which car?

leveller2911

DKLS wrote: »

I know the OP said sporty looks, but doesn't have to be really fast, but that kia does the 0-60 in 11 seconds!!!! I have stood on faster glaciers.

Op How about Clio 172 ?

But its a Renault...enough said :rolleyes::D He did want reliability, won't even go there about build quality...I know sooo many time served machanics(not grease monkeys) who say they are pants to work on too...

Inactive

My nearby Renault Main dealer staff car park is full of Nissans, Toyota's, Honda's etc.:rotfl:

At least the staff have more sense than to buy Renault rubbish.

minnie123

I have had two Clio 172's and never had a problem with either - Certainly put a smile on my face they are like little go-carts. High insurance group though (16) and quite thirsty if you drive like me. Also they are not automatic.

Have you thought about a Mini Cooper - nice looking, don't depreciate as fast as other cars, Not too slow...?

gilbert_and_sullivan

Inactive wrote: »

My nearby Renault Main dealer staff car park is full of Nissans, Toyota's, Honda's etc.:rotfl:

At least the staff have more sense than to buy Renault rubbish.

And the service manager at a midlands French car garage since taken over by a large group used to buy a new Honda every 3 years.

At another French car dealership on my rounds the sales staff run German or Japanese cars without exception, having opted out of the company car scheme's.

To be fair it probably doesn't matter a jot which car you buy so long as the dealer is competent and it's under warranty, it's when warranty runs out the problems start.

Years ago when i ran various British cars some good some awful i kept an eye on which cars the shrewd Indian chaps in my locality ran...no fools when it comes to cars those fella's.
They would almost without exception be running Datsun and Toyota cars with minimal servicing and care, those cars would go on for years trouble free albeit rusting away which all cars did in those days.
I ended up on first name terms at the Ford parts dept before the penny finally dropped.

Doozergirl

It's got to be a MINI surely? Ticks every one of those boxes except perhaps the automatic as it might be rare, but that puts the price of the car up anyway for not much gain.

I got 41mpg out of my Cooper (petrol), my Cooper S is doing nearly 38. 175bhp it goes like stink and is such a hoot to drive but a Cooper with some nice wheels and a bit of bling on it still looks good. We were at familys house yesterday and H was commenting how many people were walking past and properly looking at my car Depreciation on them is still low compared to other cars. I lost more on a very similarly priced BMW 1 series in a year than I did on the Cooper.

andyman2303

leveller2911 wrote: »

But its a Renault...enough said :rolleyes::D He did want reliability, won't even go there about build quality...I know sooo many time served machanics(not grease monkeys) who say they are pants to work on too...

My first car was a clio (admittadly it wasn't a 172...sigh...) had it for over 2 years, and never had a problem with it. My sister has it now, and it's still working perfectly (touch wood!)

The only thing that had to be done was the cam belt, but as it was at 60,000 miles, thats a given. Never felt working on it was any more difficult than my current car, or my parents, or any of my friends.

I loved that clio!

maninthestreet

Nemo101 wrote: »

Im 24 looking to spend around 10k on a decent car. Ideally something that looks sporty but doesnt have to be really fast.

Main criteria:
Good looking
reliable
keeps value decently and wont have massive running costs,
fairly economical
prefer automatic

I often spend 1hr each way on road traveling from one end of north circ to other for work and same back.

If anyone has any ideas let me know please. Currently I dont have any no claims been named on other policy but unfortunately had little accident back in feb.

Have you got insurance quotes to see how much it would cost to insure a 'sporty' car?

Red_Cat

Mazda 3, you can get a good nearly new one for less than £10k.

qwerty123456

Nemo101 wrote: »

Im 24 looking to spend around 10k on a decent car. Ideally something that looks sporty but doesnt have to be really fast.

Main criteria:
Good looking
reliable
keeps value decently and wont have massive running costs,
fairly economical
prefer automatic

I often spend 1hr each way on road traveling from one end of north circ to other for work and same back.

If anyone has any ideas let me know please. Currently I dont have any no claims been named on other policy but unfortunately had little accident back in feb.

I had pretty much the same criteria as you, just started driving and I got a BMW 120d for £10k. The car looks good, is really reliable and I get 50mpg out of it.

born_free_3

What about a Volkswagen Golf 1.4 TSI? Meant to be like a 2litre. I saw a lovely red 5 door one in my local Arnold Clark for £11,000. It had leather seats too. I would not buy from Arnold Clark though - tend to be overpriced.