Ideas for a new car... 2k ish

Likewise - you must have picked a lemon if it was as bad as you say. Mine wasnt reliable or well built but was a great cruiser and a hoot on B roads.
 
Its not often I'm speechless but your level of idiocy is quite outstanding.

I assume that was a dig at my current car - are you actually saying a Mondeo isnt a good motorway cruiser?

So seeing as you're clearly a leading authority on the matter, what would make a good cruiser? If a 2.5 V6 saloon with a comfy leather interior and a good ride is a bad cruiser and a large car that Ford practically built for the job which does 50mpg with little or no engine noise at speed is a bad cruiser....then what is?
 
What's tractorish about a 156 v6? I could have understood "tractorish" being the sort of remark a 17 year old would make about a diesel mondeo, hence why I assumed that's what you meant. Its possibly one of the best sounding engines of it's generation...
 
iaind said:
What's tractorish about a 156 v6? I could have understood "tractorish" being the sort of remark a 17 year old would make about a diesel mondeo, hence why I assumed that's what you meant. Its possibly one of the best sounding engines of it's generation...
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How did a rattly, unreliable, oil guzzling, twin sparky metamorphasize into a V6?

And how is the TDCi "one of the best sounding engines of its generation"????
It's a DIESEL for chrisakes.

You've obviously driven some right junk over the years if you if think a 4cyl Ford turbo diesel is great sounding engine. More like a load of spanners rattling around in tin box....
 
good job taking the thread completely off track, MarkDavis. it's been nice and quiet these past few months, shame you've come back ;)

LostPhil said:
Bingo, that might just be the ticket! That second one looks immaculate too. Anyone have anything to criticise them on? The steering wheel looks nice to hold, one worry I had switching from mine :p Seems to tick all the boxes to be honest. Guessing they're generally pretty reliable?
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unfortunately i don't know enough about them.
There are a few people on here running those Saab 4 pots in one form or another.
I know they need an oil change every 5k or something otherwise sludge stars to clog things up..

there's some info on honestjohn, but perhaps start a new thread? :p
http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/index.htm?md=351
 
dalin80 said:
the ZT is the only one in the list i would consider.

anyone who buys a cougar should be shot for the sake of the gene pool.
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Could you please explain why I should be shot? The interiors are much nicer than the equivalent aged Mondeos, use the ST24 engine, I find the seats comfortable in both the front and back, quiet cruiser as far as I remember and about as quick as my car currently.

If you could explain quickly, I'm just about to walk to the army range to borrow an MP5. If I'm going to go, might as well be by my favourite gun.

MarkDavis said:
And how is the TDCi "one of the best sounding engines of its generation"????
It's a DIESEL for chrisakes.
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He was talking about the 156's engine. iaind; I'd probably make tractorish remarks about a diesel Mondeo too and I'm 24 ;) Just stop the bickering, I got the point a while back and ruled it out.

mjt said:
unfortunately i don't know enough about them.
There are a few people on here running those Saab 4 pots in one form or another.
I know they need an oil change every 5k or something otherwise sludge stars to clog things up..

there's some info on honestjohn, but perhaps start a new thread? :p
http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/index.htm?md=351
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Thanks! Never really know where to look when it comes to common problems. Looks like a good bit of info. The oil changes don't bother me, I don't do a massive amount of miles a year and I can do that myself easy enough and it's nice to know someone's sorted the bulkhead problem!

Anyone here want to chip in with any more suggestions or is that my lot?

May have gone for an FTO for no other reason besides being cool if they weren't expensive for a decent example... A Galant is also playing at the back of my mind... Whether a decent manual's within reach I have no idea.

I'll prowl Pistonheads/Autotrader later...

Anyone want my 25 as a trackday project? :p
 
MarkDavis said:
How did a rattly, unreliable, oil guzzling, twin sparky metamorphasize into a V6?

And how is the TDCi "one of the best sounding engines of its generation"????
It's a DIESEL for chrisakes.

