We're about to move house which means that Mrs H now needs a car of her own.. it'll only ever be doing short journeys to and from work (approx 2 - 3 miles) and the odd occasional longer jaunt but nothing major... She will need to take 3 children with her so its got to have 4 seats and obviously be fairly safe / practical.

I'm thinking bangernomics and picking up a 10yr old ford little thing for ~1k and running it till it die's, Mrs H is thinking a brand new Citreon C1 (or similar) on the nock for 3 yrs which works out to be bout 100 - 120 quid a month...

Just wondered wht you lot think nd what your thoughts / opinons are?

Offcourse if I had my way money would be no object and i'd get a 911 or if practicality was not an issue probably a small 2 seater but it is so i'm screwed!!! Freelander 2 TD4 Auto, SE, Narvik Black, Alpaca full leather, Rear Headrest Entertainment System, 6 CD, 18 HSE Wheels, Privicy tints

Of course, I'd go the 10 year old Ford route too, but neither you nor I will be driving it!

The problem, as I see it, is that asking a loved one to drive a ratty old motor will be a recipe for agro every time it needs TLC and/or leaves them stranded somewhere inconvenient.

Personally, if you can get a C1 (or, preferably, something a little more robust) for so little cash a month, I'd go that route and have a quiet life!

If its a local runaround then for peace of mind I would get a Kia Cee'd, 7 year warranty and decent space. My wife runs around in a new Kia Picanto and its a great , cheap runaround with something like £35 /year roadtax.
She uses it locally but has been down to Cornwall twice in it with no probs.

Basically I would go with a new cheap car and a long warranty.

Tax excempt series 3 109, safe reliable kinda and a toy for you at the weekend!

Thinking about this some more, how much of an enthusiast is your wife? Would she see something like the C1 as practical, reliable and inexpensive, or would she learn to hate the reality of driving it, for the reasons that the rest of us might?

Someone I used to count as a good friend was a complete enthusiast and traded her much loved BMW MINI in for a Kia Picanto, for all sorts of very worthy reasons; she came to deeply regret the decision! She then traded it back for another MINI, followed shortly by another Kia - I lost touch with her shortly after that

Really, it's all down to your wife's view on cars....

beat the school run blues
http://www.fwi.co.uk/classified/advert/use...176491.htm

pricey but you can do a little farm work at weekends to help pay the bills At work
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Tigger wrote:

Thinking about this some more, how much of an enthusiast is your wife? Would she see something like the C1 as practical, reliable and inexpensive, or would she learn to hate the reality of driving it, for the reasons that the rest of us might?

Someone I used to count as a good friend was a complete enthusiast and traded her much loved BMW MINI in for a Kia Picanto, for all sorts of very worthy reasons; she came to deeply regret the decision! She then traded it back for another MINI, followed shortly by another Kia - I lost touch with her shortly after that

Really, it's all down to your wife's view on cars....

we have two C1's as run arounds, they have been the best small cars ever for us.
avg 57-72 mpg and reliability has been 100% and our main dealer service has been outstanding ! 100% better than the two Landrover dealers have been !
We have 5 dr models one with C/L and AC and Elec windows and the other a basic model.
£20 year to tax and £160 year to insure and three years free servicing they are a no brainer.
Our's will hold 90+ on a motorway and still return over 50 mpg. Goes like a rocket ship ! our newer one is still tight at 3k miles so no where near as nippy yet.
Elec power steering and ABS and DSC and twin air bags and Ncap 4 what more could you want.
Excellent value for money as its a Toyota in disguise ! people are staggered when I tell them its actually an Aygo with a Citreon badge !
good luck in your serach.
Our first one I bought new in 2008 when I bought the FR2 with the change from buying a GS model with extras instead of an HSE. The C1 5dr cost £6250 and we were recently offered 4700 in PX for a car just over 3 years old I thought that was cheap motoring !

We did the same and got the wife a cheap new runabout back in 2003 and got a fiat punto £6300 cash spent £500+ on repairs, and still in really good condition, look at replacing last year and was offered just shy of £2800 against a ford fiesta at £12k

I think a C1 would be a little on the small side for a adult and 3 kids even if just for 2-3 miles Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

Well I get 4 adults in ours and have no problem if we have to go 50 + miles! My kids are in their 20,s and still sit in the back without an issue. Ther is more space than u think for a small car !

Cheers old geez - the outlaw has got an aygo actaully and she loves it and yes she has our kids in it so we know they fit!

Just been having a look and there is plenty of stock so I'm wondering if a bargain can be had?

Old geez - is it worth going for one with toys or does the basic one do the job? Also was the 3yrs servicing thrown in for free or did you have to haggle for that?

Thanks  Freelander 2 TD4 Auto, SE, Narvik Black, Alpaca full leather, Rear Headrest Entertainment System, 6 CD, 18 HSE Wheels, Privicy tints

Cpt
our first one was bargin basement, as I wanted total reliability, as it turns out its been 100% our 2nd one has elec windows, c/locking and air con, all very nice. Car was about 8200.
The deal with the 2nd one was free 3 years service, 1 year AA and 3 year gap included in the price.
Suprisingly found it difficult to get really good deal as round my way they sell so well ! in fact in my close of 26 houses their are 5 C1's ! guess they are popular.
To be honest great fun car and we have kept our first one as it has been so good ! i have to keep it for all the days the FR2 ends up of the road ! waiting to be repaired !

My wifes car is for sale at the mo

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2880459.htm 
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Must be 4 small adults cos I don't fit in a c1 and I am 6'3, worse car ever! Had one at work once and I drove 2 miles in it, and that 2 miles too many!