subaru foresters? are they as good as they seem?

[raleighrider21]

actually strayed away from the forester today after test driving it and got my eyes on two different cars, a hyundai i30 in blue and a silver focus estate. both £950 and both decent looking motors. the i30 has a problem with the rear brakes apparently so sold as spares/repair etc etc but potentially something i could fix. i drive upto rugeley and hednesford alot wich is more rural than walsall, occasionally take the greyhound lamping, not too keen on the imprezas, local drug dealers choice of motor. they all have them. too much for me i think though + never seen a automatic one. insurance costs are silly full stop for me, i had a quote on a fiesta for £4k. im insured on grandads nissan note 1.6 auto although i dont know what thats costing him. hes not a former member on here but is a former member on mtbe.
im stuck between the focus and the forester if anything. focus is £100 cheaper on insurance but thats it.

OK, and what's the additional cost of sticking with your Micra for another year, and hopefully earning some NCB?

Thousands sounds HFM for insurance, especially when it's looking way more than the cost of the motors themselves. Something that people did in the past, when young (well not just when young, too...) was make do.

As others have said, it's your money to do with what you like - but is it really worth the difference to be spending a LOT of money on insurance to change? Are you sure that you won't look back at spending a shedload of money to change, and insure, won't seem a terrible waste, in the near future?

id love to keep the micra, really i would but now im doing the school run pretty much everyday because im the only one available with a car i cant stand the bickering about space in the back, with how tall i am i have the seat almost all the way back so near to no leg space. the only way i can see me keeping the micra is magically finding a way of solving the issue with leg space and bickering + storage space for the kids sh*te and its almost near to impossible to get a bike in the back without a ton of faffing about. space and practicallity is the main reason for wanting a bigger car. if i can find a way of solving those issues ill keep the micra but it seems near to impossible

 

[T'boo Ted]

Tell them to shut the pie hole or catch the bus/walk...

 

[raleighrider21]

Tell them to shut the pie hole or catch the bus/walk...

haha would if i could

 

[Midlife]

The History Man........I'm on the lookout for something more "horsey" than my WRX, are you selling that 52 plate Forester at the end of the year?

Shaun

 

[Neil]

Tell them to shut the pie hole or catch the bus/walk...

haha would if i could

I'm a parent, with two young kids. They behave in the car, or we walk. And truth be told, school run tends to be walking, unless the weather is really bad, or we're running late.

And how times have changed, when I went to school, I could truly count the number of times I was taken to school in the car, on one hand - seriously, that's infants, juniors, senior school, sixth form.

You don't know you're born. All your mum and me used to have in the evenings was sky digital. Playstation, yeah. We used to have to manage with a car each, a car each! Your mam, she used to have a dishwasher! You don't remember - look at her face, you don't remember them, do you? She used to have take over all the plates, load them in, by hand, on her own! turn it on!

 

[The History Man]

The History Man........I'm on the lookout for something more "horsey" than my WRX, are you selling that 52 plate Forester at the end of the year?

Shaun

Should be. Fingers crossed. All depends on inlaws coming through. But yes. Want first refusal? Has been our dog (x4) wagon for years so 'well used' with guard and boot liner.

 

[markwashington]

I think you also need to be thinking of running costs as well, obviously the insurance will be high, but a 2 litre auto being mainly used around town for a school run isn't going to see particularly high MPG figures, you'll find you'll be bunging £100s in the tank every month. If I was you I wouldn't touch anything over group 8 for insurance and over a 1.4 engine. £3k sounds like a crazy amount to spend on insurance when the money would be better spent on bus passes for the siblings and a new bike for you!

 

[raleighrider21]

£3k sounds alot for you guys who probably only spend £300-£400 on insurance, £3k is low for me, the gf is paying almost £5k for her car and thats a 1.4 corsa :S
also considering ive had motoring convictions in past and a claim early this year on my bike insurance.

might have found a way i can keep the micra for another year but not 100% yet. nothing over a 1.4? im restricted to automatics because i cant drive manual due to having large feet that hit the brake whenever i touch the clutch. apart from my micra and a real old 1.4 corsa i have struggled hard to find any automatic with a engine 1.4 or below.

would still like something bigger though.

 

[Koupe]

Insurance premiums don't follow 'common sense' principles, though - they're generally based around statistics. Younger/newer drivers tend to have small hatchbacks, they also tend to crash them, therefore they'll be expensive to insure. If you're not too bothered about cool points, try going for something a bit older with a 'middle-aged' image. Although, if you already have convictions, you might not see too much difference.

 

[careful now]

If you do want cool points though,may I suggest this wee beauty=

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Unfinished-Pr ... 25833e995f