2k spec me anything thread

alexthecheese

alexthecheese

alexthecheese

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I'm having to give up my company car in a couple of months, so will be waving goodbye and good riddance to Vauxhall Astra ecoFlex POS and will be buying something to run myself.

It's not been the worst car in the world, it's pretty frugal, but it's noisy, the turbo lag is ridiculous and there were no creature comforts whatsoever. No trip computer, no cruise control, horribly uncomfortable seats and unreliable. It had to have a new flywheel and a whole new gearbox on separate occasions. Both done under warranty so at no cost to my company, but it was pretty surprising how much work it's had to have in 40k miles and two years of ownership.

What I'd like is a bit of inspiration from you guys as to what to get for under £2k. I'm always tempted by luxo barges, but anything is on the cards tbh - just needs to be dog friendly and good for commuting to work - 160 miles each way, so romping up and down the M4. Thankfully it's not a daily commute but it is still generally a pain in the ****. :p Anything to make that more comfortable would be good.

I've had a look and there are Ford Mondeo's in that price range, also BMW 530's, but what else? I'm not too fussed about MPG as the commutes to work are done on mileage, so it wouldn't cost me anything.

Thanks. :)
 
a mate of mine bought a mint 406 1.8 for £800 the other month, the seats are very comfy and the driving position is pretty good.
 
Anything? You like luxobarges? £2k?

Well, I'd point you at an e38 7 series.
£2k will be bottom of the barrel, it will require work of some sort almost certainly, but you would most likely get a better e38 than an e39 imo at this end of the market.
You'll find £2k 728's that are not beyond saving, I would not like to imagine what a £2k 530 is like mind you!

It would be daft, very daft tbh - a Mondeo would make more sense, but you'd enjoy the luxobarges more, at this end of the market though, you have to realise that whatever will need work, work that could easily exceed the value of the car if it had many issues.
You are very much at the "if it breaks, throw it away" end of the market, tread carefully!
 
I think if it requires too much work then I'd have to pass. My girlfriend's uncle is a mechanic and would gladly work on anything I buy, but lots of new parts would mean cash - on a 7 series particularly?

What about V70's, are they comparable to Mondeos in this price bracket? Always thought they looked kinda cool! :p
 
If you've looked at Mondeos then get a Mondeo - nothing else comes close for value at £2k. Get a petrol one, it'll be loads newer than anything else and less hassle to own.
 
alexthecheese said:
I think if it requires too much work then I'd have to pass. My girlfriend's uncle is a mechanic and would gladly work on anything I buy, but lots of new parts would mean cash - on a 7 series particularly?
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Well, having somebody to do the work is half the battle, a look on a/t shows a fair few £1k e38's that on the face of it look reasonable.
These sort of cars are in the trap where their value puts them at the end of the market where people simply don't want them, the price reflects this.
This is good news for the brave / stupid ones who do!

Fox is right though, a Mondeo makes much more sense in every way, whilst in your shoes, I'd opt for the e38 (especially given your access to spanner work help), they are a world apart from a similar Mondeo imo but finding one that's been properly looked after will be hard indeed.

The price of a
set of good rubber for an e38 on 18's for example would probably bag you a very nice Mondeo in itself!

Have you considered a Jaaaaaag X-type? - the Mondeo based iirc one - with the "nice place to be" feel of an e38 but without ,I'd imagine, the potential for quite so horrific prices should it need anything too major.
 
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The E38 isnt worth the bother unless you are an E38 enthusiast, in which case it'll be worth any hassle. If you just want 'a car' and you dont mind something like a Mondeo then I cannot see why the E38 is worth going for. It's also hardly dog friendly, either, whereas a Mondeo Estate or a Mondeo hatch is.
 
Is the non-estate mondeo dog friendly? I thought the boot would be mostly covered.

E38 with new tyres = cost of the whole car frankly wouldn't work for me. :p There are Legnums around but only 3 on Autotrader! That would be a risky choice though I think. :)

The Mondeo seems to be the one, particularly the petrol versions seem to be plentiful under £2k, even £1500 seems to get you a reasonable one.

With the diesel and petrol versions of the Mondeo, where does the mileage start becoming an issue? I think there's a mondeo thread on here isnt there? I'll check that.
 
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