Teach me bangernomics please!

King4aDay

King4aDay

King4aDay

Soldato
Joined
4 Sep 2003
Posts
4,428
Location
Cornwall
Hi all,

I've been car-less since 18 months ago when my old 1996 Primera ran itself into the ground at 190k. However, the thought of spending another Edinburgh winter walking into work every day is giving me shivers already and I'm on the lookout for wheels again.

My head is telling me that I should buy something unspeakably boring like a Mondeo or a Vectra or another Primera, which won't cost a fortune to run and will hopefully last me 5 or 6 years.

However, I seem to spend most of my car browsing time looking at Preludes, Alfa 166s and old Saab turbos. I don't do a whole lot of miles (sub 5k annual), so I'd kind of like them to them to be fun, without having to buy some horrific financial albatross - my PhD stipend will be ending in 6 months, so there could well be a few months of unstable income ahead.

So, I suppose what I'm asking is - spec me something with a bit of character that stands a chance of not exploding within minutes of buying it.

Budget is about £1700 tops, but I'd like to get a year's insurance out of that as well (29yo male, 5 years NCB).

Thanks!
 
Bangernomics is about the most driving for the least cost - so its about Mondeos and your old Primera more than its about old turbocharged liabilities.
 
Damn all you sensible people :p

The Alfa is obviously a terrible idea, but I'm still tempted by the Saabs and Preludes.

I definitely, definitely refuse to buy a Vectra. Accords and Galants are looking a bit more tempting, but struggling to find a decent looking one within my price range.

I'd certainly be tempted by an MX5 if they didn't look so girly. Mainly looking at larger cars though.
 
I've picked up a 3 owner, 03 reg Alfa 156 2.0JTS sportwagon Lusso for £950. 85K miles, FSH, 11 months MOT in vgc. Black with red leather.

It even had decent amount of tread on the tyres & 5 months tax!

560468_10151246887877889_1564028790_n.jpg
 
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Mk3 Mondeo GhiaX Petrol Manual.

The 2.5 or 3.0 V6's are usually cheapest as less desirable but given your current annual mileage the increased fuel cost over a 2.0 is negligible (check insurance though).

I'd get a facelift as the interior is nicer. Mid-2003 I believe.

Hopefully can find a reasonable car in budget.
 
galant ftw, mega comfy v6 for bugger all cash, my old galant (ready for the scrap heap) has been sat since january, i started it up 2 months ago for first time, fired straight away on the first click...
 
MatteH Oxford said:
I've picked up a 3 owner, 03 reg Alfa 156 2.0JTS sportwagon Lusso for £950. 85K miles, FSH, 11 months MOT in vgc. Black with red leather.

It even had decent amount of tread on the tyres & 5 months tax!

560468_10151246887877889_1564028790_n.jpg
Click to expand...

there is a reason you got so much car for so little money. but you'll find this out yourself in time.
 
Toyota Celica (Gen6 is in budget and the ST’s are great on fuel, might just about get a gen7 for that money)
Hyundai Coupe
Mercedes 190e (very light car and handles great)
BMW e36/e46 (coupe if you can find a nice one)
Honda Civic CRX
Toyota MR2
Lexus/Toyota Soarer (incredible cars for the money, v8’s are more reliable than the turbos)
Lexus GS300 or is200
possibly a Jag XJ or x type (service history is king)
 
Like any other relatively new car, if it's a good one it'll be fine. Modern alfas dont fall apart at all. We had a 156 for a time, nothing much broke outside of the usual consumables and sensors, was an absolute pig to work on but as the op will (assumably) be doing all the work himself that's an annoyance rather than extra cost.

I liked the car for what it's worth, thought the engine was pretty keen for it's 150bhp and loved the car inside.
 
ZG002 said:
Yet, it will fall apart.
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Well, for £950 do you think I really care that much if it did?. It's only £100 more than the deposit I paid for the Dodge truck I had (one) vehicle previous to this!. I don't have a photo of it, google maps link should work:
http://goo.gl/maps/0yhFw

I'm using (abusing?) the alfa as a van to get my gear to site while I wait to hear back on a work Visa. The 156 hasn't got that bad a reputation reliability wise, for starters it's galvanised & hasn't got a spot of rust on it.

rodenal said:
I liked the car for what it's worth, thought the engine was pretty keen for it's 150bhp and loved the car inside.
Click to expand...

Mine's the 165hp version, it's fantastic :)
 
I just bought an MX5 for £900. It is lots of fun to drive but only time will tell how reliable it is. I really like the cheapness of used spare parts - Door off ebay £40.
Buy a car on condition. Ignore the age and mileage. Do not buy one with loads of toys as then there is less to actually go wrong! (Unless you don't care if the toys break - Such as an electric seat).
I find it interesting how some cars last and others do not. You see very few French or Italian cars making old bones. I'd say you were mad if you bought a 1999 Megane but would think a 1999 Almera is fine.

If you want bangernomics spend <£1000 on a big 1990s car like a volvo estate, a huge Merc or a Mondeo. Personally I feel £1700 with character isn't bangernomics.
 
MatteH Oxford said:
Well, for £950 do you think I really care that much if it did?. It's only £100 more than the deposit I paid for the Dodge truck I had (one) vehicle previous to this!. I don't have a photo of it, google maps link should work:
http://goo.gl/maps/0yhFw

I'm using (abusing?) the alfa as a van to get my gear to site while I wait to hear back on a work Visa. The 156 hasn't got that bad a reputation reliability wise, for starters it's galvanised & hasn't got a spot of rust on it.



Mine's the 165hp version, it's fantastic :)
Click to expand...

It's a terrible example of bangernomics tbh. £950 is too much and I know for a fact it isn't as reliable as a mondeo or primera and the parts will also cost more for when it does go wrong.
 
ZG002 said:
It's a terrible example of bangernomics tbh. £950 is too much and I know for a fact it isn't as reliable as a mondeo or primera and the parts will also cost more for when it does go wrong.
Click to expand...

in the next 3 years all my car will need service wise is oil + filter, the belts + air filter in the next 30k, the plugs aren't due for 50k!. It had all pads fitted f/r at the last service.

General service items are the same as a mondeo, only the oil is about £10 more expensive. True it does have 8 spark plugs but they need doing every 60K, not 40k like a mk2 mondeo. It has 4 lambda sensors which is double that of a 4 pot mondeo, but they are part of either the 60 or 72k service for an Alfa and have already been changed.

Trust me, I did my home work and I am pointing out that while my example isn't strictly bangernomics, you can get a car that looks nice, is pretty good to drive & has a decent spec' for a very small outlay.

If you know what you are doing in the first place of course.
 
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