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After all the great help on another thread I realised that under £1000 was going to be a push for a reliable car with no problems so I upped my budget to £2000
After a few searches and emails I found a 2009 Vauxhall Astra 1.8 i VVT 16v SRi Sport Hatch 3dr in black with brand new 12months MOT and no advisories..the garage is asking £2100
What do people think ?
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I’d leave it. This motor is known for issues with the VVT pulleys. Last one (a low mileage car) I flogged nearly shredded its timing belt and cost me the guts of £700 for two new pulleys, a timing belt and a water pump... no profit on that one. The most reliable engine in this shape of Astra is the non VVT 1.6 but personally I’d rather have a Focus or something Japanese. The SRi attracts the wrong sort of owner too so many are abused especially the three door.
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Thanks a bunch for that.. great advice
I have also seen a 2009 Subaru Impreza 2.0 R , full dealership history, 9 months MOT (KT59UDB), 3 months warranty, 100k miles £2280
Had 2 subaru's ( over 15 years ago ) and they never missed a beat...
Only doing 4k miles a year, 80% local, 20% maybe 60mile max
Edited by logger on 13/01/2020 at 16:11
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While I do like Subaru’s and agree that they’re tough they’re also cripplingly expensive for certain parts. Because they only sell in limited numbers in the UK the importer goes for maximum profit per unit and there’s little in the way of aftermarket suppliers beyond normal service items. Dealers avoid older examples like the plague as even relatively simple stuff like an exhaust on certain models can be a dealer only part or have to be specially made. It’s not a car I’d buy on a tight budget. Stick with more mainstream stuff like a Corolla, Avensis, Civic, Focus or Mazda 3. All have much cheaper parts thanks to the wide availability of aftermarket components.
Edited by SLO76 on 13/01/2020 at 16:49
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Thanks.. I guessed you might say that..a case of heart ruling head !
What about another mainstream one 2007 Nissan Qashqai 2.0 TEKNA 4WD 5DR 140 BHP, 87k dealer price £2900
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TBH, upping your budget from £1-2k does not significantly increase your chances of getting a good car. That is still mainly going to be down to finding a good well looked after car, with a decent MOT history, and which is inherently reliable (i.e not a Nissan Qashqai).
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oh thanks.. I thought the qashqai was a good car ?
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Not really. But bear in mind, underneath it is just a jacked up Renault Megane, so it is more a French car than a Japanese one. Have a read through this,
www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/nissan/qashqai-2007/.../
Edited by badbusdriver on 13/01/2020 at 17:54
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Again too complex and really quite thirsty. It’s based on a Renault Megane and would you buy a thirteen year old Renault? It does have a Nissan engine (assuming it’s petrol) but much of the rest is French. Ever notice there’s not many Mk I Qashqai’s about? They sold loads up here but few seem to survive into old age. It’s not one I’d sink £3k into. I’d sooner tell you to get a 2006 Nissan Primera 1.8/2.0 petrol as it would be just as if not more reliable yet would cost £700-£800.
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... would you buy a thirteen year old Renault?
I've just (well, last summer) bought a 24-year-old Peugeot. So far it has been a pleasure to drive, for only 800 miles admittedly. But I had some idea of what I was probably in for.
I'm glad to see that all the contributors have avoided any suggestion of finding a 'reliable' 10-year-old car. You have to search, check all you can, and be selective. There is no magic wand.
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I can understand why you are attracted to more "premium" or desirable cars.
But with £2000 budget I would go for the best condition not image.
Any 10+ year old car is going to be a risk with potential failure of minor and major components. Limit the risk by going for service history, reasonable mileage, condition, spares availability/prices, etc.
Many worthwhile suggestions already above.
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To be honest, Logger, the advice you got in the other thread (car for £1,000) is much the same for a £2,000 budget, particularly the point about condition being more important than make or model.
But again, if you want a steer in a particular direction, petrol-powered Toyotas and Hondas are where to start looking.
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Funny you say that about stick to Ford, Toyotas, Hondas
saw a 2008 Honda Civic 1.8 i-VTEC Type S 3dr (reg OW57EHR ) 86k miles. I have asked ro 12 months MOT £2299
p.s.
I really like celicas but been told they rust like mad
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Would you consider a cheap PCP on a new car such as a Dacia Sandero?
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Its been such a valuable experience on this forum. It made my mind focus my mind from head in the clouds to realistic !
So bearing that in mind and listening to sensible advice I have restricted myself to looking for the following ( in no particular order ). All petrol due to my 4k short run mileage. I have emailed/spoken to 30 people/traders so far and all had something a bit dodgy or rust etc.
I have decided also to widen my budget to between £1000 and £3000. At the lower end I'll run it for 18 months then sell , at the higher end hopefully keep it longer.
Ford Focus ( 1.8 / 2.0 )
Honda Civic 1.8
Saab 9-3 / 9-5
Vauxhall Astra 1.8
Volvo S40 / S60 2.0
cheers
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So bearing that in mind and listening to sensible advice I have restricted myself to looking for the following ( in no particular order ). All petrol due to my 4k short run mileage. I have emailed/spoken to 30 people/traders so far and all had something a bit dodgy or rust etc.
It's been said here many times, but at your low-budget prices you should find a better bargain from a private seller. Traders need to make a sizeable profit margin to cover possible comeback from dissatisfied customers, and maybe an (almost worthless) warranty. Private sellers don't need that, and an honest one will be able to tell you all about the car, which a trader will not (and probably wouldn't anyway). Waiting for a decent private sale may take longer but should be worth it.
