£1K Budget - Work Car.

mr tommo · 1 Sep 2006 at 18:12

Hi,
Dad's business is after a car to buy in the next few weeks and sell in January.
The vehicle is required to get photographic equipment to and from nurseries around the Midlands.

The car will do roughly 4,000 miles.

The vehicle needs are

Reliable
£1k (1.2k max)
Petrol or diesel
Automatic *
Good boot opening (pref. estate or large-ish Hatchback with Foldable seats)

* Dad had an accident so this is preferable so that he will be able to drive the car - however if there is a car that reallys stands out, but the automatic gearbox is a lemon, we could have the manual version if it was worth the sacrifice.

Thanks

Rich1988 · 1 Sep 2006 at 18:14

rover 214? cheap cars abundant so parts are cheap, insurance as cheap and you can get them in automatic. its a large hatchback the backseats fold totally flat and it has a pretty large boot for its size

jamoor · 1 Sep 2006 at 18:17

mondeo?
But iirc the autos are a bit dodgy.

mr tommo · 1 Sep 2006 at 18:39

He said no to a rover, probably HGF Fever

Thanks anyway

jamoor said:
mondeo?
But iirc the autos are a bit dodgy.

EDIT : NO MONDEOS :confused:

too big apparently

Rich1988 · 1 Sep 2006 at 19:17

mr tommo said:
He said no to a rover, probably HGF Fever Thanks

ah well more for me!

ajgoodfellow · 1 Sep 2006 at 19:48

I'd get a Volvo estate for those requirements

Kroegen · 1 Sep 2006 at 19:49

mk3 Astra.

chesterstu · 1 Sep 2006 at 19:54

406 Estate

digitalwolf · 1 Sep 2006 at 20:09

A nice 306 D Turbo.

With screwmod, 0-60 in 4.5

James_N · 1 Sep 2006 at 20:37

ajgoodfellow said:
I'd get a Volvo estate for those requirements

Agreed. A good 740 estate will only be a few hundred quid

saitrix · 1 Sep 2006 at 20:43

digitalwolf said:
A nice 306 D Turbo.

With screwmod, 0-60 in 4.5

You say that but was reading the latest PPC mag, they did a screwmod to a 306, upped the boost from 1bar to 1.2bar. They noted a 25bhp and 40lb/ft increase. Not bad really in my opinion.

jon.bda · 1 Sep 2006 at 20:51

digitalwolf said:
With screwmod, 0-60 in 4.5

ROFL!!.

Anyway, back to the question, how about a Laguna?. Pretty cheap and the boot is big on a hatch never mind an estate.

Lopéz · 1 Sep 2006 at 23:08

Kroegen said:
mk3 Astra.

He said £1000 not £100!

agw_01 · 1 Sep 2006 at 23:12

Rich1988 said:
rover 214? cheap cars abundant so parts are cheap, insurance as cheap and you can get them in automatic. its a large hatchback the backseats fold totally flat and it has a pretty large boot for its size

Beat me to it.

Ok then, if you don't want a 214, how about a 218 (Mk2 - Peugeot engine) or 220 SDi (Mk3 - Rover L Series).

Neither have issues with the headgasket

MuvverRussia · 1 Sep 2006 at 23:26

why are people suggesting 406's and lagunas (same class as mondeo) if a mondeo is too big?

For £1k I know where my money would be going (mondeo), just a shame the auto boxes are crap

Rich1988 · 1 Sep 2006 at 23:29

agw_01 said:
Beat me to it.

well they are decent cars

agw_01 · 1 Sep 2006 at 23:55

How dare you say those words on here. You'll have the whole of OcUK come down on you like a ton of bricks tomorrow

Tesla · 2 Sep 2006 at 09:21

Can you get 306 1.9Td Estates for £1k?

The Mondeo Estate is a really useful size, I can get loads in mine. I would consider one. Economy is ok too. Just avoid Auto and Diesel Mk2 Mondeos. Every Auto I know of has busted around 80k-100k.

digitalwolf · 2 Sep 2006 at 09:36

306's can be picked up for that much, and the engine will last for years and years as long as it's been maintained.

The boot on the 306's is quite big too tbh.

The 306 1.9 D Turbo was as fast as the equivalent 2.0 Petrol in it's day so Pug had to tune it down to 90bhp.

Well thats what I read anyway.

Tesla · 2 Sep 2006 at 09:42

digitalwolf said:
The 306 1.9 D Turbo was as fast as the equivalent 2.0 Petrol in it's day so Pug had to tune it down to 90bhp.

Well thats what I read anyway.

Sounds about right. My mates 306 1.9Td can pretty much keep up with my same-age 2.0 Petrol Mondeo. I would think his car is a little lighter but the 1.9TD seems a good engine.