Worryingly Cheap A4

"Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell." (oppisitelock) 06/23/2014 at 12:11 • Filed to: None

0

28

I assume the next time it's driven it'll set the record for most things to break on a car at once.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

twochevrons > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 06/23/2014 at 12:13

0

There's a suspicious lack of interior shots, too...

Jagvar > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 06/23/2014 at 12:15

0

I'd say he left off a digit, but he wrote the price in three different places.

KirkyV > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 06/23/2014 at 12:16

0

I imagine the 230,000 miles have something to do with it.

ColoradoTaco > KirkyV 06/23/2014 at 12:17

0

That and no turbo or quattro, priced right imo. may as well be a cheap passat

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Jagvar 06/23/2014 at 12:19

0

It's not too far off market value for these cars, but being a german car at the bottom end of its price range with high miles and fairly old... bankruptcy awaits.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > KirkyV 06/23/2014 at 12:20

0

Yeah, it's not too far off a normal price for these, just seems like a maintenance nightmare.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > twochevrons 06/23/2014 at 12:20

0

That seems quite common in lower priced car ads. Apparently if you're shopping below £1'000 you dont need an interior.

KirkyV > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 06/23/2014 at 12:24

0

Indeed, though from what I understand, most cheap used Audis are a maintenance nightmare—if simply because the cost of replacement parts, should anything go wrong, will generally far outstrip the value of the car.

Are you still looking for a new car, by the way?

KirkyV > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 06/23/2014 at 12:25

0

Both the cars I'm looking at to replace my 106 come in at around £1,000, and ads for either will generally come with interior shots aplenty... But then, I'm talking about a Citroen and Ford, so expectations are rather different.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > KirkyV 06/23/2014 at 12:30

0

Most ads I look at don't have much in the way of detail at all. My search is still pretty general though since I don't know when I'll actually buy.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > KirkyV 06/23/2014 at 12:31

0

Yeah I am but slowly, I have the money now for something fairly decent. But I live near the centre of newcastle at the moment so driving and parking are poor and everything is in walking distance so I don't know whether I'll wait a year til I move or whether the temptation will get me and I'll buy something.

KirkyV > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 06/23/2014 at 12:40

0

I'm surprised. If you're mainly looking at Focus estates, then there ought to be plenty of decent, well-advertised examples around that price point. I'm angling more toward the 'boy-racer' end of the spectrum, myself:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/adv…

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/search/used/ca…

KirkyV > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 06/23/2014 at 12:43

0

I'm experiencing a similar feeling, in that I really have no need for a new car, but am finding it rather difficult to resist the temptation to get one anyway. My 106 does everything I need a car to do, and doesn't appear to be on the verge of falling to bits... But I still want something new.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > KirkyV 06/23/2014 at 12:49

0

It's mainly slow because I'm procrastinating and end up looking at all sorts. The thing is I have good savings but I'm still a student so have no decent income to support myself if my savings go. Technically I could go and buy a brand new Dacia Sandero if I felt like it. But because I don't know how long before I get a job after uni I'm looking at lower end stuff that wont cost too much. A mid size diesel is still top of the list but I often get distracted by random things like old MX5s and impractical classics.

I considered an old Zetec S at one point but I'm not sure how they drive compared to the other hot/warm hatches. Smart looking things though. Might have to see if I can get a go in one one day.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > KirkyV 06/23/2014 at 12:54

0

Yeah that's definitely how I feel at the moment. Only driving sporadically the two years since getting my licence is making me itch for a car of my own. It would make financial sense to get on the insurance on my girlfriends car so I can use it for the occasional stuff and save a lot of money, then just chip in for MOT and tax and stuff. But I'm not allowed because even though my girlfriend is the legal owner her parents bought the car and made her sign a contract (!) when they handed it over saying that I'd never drive it. I've been with her 5 and half years and have no history of bad driving. Her parents can be a special kind of asshole sometimes.

KirkyV > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 06/23/2014 at 13:00

0

I'm in pretty much exactly the same position. If I really, really stretched my savings, I could probably just about afford a two-year-old Fiesta ST. But that's all the money I have in the world, and my only source of income beyond my loan and grants is a part-time job at Sainsbury's.

I've heard good things about the Zetec S' handling - from what I understand, it's essentially a Puma underneath - but whether it's better than my other front-runner, the Saxo VTR, is a matter of some of the fiercest debate I've ever seen on a car-forum. It's like Xbox vs PlayStation over there.