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Totally agree..I am looking at private sales now..I think I have managed to get the funds to do that..I know any private sale is likely to be £500 less than a trade sale
thanks
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That Quashqai...if it was the 2litre diesel just Google m9r engine problems....scary. Yet I got rid of my 2012 one a couple of years ago because I was fed up of bits falling apart and breaking. It had become increasingly fragile and it's a complex car. Case in point. I was filling the washer bottle and it was pouring out the headlamp washer pipie over the floor. Trip to the dealers and the bumper has to come off to fix it. This happened three times in four months. The point is expensive complex cars have expensive complex problems. Even if the car itself is now cheap due to age etc a once 30k car has 30k type repair costs. So think cheap simple cars at your level not old money pits.
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“ Ford Focus ( 1.8 / 2.0 )
Honda Civic 1.8
Saab 9-3 / 9-5
Vauxhall Astra 1.8
Volvo S40 / S60 2.0
cheers”
Saab 9-3/9-5? Always like to throw a weird one in don’t you? I’d leave the Saab’s out, they’re not well made at this stage and parts can be difficult or expensive to source. The Vauxhall’s they’re based on were better made and more honest if slower.
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ok..
“ Ford Focus ( 1.8 / 2.0 )
Volvo S40 / S60 2.0
Honda Civic 1.8
Vauxhall Astra 1.8
list getting more manageable !
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Mazda 3 is a grand wee car at this money too, the 2.0 Sport is a particular wee treat for the money.
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I'll see what out there thanks
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Weird... out of 400 Mazda3 sports < 100 miles and <£3000 393 are trade and only 7 private
Is this a case where dealers may not be a bad thing ?
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Weird... out of 400 Mazda3 sports < 100 miles and <£3000 393 are trade and only 7 private
Is this a case where dealers may not be a bad thing ?
Not all dealers are selling bad cars but you have to ignore the bull and assess it properly and accept that there will be very little room to negotiate plus as with most older cars you’ll have a warranty with more holes than a colander and a dealer that’s unlikely to help much if anything goes wrong. The best cheap stock has been taken in part exchange against newer cars so look to bigger or main dealers, even give them a call to see if anything is coming in or sitting round the back. But above all go and view them, many will be little gems but be careful as smaller dealers are dab hands at botching up poor cars with poor paint repairs and faked service histories, the latter being very common within the lower rungs of the trade today. They add value with a fake service history as it’s much harder to get away with clocking these days.
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<< The best cheap stock has been taken in part exchange against newer cars so look to bigger or main dealers, even give them a call to see if anything is coming in or sitting round the back >>
I've never done it myself, but I've heard of others being lucky, Basically you are hoping to find a nice trade-in before it goes for auction, so all you need do is make a suitable offer, especially if it's a car which doesn't 'belong' at that dealer. May require a lot of legwork though.
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My list was getting nice and small then I came across these 2 ?
2007 Honda Accord 2.0 Vtec, 52k miles, FSH, 11 months MOT, VGC - £ 2300
and this one will have some heads scratching
2003 Mercedes C180 Kompressor ,1 owner, £28k miles !!, no rust, 11 months MOT - £2450
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I see your budget is slowly expanding - or are you allowing for haggle margin?
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I’d leave the Merc but the Accord makes an excellent cheap family car. Mechanically bombproof and nice to drive.
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Why leave the Merc if it has such low mileage and no rust ?
cheers
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Why leave the Merc if it has such low mileage and no rust ?
As said above (and many times), initially expensive cars have maintenance costs to match.
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You might think that a car of that age that's done less than 2,000 miles a year would be in better shape than one that's done, say, 10,000 a year, so would have 170,000 on the clock now.
Sadly no - that sort of low mileage is about the worst treatment that a car can have, unless you know for a fact that it just did very occcasional long trips and not endless short ones to the shops..
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Why leave the Merc if it has such low mileage and no rust ?
cheers
This generation of C Class has a poor reputation for reliability and for rust. You’ll notice that despite selling in big numbers there aren’t that many around today and those that are, are usually very tatty or are hiding much behind cheap paintwork. They’re also expensive for parts. I would never buy a prestige brand on such a tight budget.
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Ok..I 've been on lots of forums and chatted with lots of people including great advice on this forum..I have tried to look at a everything from reliability through to rust...
Pretty much decided between :-
Honda Accord 2.0 VTec ( post 2007 )
Mercedes C-Class ( post 2005-M272 or M112 engine )
BMW 1 Series ( post 2005 )
Volvo S40 1.8 / 2.0 ( Post 2004 )
...and if I cant find anything I like.
Ford Focus 2.0 ( post 2005 )
answers on a postcard !
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No idea who advised the Merc or the BMW but I certainly wouldn’t touch one at this money. The Accord is one of the best cars at this money. It has the reliability of a Toyota Avensis but drives much better. But again it’s all down to what’s available at the time.
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My experioence of son's 2005 BMW 3 series is sufficient to ensure I would never recommend a 15 year old BMW to anyone: failed coils, brake system rebuild, exhaust system tec..Money pits.
I had a company Mercedes in the 1990s: another money pit but deeper..
The evidence of German build quality - in all independent studies - shows it is poor compared to the Japanese..
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