Cheap replacement for an 05 320D?

[nc11]

So I've had 2 320D SE's for the past 6 years.Great cars, never had a problem with either. Previous one was a 52 reg, the current one is 05. Both automatics.

Credit crunch and recent job change are forcing me to ditch the bimmer, return it to BMW finance and find a cheap replacement. I've got only 2K max to spend on that replacement..

I'm only doing 12 miles a day commuting in the city (on the A406 in London), mostly in queues. so I'm after a comfortable, quiet and reliable car. Needs to have decent spec but nothing special. It needs to be reliable as well with as less hassle as poss to repair...

I've read some of the treads and it seems as the majority see a mondeo as a good and reliable cheap saloon. I havent driven one, so I intend to find and test drive it, but what are the other options? From autotrader and ebay, I came up with the following list of possibilities?

Accord
S60
S-Type
Avensis
Mondeo
318

Any comments about these? What would you guys recommend? What I don't want is a car that every time I'll get in it, I'll think "my life is **** now and I need to drive this piece of c*** instead of the 320 I had before"

No swearing
Cheers,
NC.

 

[nc11]

I love how you star out "crap" but not the s-word.

Anyway, as predictable as it sounds, buy a Mondeo. It fits your criteria perfectly.

oops, missed that!

 

[nc11]

2k budget and no money? How much money can you budget per month for running costs?

I will obviouslly have to insure the car and factor in the cost of petrol. What I'm trying to get rid of is the lease cost of around 350 a month.

 

[nc11]

i'm driving a 2.5v6 s type at the moment does a 10 mile commute in and 10 miles out all london town driving. It's so smooth, comfortable and relaxing and the cabin is a nice place to be.

If you can get a decent one with leather in your price range, get it.

Noticed quite a few V6s in autotrader last night. all are well-equipped and with more or less 100k miles. My only concern is that when one these go wrong it's quite a hefty cost to repair. am I correct?

 

[nc11]

how about a brand spanking new Volvo S40.

Some really really good lease deals around.

That's what I need to get rid of mate - lease costs

 

[nc11]

A £2k Jag is swapping lease costs for repair costs.

Sorry, not sure I understand that... currently it's 350 lease plus whatever running costs for insurance, diesel and possible service\repair. You saying that if I go for a 2K Jag It'll be those and more?

 

[nc11]

How well do you know cars? if you have some knowledge, have a wander down to a local auction, Older Merc C and E classes are quite cheap now, bit of a pimp image, but still damn good cars, not as fun to drive as a 3'er tho. But lets face it, you only have 2k to play with. £1500 should get you a 2000 model C200 or similar, £2k will get you a large engined E class, on a 99-00 MY.Older Accords arent much cop tbh, well not pre 98 anyway, you can get older A4's and Passhats for this kind of money.

The VFM option is the Mondeo tho, closely followed by the 75.

Unfortunately not enough to be confident of choosing the right one in an auction, as that is a great idea!

Also, I've never bought a 100K miles car before, so wouldnt know what to expect and what to look for in the SH, even if it was a full main dealer one.

I take the point about old passats and A4s, but if it's pre-98 I think those are too old - agree?

Which mondeo model should I go for? is it the zetec engine that's important? which trim level is comparable to the SE on the BMW?

 

[nc11]

At the risk of being shot down, can't you just use public transport? I'd rather get the train then sit in a **** £2K car personally.

good point but I'll need to change 3 times which is not ideal. Also, TBH, after driving for so long I dont think I'll be able to get used to public transport again...

 

[nc11]

well. i think we can safely take the public transport option out of the way... which leaves us with the modeo, a rover 75 and perhaps a good s60.

thanks for the suggestions, i'll start doing the rounds on autotrader!