Mini Cooper or a Mini One

Alfa Mito 1.4T

Clio 1.6 (or an older 2.0 Renaultsport)

Clio 1.5dci (106bhp)

I know you don't like Fords but you could test drive a Fiesta Zetec-S.....

The BMW Mini doesn't really appeal to me and beside, my best mate has the Works' version so I don't particularly want the same as him lol. Alfa is a no-no, they're not reliable. I'll check out those Clio’s except for the Renaultsport versions, I can't imagine that insurers would be very happy to insure that lol. Test drove the Zetec-S, didn't really tickle my fancy.

Thanks for the ideas though, I'll check out those Clio’s later perhaps.

Sorry to heard about your RTC, at least everyone is ok, that's the main thing and just mark it up as experience. With the regards of you valuing at £8k, a lot of people make this mistake, that figure means absolutely nothing when it comes to a claim and you will always get market value and no more!

RTC? Marked it up as an experience alright! Just a shame it was the wrong car to roll! lol. I knew it was based on the marketing value but it is always better to put a higher value than it is actually worth (of course, within reasons). The other thing is, I lost nearly £2,000 for a car that I've owned for less than 6 months.

RS Clio all the way:

http://www.autotrade...age/1?logcode=p

Perfect

No thanks! :no:

Ross glad to see you survived this, you've been driving for less than 3 years and had 2 speeding tickets and you know this road like the back of your hand, the guy had indicated right and the lorry driver confirmed this?, you knew the junction was coming up you should have waited until u had passed this junction and then overtook in a safe place, hopefully the other drivers were fine also? If I was you get yourself a 1.4 3 cylinder fabia , and be more aware of hazards on the road, never ever overtake where you know there's a junction coming up as most people don't even indicate any more! , once again I'm glad you got out unscathed

I don't have any convictions Seb; it was DRJ I think that said he had 2 speeding tickets, not me. I drive with care and ONLY speed when I'm on my own in certain areas and when overtaking if it is necessary to have more speed but in this case, I didn't gain any more speed as I didn't need to, I was going by quickly enough.

The junction wasn't up just yet, there was plenty of room and time before reaching that junction point. As I said, he moved out right, only to hit into me, about 30-40 yards BEFORE even reaching the junction. I was already alongside of him if not in front, just another 1 or 2 seconds and I would of been in front of him.

I think Suzukis look better in Black - mine's Black!

I quite like the new model 2012 SSSport in blue! Would look good in white alloys I reckon...Shame it's a tad out of my price range .

I reckon that lump behind your ear was that 1 litre bottle of oil that is now on the dashboard

You were very lucky!

That bottle is actually screen wash! I think someone put that there because it was originally in the boot. I would never use or buy oil from Halfrauds but screen wash, it doesn't bother me as long as it throw foam and water onto the screen .

hmmm.. Overtaking whilst coming upto a junction!!!

My advise would be get a lower powered car so you can't take life threatening risks doing questionable overtakes. The problem with knowing the roads you drive along all the time is you WILL let your gaurd down and not concentrate as much as you should hence how accidents happen, just because you've done something before doesn't mean its right or something bad can't happen.

You don't need alot of power to have a great driving experience especially if you prefer country roads to motorways.

How about something like this http://www.pistonhea...les/4191095.htm A few toys, IMO will handle better on twisty roads than the Fabia although probably not as sporty as the Swift but fuel efficient if you cover 000's of miles. Will also give you some spare cash towards your insurance.

I know it does sound bad; overtaking whilst there is a junction coming up but there is actually plenty of time to overtake if you start from the 3/4 to top coming out after the bend. However, after what happened, I won't be overtaking on that road again especially after hearing that a serious crash had happened last week on that very same road. From what I've heard is that someone was seriously harmed and there is a possibility that someone (or more than one) was killed.

My accident happened on the 1st of August, which that accident happened over a week later.

Yes, one of the reasons why I am looking at lesser-performance cars like the Suzuki rather than going for another vRS.

