What Car Should I Buy?

Golf GTi MK2. Big bumper and cassette player.

But it looks like this:

Not bad at all. Very practical shape for a car.

Not bad at all. Very fugly shape for a car.

ftfy

Don't listen to these idiots. Mk3 Golf will sort you out good and proper.

Don't listen to these idiots. Mk3 Golf will sort you out good and proper.

^This. Is an excellent car and will probably go on for longer than Baroness Thatcher.

If you can get classic car insurance then one of these will fit the bill. I haven't passed my test, live in E2 and mine still only costs me £130 a year
Big, roomy (fold the back seats down and you have over 7 feet of luggage space), light, fast, safe, well-equippped, bloody great to drive.
Downsides is that they drink a bit and lots of the electrical stuff gets a bit tempramental as it gets older.

^Drink a bit? That car, Sir, makes Oliver Read look teetotal.

yes. "bit tempramental" is another classic British understatement.

Budget for car + insurance + running costs are going to be fierce for new drivers (esp. if you based in London), and esp. if your girlf. is also going to use the car for work (increased insurance as a result).

Of suggestions above Vauxhall Astra diesel has a lot going for it - these are standard issue police cars for a reason... they move, they can take lots of stuff, they're a good price, and bits don't keep falling off them.

An older Zafira will give you greater flexibility than an Astra however - and would fit within budget.

If you're worried about the brand thing... don't forget that Vauxhall's are produced down the same production lines that roll Opels, Cadillac's and SAAB's, all built to the same manufacturing standards, often from virtually identical parts. It's the brand you pay more for. And with a Vauxhall you can also find 1,000 places to get it fixed when it does breakdown.

In your situation, I'd check out the Zafira.

p.s. Though in my situation I'd go for a 2.8i Capri in two-tone blue grey and drive round thinking I was... oh, bodieanddoyle :-)

The Zafira is the worst car I have ever driven & I used to own a '79 renault 5.

LoL.... oh!

Were those Renault 5's the ones with the gear stick coming out of the dashboard?

No. The roof and door panels were wicker. It was like driving around in a laundry basket.

To be fair the astra is a good bet, for £2k you might be able to pick up one of the better looking shape high miler diesels with FSH. Never underestimate the ready availability of cheap parts and cheap servicing costs. Other than that a 1.9 n/a (slow) diesel mk3 Golf is smart looking in that it is unoffensive and it will easily hit 50mpg whilst being reliable and solid. Other than that go apeshit and get a ex-military landrover v8 - sounds mint.

The only decent vauxhalls in recent times have been the VX220 and the Lotus Carlton, the VX220 being a rebadged Elise.

Everything else has been created by Holden and imported.

Also GM drove SAAB into bankruptcy by turning them into rebadged Vectra's and then slapping a BMW price tag on them.

Vauxhall- just say no.

i owned a capri back in the colonies, which i bought after my beloved 63 Anglia got half-inched. utter cunt of a car that was always breaking down. fortunately parts are pretty easy to come by and when it went, it was fucking evil. 3.0l straight six - shit offa shovel.

/does space launch face

Get some local comp pistons, slap a GT 3076 on and a massive FMIC

What about the Tickford Turbo Edition Capri?

The only trouble I have ever had was with French cars. Just say non.

a two wheeled one with no engine

Dato ute ftw

YouTube - Chris Adams CA18det Datsun 1200 Ute 9.96 @ 135mph

WOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My first car was the coupe version.

don't buy a vauxhall.
sarah's granny gave us her r reg astra (13k miles!), so we got rid our polo and it's a pig.

get a vw

(or an mg)

anything Opel/vauxhall/holden is poo.

Mostly Peugeots are reliable. It's small electrical problems that can happen. Much the same on any modern car. For example, most 206 models needed an ECU warranty replacement during their life.

Unless you plan on ONLY doing motorway cruises, a diesel is nearly pointless. A modern, small capacity petrol engine will get equal, or better fuel economy around town.

I would vote for a Pug 306. I know for a fact you can fit 3 MTBs in the back with seats down. 2 with seats up.

If scared of frenchies, then look at the Ford Focus/ Fiestas

failing that, Toyota Echo or whatever their small car is.

A renault Clio is also an option. Plastic bits may fall off but the mechanicals are bulletproof

honda civic. car of choice for when the zombie holocaust kicks off.

My wifes clio is plagued by electrical gremlins. Other than that, cracking little motor.