New driver.

tomsheppard · Post by **tomsheppard** » 26 Aug 2004, 21:43

Our Annabel has passed its driving test! This not being the first time, my money was against it! Well done Annabel, time to find a car for her: "I don't want a heap!"
(Fine, Darling. just how much money do you think will be left in the whole wide world once the insurance has been paid for?).

What do I need to know about AXs?

Kowalski · Post by **Kowalski** » 26 Aug 2004, 21:52

I don't love small cars.
What is there to know about AXs: buy a ZX after all she said she didn't want a heap...

VisaGTi16v · Post by **VisaGTi16v** » 26 Aug 2004, 21:55

ax=cheap, a nice gt with 8 months mot just sold for about £150 on ebay

tomsheppard · Post by **tomsheppard** » 26 Aug 2004, 22:33

Thanks for that. I feel that insurance costs will be the issue so 1.9 litre engines or GT badges will not be appropriate. If they were, she would be given a BX TGD Turbo that just happens to be hanging around... (And if the little wretch DARED to call that a heap...)

ItDontGo · Post by **ItDontGo** » 26 Aug 2004, 22:44

Small cars should be made compulsory. Big cars kill the planet unnecesarily and they are dangerous if they crash into anything. Now I know you are going to say that small cars are dangerous for the occupants but that's their fault for having a crash!
AXs are great. In fact when my small car law passes through parliament I will then try and get my AX only law through.

Homer · Post by **Homer** » 26 Aug 2004, 22:48

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by ItDontGo</i>

Big cars kill the planet unnecesarily and they are dangerous if they crash into anything.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Stand there while I find an AX and run into you then.[}:)]

jonathan_dyane · Post by **jonathan_dyane** » 26 Aug 2004, 23:05

Tom,
My mother is currently selling an AX. It's a 14TZD (Diesel) in dark metallic green, and it is a good one. Nice bodywork and interior, electric windows central locking and sunroof. (One of the windows has just gone off, but that's my job for tomorrow

probably a broken wire between A pillar and door.)
Mechanically it is well sorted too, the car has been well looked after, just had a new radiator and back brakes, and I renovated the engine 2 years ago, since which it has been great. (Rebuilt head, new rings and bearings).
Drives well and is suprisingly nippy, and unsuprisingly very economical, a genuine 60mpg is easy.
The car has 12 months test and months tax, she wants a reasonable £490 for it.
Jonathan.

Stuart McB · Post by **Stuart McB** » 27 Aug 2004, 00:32

No stop! get your darling an...... Autin maxi or allegro, Ford Cortina [:D]. It was good enough for us 30 somethings, it'll be good enough now. When I past my test back when Duran Duran were hitting the big time (this is planet earth)[8D] I thought that I'd get an XR3I, no way said the old man [V]. Ended up with me dear old Maxi 1750. Not even an old mini. LOL.
Seriously though what about a Pug 205? Seen plenty of nice newer reg ones about latley.

NiSk · Post by **NiSk** » 27 Aug 2004, 00:42

Large cars are dangerous to the planet - AX's are dangerous to the people inside them. The AX was denounced as the worst car you could possibly have an accident in by the Swedish insurance company Folksam - who have some of the best car accident statistics in the world (not just Sweden) and are highly regarded by the majority of car manufacturers, so much so that Citroën stopped selling the AX in Scandinavia after this exposé.
Now I guess I will get run over by all the fanatic AX owners - it's just that they wouldn't dare run over me - they'd probably come off worst!
//NiSk

ItDontGo · Post by **ItDontGo** » 27 Aug 2004, 01:26

I new that comment about big cars and AXs would upset a few people. You are telling me nothing new by saying they aren't very safe - I own one. But the fact is that this car is slow and so accidents do not happen as a result of an unskilled motorist trying to drive a car fast. An AX accident is likely to be not seeing something coming etc...
To give me evidence from an insurance company to explain that big cars are safer than small cars is very much flawed. My AX is in insurance group 3 my BX in 15! Thats partly because a motorist can do a lot more damage with 1.5 tonnes of high speed metal than 0.7 tonnes of slow metal.
Big cars are dangerous. They have typically about twice the kinetic energy of a small car at the same speed and this has to be absorbed by another car or a wall... in an accident.

