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Car Choice: Don't blow your budget chasing your dream

Celine Lawrence is a new driver with a big budget to spend on her first car. She is 20, has just passed her driving test in the south of France, but will be moving back to Britain and will buy her car then. The car has to be new, belong to a low insurance bracket, needs automatic transmission, and have air conditioning. All this to be included in a budget of £13,500.

Inside Comment

Car Choice: Must be reliable and economical – with added gravitas

Sunday, 10 October 2010

Jaye Ash is in his early 40s and moving out of London to a semi-rural location in Surrey to set up his own consultancy business. Consequently, he wants a car that is reliable, economical, good environmentally, and projects a distinctive image as he will use it for his business. He has between £6,000 and £8,000 to spend, and wants a vehicle that is as new as possible and with as low a mileage as possible – oh, and ideally it should not be attractive to thieves.

Car Choice: A tricky combination: driving and cycling and camping

Sunday, 3 October 2010

Trevor Cooper wants to know what sort of vehicle his son and daughter-in-law (thirtysomethings) should buy to suit their interest in cycling and camping. They need to load their bikes and their camping gear inside the car, so space and practicality are the top priorities. They do not cover a huge mileage and would consider petrol or diesel, but would welcome reasonable economy. They have £5,000 to spend, plus whatever they get for their 53 reg Focus 1.6.

Car Choice: Best in show for Catherine and her pedigree chums

Sunday, 26 September 2010

Catherine Hickman is 21 and runs a 2008 Peugeot 207 which she wants to trade-in for an estate car. She has two dogs, which travel in cages in the back of the car.Catherine shows them, so she travels to dog shows and needs enough room in the car for a dog table, chairs, the dog's cages, then all the other things necessary for the day. She has �2,000 – plus whatever she gets for her 207.

Car Choice: You need a Rolls, but a Honda or Mitsubishi will do

Sunday, 12 September 2010

Paul Bunting is 63 and thinking ahead to 2012, when he will have saved �25,000 to replace his 1995 Ford Escort. Ideally he wants a long saloon with a flat floor. He rightly observes that low seats make it a problem for the elderly and disabled to get in and out. Paul hates the clutter between the front seats and would like to be able to get out of either side of the car, useful when parked next to a hedge or wall.

Car Choice: Perfection: leather seats and room for a bicycle in the back

Sunday, 5 September 2010

Jesper Groenvold is 52, returning to London from the United States, and needs a car. He wants comfort on the motorway and good handling when on the back roads. The car can't be too big because Jesper will be fighting for parking spaces in London NW1. He is also a keen cyclist, so getting a bike in the back is important, and most of the time there will only ever be two people in the car. Easy to clean leather seats are a must, and his budget is around �15,000.

Get the right deal to finance your new car

Sunday, 29 August 2010

Maryrose Fison reports on the options available If you want a car with the new '60' number plate

Car Choice: After 10 years of being spoilt, it's back to reality

Sunday, 29 August 2010

Fais Ansari has spent a decade living and working in the Middle East, but is now back in England. He admits to having been spoilt, as petrol was so cheap and he could own dream cars such as Porsches and Audi A8s. Back in reality, with a wife and three children – aged five, three, and one – he already has a mini-MPV for family transport and long journeys, but is looking for a used car which is sporty, automatic, fast, can take all the family, and costs between �20,000 and �25,000.

Car Choice: An Xsara could be just the tonic for kayak-crazy David

Sunday, 22 August 2010

David Perry is 21-year-old in the third year of a degree in medicine and is about to start regular hospital and GP placements all over Manchester and the surrounding area. He would like a car that's cheap to run and insure, yet large enough for his regular kayaking trips. He wants to get at least 50mpg out of it and his budget is from �1,200 to �1,600, possibly a little more if that would guarantee that it is reliable.

Car Choice: In need of a bit of extra legroom for grandad

Sunday, 15 August 2010

Jane Beale's father has a hip problem which means that he can only fit into her Volvo V70 in the front passenger space with the seat pushed back as far as it will go. If Jane travels in the back of any car she is sick, so her husband, who is 6ft 2in, has to sit behind the driver's seat – leaving her two teenagers with precious little room behind their grandpa. So, is there anything that will take all of the family in comfort and safety within a budget of �10,000?

Car Choice: The family's growing and it's time to give up the runaround

Sunday, 8 August 2010

Jamini Nair owns a 2006 Mini Cooper 1.6 which she really loves. However, her family is growing – Jamini's second child is on the way – and she is looking for a car with more seats. She is thinking of getting a people carrier, and is looking at something like a seven seater. Luckily she has a huge budget of £27,000, so what would we recommend?

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