Cavcraft Posted March 7, 2015 Posted March 7, 2015 Hyundais (and Kias) are great. I don't know if it's a consideration for her, but my mate has just bought a second hand Nissan Note diesel and loves it, almost to the point of fanaticism.
alf892 Posted March 7, 2015 Posted March 7, 2015 How about Suzuki Swift?.......we tried a few when Miss Alf was car shopping a little while ago and you budget would get quite a nice one. That or a Jazz would be on my list anyways. If the budget only allows 'bottom end' of anything don't get one! Unless you are shopping for shite the cheapest of anything should usually be avoided......ok there are exceptions but not many
HillmanImp Posted March 7, 2015 Author Posted March 7, 2015 thing about all modern Mazdas is the price of the parts - stuff like suspension bits seem to be very pricey; they have a decent rep as regards 'reliability' but when they do need bigger bits you can be 'hit hard' in the pocket... ...Volvo are similar; reasonably reliable, but the price of the bits can be frightening when/if they need repair for whatever reasons... Don't let her get talked into a 'mazda 6' diesel - they can seem to make a decent, long lasting diesel motor mazda, and you can buy recentish mazda diesels with 'engine problems' for pocket change... We are defo not doing diseasel. That much is sure. I was not keen on it anyhow but everyone has just reaffirmed my thoughts. How about Suzuki Swift? Again, nice but a bit small for baby duties along with all the other shit she insists on putting in her car. If the budget only allows 'bottom end' of anything don't get one! Unless you are shopping for shite the cheapest of anything should usually be avoided......ok there are exceptions but not many. Are we talking about cars or prostitutes here? TBH if you budget for 'bottom end' you can probably afford most of her other services as ironically that is most likely the top end of most call girls price list......er probably. My mate told me or something like that.
HillmanImp Posted March 7, 2015 Author Posted March 7, 2015 Hyundais (and Kias) are great. I don't know if it's a consideration for her, but my mate has just bought a second hand Nissan Note diesel and loves it, almost to the point of fanaticism. She actually likes Nissan Notes. I thought the interior was horrible but she did actually look at them before she bought her Mazda 2 but they were slightly more than she wanted to spend at the time. Anyhow, test driving a Focus tomorrow and am looking for a Mazda 6 with petrol propulsion that is reasonably near too. Will see if we can find some Hyundais at a reasonable price too. Its odd you know, I am still stuck in the 90s where Kia and Hyundia were worth scrap money about 20 mins after driving it off the forecourt. Looking online now they are worth as much as any other manufacturer really. Seems mad to me. maybe MG will be the same in a few years.
r.welfare Posted March 7, 2015 Posted March 7, 2015 Nissan Notes are great if you're in your late sixties, my dad positively raves about his. Mind you if you can live with the OAP image (it's no worse than a Jazz in that respect) the space utilisation is outstanding (the rear seat slides on most models so you can carry four Harlem Globetrotters or have a big boot) and the 1600 goes better than the Qashqai with less weight to shove around.
Keymaster Posted March 8, 2015 Posted March 8, 2015 Notes are shit. Avis had loads of them a few years back. Didnt seem to matter on the spec they are all tinny, boomy, hopelessly geared, have a crap radio & feel like you will fall off the seat every time you take a corner. EVERYONE in work when hiring a car insisted to the booking agent that the depot sent "anything other than a note!" This often resulted in the delivery of a MG6 B-) Anyway, my vote is for a focus. Its all the car anyone really needs and if something breaks any garage can fix it quickly and cheaply.
Pillock Posted March 8, 2015 Posted March 8, 2015 I've just walked past a 56 reg Mazda 6 in the carpark of a breakfast emporium. The rear arch looks like a 90s Puma that's been kept in the Acme Saltmine and Water Spray Equipment emporium. Alusilber and Lacquer Peel 2
cort16 Posted March 8, 2015 Posted March 8, 2015 That's the precious gen Mazda 6m, they do rot like bastards. I saw a 55 plate one a couple of weeks ago that was really tidy other than it had no sills.
