Money To Burn! But on what??

[Smudge32]

Hi

I've just been given £3000 by my mum to buy a car (bless her). The trouble is....what??

The last car I bought for about the same price gave me no end of trouble and now I'm really nervous as to what to get and from where. I have 1 child, another on the way and a lovely wife. I also have to travel on country roads a lot.

Any ideas people?

[balsingh]

You need to be a bit more specific ....

Do you want the newest possibel car for the money? The trendiest? Fastest? 3k will buy you a fairly new Kia Picanto .... at the other end of the scale, it will buy you a 10 year old BMW 3 series coupe.

[tomstickland]

For that money you can buy a totally sound car. It's a matter of finding a tidy one though. If you want boring reliable then Jap cars like a Nissan Almera would fit the bill. Mainstream Vauxhalls and Ford are allright, but nothing special really. Old BMWs are expensive to buy but are well made, so you could get an E36 3 series (early-late 90s models) or the same age 5 series, have servicing done at an independant.

[carl310166]

I don't mean to offend,but your DFD will be a lot closer if you don't spend it on a car.

[scheming_gypsy]

i don't mean to offend you Carl but, didn't you read it? he's been given 3k to spend on a car, if he didn't spend it on a car his DFD date would be the same and he'd still be carless as his mum wouldn't have given him the money.


Smudge.. if you're doing lots of country roads then you need a sports car !

[vansboy]

At that budget, you'd be into a HUGE choice of one owner, ex-fleet, 3year old cars, in auction.

Spend a day at your local BritishCarAuctions or ManheimAuctions, on a proper FLEET day. They'll let you know when these are, if you fone them. Take a pad n pen, look around, note the ones you fancy & see what they sell for.

After the sale, check out insurance groups & running costs of the ones you could have gone for & go back again, with a deposit & BUY A BARGAIN!!

Sounds easy??? www.honestjohn.co.uk go there & look for the AuctionBuyin tips on Buying Cars page.

VB

[trigger_mike]

I HAVE A V REG PEUGOET 306 1.8i MERIDAIN WITH AIR CON 1/2 LEATHER SEATS CD PLAYER ETC AND COST ME £3200 LAST SPRING WITH 45k ON CLOCK, BEEN A VERY GOOD CAR SO FAR, AND QUICK TOO!, DID FANCY A FOCUS BUT VERY COMMON AND I LIKE TO BE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT