4-5k to spend...

megakid

megakid

megakid

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My mate is looking for a car, budget of about 4-5k to spend, here's his "requirements", what do you guys think? He's 22, he had another car before uni but now needs one to get to and from work.

-automatic
-smallish (just wants to get from a to b)
-should be ok on a motorway (will be driving Newcastle > London every couple of months)
-some re-sale value (Don't know what this means?)
-lowish insurance
-lowish service costs
 
Just because he wants to get from a to b, doesn't mean he has to compromise with space? How long is he planning to keep it for, because anything can lose out on resale value after time.. But personally I'd say something like a focus maybe?
 
Nissan Micra 1.2 SVE auto.

Keyless entry, aircon, Group 2 insurance, cheap to service (doesn't really need anything), can sit at 90mph on the motorway no problem (less noisy at 70mph), decent to drive, smooth auto, smoother engine than the 1.4, low mileage and looks cute like a Fiat 500 though unfortunately without the Fiat's fabulously funky interior.

Best used supermini auto IMO. Can pick up a low mileage minter for £4.5k

London > Newcastle is a huge journey though - easily 600-700 mile round trip. For that you'd be better off with a Volvo S60 / Mondeo class car.
 
What are the automatic gearboxes like in the Mk4 Astra?

That's a possibility surely. I've also heard horror stories about the autos in Ford Focuses

Best resale value would probably be something like a Golf. They're overpriced but seem to hold onto their value for some reason
 
Ok lets scrap the smallish requirement - I suggested a Mondeo Mk3 already - not sure if he's too keen on them. Are the auto boxes alright on them?
 
From Honest John:

Honest John said:
Reports of 2nd gear band breaking up in 4-speed autobox, contaminating the ATF and requiring the box to be rebuilt. These boxes tend to have a life of 60k - 90k.

JATCO advises owners of later 5-speed autoboxes not to carry out AUTOMATIC transmission fluid changes hemselves because it's difficult to ensure the correct amount is added (the gearbox needs to be run to a specific temperature - This requires diagnostic equipment) and probably they will use the wrong oil, e.g. Land Rover Discovery ATF is different from a Land Rover Freelander, and Jaguar X-Type (Jatco) uses different ATF to a Land Rover Freelander (Jatco).
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Seem to still be troublesome - 60 to 90k life isn't great
 
I'm not a expert, but my gut instinct from what he suggests is to look for a BMW 320i. It should handle the motorway driving better then a small hatch and it should hold it's value better. It should also be easier to find an Auto. They're hardly any bigger then a Focus.

Down side is he'll be looking at an older car to start with and he'll get smart alec comments about the indicators being broken.

EDIT: Don't let him buy a compact, I think half the people who bought them would buy an Austin Meastro if it had a BMW badge. Also 316s arn't well regarded either.
 
Ben M said:
Do you have first hand experience of this? Because I really do seriously doubt it.
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I've got one...well the folks have one. I drove down to Cardiff in it last year, and then down to Salcombe, then back to London again in it. Absolutely rock solid on the motorway even at 95/100mph. I was very impressed. The downside with it in terms of motorway driving is that there isn't a huge amount of soundproofing, so anything above 70mph creates a bit of a din - the engine's a bit thrashy. The auto's really smooth, superb around town, and it kind of changes gear exactly when you want to without changing up when you're accelerating and you want it to stay in gear. In terms of refinement its nowhere near my 323i and its obviously underpowered in terms of acceleration but once you get up to speed, it barrels along. I preferred it to my sisters Alfa Romeo which revs at about 5,000rpm at 90mph and makes a right racket (as well as doing 18mpg at that speed). Excellent fuel economy on these Micras. On that trip I think we got about 42mpg.

The big advantage with these sort of cars is that if you buy used, there are a huge number of 04, 05 etc low mileage examples, with minimal suspension wear, so when you get it on the motorway the likelihood is that it will track far truer than say a £4,000 BMW E46 that's done 140k with worn out control arm bushes, ball joints, tracking, etc. You pay £4k for a Micra and you practically get a new car. You pay £4k for an E46 and you get a knackered car (unless the owner has taken a 'no expenses spared' attitude to ownership). The Micra won't go wrong either, particularly in light of its newness and low mileage and you'd want that sort of reliability if you're going the automatic gearbox route.
 
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K.C. Leblanc said:
I'm not a expert, but my gut instinct from what he suggests is to look for a BMW 320i.
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The 320i was not introduced until later in the E46's live when the M52 engines were replaced with M54's. As a result, it's not common at the cheaper end of the market.

Plus, the 6 cylinder BMW's cost roughly the same to fuel, and exactly the same to service and repair irrespective of capacity so you may as well get the biggest you can.
 
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