You've obviously driven some right junk over the years if you if think a 4cyl Ford turbo diesel is great sounding engine. More like a load of spanners rattling around in tin box....
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You clearly fail at reading - I've been talking about the V6 all along - the clue was in the letter V and number 6 in my posts, mostly right next to eachother. I can understand how that would be confusing.

I was also talking about how the V6 was a nice sounding engine, I can see how it was confusing given the fact I mentioned more than one thing in a single post, I'll try to keep it to single syllables and 4 word sentences for you in future ;)

Lostphil - apologies for derailing the thread, as I said earlier I just object to people like this spouting ill informed babble . Back on track, I don't see the problem with the Cougar really - they didn't sell brilliantly and the styling's a bit iffy, but it's basically just a Mondeo coupe. Wouldn't be at the top of my list though.

I still think the Saab's a brilliant idea - quick, attractive and a bit different/quirky. Its the type of car I'd want to be owned by someone who cares about the car so you can be sure that all the oil changes etc have been looked after.

Another thought that sprung to mind if you're looking at saloons is the Toledo

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1267617.htm

2.3 V5, oodles of spec for sub 2k and a numberplate that reads "FAP" :D

You could probably find a newer car for the money but there arent a huge amount of them around. I had one (A 1.9 TDI 110) for a year and it was great - solid and comfy, the only problem I really had was leaky doors which is a common problem and an easy fix.
 
LostPhil said:
May have gone for an FTO for no other reason besides being cool if they weren't expensive for a decent example... A Galant is also playing at the back of my mind... Whether a decent manual's within reach I have no idea.
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Galants are very solid and reliable, but they're a bit dull imo.
a few people on here have had FTOs too, so if you do a search something will probably come up

iaind said:
Another thought that sprung to mind if you're looking at saloons is the Toledo
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good shout on the toledo, i forgot about those, as they don't hold their value as well as the leon..
you could always try a bora (or golf) V5 too, although i doubt there'll be any worth having for £2k.

the saab is a lot more car for the money and it's going to be the nicest place to be on long trips by far.
 
The Galant's an odd one, from the outside it looks pretty damn good, especially the front and in estate form. But you get inside.....auuuurrrgh.

The Toledo's dont hold their value well as so many people seem to think they're huge and they dont want a saloon (look at some recent threads on here!) - but I think at this budget that's actually a positive thing. They've lost a lot of their value, I cant a £2k Toledo loosing too much as it's not got much left to loose!

The Saab would still get my money though, I've always had a soft spot for them
 
If I'm honest, the Saab's at top of the list still!

I agree with the interiors on the Galant now I'm looking at pics... Not exactly the most inspiring place to sit... Guess the outside lured me into a trap!

The Toledo, whilst looking like a very good sensible purchase (that's a very impressive spec for the money!), just doesn't do anything for me. Would probably pass on the recommendation to other people though, I'm sure they're good cars.

After a very quick search on Autotrader:
MG ZT
FTO
Saab

This is going to be a tough choice...
 
Don't get the MG.

It IS a lot of car for £2000, but it has to have the engine out for a cambelt change due to poor design. Body panels are rare and the manufacturer is dead so in the future parts will be hard to get.

It is cheap to buy because it is costly to maintain. £500 for a cambelt change is ridiculous. Also the car was fair few years behind the competition when it was released.
 
iaind said:
I've been talking about the V6 all along - the clue was in the letter V and number 6 in my posts, mostly right next to eachother. I can understand how that would be confusing.
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iaind said:
If you're bothered about reliability at all, forget about the Alfas, especially at 2k
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iaind said:
The 156 exhibits exactly none of those characteristics.
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iaind said:
The TSpark isnt any noisier than similar cars, neither is road/wind noise.
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iaind said:
I'm under no delusions that the 156 is a well built reliable car, but poor cruisers they are not. A 2.0 Tspark is probably a bit noisier than a 320i, but most had quite large exhausts for a pleasant engine note. They are by no means noisy.
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Er, clearly you've only been talking about a V6...

You were't in the queue when God was giving out brains were you??? :p
 
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