Although the 156 may have the buttons for electric windows, climate, etc. I doubt much would happen when you pressed them.
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let me be the last to let you down....
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MMM the Alfa would be the choice but reliabilty of it scares me !
I have seen a few W Reg Mondeo's for this price which look ok.
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Nissan Primera 2.0i. The P11-144 model. Very good to drive, reasonable crash-test rating, all the kit, very reliable.
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I've got a 156. Absolutely nothings gone wrong with it. Far more reliable than any other car i've had - citroen, ford, peugeot and vw. Insurance isnt bad, nor is servicing cost - £43 p/h from a specialist. Fuel is around 34mpg for the 1.8. Tyres are like any other cars. And i dont think any other company makes a 4 cylinder engine sound as good as Alfa does. Revs to 7000 and sounds fantastic with it.
Also very comfy. I have a 10 month old and theres plenty of room in the boot and the back. Twin Front and Side airbags so safety is fine.
Their electrics arent bad at all, thats just an old wives tale. Honestly great car. Recommend it thoroughly.
Just my tuppence, but really go look at a Mondeo and then go and look at a 156. That might help you make your mind up!
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Car Mechanics had an article a few months back on a second hand Alfa.. Stripped sump plug air con etc.. A good well maintained one? OK. A skimped maintenance one? A money pit...
madf
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would agree with that. But then most cars are like that.....
What Alfa was it out of interest?
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I suppose for £2k I would be looking at Ex Fleet/Lease cars which would have been fully maintained at obvioulsy buying an Alfa it would have to have the FSH.
They are much more appealing to me than the mondeo too.
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Autotrader local under £2k, 60k miles under 5 years old gave these as most expensive:
2000 CITROEN Saxo 1.1 Forte , W reg. 54000 miles, Mango Yellow, MOT till May, FSH, CD player, new clutch, exhaust, cambelt, airbag, no PAS. . . . . . (private)
£1,925
38miles
2001 FIAT Brava 1.2 16V, Y reg. FSH, 8months MOT, 3months tax, EW, EM, ESR, CL, alarm, ABS, alloys, CD, AC, PAS, twin airbags, spoiler,. . . . . . (private)
£1,945
27miles
2001 CITROEN Saxo 1.1 Forte , Y reg. 51000 miles, Metallic blue, sunroof, 4 months tax & MOT, FSH, mint condition, low insurance & tax group, very economical,. . . . . . (private)
£1,950
30miles
2000 W Reg DAEWOO MATIZ SE+ 5 Door, Alloy Wheels HTC UK LTD 5 Doors, Manual, Hatchback, Petrol, 56,000 miles, Blue. Alloy wheels, Central locking, Driver airbag, Electric windows, Immobiliser, Passenger airbag, Power assisted steering, alarm, Genuine Car, Great . . . . (trade)
£1,950
33miles
*multi-photos 2000 W Reg FORD Fiesta 1.3 Finesse SK Motor Company 3 Doors, Manual, Hatchback, Petrol, 30,000 miles, Blue. Computer, Driver airbag, Head restraints, Folding rear seats, Immobiliser, Power assisted steering, Radio/Cassette, . . . . (trade)
£1,973
16miles
*multi-photos 2000 X Reg CITROEN SAXO 1.1i Forte 5dr (1 Lady Owner) Delamere Car Sales Metallic Blue. 5 Speed Gearbox, Driver Air Bag, Radio CD Player, Tilt and Slide Sunroof, Heated Rear Screen, Rear Wash/Wipe. Blue Instrument Dials, Special Edition Interior Trim, ( 1 Lady Owner) 51, 475 . . . . (trade)
£1,990
15miles
*multi-photos 2000 X Reg FIAT Seicento SX Grange Garage 3 Doors, Manual 5 speed, Hatchback, Petrol, 27,507 miles, Black. central doorlocks, colour coded bumpers, colour coded mirrors, drivers air bag, electric front windows, full main dealer service history, . . . . (trade)
£1,990
18miles
*multi-photos 2000 W Reg DAEWOO Lanos 1.4 S Imperial Cars 3 Doors, Manual, Hatchback, Petrol, 50,900 miles, Metallic Green, 1 Owner. Central locking, Driver airbag, Head restraints, Folding rear seats, Immobiliser, Passenger airbag, Power assisted steering, . . . . (trade)
£1,990
39miles
*multi-photos 2000 KIA SHUMA 1.5 S, Harpfields Motor Centre 5 Doors, Manual, Hatchback, Petrol, 51,000 miles, Blue, Manual, Alarm / Immobiliser, Alloys, Central Locking, Driver Airbag, Electric Windows, PAS, Sunroof, Full Service History. Web: . . . . (trade)
£1,995
8miles
2000 W Reg FIAT Punto 1.2 HJL Trading Ltd 3 Doors, Hatchback, 51,665 miles, White. FEATURES INCLUDE, POWER STEERING ( CITY PAS ), CENTRAL LOCKING, DRIVERS AIR BAG, RAD/ CASS, 5 SPEED, BLUE AND CHARCOAL INTERIOR, SOLD WITH 12 MONTHS MOT, 3 MONTHS . . . . (trad
madf
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Come on guys, even a £5k Alfa 156 is a liability, you just never know what expensive part it's going to lunch next, let alone a £2k one which really will be bottom of the pile - 156 depreciation is bad but not bad enough to make 2000 examples readily available for £2k as with the Mondeo.