AlabamaShrimp Posted March 8, 2015 Posted March 8, 2015 Sounds like a nightmare going to carcraft. Only been there once to look at stuff ages ago and I walked off when they started to talk to me. I got lost with a lot of the cars and stuff people are talking about so my best advice as always is to buy the fastest fiesta possible Only picked the ST as the RS isn't out yet
willswitchengage Posted March 8, 2015 Posted March 8, 2015 That generation of Lancer got awful reviews from the motoring press I seem to remember. The Mazda is the 'thinking person's' Focus. You should get a quality designed car that hasn't been through Ford's 'value engineering' processes.
skattrd Posted March 8, 2015 Posted March 8, 2015 How about a Daihatsu Terios?Hang on, it fits all of your criteria, I think, and they are supposed to be quite nippy and spacious for their external dimensions.
Justin Case Posted March 8, 2015 Posted March 8, 2015 Surprised no one has mentioned the Mazda 3 yet, bigger than 2, and smaller than the 6 which is surprisingly long when you come to park it. The 6 has a mud trap at the front of the rear arches, get an old toothbrush and clean it out regularly. My 6 is now 8 years old and not a speck of rust on it, but my friend's 03 one looks very rusty but he reckons it's not too big a job fixing it. Mrs Case has now got an Auris, but it is a real slug and I wouldn't recommend it. The last generation Hyundai I30 has a pretty terrible ride but the Focus seems good allround (going by an 08 model.) The Suzuki Swift has a TINY boot, but the Splash is surprisingly roomy inside and is actually quite a pleasant drive (am I really saying that )
HillmanImp Posted March 8, 2015 Author Posted March 8, 2015 We went to test drive a Focus today at Colin Appleyard in Shipley. Car had obviously not been moved for a while as the rear drum had seized solid which has put her off that particular one. When we were there though, Mrs Imp did have a look at a Kia Ceed and liked that but is yet to drive one. She also liked the Suzuki SX4 (Appleyards in Shipley is a Suzuki dealers) which seems like it might be a good option. Need to read up on them. Were not even aware that they were a thing before this afternoon. Have been looking at Mazda 3s too. There is one up for sale a few hundred metres from us. I would hope its got better build quality than the 2 as the interior of that was shite. Crappy carpets and broken switches etc. Will throw her the idea of a Terios too and see what she thinks. God this is stressful. I prefer buying cars for me. I bet we end up with something I will hate. She will only be not wanting a Focus as thats what I think she should get. Don't think there is much chance of even trying a Lancer as there are so few about.
Dick Cheeseburger Posted March 8, 2015 Posted March 8, 2015 Have you thought about a Jazz? I've never driven one but I've looked at a few for friends and i've been a passenger in my mates birds one and they seem a pretty decent motor, they hold their money well and going by the amount of OAP's and young mums with them they can't be that bad.My fiancée had one on loan when her floG was in the body shop having a new front end screwed on. Quite nice inside, and not inoffensive to look at. But, considering it was supposedly built with with a 1.6 VTEC under its trousers, by God it had piss poor performance. I genuinely think a 1.1 mk1 Fiesta back in the day would have upset the Jazz in a straight line testosterone duel. Slow. Slow. Slow.
KruJoe Posted March 8, 2015 Posted March 8, 2015 I'd be interested to hear what you make of the SX4 if you have a go in one. There's an identical, but rarer version with Fiat badges on, believe it or not, I forget the name.
Honey Badger Posted March 8, 2015 Posted March 8, 2015 My fiancée had one on loan when her floG was in the body shop having a new front end screwed on. Quite nice inside, and not inoffensive to look at. But, considering it was supposedly built with with a 1.6 VTEC under its trousers, by God it had piss poor performance. I genuinely think a 1.1 mk1 Fiesta back in the day would have upset the Jazz in a straight line testosterone duel. Slow. Slow. Slow.They only came with a 1.2 or a 1.4 in the uk as far as I know. I used to get one as a courtesy car when the S2000 went in for a service, I liked them as they were quite nippy and had some good touches inside, still they are not a lot cheaper than a Civic. F-RV might be a good idea as well, might be a bit old for your other half.
motormatt Posted March 9, 2015 Posted March 9, 2015 Had the pleasure of driving an i10 as a hire car and it was ok, tall body coupled with skinny tires made for some comedy handling around roundabouts in the wet. loved the offbeat Porsche 911 sound of a 3cyl it had under the bonnet however!
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