Looking for advise

jay567

Hi all,

Im looking into buying a car at the moment, i want something nice but not crazy money. At the moment the runners are
1)alfa romeo 147 selespeed 2.0
2)VW Golf Cabriolet 1.8 (just like that is convertible realy)
3)Opel astra coupe 1.8

The 147 is the front runner, tis a 02. Only thing making me worry is that i hear they are not great running machines, have alot of problems.

Anyone able to advise either way? Thanks!

Gmodified

i like look of the alfas but cars are mechanically $hite design . Not starting another flaming thread but looks like Alfa has a lots of problems.Cars do not last very long.
Great idea and looks but finish is brutal.

I would advise you to have look at alfa forums and see what kind of problems u can expect when buying alfa.

pclancy

alfas are pure heaven to drive, very refined and look great but engine/build quality is definatly poor. Shame really cos they're really nice cars and the Tspark that i drove was an animal! Have heard very bad things about problems even with young cars tho.

woosaysdan

a nice passat tdi (you'll pay big money for it though) or try maybe a seat of skoda version!!!

ravenhead

Originally posted by jay567
Hi all,

Im looking into buying a car at the moment, i want something nice but not crazy money. At the moment the runners are
1)alfa romeo 147 selespeed 2.0
2)VW Golf Cabriolet 1.8 (just like that is convertible realy)
3)Opel astra coupe 1.8

The 147 is the front runner, tis a 02. Only thing making me worry is that i hear they are not great running machines, have alot of problems.

Anyone able to advise either way? Thanks!

Don't go with the 147 - they have no resale value at all -- that to me says enough about the quality of the car - you're best bet is the golf!

knifey_spoonie

In the last few years the golf have gone downhill , the alfa will spend every second week in the garage and opel use cardboard parts , go for seat leon cupra or a celica if you have the money

jay567

Guys thanks for all the help,

I looked into the 147 a little more and came up with the same as all of u, looks great, crap engine/parts
So things have changed and for a little more it looks like i could get the bmw 318 it would be a bit older and bit more on the clock, Any body know if they are as sweet as they look?

Kersh

Golf cabrios are 4 girls. How much have you got? Then we shall guide you....

jay567

The max i want to spend is 20,000. But can streatch to 22,000 as i have a colt '95 to trade in also.

knifey_spoonie

For that money you would get a new model celica

DirtyDog

You cant go wrong with a Golf, i know the new model hasnt turned most people on but I think in time it will. I was the same when I saw the MK4 - didnt like it, I've owned two of them so far.

Without a doubt they are a great build, hold there value extremely well and will stand the test of time.

The Cabriolet version is a bit girly, but its all a matter of taste.

As for the BMW, IMO they have always been overly priced, but a very solid, well built german car.

Kersh

Get a year old Subaru Impreza wrx. Cant go wrong. Or 20000 would get you a late model Supra tt. Yum Yum.
Seriously, if you can get insurance get the Impreza.

Auslander

If you can live with not driving a 04 reg
then I can suggest a very nice golf cabrio in dark metalic blue
the car is in top condition and I am aware of who the last
three owners were. its going for 9K
The nice part is that you could put the other 11K to good use.
Better again is that if you drive this car around for a year or two
and then decide to sell it, depreciation aint gonna be an issue.
An alfa or an opel are gonna take a nose-dive.
If you are serious, then I suggest considering your pocket.

Paddy

lanno

what about a lexus IS200 for 20k will get you 99/00

jay567

To keep you up to date, i went for a second look at a BMW 318 '00 62,000 on the clock. The final price i got the guy down to was 19,900. Went in yesterday to sign my money over but first took it for a test drive and check out the details. dealer told me it had a full BMW service history but when i checked in the book it only showed one offical service. Have a mechanic looking at it today see whats the crack....

jay567

Thanks for the advise ppl, just got the car on saturday. Tis a sweet bmw318i, got him down to 19,250 as it didnt have the bmw service history like he said in the begining.

Going from the colt to this is something else.

thanks again !

unkel

Best of luck with your new motor - enjoy

Like yourself I wasn't a particular BMW fanboy myself when buying my first one, but have grown very fond of them now