Car for events?

   Maybe a newer Volvo Estate? Have a look at the V40 or V50, and leave some money to cover the insurance .. Should be able to get a V40 for around £2000 for a nicer one that hasnt been too badly abused, and they take anything you can throw at them.

Might not be as economical as some, but they last absolutely forever, have tonnes of room for kit and sleeping in the back, and can tow .. well .. about 4 x more than your licence will allow you to legally!! (750kg MAM (UNbraked) )

Deisil for those days when people won't get off your tail .. one quick downshift and a facefull of smoke usually makes them back off. You want to make sure you always tow with the undercover on though ... (im sure you do anyway!)

Easiest thing to do as well is look on Autotrader .. Just throw in your postcode, body type (Estate or Hatch), Fuel type, and hit go! 

Narrow it down to something you like the look of .. get a test drive (Always important! Make sure you like driving it .. Don't wanna spend all that money and then NOT like it!)

My 1.6 Astra Hatch (1999 / T reg) happily tows the Vareo, and would tow a double trailer if I loaded it right. (And kept it within the cars limits of course .. !! ) Oh, and its a lovely shade of Red! (Its faster, don't ya know?   )

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Villan Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Really should get out more Joined: 26 Nov 05 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 1768	Post Options Post Reply Quote Villan Report Post Quote Reply Topic: Car for events? Posted: 11 May 09 at 11:18pm
	Maybe a newer Volvo Estate? Have a look at the V40 or V50, and leave some money to cover the insurance .. Should be able to get a V40 for around £2000 for a nicer one that hasnt been too badly abused, and they take anything you can throw at them. Might not be as economical as some, but they last absolutely forever, have tonnes of room for kit and sleeping in the back, and can tow .. well .. about 4 x more than your licence will allow you to legally!! (750kg MAM (UNbraked) ) Deisil for those days when people won't get off your tail .. one quick downshift and a facefull of smoke usually makes them back off. You want to make sure you always tow with the undercover on though ... (im sure you do anyway!) Easiest thing to do as well is look on Autotrader .. Just throw in your postcode, body type (Estate or Hatch), Fuel type, and hit go! Narrow it down to something you like the look of .. get a test drive (Always important! Make sure you like driving it .. Don't wanna spend all that money and then NOT like it!) My 1.6 Astra Hatch (1999 / T reg) happily tows the Vareo, and would tow a double trailer if I loaded it right. (And kept it within the cars limits of course .. !! ) Oh, and its a lovely shade of Red! (Its faster, don't ya know? )
	Vareo - 149 "Secrets" TandyUK Servers

Ross Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Really should get out more Joined: 02 May 07 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1163	Post Options Post Reply Quote Ross Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 11 May 09 at 11:51pm
	You'll spend more on insurance than a car if you take these suggestions. I got stung for almost £1100 on a 10 year old 1L Micra. Best quote I could find as a named driver with Direct Line. It's towed a big box trailer with loads of gear in the boot to Rutland at back from North London at legal towing speed (maybe more at times ). You're better off buying a little cheap car that does the job and spending you saved cash on a room for the night. Edited by Ross
	Ross If you can't carry it, don't sail it!

ASok Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Really should get out more Joined: 26 Sep 07 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 739	Post Options Post Reply Quote ASok Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 12 May 09 at 6:22am
	I'd agree with Ross - its the insurance that will be the killer, so don't blow your whole budget on the car otherwise you'll have nothing left! I'd go for a cheaper small car that will sort the towing ok and then buy a tent!! I'm currently driving a Mazda 6 diesel and its great for sleeping in the back. Likewise a Ford Focus or Escort hatchback are great for sleeping in when the seats are down. I'm 6ft by the way - so need room and those cars are good enough.

stuarthop Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Really should get out more Joined: 22 Dec 04 Location: Nottingham Online Status: Offline Posts: 1040	Post Options Post Reply Quote stuarthop Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 12 May 09 at 7:13am
	I'd definatly recomend an astra estate 1.7 make sure its the dti or cdti model though. the eco is rubbish to tow with and the tdi just has no form of power at all. Insurance is pretty cheap theres loads of space... i used to fill my hatchback one with snowboards, bikes, sails, even fitted a whole ikea kitchen in it (well except for the gf and the oven... had to go back for them!). Pretty economical, i never had below 40mpg even driving like a tw*t and towing normally had between 50 and 60mpg on the daily commute. Vauxhall parts are dead cheap a lot of the spares are cheaper from vauxhall than the motor factors. Insurance is very cheap, for me it was £1200 a year... but i live in a high risk area of nottingham, had 6 points (clean now) and had 2 claims against my name and i was 20 so not too bader value really. I'd buy the estate, put an airbed in the back and undercover over the top and its happy camping. Had some little chav not written mine of while it was parked on the side of the road i'd still have mine. we now tow the fireball with a 1.1 saxo and I ride a push bike for my 10 mile each way trip to work.


