new car sub 2k

the_r_sole

the_r_sole

the_r_sole

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Joined
25 Aug 2010
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anyone got suggestions for a cheap to run/cheap to insure car, considering anything really, in a rural area and fuel is more than 10p per litre more so good mpg is needed...

only ruled out a clio/fiesta so far as i've had them before!

top of budget is 2k, looking to get a list together and arrange some test drives so anything considered really

cheers
 
Pug 106 diesel? Quite possibly the most economical car for pennies. :p

The Rover 100 diesel shares the same engine, but I wouldn't wish one of those on anyone but the most determined of penny pinchers!
 
the_r_sole said:
is the 1.6 not a bit heavy on the fuel, my mate has one that he reckons is expensive to run, but worth considering ta
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with all due respect you have £2k

you are not going to be able to pick some magic MPG muncher, besides that the saving in fuel you might get from somthing else might get eaten up by other costs

the focus is reliable and will give you trouble free motoring, and they are fine on MPG
 
stoke1863 said:
with all due respect you have £2k

you are not going to be able to pick some magic MPG muncher, besides that the saving in fuel you might get from somthing else might get eaten up by other costs

the focus is reliable and will give you trouble free motoring, and they are fine on MPG
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aye, fair enough! had a 1.2 corsa for ages which was cheap enough to run, so anything comparable to that would be ideal...
 
The 1.6 Focus isn't brilliant on fuel though... 35mpg is about the going rate from what I can gather.

My £1800 MG ZS manages about 50MPG when it's running factory fuelling and boost pressure, ramp it up to 150bhp and that drops to circa 45. Can do much better for £2k. :p
 
mattyprice4004 said:
The 1.6 Focus isn't brilliant on fuel though... 35mpg is about the going rate from what I can gather.

My £1800 MG ZS manages about 50MPG when it's running factory fuelling and boost pressure, ramp it up to 150bhp and that drops to circa 45. Can do much better for £2k. :p
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yea that is true but it is relativley trouble free motoring on a small budget, A ZS for you is great but for others it may not be ultra reliable, you have to admit that
 
The diesel is pretty solid, the block is 100% and the only weak link is the fuel pump, the Bosch VP30 as used in Ford TDDi engines. Occasionally the timing deviation solenoids get stuck, which is about £80 to replace. Mine hasn't gone though, and as far as I know never has.

Aside from that, what other common issues do they have? I can't think of any, mine's been faultless in the 40k I've done, it's now nearly on 130,000 miles too. :)
 
1.6 Focus is a solid choice. For under 2k you can get a pretty decent one. I think mine is worth about 1k and it's perfect for me. With my normal commute (about 15 miles each way, mixture of dual carriageway and sitting in traffic) I get about 40mpg and on a long run I can get about 50mpg. If you get one registered after March 2001, you'll get cheaper road tax too.
 
stoke1863 said:
well there we go then op, if you want a cheap inexpensive car to insure and run get a MG ZS :(
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Cheap to run, but insurance has gone potty. However if you want comfy don't bother, mine is intent on turning my spine to dust! Great handling but you feel everything.

Will be paying £800 a year, and I'll be 22.

I will however point out that you are correct about the ZS in general - the diesel is the only version I'd like to call reliable. We all know why. :p
 
mattyprice4004 said:
The 1.6 Focus isn't brilliant on fuel though... 35mpg is about the going rate from what I can gather.

My £1800 MG ZS manages about 50MPG when it's running factory fuelling and boost pressure, ramp it up to 150bhp and that drops to circa 45. Can do much better for £2k. :p
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Your MG is also such a liability you had to buy a spare car to use whilst it was off the road!
 
The Focus 1.6 is a very, very cheap car to run. Very economical, parts which cost virtually nothing, very reliable, very cheap to insure. Absolutely ideal for somebody on a budget or someone who does not care for cars.
 
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I do like those MGs, but I wouldn't buy one if I wanted cheap motoring to be honest. The last MOT on the one you posted cost £895! A Petrol Focus's MPG isn't far off that MG and uses fuel which is a bit cheaper so probably balances out; and finally, Ford parts are much easier to source and more readily available than MG/Rover bits.
 
Focus service parts are silly cheap, they are so cheap to run that the fact they 'only' do 35MPG is balanced by the fact you are not driving a ticking time bomb.
 
Fair does, that was a killer MOT I agree, don't think I've paid that much on any of my cars! :o

I don't see how parts are more readily available though, I can still get any part straight off the shelf for the ZS. :)
If you mean second hand then of course, there are a lot more Foci (?) around for spares as many more were produced.
 
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