That is a fair point there Matt, I've thought of it that way after the crash but I always have my concentration up regardless of where I am or which roads I'm on, I'm always serious about driving with care and respecting other drivers as well as the rules of the road. As you said, doing something again doesn't mean it is going to be the same as before.

I chose the vRS because it has great all-round capabilities that I was after. I do drive the dual-carriageways / motorways when it’s ideal or necessary but I would say I do more miles on the B-roads overall. I can manage 60+mpg on that particular b-road on a good day (no traffic lol); the best I’ve had is 67.3mpg (yes, average) on that road. I could of had 72+mpg at one time but I eventually got stuck behind someone for the last 6-7ish miles and that really killed my mpg.

Hmm...a pug :think:. Not keen on those too. I know, I'm fussy .

Thanks for your advices though .

I may drop off purchasing a new car as of now because I'll be going away to the States (thank god, I need to get out of this country!!) for a road trip so driving some RWD V6, V8 muscles will cheer me up and give me some time to think about my next car .

Keep the ideas coming though.

Edited 30 August, 201213 yr by Ross-VRS

How about a Panda.. (a bit marmite) http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/3758798.htm , I can't comment on how they drive as I've not driven this shape but if they're anything like the original Panda's it will be a hoot to drive.

I learnt to drive in my mum's 750cc Panda and I don't think I've ever had a car thats been as much fun to drive as that

Sorry to hear this Ross but as everyone, glad you are (practically) unharmed - good to know how strong these little gems are though...

With regards to a replacement, as with most Fabia vRS owners, I would struggle (and not really want to to be fair) to find something to replace my little car...

Best of luck, be interested to see what you end up with!

RTC? Marked it up as an experience alright! Just a shame it was the wrong car to roll! lol. I knew it was based on the marketing value but it is always better to put a higher value than it is actually worth (of course, within reasons). The other thing is, I lost nearly £2,000 for a car that I've owned for less than 6 months.

Why is it always better to over value your car? It makes your insurrance more expensive and gives you no more reward as has been proven in this case, I always just give the figure that they cost on autotrader if not a few hundred less, when I wrote my car off in 2008 they still paid out at glasses guide price which was higher than the value I had put down on my quote.

I think if I were you I would be getting something cheap to insurrance like my wife's fiat grande Punto activ 1.2, only cost £340 fully comp for the first year, that's at the age of 24 and just passed her test, it's now under £300. It'll teach you to drive, it's very good on petrol and is nice and slow!

There is no point in overvaluing your car. The Ins companies are happy to take the extra money from the quote then pay out the same peanuts they would have anyway.

Have you considered slumming it for a couple of years until your ins comes back down? Try doing a bit of bangeromics or even try to run a classic for a while?

http://www.classiccarsforsale.co.uk/classic-car-page/175906/1984-ford-capri/

For comparison when I was the OP's age I was driving a Citroen 2CV6 - that was economical too and overtaking needed a lot of planning ahead!

There's a really nice 2010 Suzuki Swift Sport in pearl white with 18" black alloys (optional extra from Suzuki) with only 14,000 miles on the clock for under £8000...Tempted.

I've only a few things to say about the Swift Sport.

1. It's lots of fun to drive.

2. You MUST run it on Super Unleaded

3. Tyres are an odd size and can be hard to find.

4. If it has 18's on it will ride and handle like crap. One owner dropped his to 16's (standard issue in Japan) and felt it handled better, rode better and accelerated better. We only get the big wheels because it's fashionable here.

The Fabia is rapid, its handling is so so though, too heavy and too soft.

My advice if you fancy a change - get something with less power but fantastic handling and feel.

What about a MX5?

Citroen c2 vts?

Claiming didnt push my insurance premium up that much to be honest with you when i crashed my fabia vrs. I thought that i would be screwed, but i sold the fabia and went for a civic type r which is double the insurance group. I am 21, 0 no claims with 1 claim against me (my fault). insurance on my type r is £1200. The fabia was £1000 the year before.

So you'd easily be able to insure another fabia or even a faster car if you wanted, and with 7k to play with you could get a super charged type r for the lol's.

That would be a thirsty car though as I had the same engine in a car 100's of kg less and it wasn't exactly frugile!