Whats the most reliable car for a poor student ???

Proton 1.3GL Aeroback. 1.5 is good too. Don't worry about it being an Aeroback, the saloon is fine - but they don't actually have a name, they're just "Proton" 1.3s or 1.5s.

Bloke that bought my Subaru was advertising his clean-looking L-plater for £99 - if I wasn't sworn to only have two cars until Christmas I'd have bought it to get home in.

They're cheap to buy, cheap to insure, cheap to run, tolerably quick, not horribly badly made, pretty reliable, and have often had a couple of careful elderly owners.

If it weren't for the low insurance I would have said a Mk II Golf GTI - easily found in your budget, 45mpg, practical, safe, has some street cred - but expensive to insure for most normal people.

Richard

1995 is a Felicia, surely? But, anyway, I haven't seen many of them around - I think they rust.

Richard

No, they made Favorits up to 1995.

Si

Are they? Furry muff then.

Si

Likewise, I have have a fair few skodas now, always recommend them.

n.

Ackcherly, they do seem a bit more rare than I thought, though I see loads of them here in Pikeyland. If the OP's in Welsh Wales there's one going for not much in an hour...

Si

One that has been owned by, and properly looked after by, a member of the family that you trust (dad, uncle, granddad etc) and which, of course, has given good service!

Any other source is always suspect since the seller always has a reason to sell.

My daughters bubble-shaped micra has done well over the last couple of years, look out for stalling when hot (expensive throttle body fix, unless you can simply live with it as she has), and look under the sills below the rear side windows for signs of corrosion. And check the end of the engine where the cam chain is to see if the cover has fresh or recent sealant around it - if the oil is not changed regularly on these (about 6 months or

4500 miles) the engine can suffer I think which means the timing chains first? (unless anyone out thereknows different). Plus all the usual stuff.

We had the service history for my daughter's - bought from a doctor who used it for his rounds, he got it from his dad who bought it new - and no sign of major repairs except clutch. See if you can see the same. Battered but a good 'un!

Dirt cheap to insure and uses naff all petrol.

If you can get one with long MOT and good tyres, and no sign of CV boots going you are getting off to a reasonable start (Joint + boot at local garage was about £130). Don't look further at any car where there are oil leaks, or the oil is not topped-up properly.

Of the others - when looking for a small old car I saw enough to put me off metro's (several with rot), fiestas (years of accumulation of gunge in rocker cover on otherwise well looked after cars seemed quite common), and Citroen AX (Rust in radiator water and header tank on the 2 samples I saw)

The message from snipped-for-privacy@italiancar.co.uk (SteveH) contains these words:

There's on on eBay at the moment - but it's in Eire.

No they're better than an early Mondeo, easy to fix and peanuts to run - and don't smoke if you avoid the CVH...

There's still a few late J, K plates around....

I'm not....

Well it was fecking cold - so it's got a temporary repair to replace the temporary repair I did about - errrm - a year ago. Thank you tie wraps - no thank you mitsubishi and your stupid fecking clips that you can't get without the CV boot....

Grrrr

All defrosted now - largely thanks to a) a soak in the bath b) a very large measure of Gentleman Jack

Job's a good'un - at least until the weather has some idea about which season it is.

Cheers Dan.

Yes, but you're old - we're talking (I think...) about teenagers here.

Also, don't forget that your Crapis are only insurable as 'classics' as they're not your main car.

: You 'd be lucky to get a Reliant for that, they bring megabucks!

A trike? No way. Have a look on eBay...

Ian

PS Mine'll be going for three hundred with a nice new MOT. Not that I'd advertise on usenet, good heavens above no. Certainly not.

Yes, for me maybe, but for a teenager or student? Trust me, I _have_ looked into this. My Mini, on the same conditions, is £101 p.a.

Polo parts are DEAR though. I looked up some bits for my mums (Mk3 or 2.5, depending how you look at it). Much much dearer than MK2 GTi bits.

: >You need to change who you ask. My 2.8i Special on fully comp classic : >insurance guaranteed value with class 1 business use and unlimited : >mileage was £233.

: Yes, for me maybe, but for a teenager or student? Trust me, I _have_ : looked into this. My Mini, on the same conditions, is £101 p.a.

And my DS was 140 quid, again same conditions.

Ian

I don't recally *anything* being dear for the 1983 one (A reg it was). Even a new wing when it had an unfortunate lamp post incident was £13 quid or something - unpainted - the rest was done in the back garden.

Plugs/filters/oil etc dirt cheap.

I think the most expensive thing was the rocker box top gasket - which at the princely sum of £13 was somewhat steep for a bit of pressed cork - but that's VW *dealer* prices for you. Rest of it was so cheap it was unbelievable. Plus the Haynes BOL is actually quite good for this little car - allowing us to do most things required without too much fuss....

Just my $0.02

Cheers Dan.

P'raps not the MK1s - I'm talking later cars (still cheap, but don't turn brown and bubbly). Oil pump much dearer than a MK2 Golf GTi one, same with front panel etc. Everything I looked at was much dearer than VW Golf bits.

This was a Mk-II that we were running and it was still cheap as chips.

YMMV

Cheers Dan.