Post by **Jon** » 27 Aug 2004, 02:25

Stuart McB you've given me a laugh, back in the "Duranie" era I was criusing around in my Dad's R18GTL, Y Reg, and my mums 2cv, T reg. First car, funded by my relations was 1976 2cv, P reg in Petrel Bleu, we didn't go in for safety much in my day. Most youths of my age had Escort Mk1 or similar. There were a lot of accidents. I was in the car when my mate was driving his Dad's 2.0 Cortina Ghia estate on Watford one way ring road too fast on a wet road and I walked away from that one. Trouble was I was walking really odd, turned out later my left leg was broken[:(]
Despite their size, the AX is not that bad safety wise, unfortunately, they lack certain strengthening features such as a front subframe. They do deform quite well though, and I've lived through a massive AX GT accident back in 1989 where I lost it on a bend, clipped the kerb then it barrel rolled into a field. Total injuries, some facial cuts and a broken finger when the windscreen folded down due to crushed roof.
If it was me buying a cheap car for my daughter I'd probably put her in a late ZX 19D with airbag and pre-tensioners. Cheap insurance, they don't fold up like a pack of cards, easy to fix, and room for some friends. Don't cost the earth to run and great on fuel too.
[8D]

phil02 · Post by **phil02** » 27 Aug 2004, 04:01

AX is a perfect first car, small, very easy to drive and park, good to drive, very very economical and should be reliable if you get a good one. 1.0i/1.1i are the ones to go for if you can't find a decent diesel, GT will be horrific for first-timer's insurance! And surprisingly spacious for its size, much better than most rivals.
Easy to look after and shouldn't give too many problems - they don't have that complicated suspension so they're straightforward enough. Seems that they are not keen on neglect so a well-looked after one is a preferable choice, naturally.
Crash protection isn't stunning, no, but it's not going to be much worse than a comparable Nova or Fiesta, say. All small cars of late eighties/early nineties design are pretty much the same in that respect.
Then again, the perfect students car, a 2CV? Cool as they come in most ways and although it'll be written off if you bump the kerb at least they're too slow to crash!
Phil

tomsheppard · Post by **tomsheppard** » 27 Aug 2004, 13:57

OK so it is a deathtrap. Not for us. If you can convince a 20 year old Ikea junkie that a 2CV is cool then you must be a lawyer. Even I wouldn't say that and I'm quite fond of the horrible fossil. I think that the decision has been made, though. Ford Ka. Granny runs a pair of them so I think that some wheedling will be going on...

Daniel B · Post by **Daniel B** » 27 Aug 2004, 14:46

Quote: "To give me evidence from an insurance company to explain that big cars are safer than small cars is very much flawed. My AX is in insurance group 3 my BX in 15! Thats partly because a motorist can do a lot more damage with 1.5 tonnes of high speed metal than 0.7 tonnes of slow metal."
I would have to say, that personally I believe the insurance group difference to be more to do with a slight difference in engine size and power there!
And to be pedantic (who me?) the AX weighs around 780KG, and the BX weighs about 1080KG.
To further discredit wildy ridiculous, pick a number out of thin air, insurance grouping:
Citroen Saxo VTS - 120BHP - Insurance group 14
Citroen C2 VTS - 125BHP - Insurance Group 8
Cheers
Dan

clivetheitman · Post by **clivetheitman** » 27 Aug 2004, 14:49

Tom I have a spare subaru justy 1.2 f reg hatchback 62k and full service history going spare now my son has bought his new clio. it has switchable 4 wheel drive as well so you can have a play with another sort of odd car as a change from a citroen. £150 if you want it, I need the space to start playing with the new BX estate I bought a couple of weeks ago.[:D]