Ok, so i am now in need of a car, its not going to be used everyday, but it will be used on journeys every now and again, mainly in winter, my criteria are it must be cheap as chips and be able to carry a bit of stuff and have low insurance (21 yr old). i think the term rugged sums up what im after.

now, after a recent post i have been looking at lada niva's, theres one going for £650 with an mot till december 2010, or this one links (ebay)

what do you reckon, or is there something else out there?]

or should i stop being an idiot and buy a 1.0 corsa/fiesta

cheers chaps.

tbh I 'd go for the one with the MOT and ready to go rather than fix one that might not be ready by the time the snow goes away.

If it was more local I'd buy one too. Fiesta's and corsa's are junk, I've had both.

the one in the linky needs work for MOT - would you be able to do that and know how much it would cost?

nivas are so few on the ground so I'd be surprised if parts are cheap or easily available.

hmm, well i have been offered one for £400 that the clutch has just started slipping on, hmm?

I'd buy a mk2 Mondeo

1. They are cheap to buy
2. Parts are cheap
3. It'll be cheap to insure (family saloons are not as high risk for young drivers as corsa's and fiesta's)
4. They are nice to drive
5. Lots of space
6. I never got stuck in the snow with mine

I'd say get a mondeotoo. They are dirt cheap now and you get quite alot of car for the money.

Plus the mondeo will be quick too.

Good mate of mine swears by Mondeos. As said, cheap as chips, rarely go wrong, dirt cheap parts, comfortable, 2.0 ones are reasonably quick, cheap to insure... etc

If you saw the abuse his gets you'd see quite how bulletproof they are. He's on his third now, all bought for ~£300. The first one needed a new clutch, but it was easier to buy a new car than change it, and the second one I wrote off for him. (I got hit in the arse at about 50 mph when stationary at traffic lights).

The one with the knackered clutch we drove into a skip full of rubble half a dozen times, and it still kept running!

Chris

Ive got a '53 plate 2.0 TDCi (130).

Its faultless, Quick enough, comfortable on distance journeys, and cheap to maintain.

Plus its a Zetec S so its got an ST bodykit, and a few gadgets.

Ive had it 12 months, and even now im looking at a company car, i really dont want to get rid of it.

... And it was a remarkably good car.

I've had many 4x4's ... Jeeps, Rangeys, Discos, Troopers and Patrols and even a Lada Niva

I knocked up about 100k in the Lada, It was a bit noisy and basic... but totally reliable and very good off road.

They did win a couple of Paris Dakar rallys after all !!

What about this one?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1996-LADA-COSSACK-GREEN_W0QQitemZ320471859582QQcmdZViewItemQQptZAutomobiles_UK?hash=item4a9d9c817e