£3k, 6 miles a day on average

Craig321

Craig321

Craig321

Soldato
Joined
2 May 2004
Posts
19,950
I'm after a car for £3k max. I do 6 miles a day commute, then it'd also be used every so often for trips to town etc. so I'm hardly going to be racking up the miles.

Obviously want all the standard reliability, high MPG etc. etc.

I've been looking at stuff like a Mondeo 2l TDCi Zetec which is the sort of size/style I would like, or the Focus 1.6 or 1.8 would be ok. Nothing smaller than a Focus though as I just don't like dinky cars.

I have 0 ncb for a car, but have had my licence 5 years now I think. The Mondeo 2l/Focus is affordable on insurance.

Any ideas? Also what sort of age / mileage should I be looking at? This'll be my first car as I've only had bikes until now.

Thanks.
 
Last edited:
Avoid the diesel Mondeo. Its injectors (amongst other things) are a ticking £750 timebomb. You have no need for a diesel at 6 miles a day anyway.

Any petrol Focus should see you right. Also bear in mind that at this price you should be looking to buy on condition, not on a strict mileage/age limit.
 
Wouldn't worry about efficiency for 2k miles per year. The difference between 60mpg and 30mpg is about £10/month.

Diesels won't appreciate all the short journeys. Stick to petrol.
 
Fuel savings would be negligible with your mileage and diesels are no where near as efficient on shorter journeys as they are on longer runs. My wife drives about 3 miles each way to the local park and ride and while her petrol Punto gets up to operating temperature (the water temp at least) my diesel Focus temperature gauge hasn't budged in that distance.

The two cars you've mentioned are both a safe bet but I wouldn't rule out a petrol engined Mondeo.

For £3k ignore the mileage and buy on condition.
 
Spunkey said:
Avoid the diesel Mondeo. Its injectors (amongst other things) are a ticking £750 timebomb. You have no need for a diesel at 6 miles a day anyway.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Glad I made this post now, it's stuff like that I wouldn't have known about if I had just gone & bought one.

cheesyboy said:
Wouldn't worry about efficiency for 2k miles per year. The difference between 60mpg and 30mpg is about £10/month.
.
Click to expand...

True, although if I decide to go for a day trip, need to somewhere further or whatever then I don't want to spend a ton on petrol.

I'd be happy with 20mpg if it was just for the commuting, but also want that bit of efficiency for longer trips

bJN said:
Bu pass? :p

I'll go with the age old (and still reasonable) answer of 1.6 Focus.
Click to expand...

Hah yeah right, I'd rather walk than take the bus :p

I'll check out a few more Focuses without mileage/age constraints & see what comes up in my area.
 
Last edited:
Craig321 said:
True, although if I decide to go for a day trip, need to somewhere further then I don't want to spend a ton on petrol.

I'd be happy with 20mpg if it was just for the commuting, but also want that bit of efficiency for longer trips
Click to expand...

Unless you're absolutely bombing it around on these days trips, I'd be surprised if a 2.0L was returning just 20mpg!
 
Don't worry about it, there are very few cars of the type you're looking at that won't get significantly better than 20mpg on any sort of motorway run.

A 2 litre petrol mondeo for example will get an easy 35mpg, possibly more. Even the 200bhp 2 litre engine in my civic can manage more than 30mpg on a run, and it's very inneficient for its displacement
 
If a petrol 2l for 3k is going to get 35+ then I'll definitely check some of those out.

I do ideally want a bigger, more towards a saloon type car (like the more modern Mondeo 2l) simply because I like the look and comfort.

Are there any other options other than a Mondeo in terms of a bigger car? I dislike the older ones and the newer ones in decent condition tend to go over £3k.

Thanks
 
Craig321 said:
If a petrol 2l for 3k is going to get 35+ then I'll definitely check some of those out.

Thanks
Click to expand...

They certainly wont on your morning commute - I was talking about longer trips.

Also look at the Accord, Mazda 6, Octavia (bit smaller but feels big for its segment), Superb, Passat I guess though you won't get much for your money
 
rodenal said:
They certainly wont on your morning commute - I was talking about longer trips.

Also look at the Accord, Mazda 6, Octavia (bit smaller but feels big for its segment, Superb
Click to expand...

Yep, tis what I meant. I'm not that bothered about the mpg on my morning commute as even something as low as 20 MPG is only going to be ~£20 a month petrol. I've just been having a look at the Mondeo 1.8 LX 2006 which looks ok and is rated at 25mpg urban and 50 'extra urban', so sounds ideal really in terms of fuel consumption.

I'll check some of those out, thank you.
 
Craig321 said:
If a petrol 2l for 3k is going to get 35+ then I'll definitely check some of those out.

I do ideally want a bigger, more towards a saloon type car (like the more modern Mondeo 2l) simply because I like the look and comfort.

Are there any other options other than a Mondeo in terms of a bigger car? I dislike the older ones and the newer ones in decent condition tend to go over £3k.

Thanks
Click to expand...

I had a 2003 2.0 petrol mondeo up until recently, it would do between 35-40 MPG on the motorway.
You can get a decent petrol Mondeo for 3k without moon mileage on no problems.
 
They're decent cars - you just need to check thoroughly for rust as for some reason some of them seem to get hit really badly with it, whilst others are absolutely fine
 
Nice, that looks good. I'd go look if I was buying right now (currently research stage rather than actual buying).

In terms of checking out the condition, what should I be looking at in a car apart from obvious bodywork/external stuff? I have only ever looked at bikes (and also maintained them myself, so do sort of know what to look at in general when I'm looking at stuff like this).

For example, with the rust as you mentioned rodenal, should I be getting on my hands and knees and checking it out under there, or should I just worry about general body work / engine area etc? I'm honestly not sure of the big no nos when it comes to cars. So much of them are covered and under panels so it's quite different from a bike.
 
Last edited:
Craig321 said:
Liking the look of this:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201502130934083

Certainly looks nicer than a Mondeo IMO
Click to expand...
How old r u 50? :p . Get a petrol Focus there so reliable and cheap to maintain! I've had 3. And the 2 litre Focus will feel the quickest out of the cars your looking at. Try and get a Zetec or Titanium. Should be able to get a nice 2006 for 3k
GT3 said:
Can get a 2007/8 Mondeo 2.0 petrol for £3k. Great vfm

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ford-Mond...203?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item259f930073
Click to expand...
That's gonna be an absolute shed for 3k and it's in Coventry :rolleyes:
For a good condition mk4 Mondeo with reasonable miles your looking at at least 3.5k
 
Craig321 said:
For example, with the rust as you mentioned rodenal, should I be getting on my hands and knees and checking it out under there, or should I just worry about general body work / engine area etc? I'm honestly not sure of the big no nos when it comes to cars. So much of them are covered and under panels so it's quite different from a bike.
Click to expand...


In terms of bodywork I'd be checking under the lips at all four arches, have a squint under the car if it's light and be especially vigilant for any obvious respraying that's been done.

Obviously you don't want scratches and dings on every panel, or a car where it's been painted on the cheap at various stages of its life. Any difference in the height or how far in any of the lights / grilles are would concern me

Generally I like to make sure all the panel gaps still look right - especially on the metal bits. It's not that unusual for bumpers to sag a little bit at the carriers as cars get older, especially if it's ever been removed for whatever reason - plus that's an easy fix should be so inclined (unless there are other signs it's been in a bump).

£2-3k is unlikely to buy you an immaculate car bodywork-wise if you're trying to get something as new as possible but I'd say the above will show you the obvious signs of mis-treatment or general lack of care.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom