Reliability

NotAGolf

NotAGolf

NotAGolf

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Hi all, looking into buying a car. Only got a budget of 1.5-2k. I quite like the look of the astra and a focus. However in this price band the majority of the seem to have done 100k+ miles.

I've been looking on autotrader and I've seen a couple of other cars that are around the same price but have fewer miles and newer models. Two in point are an 02 Citroen Xsara and an 02 Renault Laguna. Both under 1.8k and done less than 75,000 miles and look in fairly good nick.

Any reports on how these two are like reliability wise?
 
Do not under any circumstances get a laguna, horrific cars, it will rob you of your bank account.

Get a 100k+ focus, cars dont instantly explode after 100k things have improved a lot since that stupid rule was invented. Mines done nearly 240k miles and is still tight as a drum.
 
As far as the Laguna goes, they have a very bad rep for reliability on the whole. Link. I'd agree that a higher mileage Focus would probably be a better bet....and I hate the Focus.
 
I get around said:
Do not under any circumstances get a laguna, horrific cars, it will rob you of your bank account.

Get a 100k+ focus, cars dont instantly explode after 100k things have improved a lot since that stupid rule was invented. Mines done nearly 240k miles and is still tight as a drum.
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You have a 240k Bora?

Thats actually impressive. Can we have pictures and stuff?
 
[TW]Fox;15428423 said:
You have a 240k Bora?

Thats actually impressive. Can we have pictures and stuff?
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240k, if its a 20vt, isnt that amazing tbh. theyre seriously bullet proof and the interiors last extremely well
 
The Laguna's are not that bad, i had one for a few years was a good car, have very few Problems on it,

if you are looking for Reliability then you cannot beat the Fords, The Engines on these cars are built to go a lot futher then they used to back in the old days
 
Can't say i'd be overly thrilled at the prospect of having a 100k Focus. Generally they're cars used around town and subject to much wear and tear. That said, since it's a Focus, it won't cost a lot to fix if something goes wrong
 
Janesy B said:
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1365265.htm
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1309259.htm
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1368801.htm
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1342659.htm

There's loads of Foci under 2k and under 100k :confused:
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MMMMMM yellow - the owner neglects to mention the engine size in that one, unless I'm going blind/senile.

A lot of them will be the 1.8 as they werent very popular - usual economy of the 2.0 and performance of the 1.6 stuff, but not a bad engine in isolation
 
iaind said:
MMMMMM yellow - the owner neglects to mention the engine size in that one, unless I'm going blind/senile.

A lot of them will be the 1.8 as they werent very popular - usual economy of the 2.0 and performance of the 1.6 stuff, but not a bad engine in isolation
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I know it isn't a particularly great example, but they are around, you just need to look.

The first one looks nice and the 1.8 engine isn't that bad.
 
In general neither the Xsara or Laguna are known for reliability or at least not in a good way. Have a proper look at auto trader/local classifieds/PH etc and don't forget that just because the advert says it's done 75k doesn't say that it hadn't done 175k before it was clocked. Check the paperwork, over 100k people seem to be less fussy about invoices etc but the more paperwork that you can find the better, if you've got doubts ring the garages and confirm for major stuff like timing belts or rebuilds. Basically as everyone has already tried to get across buy a car based on condition not what the last MOT and odo say, a bit of paper can say anything.
 
Gaygle said:
Can't say i'd be overly thrilled at the prospect of having a 100k Focus. Generally they're cars used around town and subject to much wear and tear. That said, since it's a Focus, it won't cost a lot to fix if something goes wrong
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An 8-9 year old car that has been mainly used around town most likely won't have over 100k on it. The low mileage cars of this age are the ones to be suspicious of. As always condition wins over mileage.
 
My housemates focus has 160k on and still drives very well, nothing feels loose etc. They cope well with milage if looked after
 
Janesy B said:
I know it isn't a particularly great example, but they are around, you just need to look.

The first one looks nice and the 1.8 engine isn't that bad.
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Nah they're decent enough engines, just made a bit redundant by the other 2. If it was me, at this price I'd be looking at a decent 1.8 over a knackered 2.0/1.6/TDCi. I was really disappointed by the performance of the 2.0, it really felt rather boring and breathless, which I wouldn't expect from a 2.0 petrol in a small hatch.

There's definitely plenty about if you spend the time looking for them, I'd have one any day over a Laguna or Xsara. The Laguna has a terrible reputation for reliability and the Xsara is the second least reliable car I've ever owned - after the Alfa!
 
Thanks for the replies guys.

I think the focus is definitely my favored car, so based on what 90% of you are saying in here that looks like the way to go. That's good news about the engine having done a fair few miles as well.

@Janesy B. There are indeed lots available under 100k and 2k but not too many near me. I don't mind going further afield but I don't really want to drive 100 miles just to look at the car. Is that pistonheads a good site for looking for adverts? Any other I should look out for apart from the normal autotrader and local classified?

One more question...anyone know of a good link where I can read up on what to look for when looking at a car? I don't really have much of a clue tbh. Don't want to be caught out buying a car and finding our it needs a major overhaul within the first week!

Thanks again.
 
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