Want new car - cheap as possible though...

iaind · 4 Jun 2015 at 15:34

Electroshadow said:
go for an old Saab.

cheap
reliable
comfortable

While true, it's not quite a fit. The 9-3 isnt really any more comfortable than the focus, mondeo etc. It's a comfy car and the 1.8t would be good value and decent on fuel. The really comfy one is the 9-5, to get one of those thats half decent on fuel you need to be in the diesels which is a BAD idea for someone with this budget and such small disposable income

Delvis · 4 Jun 2015 at 16:29

After an uncomfortable ride home, I'm sat on the sofa and comfortable as anything....stupid car

xs2man · 4 Jun 2015 at 16:36

iaind said:
While true, it's not quite a fit. The 9-3 isnt really any more comfortable than the focus, mondeo etc. It's a comfy car and the 1.8t would be good value and decent on fuel. The really comfy one is the 9-5, to get one of those thats half decent on fuel you need to be in the diesels which is a BAD idea for someone with this budget and such small disposable income

BS. An old diesel does not necessarily mean a bad idea. The OP could comfortably get a B5.5 1.9 TDi Passat for his budget, that'll be nice enough, reliable enough, and return 50 mpg for his lack of funds.

Diesels in his budget wont come with a DPF or fancy modern diesel engines, so to suggest it's nothing but a bad idea is wrong.

iaind · 4 Jun 2015 at 16:57

xs2man said:
BS. An old diesel does not necessarily mean a bad idea. The OP could comfortably get a B5.5 1.9 TDi Passat for his budget, that'll be nice enough, reliable enough, and return 50 mpg for his lack of funds.

Diesels in his budget wont come with a DPF or fancy modern diesel engines, so to suggest it's nothing but a bad idea is wrong.

They come with DMF, common rail fuel pump and injectors though. While I wouldnt do the traditional scaremongering that often goes on around here (many are happy to take the relatively small risk) - OP is obviously really hard up on funds and an £800 bill for a new DMF sounds like it would be insurmountable. I was also talking about Saab diesels, so I have absolutely no idea where you're getting stuff about Passats from

Dav4 · 4 Jun 2015 at 17:15

cant believe people are suggesting diesel Turbo's :eek:

How is he going to foot a 1k bill for a dmf clutch and flywheel or new turbo?
OP i have owned 3 petrol Focus's they are dirt cheap to own and run and are so reliable. I never had a problem with any of them!
The mk1.5 is 2002-2005 then the mk2 started. In my opinion the mk1.5 handles better and is a nicer drive than the mk2 which is heavy.
there are plenty for around 1k ish,
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201504142602624/sort/default/model/focus/maximum-mileage/up_to_80000_miles/channel/cars/transmission/manual/usedcars/body-type/hatchback/price-from/1000/postcode/ll302lp/radius/100/page/1/onesearchad/used%2Cnearlynew%2Cnew/fuel-type/petrol/make/ford?logcode=p
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201505093330787/sort/default/model/focus/maximum-mileage/up_to_80000_miles/channel/cars/transmission/manual/usedcars/body-type/hatchback/price-from/1000/postcode/ll302lp/radius/100/page/1/onesearchad/used%2Cnearlynew%2Cnew/fuel-type/petrol/make/ford?logcode=p
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201506044034640/sort/default/model/focus/maximum-mileage/up_to_80000_miles/channel/cars/transmission/manual/usedcars/body-type/hatchback/price-from/1000/postcode/ll302lp/radius/100/page/1/onesearchad/used%2Cnearlynew%2Cnew/fuel-type/petrol/make/ford?logcode=p
thats just on the first page. You will see 35mpg easy from a 1,6 Focus and it will be a far better all round car than your Clio.

xs2man · 4 Jun 2015 at 17:17

It just read as if you were suggesting any old diesel was a bad idea. I suggested a Passat for the OP in the same way others were suggesting other vehicles (like the Saab).

But yeah, an extra £50 for the fuel pump, if it brakes, on a 1.9 TDI as opposed to a 2.0i Focus. Or an extra £100 for an injector. And £315 for a DMF + Clutch kit for the passat as opposed to £200 for the petrol one. These are relatively small extra expenses, that are far from guaranteed to be required. Compared to the ~£400 - 450 per year he could potentially save on fuel. He'd have to have all 4 injectors go every year to not make a saving.

iaind · 4 Jun 2015 at 17:17

Dav4 said:
cant believe people are suggesting diesel Turbo's How is he going to foot a 1k bill for a dmf clutch and flywheel or new turbo?

