Can I get anything worthwhile for under 1k?

Guru said:
Also found this near me....

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3576850.htm
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Low trim level very old 1.8 petrol 306 with an auto transmission, that is totally the other end of the spectrum from trouble free motoring it is unreal. Also, £800? Utter joke. Seriously, for £800 you're better off putting your cash into one of the Mondeos I linked earlier they are cheap to run and reliable. They are also so much nicer to be in and drive than a 90's Peugeot (owned one) or Rover/MG (driven and been driven in a few).

That £500 Rover is a waste of time.

This thread really does scream out Mk3 2.0 (1.8 is pointless) petrol (diesel will cost a lot when it breaks) Mondeo. I'm not one to suggest them despite owning one but it does fit what you're after.

I've had mine for just over 6months and it has done about 7500miles in that time. All it has cost in terms of breakages is £40 for the aircon compressor when it seized and I had to source a replacement. It's had service items of course but they are cheap for the most part.
 
Guru said:
Liking some of these old bmws:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201203442498029

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201204445054438

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201203442806536

Although the middle one makes me suspicious.
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*sigh*

These will throw up bills that will make you cry and will be more than the car is worth. No cheap BMW is worth it really unless you love them and are not adverse to using a tool kit.

Going by the various cars you've linked throughout this thread and the ignorance of advice given to you it seems there is little point in even trying to help you.
 
InvaderGIR said:
*sigh*

These will throw up bills that will make you cry and will be more than the car is worth. No cheap BMW is worth it really unless you love them and are not adverse to using a tool kit.

Going by the various cars you've linked throughout this thread and the ignorance of advice given to you it seems there is little point in even trying to help you.
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Not sure I completely agree with the above though its true you need to go in eyes open and actually want the car, not just want any bmw. It certainly helps if you can do work yourself especially as most work on cars of this era is quite simple but time consuming and you must avoid something like the 325 tds (that 530d price is completely wrong its just not going to happen) it otherwise the 6 cylinder e36's are pretty bombproof engine wise - there is no point in buying a 4 cylinder, you're better off with another car, suspension problems and leaky diffs will happen but none of them are that expensive really (again so long as you can do most work yourself). Parts are as cheap or cheaper than the likes of the mondeo too.

I will say though that the mondy is a far more modern car to drive than any e36, I like the fact that everything is heavier and feels more like you're doing some of the work too, but it does feel like a car released in the early 90's, mk3 mondeos feel like a modern car.
 
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Depends what you call Decent ? My Mk3 Golf Estate 2.0 litre Petrol with 80summitK up it cost me 324 quid a few months back. I've done a few K in it & got it through another MOT on Friday & Taxed it for a year.
The motor does everything I need it to, Tips runs/Dog runs/Boot Sales/ Trips down South to my Daughter/Grandsons/pottering about.
Horses for courses and all that. :)
 
rodenal said:
Not sure I completely agree with the above though its true you need to go in eyes open and actually want the car, not just want any bmw. It certainly helps if you can do work yourself especially as most work on cars of this era is quite simple but time consuming and you must avoid something like the 325 tds (that 530d price is completely wrong its just not going to happen) it otherwise the 6 cylinder e36's are pretty bombproof engine wise - there is no point in buying a 4 cylinder, you're better off with another car, suspension problems and leaky diffs will happen but none of them are that expensive really (again so long as you can do most work yourself). Parts are as cheap or cheaper than the likes of the mondeo too.

I will say though that the mondy is a far more modern car to drive than any e36, I like the fact that everything is heavier and feels more like you're doing some of the work too, but it does feel like a car released in the early 90's, mk3 mondeos feel like a modern car.
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2.8 6 pot will be very costly if it blows, which they are fairly prone to. ;)

I agree they are easy to work on, having had two e36s, but I don't agree that parts are cheaper than a mk3 Mondeo. Generally things are cheaper on the Mondeo but then some things are a silly cost, for example clutches are a good few hundred but £100 or less for the e36s.
I do miss my e36s actually, RWD is just so much more fun than FWD and they have much better handling and drive ability. Unfortunately they aren't as good on long trips I found or for putting large items or large amounts of items in them (although I did get a full interior in my 328i without removing the original interior :D).
I had to change for something more sensible and suited to my needs last year so went for the Mondeo as it was spot on for what I needed, cheap, reliable, spacious, comfy, good handling. Circumstances have changed though and most of it's benefits are now lost on it's uses and I could do with something fun. :(
 
InvaderGIR said:
*sigh*

These will throw up bills that will make you cry and will be more than the car is worth. No cheap BMW is worth it really unless you love them and are not adverse to using a tool kit.

