Another spec! £1000 - £1750.

Ahleckz said:
Ghia is the top level is it not (now Titanium)? That's beyond my budget, unless I drop down to an older car and more mileage I reckon. I'm from Scotland, I can handle the cold in the winter
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It won't be much more, but neither mileage or age should be your prime consideration. The difference between a 2001 Mondeo with 100K and a 2002 with 70K is going to be nothing assuming both are of the same condition, and that is what you should focus on - condition.

Average miles is a joke, and just a con made up by dealers and private vendors to justify high mileage cars. A car that's done 20K a year for 5 years isn't going to be any worse than a car that has done the "average" of 10k a year for 10 years. Whilst mileage isn't important, average is less important - like I said, buy on condition :)
 
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Right, will add it (W Reg Accord) to the list!
Dropping down to a 1.6 Focus, T Reg plate returns quotes at £834. A 51 plate 1.8 is £735...

There aren't actually any Ghia's within my available radius and my budget though. There are 8 available Mondeos, 3 1.8s and 5 2.0s. Two Zetecs, rest LX.

iaind said:
The 52 plate Zetec looks good to me - Zetec is a nicer spec than LX although its mostly cosmetic improvements. It is a trade seller though, according to the advert?
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It says that yes, but I can't seem to find anything about the Trade Seller through Google. Nor does he have other cars listed, which seems odd. I think it was just an error.
 
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MikeHiow said:
Average miles is a joke, and just a con made up by dealers and private vendors to justify high mileage cars
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Whilst I get the point you are trying to make, thats not true - average mileage is infact the... average mileage a car in the UK covers per year. It isn't a con nor is it made up.

It's a misleading figure though as it doesnt take into account the fact that on average, a car will do less miles a year the older it gets.

How many 1 year old diesel Mondeos are doing 50k a year?

How many 10 year old diesel Mondeos are doing 50k a year?

etc.
 
My point was just that a car that has an average mileage over its life that doesnt fit in with the type of car could highlight an unusual useage pattern. A big car that has averaged 5k a year would ring alarm bells, as would a small city car that has averaged 20k. Its obviously more complicated than that as Fox highlights, but I just wanted to explain that a 100k 10 year old Accord is nothing to be concerned about

A low average mileage can actually point to a harder life, rather than an easier one - more time around town over speedbumps and riding the clutch for example.

I like to get a reasonable picture of how a car has been used over its life - the service history, number of owners, mileage etc all form a part of that
 
2.0 litre Mondeos are out. Insurance is over a grand. So I think the list still stands as before, but with the addition of that Honda Accord... Going to phone them all tomorrow morning and get a better idea of the cars and their history and then hopefully I can go and buy one!

Exciting week for me so far, got a new job on Friday, new car this week, moving in the weekend, got nowhere to live when I move!
 
Ahleckz said:
2.0 litre Mondeos are out. Insurance is over a grand. So I think the list still stands as before, but with the addition of that Honda Accord...
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The Accord is only 3 quid under a grand to insure, why let a few hundred on insurance affect the decision?
 
[TW]Fox;17408227 said:
The Accord is only 3 quid under a grand to insure, why let a few hundred on insurance affect the decision?
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Because the Accord is £1100 but the 2.0 litre Mondeos (LX) are £1500 and Zetecs are £1700. At my budget, a few hundred is quite a lot unfortunately. Though, there is a 2001 Mondeo Zetec at £1700 with insurance coming in at £809.24. Argh! The original quote was for a 2000 LX which was £1049!

Plus, I have to come to a decision so something needs to go. I think a 2.0 will just be overkill and the extra few hundred that it'll cost could be better spent on other things (breakdown cover, for starters! :p And there's tax to be paid on top as well)
 
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So, decided on a car. Pick it up tomorrow.

It's far from the sensible choice, but it ticks the boxes and I'm happy with the price and what not...

I bought (well, paying for tomorrow morning...)... ... a 2.0 W Reg Accord VTEC SE...
 
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...da/postcode/g312rx/page/1/radius/20?logcode=p

I'm not looking forward to going to the petrol pump, but if I don't drive it like an idiot I should be alright! :D
I got it for a bit cheaper than the price, so happy days./20?logcode=p[/url]
I'm thinking 'Henry'....

I also took a 1.6 Civic Estate out for a drive, but didn't feel nearly as good to drive. And, they worked out at exactly the same price!
 
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Would have chosen the newer age mondeo over that every single day of the week.

However if you are happy with it enjoy :)
 
The Mondeo I linked to earlier? Had sold unfortunately. Went and looked at some Focus's too but they weren't great...
At this end of the market, it's all a bit of a gamble but it's my first car so I'm just happy to have some wheels!
 
My girlfriend was in a similar situation, first car, not had her licence that long, good postcode, 22 years old..

Bought her a Fiesta 1.25 for £850-950 I think it was. Gets 40mpg, nice and easy to drive. She loves it
 
I hate to tell you, thats not wood!

It'll be fine on fuel for a short commute and it'll do nearly 40mpg on a run too.

Yes, a newer mondeo would be better, but not for 1100quid!
 
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