Suggestions for cars £900-£1500

Peerzy said:
I guess you're right. When it comes to BMW's or M5's Fox knows sod all :rolleyes:
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I was more thinking I've not just spent the last 2-3 weeks scouring the used car market with a budget of between 1k and 3k trying to buy something like... a Golf.

Oh wait I have :confused:
 
Actually it was going just fine until you popped in suggesting he buys a car which the trade would buy from auction for more than his budget. Despite that its hardly derailed, he gets your suggestion, our reasons why we think its a poor suggestion, and therefore he can use both sets of opinions to make his own mind up.
 
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Meow.... although I have to say I agreefox's opinion on this one.

Lyle44 I know you mentioned you're not after a mondeo, but there is a reason people on this forum recommend them. I've got to admit I always called them mundano's until one day when I broke the gearbox on my polo (on a friday) and needed a replacement car for the monday. There was no way I would fix the polo in time and I only had £600.

So I started trawling the internet for a mondeo as I knew I could get one cheap. I found a mk2 mondeo for £500 with fsh and 12 months mot went to go view it. It was a bit ropey on the outside but it was surprisingly nice to drive and plenty of space inside.

I've now had it for just over a year and in that time all I have had to replace is front discs and shoes (discs were warped when I got it) £50, pollen filter £8, front arms £45 (was an advisary when I bought it) and normal servicing costs.

Mondeos are generally good cars, they serve the purpose well of getting from A to B reliably (sp?) don't knock them until you've tried it.

Also with a 1.8 engine I achieve reasonable mpg consistantly.

Just my 2 cents

Aero
 
mjt said:
citroen xsaras are very good value for money
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Indeed - my old one was pretty unreliably but I've got no reason to think it wasn't just a bit of a lemon (it was yellow :D) - they shouldnt be any less reliable than the 306 that they're based on. Just avoid the 1.4 engine, it's terrible
 
Gav said:
Unfortunately I have yet to find many real enthusiasts on this forum. It's more like a poor copy of the barry boys where people take great pride in sticking their oar into a conversation that they know little or nothing about. Yourself, iand and janesy b seem to be the prime movers in that field.
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I'd love to know how you might back that up with facts rather than a dislike for an opinion
 
rover416i said:
Alllllec's bargain V6 Omega was epic! :D
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Stupidly practical, very very comfy. Very refined. Perfect for £600 or whatever I paid for it!

Economy wasn't too bad either. 28mpg around town if you drive sensibly :)

Shame I couldn't manage my right foot however, sub 15 hurt the wallet a little!




My suggestion.

Bulletproof.
Economical.
Still Nippy
Supprinsgly comfortable inside even on a long trip
Parts/Work is cheap
5 doors
Not as big as a Mondeo
Over group 9 but insurance should still be cheap as chips (is for me and I've not even got myself a years NCB yet!)

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1354342.htm
 
28mpg around town from a V6 Omega?

I swear some people in this forum have a really bizarre definition of the word 'around town' :eek:
 
[TW]Fox;15452307 said:
28mpg around town from a V6 Omega?

I swear some people in this forum have a really bizarre definition of the word 'around town' :eek:
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Well, okay you wouldn't get that doing multi drop deliveries as a courier drive no, but I got that which for me is;

To work
To friends
To Tesco

All within the center of reading, so never really stretching its legs. and never more than a minute between traffic lights.

All though I will admit most of my miles are done past 7/8 o clock so obviously don't have traffic to contend with!

Is not hard to drive it economically either, 1st straight into 5th as soon as your moving and it was quite happy doing that :cool: (God I sound like such a taxi driver!)
 
+1 to the Mondeo suggestion.

My brother was looking for a car for £1500 max the other month and they just seemed to be the best option all round. Ok, so he ended up with a Saxo just because he doesn't like the Mondeos but the Ford would've been better for him.
 
My Mrs got a 99 Polo 1.6GL with 80k on clock for £900 its not a complete shed just needs the boot lock sorting hence the cheapness wont cost that much and tbh its fine for just going a to b and is gonna be run until it breaks
 
Why does it seem the smaller the budget, the longer the list of specific requirements that it MUST meet?

I don't necessarily agree with the "More money = Better car" consensus. Most of the cars that either I or my family have had were bought for buttons and the vast majority of those have served us very, very well. But we never go into looking for a vehicle for sub £2,000 with such unrealistic expectations as mentioning 85,000 miles as 'reasonable, or put a heavy emphasis on insurance group or any other pointlessly minor details.

The car you've described is the perfect 5 door hatchback that everyone looking for a cheap, reliable and economical runabout wants. As a result, they don't exist for £900 unless you get stupidly lucky and know what to look for. The sheer fact that you had to start this thread tells me that you probably don't.

With this sort of money you have to make compromises. There are what I'd call genuine bargain cars in this sort of price bracket, but they are nearly always rocking absolutely ridiculous amounts of miles on the clock, aren't very cheap to insure/run (in the grand scheme of things) and have the treat of a big bill always looming. Big/medium barges aren't desirable to most people, and as a result that is almost always where the bargains are. Whist I know it isn't exactly a proper barge, my mother has a 1995 £600 Audi A4 that she bought with full A/SH, 12 months MOT and Tax, and it hasn't missed a beat in the whole 7 months she has had it. The fact is, not many people looking for a cheap runaround will even consider a 14 year old Audi saloon with 138k on the clock.
 
Joshy said:
I don't necessarily agree with the "More money = Better car" consensus. Most of the cars that either I or my family have had were bought for buttons and the vast majority of those have served us very, very well. But we never go into looking for a vehicle for sub £2,000 with such unrealistic expectations as mentioning 85,000 miles as 'reasonable, or put a heavy emphasis on insurance group or any other pointlessly minor details..

and loads more stuff
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Most sensible and useful post in this entire thread imo.
 
306 1.8 1999+. Fantastic cars, one of the most reliable engines in a 306 car and quite nippy. ticks all your boxes and definitely can be had for around £1200. economy is quite good and can get 35mpg to 40mpg driving economically.
 
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