What to buy for my budget

sparkymark75

sparkymark75

sparkymark75

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Joined
8 Jan 2003
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I have a budget of approx £8k. I'm planning to get a Zafira for a family car and for my other half to take the kids to nursey/school. I'm hoping to get a decent one for about £6k. This leaves £2k for a car for me to get to work.

It needs to be economical, 5 doors and that's about it really. I was thinking along the lines of Astra, Civic or Rover. Civic's hold their price well which means it's harder to get what I'd be lookign for for £2k. I'd probably need to go to £3k if I was to get a Civic.

What are Rover's like? Any other suggestions?
 
Cheers. Had a Mondeo a few years back which I loved but it's a bit too big for my other half if she needs to drive it. Hence why I'm looking for a medium-sized car.

Always wanted an ST220 when I had my Mondeo, can't justify the petrol costs these days.
 
Shame that, as we all know they offer better value than mid sized cars, looks aside i've always found the almera a good all round car, i've seen 99 1.6 sri's go for 1.8k ish :)
 
Xsara, 306? Should be able to get an HDi for your budget, but the petrol engined ones are cheaper to buy so unless you are doing a fair mileage it might not be worth it.
 
mparter said:
Cheers. Had a Mondeo a few years back which I loved but it's a bit too big for my other half if she needs to drive it. Hence why I'm looking for a medium-sized car.
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Yet she'll be driving a Zafira day-to-day? Which is practically the same size, if not slightly larger than a Mondeo...


Weird...
 
I've currently got a 306 XSi which I find a bit cramped to be honest. Sick of having to remove half of the back of the car to get anything in it!! But it's the petrol consumption that's the main reason why I'm getting rid of it.
 
Mk2 Mondeo is not noticeably bigger than a Vauxhall Zafira. They are not large cars. They are also one of the best ways to buy a car of the sort you require for £2k. A £2k Astra will be... slightly horrid, and you won't get a good Focus for £2k yet, IMHO..
 
mparter said:
I've currently got a 306 XSi which I find a bit cramped to be honest. Sick of having to remove half of the back of the car to get anything in it!! But it's the petrol consumption that's the main reason why I'm getting rid of it.
Click to expand...

A 306 XSi isnt THAT thirsty. Sit down, do the maths with the fuel economy and I bet you find that you'll save virtually nothing by changing cars..
 
ConfusedTA said:
Yet she'll be driving a Zafira day-to-day? Which is practically the same size, if not slightly larger than a Mondeo...


Weird...
Click to expand...

I'm hoping she's going to be driving the Zafira as it'll be easier to take the kids to nursery in that. ;)

If not, then she'll have to use the other car.

Might just buy a Zafira, see if she can handle it or not (or make her!) and then decide what to get for me. Petrol might actually be as bad because at present, I have to make 6 trips a day back and forward from work for the nursery run, etc and it's costing approx £30 per week in petrol because we only have the one car just now.

I'm planning to get rid of the S reg (98) 306 XSi. If we then get 2 cars, then I'll only have to make 2 trips a day, to work and back.

How much do you think I'd get for my 306 on trade-in? It's approx 61k mileage, black, air con.
 
I own a mk2 mondeo now, and before that drove a zafira everyday for a year.

The zafira does not feel much smaller than the mondeo. The Zafira is a taller, bigger car but is actually 6 inches shorter than the mondeo (lengthwise). Neither car has a tail end that extends out of sight so are just as easy to judge where the rear bumper is when parking, ie you can easily judge where the end of the car is as the bumper sticks out no more than a couple of inches beyond the windscreen (on the zafira) or the spoiler (on the mondeo).

The zafira has a nice high driving position which may make all the difference to your lady when driving the car. The extra height gives you a better all round view except at 2 and 10 o'clock where the zafira has large roof supports (what are they called?) which annoyed me.
 
Primera vote here. The new ones are very large and well equipped. Rock solid motors to be honest.

My father has a Mondeo TDCI and even he admits it isnt as good as my wifes Primera. Don't get me wrong the Mondeo is a nice car, but the Primera is better as a family car.

Maybe to big but they do have good visibility.
 
Third Opinion said:
My father has a Mondeo TDCI and even he admits it isnt as good as my wifes Primera. Don't get me wrong the Mondeo is a nice car, but the Primera is better as a family car.
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I'm not disputing the Primera is a good car, I am a fan, but what about it makes it a better family car than a Mondeo TDCi? The Mk3 Mondeo offers more space, better storage, etc etc than a £2000ish Primera..
 
Primera is more comfortable and the cabin feels larger. My father an I prefer the unusal cockpit for the Primera as it feels more accessable when driving (nice DVD player and reversing camera too).. Both are diesel.

Primera is 2 years old and has done 37k with no breakdowns

Mondeo is 2.5 years old, done 34K and been recovered twice.

Edit:

Spot my mistake I thought he was spending 6k on his car sorry my comments are inapplicable.
 
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