The general consensus - among those capable of forming such a thing - would appear to be that the Fiesta's a little more stable, but at the cost of some agility, while the Citroen's a decent bit more adjustable, but also substantially more likely to make like a classic Peugeot and throw you backwards though a hedge. I already drive a 106, as I've said, so I've a rough idea of what the Saxo will feel like; if it really is essentially my car with more power and better suspension, then I find it hard to imagine the Fiesta beating it for fun in the corners. Still, I do want some hands-on time with both before making a decision. And the Fiesta is, to my eye, easily the better-looking of the two—particularly in Ford blurple.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > KirkyV 06/23/2014 at 13:05

0

I really wish insurance wasnt the way it is here so I could test drive a lot more. I do like the idea of something small and agile, I viewed a few 106s as you know. But a larger car would be very useful to me so I'm torn. My uncle had an old fiesta (B reg) and loved it, said it was the most fun driving car he'd had in a long time, even going to the trouble of swapping it from carburetors to fuel injection which is one of the biggest jobs he's done on a car. I have to admit I lean towards the fiesta simply on looks, never been a huge fan of the way the saxo looks, same with most citroens of that era. Shame the 106 gti isnt as attainable since it's quite a handsome car.

KirkyV > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 06/23/2014 at 13:05

0

... That's some hardcore parenting, right there. On the upside, at least you've some incentive not to drive a shitty old Micra.

(... Seriously, a contract? Is this a film?)

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > KirkyV 06/23/2014 at 13:07

0

Not joking it was printed and she had to sign it and everything. Her mam is an accountant and her dad works in health and safety. They can be very particular about things. They bought an MG TF and garaged it for 10 years, only putting 8000 miles on it for that time. It's just a TF...

KirkyV > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 06/23/2014 at 13:11

0

Oh yes, given the choice, I'd be absolutely all over a 106 GTi. They're very good-looking, and supposedly absolutely superb to drive. Sadly, insurance is an absolute fucker, and decent examples are growing harder and harder to find with each passing year.

I'm having the same insurance-related test-drive problem. I'm having to hunt around for 'eh' examples of the cars I'm interested in at reasonably local dealers, just so I've some hope of having a test-drive. When it comes time to buy whatever I decide on, I'm probably going to have to bribe my sister into coming along. It's such a ridiculous system!

KirkyV > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 06/23/2014 at 13:13

0

I genuinely didn't think that there were actual people like that in the world—I thought they were a fictional construct, a tired character archetype from old teen comedies.

Uh, so, bummer, I guess.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > KirkyV 06/23/2014 at 13:16

0

Yeah it's insane. I've even started to develop ways of testing parts of the car without a test drive. Like putting the car in gear at idle and lifting the clutch to bite to make sure its in good condition and doesn't have too much travel. I'm basically going off reviews and recommendations to find out what drives well and what doesn't.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > KirkyV 06/23/2014 at 13:16

0

Nope these stereotypes are alive and well haha.

KirkyV > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 06/23/2014 at 13:19

0

Same. I've no choice otherwise. That Top Gear video I posted above is one of the main reasons I'm considering a Zetec S, for crying out loud.

I mean, I can say my 106 drives well, and be backed up by scores of magazine and Internet reviews. But, until I've properly driven something else - I was too busy learning to drive to really glean much from my instructor's car(s) - I can't really know for sure.

KirkyV > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 06/23/2014 at 13:23

1

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > KirkyV 06/23/2014 at 13:26

0

Well I've driven cars that were well reviewed and hated them so it's hard to trust reviews from magazines, mostly I have to go from user reviews from enthusiasts which can be hard to find. The Vauxhall Astra was reviewed well and I didn't like driving that thing at all.

KirkyV > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 06/23/2014 at 13:31

0

I was under the impression that the Astra was pretty much universally considered utterly shite to drive. Its shittiness is part of what made the first Ford Focus - a family hatchback that's fun to drive?! WHAT SORCERY IS THIS? - such a revelation. It's only non-enthusiast publications that seem to genuinely like the Astra, and even they don't cite its handling or 'fun-factor' as plus points.

(Of course, that might just be all the Top Gear I've watched since childhood talking.)

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > KirkyV 06/23/2014 at 13:37

0

It was a 2007 so one of the newer ones that came out to compete with the mark 2 focus. 4/5 from What Car here http://www.whatcar.com/car-reviews/us… . Praises it's "composed handling" composed must mean abysmal. It was my first drivers instructor car and even though my driving wasnt great at that point you could tell it was a bad car, especially since I'd started doing little bits of driving in car parks and stuff at 14 and had already driven an aston martin by 16, so I knew how to drive. The Citroen DS3 I did my test in was better but the power steering was so light it felt like an old sega rally machine.