Mondeo is a dependable, reliable companion thats probably just as entertaining, if not more so, to drive than the Alfa. The 156 is like all Italian cars - wonderfully styled (I need to take everyones word for it with the 156 though becuase I think it looks misproportioned and ugly), so it gets a huge following, but built with less care than your average Rover.
I'd not trust a brand new one let alone a £2k ex fleet one, assuming you can find a fleet manager barking mad enough to have had them in the first place.
I mean just LOOK at some of the dross in that list of cars off Autotrader. White Fiat Punto's, Fiat Bravo's, tiny little 1.1 litre Saxo's, a few Deawoo's and a Kia.
Or you could just buy a damn good Mk2 Mondeo which will have all the toys, decent performance, and can be depended on not to let you down and in the rare event of it needing any attention, it's cheap and easy to get it sorted.
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you obviously know what you're talking about.....
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But it's a Mondeo and that for some people is about as appealing as watching your laundry go round in the washing machine.
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"Dross"
"But it's a mondeo..."
He's only got £2k to buy the car, and what he will NOT want is a £2k repair bill..
For £2k you want a simple and cheap to run car in good condition. NOT a moneypit where the first bill is £1k...
So that rules out anything but volume produced well built reliable cars...
Of course he could buy an old Merc or Jag or even an old Audi 80 - but ...he said under 5 years old as well.. so that rules out that avenue...
Nothing wrong with a well maintained Saxo..45mpg from a 1.1 and easy to maintain...even I can do it:-)
madf
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"Dross" "But it's a mondeo..." He's only got £2k to buy the car, and what he will NOT want is a £2k repair bill..
Which is why he should buy a Mondeo. They are so cheap to run even I can run a top of the range 2 litre model and I'm a full time Uni student with a part time job. As per HonestJohns experiences in the Car by Car Breakdown, it just... works. And is damn good in the process.
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But it's a Mondeo and that for some people is about as appealing as watching your laundry go round in the washing machine.
He has £2000 to spend on a car. Whilst he might want something exotic, modern and interesting, he does not have the money.
If a car is both super fantasticly interetsing and exciting, and not a money pit, and under 5 years old, it won't cost £2k. It will cost lots more than £2k.
Lets think of all the really exciting, nice, reliable cars that are less than 5 years old. Stuff like the BMW 330i perhaps, oh wait thats 10 grand. Lexus? Oh yes, 10 grand. What about a low mileage 2000 plate Ford Focus? Ooops, thats 4 grand. See where I'm going here?
For it to cost only £2k, there needs to be something wrong with it. In the Mondeos case, the thing wrong with it is image. Bad image, low residuals, great car for virtually no money. This is the best type of car to buy - a car thats cheap becuase nobody wants it, but nobody wants it for a superfluous reason not for reliability reasons..
You can't be THAT picky when you've only got 2 grand to spend and you only want a 5 year old car. You can't have everything for nothing!
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Come on guys, even a £5k Alfa 156 is a liability, you just never know what expensive part it's going to lunch next, let alone a £2k one which really will be bottom of the pile - 156 depreciation is bad but not bad enough to make 2000 examples readily available for £2k as with the Mondeo.
There's nothing like taking your pre-conceived ideas - formed in 1975 - and believing them regardless of facts or proof.
A well maintained Alfa will be as reliable as any other car. A badly maintained car may not be, but then that's true of pretty much any car.
I had a 145 for 3 and a half years, taking it from 70k to over 100k and had one very cheap and easily fixed breakdown in that time.
And I still had a soul left at the end of it, unlike if I'd owned a mondeo instead ;)
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Well said Bazza!
My 156 cost £2600 and nothing, i repeat nothing, has gone wrong with it!
And it was ex lease company too.
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None of these fit his requirements. He says:
"Need a family 4 door saloon...."
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The Mondeo is also available as a saloon.
Not many, granted, but available....:-)
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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I was refering to madf's list from Autotrader.
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PS
It was also "pref".