Lets not be too dramatic - DMF and clutch is £800 max, more like £600-£700 if you shop around. Turbo is probably £500. Big numbers and I agree it's not the right thing for him (especially at 10k miles pa), but you're only going to be getting 4 figure bills at a main dealer

iaind · 4 Jun 2015 at 17:19

xs2man said:
It just read as if you were suggesting any old diesel was a bad idea. I suggested a Passat for the OP in the same way others were suggesting other vehicles (like the Saab).

But yeah, an extra £50 for the fuel pump, if it brakes, on a 1.9 TDI as opposed to a 2.0i Focus. Or an extra £100 for an injector. And £315 for a DMF + Clutch kit for the passat as opposed to £200 for the petrol one. These are relatively small extra expenses, that are far from guaranteed to be required. Compared to the ~£400 - 450 per year he could potentially save on fuel. He'd have to have all 4 injectors go every year to not make a saving.

The issue isnt the cost of the parts, its the likelihood of failure. Petrols almost never chew through a DMF, but it's pretty common on diesels. Far from guaranteed, but more likely than on a petrol

xs2man · 4 Jun 2015 at 17:20

Yeah, dramatic indeed. Clutch and flywheel is £320 plus the fitting (£100 more than SMF version on petrol, same labour).

Turbo is £300-£500 for a new one (probably £100 or so if sourced second hand). So hardly HUGE numbers here, assuming they actually go wrong, when compared to the potential fuel savings.

I honestly dont know where some of you guys think up these big diesels bills.

xs2man · 4 Jun 2015 at 17:21

iaind said:
The issue isnt the cost of the parts, its the likelihood of failure. Petrols almost never chew through a DMF, but it's pretty common on diesels. Far from guaranteed, but more likely than on a petrol

I've had to change the clutch / flywheel on more petrols than diesels in my time. So it's far from uncommon. It's realistically more to do with the age / mileage of the car, and at the OP's budget, every single suggestion will be at that point.

iaind · 4 Jun 2015 at 17:22

xs2man said:
Yeah, dramatic indeed. Clutch and flywheel is £320 plus the fitting (£100 more than SMF version on petrol, same labour).

Turbo is £300-£500 for a new one (probably £100 or so if sourced second hand). So hardly HUGE numbers here, assuming they actually go wrong, when compared to the potential fuel savings.

I honestly dont know where some of you guys think up these big diesels bills.

As above, it's the probability of them failing. Nobody is saying it's guaranteed but they are more likely.

I've personally owned a diesel and had to replace DMF and clutch so I'm not "thinking up" anything - I've been there and done that. It didnt bother me, but I'm pretty sure it would bother the OP

Delvis · 4 Jun 2015 at 17:51

Interesting reading all, thank you

I'm no car fanatic so its been interesting!

Dav4 said:
cant believe people are suggesting diesel Turbo's How is he going to foot a 1k bill for a dmf clutch and flywheel or new turbo?
OP i have owned 3 petrol Focus's they are dirt cheap to own and run and are so reliable. I never had a problem with any of them!
The mk1.5 is 2002-2005 then the mk2 started. In my opinion the mk1.5 handles better and is a nicer drive than the mk2 which is heavy.
there are plenty for around 1k ish,
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201504142602624/sort/default/model/focus/maximum-mileage/up_to_80000_miles/channel/cars/transmission/manual/usedcars/body-type/hatchback/price-from/1000/postcode/ll302lp/radius/100/page/1/onesearchad/used%2Cnearlynew%2Cnew/fuel-type/petrol/make/ford?logcode=p
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201505093330787/sort/default/model/focus/maximum-mileage/up_to_80000_miles/channel/cars/transmission/manual/usedcars/body-type/hatchback/price-from/1000/postcode/ll302lp/radius/100/page/1/onesearchad/used%2Cnearlynew%2Cnew/fuel-type/petrol/make/ford?logcode=p
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201506044034640/sort/default/model/focus/maximum-mileage/up_to_80000_miles/channel/cars/transmission/manual/usedcars/body-type/hatchback/price-from/1000/postcode/ll302lp/radius/100/page/1/onesearchad/used%2Cnearlynew%2Cnew/fuel-type/petrol/make/ford?logcode=p
thats just on the first page. You will see 35mpg easy from a 1,6 Focus and it will be a far better all round car than your Clio.

