of these horrible little chav chariots or peashooters that fall down every pothole they come to and have currently decided on a ford capri laser, insurance is £2,700 TPF&T and ive already put £106 towards that so i dont mind if the insurance is a little bit pricey aslong as its a nice car. anyone got any suggestions as to what i should look for that matches my criteria?, ideally under or around the £1,000 mark - Steve try a jaguar i got my xjr 32 t plate for £2250 mint con: ins is cheep capri r grate if looked afted good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator drewpy Posted January 28, 2009 Moderator Share Posted January 28, 2009 here's a nice one for you http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/c76535?pt=pf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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