Car (or bike) Chat!

[Macca]

Yes had seen that. A mate's dad used to have an Interceptor, a beautiful thing, powder blue with a cream leather interior. He took us out for a spin, was doing 130 down the road, you could see the fuel gauge going down lol.

In fairness you could see that in my dad's Austin Maxi 1750 and he wouldn't exceed 75 even on the motorway

Hopefully they've kept the wraparound rear screen. Not that I'll see any round here as I'd guess it will be 200 grand or more.

[Ali Tait]

Yeah probably. :-)

[Alex_UK]

Went car shopping (well, "short list whittling") today - not for me or Sue, but my 17 year old daughter who has her test booked in June and really needs to be practising... Shortlist is VW Beetle (the later "reboot") - relatively rare on the second-hand market for the spec/engine we want, a Mini of some description (plenty of choice) and the Fiat 500 (the perennial "1st girls car"). I think we have knocked the Fiat out of contention, and so far a Mini we looked at last is the favourite. I must be honest, I was blown away by the quality of it, feels so well made. (It's about 10 years old.) My wife wants her to get a convertible - so she can pinch it on sunny days I reckon! I am now fancying a Cooper S for myself, too!

[Macca]

Someone round here has the Fiat 500 Arbath in black and gold, looks really cool.

Obviously never buy a French or Italian car that goes without saying. Beetle reboot was just a Golf in a dress.

[CageyH]

The "early" Cooper S with the Supercharger was a fun car.

[Pigmy Pony]

I think a Mini would be a better choice for a first car - plenty of choice as you say, more manageable size for someone new to driving, parts plentiful and cheaper, probably better fuel economy, cheaper insurance.

I wouldn't necessarily discount French cars, not these days - German marques have got so bad in recent years imo, there really isn't much in it. My daughter recently bought a Citroen C3 to replace her ageing Corsa, and it's a really nice thing. As for reliability, time will tell.

For trouble-free motoring, Japanese is the way to go. Summat from Mazda or Honda.

[Macca]

I think a Mini would be a better choice for a first car - plenty of choice as you say, more manageable size for someone new to driving, parts plentiful and cheaper, probably better fuel economy, cheaper insurance.

I wouldn't necessarily discount French cars, not these days - German marques have got so bad in recent years imo, there really isn't much in it. My daughter recently bought a Citroen C3 to replace her ageing Corsa, and it's a really nice thing. As for reliability, time will tell.

For trouble-free motoring, Japanese is the way to go. Summat from Mazda or Honda.

It's not so much a reliability thing more that they have their own idiosyncratic way of doing things so when they do need fixing it's unnecessarily difficult.

This is from working in the trade and having many conversations with mechanics.

Friend of mine her father is retired Ford mechanic. When she was looking for her first car she fancied a Citroen but he told her 'Get a French or Italian car if you want, but it goes wrong, don't bring it to me to fix!'

Chief mechanic of the Ferrari Owners Club advised me 'Never buy a Ferrari!' I mean chance would be a fine thing but let's face it, if anyone would know then he would.

[Alex_UK]

Totally agree the Beetle is “a Golf in a dress” which is part of the appeal, to be honest. My preference would be the Mini, but we’ll see - the insurance doesn’t seem to be much of an issue - if we go with a “black box” policy the mini we looked at (which is a Cooper S, 200bhp, 0-60 6.9 and 140+mph) is coming in at £969 versus a 1.2 Beetle (104bhp, 10.9 to 60 and 112mph) at £851 - so it looks like the fact that the car is monitored and whatever it is if it is driven badly/fast then they get penalised rather than purely on the base car.

[CageyH]

Not driving a Cooper S fast?
Is it a Turbo or Supercharged car? 200 BHP in a first car?

[Alex_UK]

Not driving a Cooper S fast?
Is it a Turbo or Supercharged car? 200 BHP in a first car?

I know, crazy that they would even quote, and I would add that I am not seriously considering it for her first car, but does suggest they rate based on telematics rather than just the car. (I think it is turbo, but not 100% sure).