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Should I buy this car?

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  • before_hollywood
    before_hollywood Posts: 20,686 Forumite
    buy an acceptable banger for your learning/first year or so, i did a year learning in a citroen ax (passed 2003), drove it for a year, the clutch started sticking so got it repaired and then it was really difficult to drive (clutch very heavy) so i sold it.
    bought 6/02 for £470, paid £30 for new tyres, £11 for wheel trims, and about £40 for servicing parts (twice in total over owning the car), plus a few quid here and there keeping it in good nick, sold it 2 years later for £495, easiest sale ever- to a colleague.
    things arent the way they were before, you wouldnt even recognise me anymore- not that you knew me back then ;)
    BH is my best mate too, its ok :)

    I trust BH even if he's from Manchester.. ;)

    all your base are belong to us :eek:
  • Hintza
    Hintza Posts: 19,420 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Minerva69 wrote: »
    and why don't I stop learning in an auto and change to a manual :rolleyes:

    To be honest this is a good question, you will be severely limiting yourself in what you can drive in the future. I would seriously reconsider this if I were you.

    It will give you a lot more scope in the future and could be useful in an emergency.

    Smaller automatics also tend to be a bit gutless.

    Worth thinking about.
  • vikingaero
    vikingaero Posts: 10,920 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Hintza wrote: »
    To be honest this is a good question, you will be severely limiting yourself in what you can drive in the future. I would seriously reconsider this if I were you.

    It will give you a lot more scope in the future and could be useful in an emergency.

    Smaller automatics also tend to be a bit gutless.

    Worth thinking about.

    Companies such as Toyota are saying that in future manuals may be scarcer because more cars will become semi-autos partly as congestion grows and mainly because it will be harder for them to offer manuals in conjunction with leaner burn technology and the finer tolerances needed to change gears.

    It's a 1.6 auto so it'll have plenty of power and torque.
    The man without a signature.
  • Idiophreak
    Idiophreak Posts: 12,024 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Minerva69 wrote: »
    I need an automatic car and I believe the Jazz has a CVT gearbox which I was also advised against.

    I'm now considering a used Ford Focus, does anyone have any opinions on these?! :D

    When you say you need an automatic gearbox, I take that to mean there's good reason why you can't drive a manual...otherwise, as others have said, it's really a good idea to learn in a manual as it gives you more options and really isn't that hard.

    As others have also said (at the risk of sounding all HJ :)), you're quite likely to pick up a ding or two in your first couple of years driving, so a brand new car straight off might not be the best idea.

    Something like a second hand focus seems a much more sensible idea...They're generally quite reliable, parts are common (cheap), they're quite safe, quite economical, etc etc.

    You can get a nice focus good enough to last a couple of years "practice" driving for £4k-ish, probably....and spend the other 7k on presents! :)
  • ixwood
    ixwood Posts: 2,550 Forumite
    I'd say get a nice reasonably priced 4 or 5 year old car and pay 6k off your mortgage. Or debts. or pension. Or have a party. Or.... you get the idea! :)
  • before_hollywood
    before_hollywood Posts: 20,686 Forumite
    i would say if you are going to buy a focus, try and get an earlier low mileage one or one approx 3 years old with less than 50k on it. should work out approx £6k for the latter option and the majority of its depriciation will be paid by someone else, i agree you should pass your test in a manual though
    things arent the way they were before, you wouldnt even recognise me anymore- not that you knew me back then ;)
    BH is my best mate too, its ok :)

    I trust BH even if he's from Manchester.. ;)

    all your base are belong to us :eek:
  • Minerva69
    Minerva69 Posts: 797 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    Been offline for a couple of days so only just read all the replies, thanks everyone! I'm definitely going for a used car now, probably a 4 or 5 year old Focus as people have recommended, I've had a look online and there seem to be quite a few around so hopefully I shouldn't have trouble finding one. I'll wait til I've passed my test though so I can test drive it myself, hopefully it won't be too long now. I'll have to learn to be more patient, I'm just fed up of travelling everywhere on public transport with a toddler in a pushchair!

    As for the manual v auto question, I don't think I'll be changing from an auto car now. I've spent money on over 40 lessons in an auto and I'm almost ready for my test, so I don't think it would be a good idea to change now. I did try a few lessons in a manual 3 years ago and just didn't get it, but I think that was probably my instructor (a boy racer type!).
  • anewman
    anewman Posts: 9,200 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Hintza wrote: »
    It will give you a lot more scope in the future and could be useful in an emergency.
    I agree with your other points but not sure about this one. An automatic automatically switches the gears as needed, and gives you more options than N, D and R.
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