New car idea, should i do it?

[Blackstar]

Right, well right now i have Mindy my 1.1 ford fiesta. She rocks my world and so does her insurance £475.20 for a year. (Taking into account that i've only had my licence for 5 months.) Mindy is lovely and in really good condition i bought her out of my own pocket and care for her the best i can with my car noobness.

Now here is the dilema, my mum and dad both have cars. Mum has a Honda CRV (which is a point and go car, wasn't too keen when i had a shot) and dad has a Volvo (pipe and slippers included). The Honda is a company car and will be going back soon, so parentals have started looking for yet another car to replace that.
Before they got the Honda mum drove a R-reg 1.8 16v Vauxhall Vectra arctic, which was pretty nice, i know not the best of cars but it did the job. SO that has been living in our garage for a while. (Still in working order though the battery is hooked up to a thing that keeps it working and it get a regular check over.)
My younger sister Lorna is 17 in April and wants to learn how to drive, so my parents have offered me this deal...
Give your little sister Mindy and we will sell you the Vectra (which is worth about £800-£900) for £500, which you can pay to us in installments over 3 months. We will MOT the car but you have to tax it. I'm allowed to take out the stereo that i (*cough* Martin) put into Mindy.
I've looked into insuring the Vectra and it is a lot cheaper than i thought it'd be £635.35 TPTF with my mum as a named driver.
My question is, do i do it? I'm very very tempted as it is a much better car than the one i have now, much more reliable and able to handle long distances.

[Dr. Z]

You know I think its the right thing to do

It might be a 1.8 but you dont drive like a loony and are too sensible to go steaming down the motorway at silly speeds, so it makes sense to get a car more apt for what you are doing.

You ARE going to feel a hit in the fuel economy department though, especially when cold.

[Blackstar]

Originally Posted by DRZ

You ARE going to feel a hit in the fuel economy department though, especially when cold.

Well going from being able to brim Mindy for £25 and run her for a week, i'm pretty prepared for never having that cheap fuel bills ever again.

[Piggymon]

I think it sounds like a very sensible idea

My 1st car was a 1.4 and shortly after that I had a 1.6 .. I don't know how you cope with a 1.1 !

[Blackstar]

Originally Posted by Miss Piggy

I think it sounds like a very sensible idea

My 1st car was a 1.4 and shortly after that I had a 1.6 .. I don't know how you cope with a 1.1 !

I don't go near big hills

[kaiowas]

Any idea what your fiesta is worth? Once they get old and cheap small cars tend to keep their value better than big ones. I'd be worried that your car could actually be sold for more than your parents are giving you for it.

[Burble]

Sounds like a good deal to me

[Dr. Z]

Originally Posted by kaiowas

Any idea what your fiesta is worth? Once they get old and cheap small cars tend to keep their value better than big ones. I'd be worried that your car could actually be sold for more than your parents are giving you for it.

Staying in the family means her little sister will use it to learn in etc etc. Its in damn good nick for its age really, selling it would make it hard to find another as nice for her sister to learn in.

[Blackstar]

Originally Posted by kaiowas

Any idea what your fiesta is worth? Once they get old and cheap small cars tend to keep their value better than big ones. I'd be worried that your car could actually be sold for more than your parents are giving you for it.

Well i paid £300 for it no idea what it actually is worth, probably that max.

[mejinks]

Offer them £300 unless they fix anything that needs doing after the MOT and insist that they have a full service (oil, plugs etc) done before you buy it.

Does it come with a full sized spare, have you kicked the tyre?

It sounds like a good deal though.