Alex Unleashed on Cars

  If you read my Greatest Cars Ever, you’ll know I championed the Ford Focus as one of the greatest cars ever made and I’ll stand by my decision. For those of you who didn’t read that blog, I championed it because it was such a giant leap forward over the old Escort and its various rivals, and in general was a great car in all aspects particularly as it was both a nice car to drive but was also well built. The Focus was actually teased all the way back in late 1995, where frankly, it looked out of this world, especially when most other cars of that type and time were boxy and looked like saloons with the boot chopped off.   Amongst the various plans for the Focus included a planned a Mazda sourced V6 engine option though that was later scrapped. Either way, everyone was excited at the prospect of the Focus going on sale in the near future. So, if the hype when the Focus was teased was high, then the excitement when it reached show rooms in late 1998 was ecstatic. And unlike ...

  For some, buying your first car is a big ordeal especially if your not very knowledgeable on cars and what to look for, so I’m here to provide you with a guide on what cars to buy, what resources to find them and resources to help you find the best cars. So, let’s break this down into steps. Step 1: establish a budget Sounds easy enough but depending on how much you know about used cars you may find you need more money than first anticipated, my recommendation is a budget of between £1400-£3000, this should get you a reasonable car that won’t break the bank when getting insurance. But if you want to spend more or less, you should be fine. Step 2: Decide What Your Looking For in a Car Most first time buyers want a combo of: economy, reliability, performance, quality and refinement. But knowing where to find these qualities can be tough and I’d also suggest putting aside your personal prejudices towards brands or countries as you don’t have excessive amount of choice in t...