Might be worth keeping an eye on websites such as:
www.hplmotors.co.uk/home.asp
tinyurl.com/azd8c (plenty at good prices)
Google must regard it as a hairdresser's car - it keeps asking if I want to look for Ford Mondeo salons...:-)
Also see:
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/?f=2&t=36774
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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I second the 2.0 Primera suggestion.
As an alternative, yes the Mondeo makes a lot of sense too.
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Mondeo or Primera not much else comes close for under 5years and 2k and for my money it would be the Primera,they really can be bought for 'nothing'.
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I'll plump for the Primera too. If my Almera's anything to go by, it won't be that exciting, but it should be reliable.
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I'll plump for the Primera too. If my Almera's anything to go by, it won't be that exciting, but it should be reliable.
A 2.0i Primera can be a very 'sporting' drive, with quite a sophisticated suspension. The engine is a cracker, particularly in 150BHP form.
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Primera does it for me too they do seen to age better than Fords AS a family we've had 2 totaly reliable even the 1.6 si is a good drive
Also no cam belts
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Ditto Primera. Excellent cars. On my second now. I refuse to spend more than £2k on a car and Primmys fit the bill just fine.
The P11-144 (99 - 2001) is a good option. 1.8 a bit sluggish at times but seems to be the most common. However I'd try and get a 2.0 as it has the 138bhp engine (alas the old 2.0 150bhp engine was not fitted to the P11-144s).
You'll get 40mpg on a run as well (assuming you don't go above 80). And no cambelt as been pointed out.
I have a 1.8S and am more than happy with it.
I'd personally steer clear of Alfas. My mate has an 02 156 and he has had a few problems like split cooling hose, suspension parts wearing out @ 36k and usual electrical fun. air con gave up on it a while ago. They do look good, but you won't think that as you admire it on the hard shoulder.
A Thousand minicab drivers can't be wrong. Go for the Datsun. (Just make sure it hasn't been minicabbed into oblivion).
Just my 2p's worth.
Regards,
Stu
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Can of Worms ?!
Not sure why I added the upto 5 years bit in - Must be because I have seen W and X Reg Mondeo's for the price and thought this would be an ideal age.
My Pug is currently 11 years old this month so I don't have a problem with old cars.
Also granted I don't wanna spend £££ on repairs like I have done with the 306 due to it's age but would go upto £2500 for the right car - Can't really afford the Alfa gamble and at least the Mondeo's nicer than the Vectra.
I have been looking at the dull Jap cars such as the Avensis and Galant.
What is the newest Primera with the 2.0LT 150bhp engine ??
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Why on earth are you changing your pug? Save yourself 2,500 + fully comp insurance. You'll have to do a dickens of a lot of miles around town before the reduced petrol consumption puts you in profit.
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A 2.0i Primera can be a very 'sporting' drive, with quite a sophisticated suspension. The engine is a cracker, particularly in 150BHP form.
Dunno about handling, but the ride of the 1990s Primera is very harsh by my standards. That may be what you like, but suggest you test before you buy, and maybe get partner and kids (if any) to take a ride too and see how they like it.
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The 306 is Very High Insurance - even being oldish and having Full NCD it's still best part of £500 Fully Comp.
Consumption - To work and back I get around 22mpg
Plus being 3 door it's a real pain leaning over to get the baby seat in and out all the time.
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The 306 is actually a very cheap to insure car, IMHO it's one of the few things it's actually got going for it - the 1.9TD and 1.6 are both Group 5 insurance, none of the larger cars are as cheap to insure.
You could consider a Citroen Xsara if you've been pleased with your 306 - mechanically they are the same, but becuase the Xsara looks less sporty it doesn't sell, and thus, is a lot cheaper. This is despite a more modern interior and more kit. A 2000 Xsara is acheivable for £2k.
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The 306 is actually a very cheap to insure car,
Not when he's running a GTI-6 it's not!
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I must be missing something here but how has he got one of those when his 306 is a 94 - the most potent thing it can be is an S16 as afaik the GTi-6 was only introduced very late in the Phase 1's life, certainly not on an M plate, which a car that was 11 this month would be.
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Alfa 156 - there are a few just starting to creep under £2k.
Yes Alfa 156 might do for Ian, he didn't actually specify that it had to be reliable did he? ;-)
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Ian
Re the Alfa 156
If you don't believe the various mickey takers on here - me included - have a look at Honest John's car by car breakdown and see where the Alfa-Romeo make and the 156 model finished in the various reliability indices.
At the bottom or very near the bottom in almost every case..
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Easy ... 2000 Mazda 626 GXi. Reliable quiet well eqipped family car. Not the most exciting but for £2000 you won't do better!
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Easy ... 2000 Mazda 626 GXi. Reliable quiet well eqipped family car. Not the most exciting but for £2000 you won't do better!
Yes you can - the Mondeo is as reliable, as well equipped and has the added advantage that it's reasonably decent to drive.
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