Thank you, I'll take a more thorough look shortly, for the price you mentioned (1/1.5k) what sort of mileage is acceptable? I don't particularly want to be buying something over 60/70,000 purely as my 51 reg Clio has only just clocked 108,000. This is more the reason I've been talking about 2/2.5k as a price.

xs2man · 4 Jun 2015 at 18:09

At this end of the market, mileage shouldn't be so much of a concern. It's more about how well it's been looked after. Buy on condition, not miles. My Passat was bought on 145,000 miles and barring the rear brake pipes, and a couple services, hasn't needed a penny spent in 2 years / 20k. Before that I bought a Polo SDI (so no fancy injectors / turbo / clutch to worry about) on, again, 145k miles. Banged 10k on it, using 50/50 mix of vegetable oil and diesel, and never needed a penny spent.

I would be looking more at cars with 110k or more on them, with evidence of recent work having been done. Cars approaching 100k often do need work doing, such as the clutch, so buying just short of here might mean you have to do this work. Buy a car over 100k, and this work is more likely to have been done already.

Or else your looking at cars with 50k on them, but at your budget, that means they have either spent their life doing short journeys in town, or sitting doing nothing. Neither is good realistically.

Uncle_Gravy · 4 Jun 2015 at 20:02

Gen 7 Honda Accord 2L, I own a 2003, it's done nearly 140k miles still feels tight, interior practically has no wear, quite perky for 150bhp, I use it as a daily doing 50 miles a day, it's comfortable, reliable and looks great I average around the mid 30's mpg

Pick one up with less than 100k miles for around £2k ish

Delvis · 4 Jun 2015 at 22:08

xs2man said:
At this end of the market, mileage shouldn't be so much of a concern. It's more about how well it's been looked after. Buy on condition, not miles. My Passat was bought on 145,000 miles and barring the rear brake pipes, and a couple services, hasn't needed a penny spent in 2 years / 20k. Before that I bought a Polo SDI (so no fancy injectors / turbo / clutch to worry about) on, again, 145k miles. Banged 10k on it, using 50/50 mix of vegetable oil and diesel, and never needed a penny spent.

I would be looking more at cars with 110k or more on them, with evidence of recent work having been done. Cars approaching 100k often do need work doing, such as the clutch, so buying just short of here might mean you have to do this work. Buy a car over 100k, and this work is more likely to have been done already.

Or else your looking at cars with 50k on them, but at your budget, that means they have either spent their life doing short journeys in town, or sitting doing nothing. Neither is good realistically.

Only reason.mileage is a concern is I've always figured more mileage more age etc, I guess if its yen years old and its done 100k its not actually that bad...?

I guess I should try find adverts that also state what works been done recently

xs2man · 5 Jun 2015 at 05:40

Few adverts will have that information. You're best to call for that.

iaind · 5 Jun 2015 at 07:21

Delvis said:
Only reason.mileage is a concern is I've always figured more mileage more age etc, I guess if its yen years old and its done 100k its not actually that bad...?

I guess I should try find adverts that also state what works been done recently

10-12k a year is perfectly normal usage - it's what you're doing with it, why shouldn't the previous owners have been? I'd be much more concerned about a car that's done 4k miles a year - it could have sat not being used or it could have had lot of short journeys around town.

The most reliable tidiest cars I've had have been "high" mileage (a Lexus which was on 130k at 8 years when I bought it and a Saab which had 110k on it at 7 years old). Some of the worst cars I've seen are the "only 40k miles!!!!!!" On a 10 year old car.

Adverts on autotrader are limited in length so don't normally go into that much detail about work but people will often mention big stuff like clutch and cambelt. Remember these items normally need doing at 80-90k so if you buy a car on 70k then you've got some big jobs to do before too long. If you get one on 100k and they've been done then you shouldn't need to worry about them during your ownership.

[TW]Fox · 5 Jun 2015 at 07:52

xs2man said:
Or an extra £100 for an injector.

How often do 2.0 Zetec engines have injector problems?

And £315 for a DMF + Clutch kit for the passat

Who is going to fit that then? Magic pixies for free?

What is it in the OP's scenario that gives you the idea he'd be happy or able to just drop £500+ on a DMF repair on an ancient diesel Passat?

Apache14 · 5 Jun 2015 at 08:42

I have seen some quite clean Mk4 Golfs going for around the £1000 mark (done <10000 miles, 1.6 Petrol versions) As far as i know these are quite bulletproof in terms of mechanical reliability and parts are cheap around the web

Lifelong · 5 Jun 2015 at 08:47

Why not just replace the seat? If the car is being more or less reliable, then why trade it for the bottom of the heap car elsewhere?