Going by the various cars you've linked throughout this thread and the ignorance of advice given to you it seems there is little point in even trying to help you.
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That's fair enough, it's advice like this that I'm after.

I'm not trying to be ignorant, I've just always bought german. A VW is definitely my preference only because I've had 8 and loved all of them.

I figured BWM's are well built, but if they are to be avoided then tha's fine, hence me asking that question in the OP.

I've pretty much decided I'm game for anything that's got a years tax and mot now, at this price point if it only lasts me 6-12 months I'll be able to afford something else by then anyways.

I'm not too bothered how much parts for the car cost, because I don't plan on keeping it long enough to need any.

There aren't many Mondeo's near High Wycombe.

My home postcode is HP156BS
 
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Buy yourself a toledo if you like vag they sell for absolute peanuts and have all the same pros and cons as any vw of that era
 
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InvaderGIR said:
That £500 Rover is a waste of time.
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Please an you elaborate?

This is only 6 miles from me...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...postcode/hp156bs/page/1/radius/1500?logcode=p

Is that also a waste of time? or no?

I also thought this looked ok:

http://www.corkoak.co.uk/used-cars/volkswagen-golf-2-0-gti-5dr-ealing-201150435262239

Or a frieend has one of these for £600:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...postcode/hp156bs/radius/1500/page/1?logcode=p

£650 and they will put it through the MOT. It's same reg as this but white with 88,000
 
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Guru said:
Liking some of these old bmws:



http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201204445054438

Although the middle one makes me suspicious.
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So it should. Thats a £3-4k car for £999.

The lights, wheels and two bumpers are worth that alone. It's either priced wrong or its a scam.

You don't want an old BMW for under a grand if you want something cheap and reliable, though.

What about a 500 quid Mk2 Mondeo 2 litre?
 
[TW]Fox;21145518 said:
So it should. Thats a £3-4k car for £999.

The lights, wheels and two bumpers are worth that alone. It's either priced wrong or its a scam.

You don't want an old BMW for under a grand if you want something cheap and reliable, though.

What about a 500 quid Mk2 Mondeo 2 litre?
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Fair play.

Mondeo for £500 would do me nicely. Got a link?

Thanks,

G
 
Guru said:
Please an you elaborate?
Click to expand...

It's a fairly bog standard horrible Rover for very little money, highly likely it has some issues that would cost a fair bit to sort.

Guru said:
This is only 6 miles from me...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...postcode/hp157aw/page/1/radius/1500?logcode=p

Is that also a waste of time? or no?
Click to expand...

It's better, possibly. Not really up on Rovers/MGs so can't really help too much. If it's you and 3 kids though, the MG will not be great in terms of space for kids and associated kid paraphernalia. My brother and his wife struggled with her Rover 25 and just the one child (so more often than not used his A instead).

Guru said:
I also thought this looked ok:

http://www.corkoak.co.uk/used-cars/volkswagen-golf-2-0-gti-5dr-ealing-201150435262239
Click to expand...

Again, with children that is likely to be a pain.


Something you need to decide/work out is if you need petrol or diesel. For the money you've got to spend, a modern petrol should be a lot more reliable than a modern diesel. The older diesels are more unrefined and not so nice, but are more reliable than modern ones.
Also engine sizes, how much power to you actually need/want etc. no point getting a 2.5l v6 when you just potter about town taking children to/from school. At the same time, if you're mostly using it on motorways etc. then a 1.2 will be horrible and gutless.
 
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...rd/page/1/postcode/sl85au/radius/40?logcode=p

So it's got a dent in the rear bumper. So has every Mondeo. More importantly it has a reliable engine and 4 brand new tyres and 9 months MOT. Excellent.

You'd need to check it out though, because we all know traders can be... imaginative, so if that bump is the entire rear corner missing you may want to skip to the next but you get the idea.
 
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