Which cheap car best to get???
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rojo":3cgy68k9 said:
Diesels are generally more expensive to buy as they are more popular, so on a limited budget you will generally have to buy an older model with higher milage than a petrol equivalent. What sort of milage are you expecting to do with it? Long journeys, short journeys? Are you able to do basicc repairs yourself?
I would buy a little, cheap, popular petrol car. A Fiesta, or a Corsa, perhaps. The bits are readily available for not too much money.
I had a Corsa, bought by my dad in 1996, which I bought off him after he'd done with it. I did 114,000 miles before I sold it, and apart from an exhaust falling off it never once broke down, ever. :shock:
Mind you, all the other old cars I've owned before were comparatively rubbish. Most of them were much more exciting to drive, cool, etc. but really, none of them were as good a piece of engineering as that Vauxhall.
Glad I don't have a car now, though; if you can possibly avoid owning one it makes life much easier.
I had a Corsa, bought by my dad in 1996, which I bought off him after he'd done with it. I did 114,000 miles before I sold it, and apart from an exhaust falling off it never once broke down, ever. :shock:
Mind you, all the other old cars I've owned before were comparatively rubbish. Most of them were much more exciting to drive, cool, etc. but really, none of them were as good a piece of engineering as that Vauxhall.
Glad I don't have a car now, though; if you can possibly avoid owning one it makes life much easier.
rojo":2zefsz40 said:
Golf is OK, but the MK3 does rust badly from what I have seen, my mate would not suggest the 306 for sure (he was at a Peugeot dealer for 4 years) anything at that price is bound to shot, he currently owns a 106 diesel that is worth about £500-£700 but is under no illusions as to the quality and says it is a snotter to get him to work and back on the cheap, when it breaks he fixes it but it is only ever at trade cost in parts and it often needs parts.
Things like Civics and Accords take big miles well as to Primeras, Almeras, Corollas and Avensis' (whats the plural for that???). So in the Golf size I would look for a Corolla, Civic or Almera as the alternative and not the 306. In fact a friend had a basic 1.4i Civic which he has said without a shadow of a doubt is the best car he has owned for costs and reliability, beating his A4 and Passat TDi easily in those areas.
Carl.
im with a few people on here, get a micra. my dad has had his for 6 years i think. was 80000miles when he got it and it now has 150000 on the clock. last mot was just a few minor things which cost about £150 total. nice little car. always manage to fit loads in the boot!
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Why's there been no love for the blue oval? Fords are cheap, easy and cheap to fix, and don't go wrong (in my experiance). If you get anything after about '98 you'll have the best driving car in it's class too.
Mate of mine just picked up a P reg Mondeo with fsh and every bill from every bit of work done to it for £600. Drives it from Harrogate to the south coast every other week and it has not missed a beat.
Take your pick from Fiesta, Escort, (early) Focus, Mondeo, Scorpio, Galaxy etc etc at that price. My last 3 cars have been Focus's and I love them. Tried everything else in the class and don't think anything else (inc the Golf) comes close as an all rounder.
Mate of mine just picked up a P reg Mondeo with fsh and every bill from every bit of work done to it for £600. Drives it from Harrogate to the south coast every other week and it has not missed a beat.
Take your pick from Fiesta, Escort, (early) Focus, Mondeo, Scorpio, Galaxy etc etc at that price. My last 3 cars have been Focus's and I love them. Tried everything else in the class and don't think anything else (inc the Golf) comes close as an all rounder.
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Random comments from my two mechanic neighbours
£700 would buy you a very tidy Mercedes 190 or an E220 which are both nice to drive, virtually indesctructable and cheap to repair.
Mondeos of all flavours have a nasty surprise when it comes cambelts - they are done with the subframe out and engine down which is labour, labour and labour. Later TDDi/ TCDi diesels have a dual mass flywheel that goes after about 80,000 to 120,000 miles, again a huge cost as it takes out the starter motor too.
Mercedes 2.2 Diesels have weaker injectors
My VW Passat has been irritating - just replaced the drivers window mechanism - what a royal pain in the arse! 2001 Ford Mondeo - 20 mins
dismantled and re-assembled
2001 VW Passat - 4 ******* hours! and the bloody window rails were riveted on - does VW think their window mechanisms never ******* break?
Its stupid things like this that can colour your opinion of a brand/ model.
I've so far been disappointed by VW but amazed by cheap Mercs.
Our Renault Megane was awful, even at only 6 years old bits were going wrong.
Old Rovers all seem to blow their head gasket due to wrong oil or lack of servicing
Vectras eat their engines in comedy ways
Old 2.0 Nissan Primeras/ Almeras have quite an exciting drive
Peugeot/ Citroen Diesels tend to push con rods through the engine wall
Passats have their earth connected to a metal block that goes rusty and buggers up the electrics
£700 would buy you and ugly duckling Ford Focus, tidy Suzuki engined Fiesta, rotten Puma, newish shape high mileage Mondeo and a cool champagne pink MKIII Escort cabrio....
£700 would buy you a very tidy Mercedes 190 or an E220 which are both nice to drive, virtually indesctructable and cheap to repair.
Mondeos of all flavours have a nasty surprise when it comes cambelts - they are done with the subframe out and engine down which is labour, labour and labour. Later TDDi/ TCDi diesels have a dual mass flywheel that goes after about 80,000 to 120,000 miles, again a huge cost as it takes out the starter motor too.
Mercedes 2.2 Diesels have weaker injectors
My VW Passat has been irritating - just replaced the drivers window mechanism - what a royal pain in the arse! 2001 Ford Mondeo - 20 mins
dismantled and re-assembled
2001 VW Passat - 4 ******* hours! and the bloody window rails were riveted on - does VW think their window mechanisms never ******* break?
Its stupid things like this that can colour your opinion of a brand/ model.
I've so far been disappointed by VW but amazed by cheap Mercs.
Our Renault Megane was awful, even at only 6 years old bits were going wrong.
Old Rovers all seem to blow their head gasket due to wrong oil or lack of servicing
Vectras eat their engines in comedy ways
Old 2.0 Nissan Primeras/ Almeras have quite an exciting drive
Peugeot/ Citroen Diesels tend to push con rods through the engine wall
Passats have their earth connected to a metal block that goes rusty and buggers up the electrics
£700 would buy you and ugly duckling Ford Focus, tidy Suzuki engined Fiesta, rotten Puma, newish shape high mileage Mondeo and a cool champagne pink MKIII Escort cabrio....
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More random thoughts:
Volvo
Suzuki
Skoda (Octavias are very cheap now)
Cadilac - £1500 gets you the STS V8 thingy
Non GM Saab
Volvo
Suzuki
Skoda (Octavias are very cheap now)
Cadilac - £1500 gets you the STS V8 thingy
Non GM Saab
