newbie: which series is best for engineering newbie?

Heya,I'm hoping to get a series 3/2a sometime in the next year, perhaps off ebay(is that a good place to buy??).I would use it as my first car (age 17) and try to do the bulk of the mainenance myself. I was just wondering which you guys thought which series went wrong least often/was easiest to repair for someone new to engineering/is cheapest? Comfort/speed/looks of the two models not really an issue. Also is there any advantage in going petrol over diesel?

Thanks very much for any replies .

sorry, also will £1000 buy you a decent one, or do you have to go nearer £2000? Thanks very much!!

hi and welcome, 2a or 3 not a lot between them - the 3 has a few more plastic bits but they are near enough the same beast

Ebay - 50/50 some good bargins on there and some heaps, best thing is to view if you can - look around the footwells, bulkhead etc for rust

petrol over diesel - urm me i say no, a 30 (ish) plus diesel is not the same as the 1.7TDi in my astra, as for mpg depends on your use

money wise i got mine for £142 on ebay but if you have £1000 - £2000 look on here or here for a 2/2A (tax free 90% of the time)

http://www.nhua.co.uk/smf_1-0-5/index.php

richard

1. Get out and under with a hammer and tap everything.
2. Feel along the tops of the chasse for rust holes.
3. If there is a hole with in 20 cm of a major support then it’s a MOT fail.
4. Look out for bulkhead rot around the foot wells and where the door hinges attach.

Plus lots of other stuffyou need to read up on.


Most of the above is fixable with effort and money, allot of parts are cheep and some aren’t. Research how much spare parts are and if it’s a big job before you put in an offer.

If you buy a “tax exempt” remember it is a 30 year old vehicle with a 40 year old design.
In short it’s not like your mums VW Golf

But it’s a lot of fun.
Go for it

cool thanks v. much for the advice guys

check out an insurance quote first. before you buy one.
17 yr olds and landys dont mix usually.

ps, theres a lovely old series 2 on here for sale. no idea what he wants for it though. check out the for sale section.