Dear All,
Apologies for what is probably a much repeated subject but please contribute if you can....
I am looking for suggestions or recomendations for a small 4 or 5 door car (fiesta size) to use as a second family car and for short but frequent commute (25 mile roundtrip per day).
Don't need thrills just reliability and economy. I'm thinking diesel but some would argue that at current fuel prices this can be a false economy on smaller cars.
budget is about £2k
At the mo considering Corsa, Fiesta or polo but at this budget I can't find much that is less than 6yrs old and about 80k miles. Most Polos in this price bracket are 8 to 10 yrs old.
Any suggestions ?
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Ignore diesels in this price range, they will be ropey and old technology. Definitely wouldn't want a nasty Corsa, Fiesta a bit better. I would find an Almera, about as much fun as an episode of The Waltons but at least it should be reliable and at this end of ther market you can't be too choosey.
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There has been quite a few problems on the Almera with stretched timing chains for a couple of years somewhere around the year 2000, (engine light comes on --- expensive to repair) so you may want to check that out and make sure you avoid those bad years.
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Any suggestions ?
yup
1/ For £2k Your choice list is far too thin, dont tie yourself down to three cars.
2/ Click on the autotrader link to the left
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
and leave make and model blank, £2000 in min price, £2000 in max price, type in your postcode and bingo, widen the search area if required.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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Frankly you are better off spending £999 and banking the other £1k. A £2k car is just as likely to need major surgery as a £1k, the difference being that you can afford to chuck a £1k, but you have to pump money in to a £2k car, to protect your capital.
Get an unloved make - say a Nissan, and be amazed at what you get for £999 - smaller cars are way overpriced as they go to the youngsters, so get a Primer 1.6 perhaps. No 19 y/o would be seen dead in one.
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TVM's suggestion is good, but I wouldn't enter £2,000 as both the minimum AND maximum as you'll only list cars that are priced at exactly £2,000 by the seller. You'll get more results if you set it to include all the £1995's etc, so use £1,000 to £3,000 and step through the pages to the price range you prefer.
Personally, I also agree that a £1,000 car is no different from a £2,000 in terms of reliability. In this price range, I'd scan anything from £500 to £1,500 within 40 miles of home (maybe more if you live outside of a major conurbation). Keep and open mind and enjoy "bangernomics".
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Don't forget eBay, just be sure to view the car first. You can sort the listings by distance from your postcode. I like like buying through eBay as it removes the pressure on you to make a decision there and then. Just be sure what the car is worth to you and bid at the last minute with your maximum.
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I'd second the Almera, i have one, a R reg that we bought in 1999. Done 70k, a couple of dents, battery packed up and um that's it in all that time.
And i can get 40 mpg on a run, 35mpg day to day Bath to Bristol. And it goes well too.
Look for a 1.4 with the whited out rear indicators i think S reg onwards, most of them have aircon. Mine doesn't but i still survived the summer. Should be able to get one for between £1000 - £1500. In fact here's a S reg one with alloys and aircon for a grand (third one down)
tinyurl.com/tm2g3
Goodnight John Boy...
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