Hive mind: opinion on this polo
Hive mind: opinion on this polo
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202403237889835
Girlfriend’s son is 17 soon. This looks like a bit of a unicorn, one owner low mileage and good mot history.
I know nothing about these, or that 1.2 engine. What do we reckon?
Girlfriend’s son is 17 soon. This looks like a bit of a unicorn, one owner low mileage and good mot history.
I know nothing about these, or that 1.2 engine. What do we reckon?
- Sundayjumper
- Posts: 6338
- Joined: Wed Apr 11, 2018 4:04 pm
- Currently Driving: Peugeot 406
Re: Hive mind: opinion on this polo
I reckon a 17yo will ruin it, crash it, get bored with it and want something different inside 12 months, at which point it won’t be the 1-owner mint example you paid a premium for and you’ll wish you’d bought a “normal” one for half the price.
Re: Hive mind: opinion on this polo
I thought the same. Theres 24 on AT under 50k miles, so it's not quite the unbelievable unicorn that has to be snapped up, it's just a good low mileage example at strong low mileage example money.Sundayjumper wrote: ↑Sat Mar 30, 2024 9:05 am I reckon a 17yo will ruin it, crash it, get bored with it and want something different inside 12 months, at which point it won’t be the 1-owner mint example you paid a premium for and you’ll wish you’d bought a “normal” one for half the price.
I'd be buying a higher mileage newer one - it won't be staying in perfect old lady owner condition for long anyway.
Re: Hive mind: opinion on this polo
To be fair to the lad he's not the type to go mental with/in it, but it's a good point all the same. Quick look at AT reveals a lot of the < 50k newer ones are CAT cars which is a bit off putting.
Appreciate the comments.
Appreciate the comments.
Re: Hive mind: opinion on this polo
A nice car in that condition and price deserves regular cleaning and proactive maintenance (or else you might as well get something cheaper, less nice), would the lad be willing ?
For a cheap (about half the price) run around I would be okay with cosmetic repairs in consideration of the general car quality (which may include cat repairs). I would personally prefer a car with lots of what I call honesty scratches (and even small dints), but with good mechanical history (which is what our CRV is like, plenty of scratches on every panel, but has a full Honda dealer history). Following this strategy is IMHO is far less likely to find cars with dodgy repairs (like a bucket full of filler used).
Having recently purchased a car, I personally gave up on looking at CAT cars, as I struggled to find one with a decently written advert and acceptable history (both service book and MOT), was much more time efficient to filter out CAT cars and increase my search radius a bit (I also only had saved searches that had keywords like "service history", "FSH", "dealer history").
For a cheap (about half the price) run around I would be okay with cosmetic repairs in consideration of the general car quality (which may include cat repairs). I would personally prefer a car with lots of what I call honesty scratches (and even small dints), but with good mechanical history (which is what our CRV is like, plenty of scratches on every panel, but has a full Honda dealer history). Following this strategy is IMHO is far less likely to find cars with dodgy repairs (like a bucket full of filler used).
Having recently purchased a car, I personally gave up on looking at CAT cars, as I struggled to find one with a decently written advert and acceptable history (both service book and MOT), was much more time efficient to filter out CAT cars and increase my search radius a bit (I also only had saved searches that had keywords like "service history", "FSH", "dealer history").
Re: Hive mind: opinion on this polo
Deceased spec and "WHERE ON EARTH WILL YOU FIND ANOTHER" - Smith and Sniff would love it!
Re: Hive mind: opinion on this polo
I had the GTi version of this - good car, reliable, always worked, solid. Very "Meh" but as a first car, fine.
- Sundayjumper
- Posts: 6338
- Joined: Wed Apr 11, 2018 4:04 pm
- Currently Driving: Peugeot 406
Re: Hive mind: opinion on this polo
Is a MINI out of the question insurance-wise ? I know I’m a broken record on this but they’re fun to drive and have way more character than a Polo. There’s loads of them about for your £4k budget.
Re: Hive mind: opinion on this polo
g/f hates them so possibly ruled out, but I will mention it.
- Sundayjumper
- Posts: 6338
- Joined: Wed Apr 11, 2018 4:04 pm
- Currently Driving: Peugeot 406
Re: Hive mind: opinion on this polo
My sister had a 1.2 for a good while - bought it with 40k km’s and it never put a foot wrong.
Mum now has one - again, bought with about 40k km’s and it’s going well so far.
Non technical feedback but they do seem a decent car. Mini Dinny will be getting one for his first.
Mum now has one - again, bought with about 40k km’s and it’s going well so far.
Non technical feedback but they do seem a decent car. Mini Dinny will be getting one for his first.
Re: Hive mind: opinion on this polo
That Polo looks good but expensive - it’s still 18yrs old so just as likely to strand the darling child due to a random fault like an old coolant pipe splitting as a car which has been used more regularly. Should at least avoid things like engine rebuilds.
Re: Hive mind: opinion on this polo
Like a lot of older cars, even on low mileage they can have gearbox issues due to 18 year old oil in them, as it was supposedly not “needed to be changed” which is absolute bullshit however a mate who has one just had his rebuilt at a cost of around £500 so not a horrendous bill but it does represent a large percentage of the cars value
Re: Hive mind: opinion on this polo
Check insurance quotes first. Comparing for the boy a polo was £800 more expensive to insure than a Toyota Aygo / Skoda citigo.
- integrale_evo
- Posts: 4504
- Joined: Thu Apr 12, 2018 5:58 pm
Re: Hive mind: opinion on this polo
Step daughter has a polo of that shape for 5 years. I think it’s needed rear dampers, a battery and some brakes, can’t remember doing anything else to it. Parts have been dirt cheap.
1.4 though so no direct experience of the 1.2, but feels smooth, comfortable and pretty solid.
1.4 though so no direct experience of the 1.2, but feels smooth, comfortable and pretty solid.
Cheers, Harry
Re: Hive mind: opinion on this polo
On reflection the conclusion newer/higher mileage/cheaper is more betterer than that one. Neither like MINIs so they're out.
Ta for comments.
Ta for comments.