English Dave Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Really should get out more Joined: 10 Aug 06 Location: Northern Ireland Online Status: Offline Posts: 682	Post Options Post Reply Quote English Dave Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 12 May 09 at 7:28am
	Few estate cars have enough room for you to sleep in. My Accord Tourer is long but I still have to sleep diagonally in the back. However, you can get over the dawn chorus problem if your car has a cover for the boot space and you sleep with your head under that. In theory the Police can do you for Drunk in Charge if you've had a few bevvies and are parked up on the roadside so get the car keys as far away from you and the ignition as poss.
	English Dave Ballyholme Yacht Club (You'd think I'd be better at it by now) Hurricane 5.9 SX RS700

NeilP Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Far too distracted from work Joined: 23 Nov 04 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 271	Post Options Post Reply Quote NeilP Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 12 May 09 at 8:55am
	As everyone has already said, insurance will be the killer, so I'd suggest you buy as cheap as possible, something you don't mind insuring TPF&T. Cheapest really good towcar I can think of is a Citroen Xantia estate. A decent car will cost you no more than £1000 for a diesel, it'll come with all the kit you could want, more comfortable than having a bath, give around 50mpg. That XUD engine is by far the best of it's generation and will go on for ever. In the end, it all depends on how "cool" you want to be. At your age I wouldn't be spending anywhere near £5K on a car. Think how many pints of beer that will buy! £1K for a decent, lowish mileage Xantia 1.9D estate, £1.5K for insurance, keep the rest in your pocket!
	No FD? No Comment!

jeffers Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Really should get out more Joined: 29 Mar 04 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 3048	Post Options Post Reply Quote jeffers Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 12 May 09 at 8:56am
	I have also found that a 206 1.4 petrol is a reasonable towing vehicle for a dinghy. I towed a friends Scorpion on a combi from Hunts to Sidmouth and noticed only a small increase in fuel consumption. It didn't even struggle up the hills too much (I was surprised). A diesel is a good option but be aware that most modern diesels are still a 10,000 mile service interval whereas some modern petrols (my little 206 1.4) are 20,000 (although an oil change every 12 months is a good idea). So what you gain from a diesel in terms of economy you may lose again in the increaed servicing costs. Get a list of cars you think will suit the bill and surf condused.com or gocompare.com to check out the insurance. I found when i was a young driver (many years ago) that french stuff was surprising cheap to insure but german stuff was horrendously expensive. Now I am an old git it really does not make any difference!
	Paul ---------------------- D-Zero GBR 74

Skiffybob Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Really should get out more Joined: 04 Dec 06 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 842	Post Options Post Reply Quote Skiffybob Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 12 May 09 at 9:35am
	Blimey, is insurance really that much for young people these days? That's criminal! How the hell are you supposed to be able to afford that. I wasn't really thinking about the insurance when making my suggesions. I'll tell you what though, many years ago I had a Peugeot 206 diesel, and that was a top tool for dragging the Cherub around, and I can't imagine that would be too much on Third Party insurance.

timnoyce Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Really should get out more Joined: 05 Aug 04 Location: Hampshire Online Status: Offline Posts: 1991	Post Options Post Reply Quote timnoyce Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 12 May 09 at 10:11am
	Diesels are more expensive to insure than petrols as well. Not sure why, maybe because they are normally higher capacity for a similar level of performance. I had an L reg clio 1.9d. I towed a double stacker with a couple of laser 2's on and that was reasonably ok! Insurance was group 4 if i remember correctly. The best thing about that car was that no matter how I drove it it always returned about 10p a mile (350 miles out of a £35 fill up) but when I eventually gave the car to my brothers girlfriend she was getting more like 450 miles! That car was still on the original clutch and had done 199,000 miles when I got rid of it. The engine was so basic you could do anything with a Haynes manual too. Buy cheap for your first car. You've not lived till you've got your hands dirty a bit and if you do crash it then you won't be too gutted! Also, if you start chucking dirty and wet kit in your car then you will cringe when you see your minter starting to get a bit funky in the back!
	BEARFOOT DESIGN Cherub 2648 - Comfortably Numb

radixon Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Really should get out more Joined: 27 Oct 06 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 2407	Post Options Post Reply Quote radixon Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 12 May 09 at 11:14am
	Ok the options for car's have been mentioned, but what are you towing? Ratface tow's his 14 doublestacker with his little Micra (until it broke down) I used to tow a Laser no probs with a 206, so maybe a 206 SW with 1.4 might be ok or the 307sw 1.4 diesel. As for insurance, yes they are stinging young people, but thats the price when you get lunatic Boy Racers