Reasonably new car for about £10,000

Well it's definitely cheaper! Say with a £7k budget, is there any chance you could take a wee trip to the ni autotrader website and suggest 1 or 2 BMW's that would be a good buy? (postcode is bt4 2rb) (OR/AND mondeos, depending on how bored you are today!). Seeing as I quite obviously don't know what to be looking for I'd appreciate a recommendation with the reasoning behind it to help me see from your point of view.

Hope that diddn't come across as rude, it's as genuine as I can make it!
 
10k should be able to bag you a seat leon fr with sub 20k miles and a few years old....no point throwing that much at a caned bmw with 100k on the clock.
 
beblemak, the guys have convinced me to spend liss for a while, so the £10k although posasible, is on hold.

Here's the new plan. Get a cheap (sub 4k) Mondeo mk3 or bmw 3 for a year. Won't loose much in depreciation, and will hopefully recover insurance/tax/fuel when I sell it.

Now, I can't link directly to niautotrader (bummer), but if you could help me out here

Go here: http://www.niautotrader.co.uk/contentv3/

BMW:
Search bmw, 3 series, max price £4000, postcode BT4 2RB

There's a silver 2001 318i for £1850, 44 miles away from me.
Does this look reasonable? 130,000 miles, FSH.


FORD:

Search a ford mondeo with same price/postcode.
Frank curley motors, 2004, 2.0TDCi, 79,000 miles, 9 miles away, doesnt mention service history.
OR: any other mk3 with nearly 100000 and a FSH under £3k


How do these look? please bear in mind I'm only having them for a year (maybe 2 if I really like them). Advice/opinions? I realise that its not as easy as just clicking a link, and I'm grateful to anybody who has the time to have a look at these cars for me. I'm not being lazy, mainly looking to know if there's a reason those 2000/2001 bmw's are so cheap.

D
 
Are you really sure you want to take on a 9 year old 130,000 mile car? What do you get that for money? Sure, it looks nice and its well built but its a 318i - is it worth the faff for.. a 318i?

It's also very cheap, even for the age and mileage.

The used BMW market is a minefield and you've given me no reason to think its worth you trying to cross it.
 
I will own a 3 series. But not yet it seems. So we're back to mondeos then!

Roadside assistance cover applies to Ford retail cars and CVs between 2 and 9 years old and with mileage below 100,000 miles
Click to expand...
That's with a £99 service!

So that and under £3000 if possible are the criteria. What can I expect for this? And there will be photos and "omg thanx 4 savin me money leek" when I get it I'm sure! Unless I hate it. Doubtful.

Perhaps more importantly, what should I avoid? Obviously anything with 'part service history' (especially round here!), but any particular year/engines?

D
 
Because it's only a stopgap for a year! I'll be in a much stronger position next year to get a better car, plus buying cheap I wont loose much on depreciation (will hopefully recoup running costs for the year). I'm going to see a £2k 2003 Zetec on Sunday (well 2 actually!), both 1.8 petrols. Pics look good and just been serviced. Then on Monday it's off to a main dealer to try a £5k 2006 (or 7, cant remember) model, see how much of a difference there is. If not much, I'll get the £2k one.

*phew*

Is there a link (or do you know) to what the different trim levels consist of?

D
 
Don't get a prefacelift bottom of the range car if you're in a position to do a lot better.

Facelift was 2004, so aim for something 2005ish with the 2.0 engine or a v6
 
To be honest, I don't think the pre facelift looks bad, and if it's cheaper, ahh well :) I have a test drive booked for a post facelift model with a main dealer the day after I drive the cheaper car, I'll see how much of a difference there is, only an LX though. If I can find a new model for a good price il certainly have a look at it, can't remember if there are any nearby, I'll have another look.
 
Its the interior where you really notice the difference, it's a lot better.

I know it's in the wrong country but something like this would be a ton better than the sort of thing you're looking at http://pistonheads.com/sales/1463266.htm

Not sure how different prices are, but that's a lot of car for the money
 
Can't you find one over here and then get one of those cheap flights over to see it, if it's good ...drive it back? ...obviously you'ed need to be a bit more selective being as you can't really see it in the metal before making a decision, at least not without some expense and inconvenience. Surely there must be some Mondeos of the right type in NI though, it's hardly a rare car.
 
I 'could', but seriously? As you say, I am comming from a 12yo 1l corsa! Even a base spec will be an upgrade! Let's not forget also that it's only a 1-2 year stopgap! So I'll look for a better spec, but won't be miffed if I can't find one.
 
It will be an upgrade, but you may as well put a but more effort into getting something nice. 2 years is a long time, you want to be getting it right
 
This is going to sound rude, but it's really not meant to:

What's the difference? Say between an 03 zetec and an 04 ghia? Just interior and appearance? It's the same engine right?
 
Well I'm saying you should look at the 2.0 engine rather than the 1.8 - same engine, different displacement but more appropriate for the car.

The facelift makes a decent improvement to the interior and the better spec of the ghia or titanium makes a big difference all round.

Given you started out with 10k to spend, going from 3k on a 1.8 prefacelift zetec to 4/5k on a facelift 2.0 ghia/titanium seems like a bit of a no brainer
 
The 10k was to do me 5 years, this is to do me 1 maybe 2. Guess I'll just have to try and see some examples, although there doesn't seem to be too many of anything above a zetec for £5k. Starting to see the edge trim, what's that about? Oh, and that would be £2k on a pre facelift ;)
 
I just really don't like them! I know the styling is so similar, but it just looks a little, well, I don't know, it's just not to my liking on the focus.

Plus, I've wanted a big car since forever! I'm a evening and weekend musician, and do carry a good bit of gear, would appreciate being able to carry equipment AND people, not either or!
 
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