Yet another "Help me buy a new car" thread

[MacGuffin]

But what about the reliability? Is it actually really that bad with the Alfas, or could a new car be OK for the first few years (after which I'll probably get rid of it anyway)?

The main problem with Alfas is that they lose their value rapidly. If you buy an Alfa, you have to drive it until it falls apart. It is basically a lifetime marriage.

If, however, you want a new car in a couple of years, don't buy an Alfa now, because you'll get several thousand Euros less for it, than for example for a used VW.

 

[AiR]

If you do not value your spine and want a car without suspension, you can get the Civic Type-R for ?28900 or so, but it doesnt leave much choice to options and it's a bit hard to live with. And it's made by British Leyland. Or you can get a Mitsubishi Lancer with the biggest petrol and all the options (being japanese they are very few, leather and navi mainly) for ~?28 000 too. Only problem with the Lancer is the interior which sucks horseballs feels very cheap and it's not terribly sporty looking either.

A Citro?n C4 Coup? VTS 2.0 THP with leather and navi also lands at just below 30 000 euros, it's main problems is the horrible gearbox and the fact that it's resale value is a bit shit. The C4 got it's facelift recently so by now I think the french have sorted out most of the niggles. A sensible Volvo S40 T5 Momentum is a bit over your budget at ?32 000 perhaps but it's got 230 PS. If you want to go heavily under your budget, the Suzuki Swift Sport 1600 costs next to nothing, and it's got no options either. Well, you get to choose between three exterior colours. And it's very very very small. The Mercedes B-klass Sports Tourer got "sports" in it's name so who am I to argue with the men from Stuttgart.

I'm out of ideas.
*goes back to the previous page and looks at the Alfa again*

 

[leviathan]

Nice list coming up there. Short rundown:

Civic Type-R for ?28900 or so

Driven that. Indeed, horrible suspension, and I didn't fancy the interior much either.

Mitsubishi Lancer

Might be worth a look. I like the exterior of those.

Citro?n C4 Coup? VTS 2.0 THP

My driving school car was a C4, I've got a sort of a childhood trauma with those And I hate the "wheel turns but the middle stays where it is" thing, and it's got too many buttons on it, and it looks weird. And it's french.

Volvo S40 T5 Momentum

Sounds like an idea to look at, I always liked Volvos. ?2k over budget is not too bad. 230PS can go heavy on the insurance though.

Suzuki Swift Sport 1600

It needs to be smaller than the A6, not smaller than pretty much anything It's a nice car, but definitely way too small.

Mercedes B-klass Sports Tourer

My mom had a B170 a few years ago, and it was utter rubbish. No, just no.

Okay, so far we have the 159 and the Scirocco/GTI as the main rivals, with the options of the Focus ST, Lancer, and S40 T5 to be considered. That's already way better than what I started out with. Thanks guys

 

[MacGuffin]

Sounds like an idea to look at, I always liked Volvos. ?2k over budget is not too bad. 230PS can go heavy on the insurance though.

Don't consider it. It's tight inside and unpractical. It's a hatchback but one where they put design over functionality. I believe it only has 215 liters of boot space or so.

My mom had a B170 a few years ago, and it was utter rubbish. No, just no.

I once had a B-Class as a rental. It's practical but without any kind of fun to drive at all. Plus it rides like a raging bull over bumpy roads.

 

[AiR]

The S40 is a sedan, you're thinking of the C30. The S40 boot is 404 (833 folded) liters.

 

[McRae]

Don't consider it. It's tight inside and unpractical. It's a hatchback but one where they put design over functionality.

Just as VW did with the Scirocco.