£3K to £4K to spend

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Sat 24 Mar 2007 21:44
£3K to £4K to spend - McP
I am looking for a replacement for my 130K 97 1.6 Si Primera.
I have had it for for nearly 4 years and have done 65K miles with under £500 of bills, other than changing oil, filters and plugs myself. It does around 40 mpg on mixed driving.
It is getting a bit tired but hopefully will get through the upcoming MOT without too many problems.

I have been considering a 1.8/2.0 P11-144 Primera or Honda Accord.
To be honest, I don't need such a big car and have also been considering the Almera/Focus/Astra.

I cover around 17K private miles a year. Perhaps I should also be looking at a diesel or lpg?
Getting to work involves 20 mins traffic free urban, 20 mins motorway queueing and 30 mins traffic free motorway, so the car needs to be comfortable and reasonably quiet at motorway speeds.

At the moment I have ruled out anything French, Italian or VAG but am completely open to advice/opinions.
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Sat 24 Mar 2007 21:55
£3K to £4K to spend - Big Bad Dave
"At the moment I have ruled out anything French, Italian or VAG but am completely open to advice/opinions."

Nothing contrary about that sentence.

I'm completely spontaneous and like to plan ahead.
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Sat 24 Mar 2007 23:09
£3K to £4K to spend - McP
Ooh got me there! And made me laugh.
Although the 'At the moment' could suggest that the ruling out is not final.

The experiences of colleagues with Peugeot and Fiat do not fill me with confidence though.
How the Fiat Punto owner laughed, after a head gasket failure at 34K (HJ advises common at around 35K) when I showed him this site.

I am currently not considering anything French, Italian or VAG but am completely open to advice/opinions.
Is that better?
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Sat 24 Mar 2007 23:44
£3K to £4K to spend - Avant
If you've liked your Primera you may be happy with an Almera - a colleague had a 1.8 until recently and said it was quite a bit livelier than the 1.6. Also try a Honda Civic 1.6 - comfortable, good to drive with the very pleasant dash-mounted gearlever, and with a good feeling of space.
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Sun 25 Mar 2007 15:59
£3K to £4K to spend - NowWheels
Just echoing Avant's suggestion of an Almera: I've had a 1.8 automatic for a year, and am very pleased.

It's no style icon, but it's reliable and very comfortable apart from an unnecessarily harsh ride around town; performance is good, though it does have to be revved hard to really hop, and that trashes the mpg figures. Handling may not be as good as a Focus, but it's sharp and predictable; a bit lacking in feedback, though, so I never feel that I have a clear idea of where the car's limits are, as I used to have with Peugeots.

Personally, I'd have much preferred a Honda Civic 1.6, but they are much more expensive. For your money, you'll get a much newer Almera than a Civic. I'd suggest trying both and see whether you find the Civic enough of an improvement to justify the money. If you are carrying large rear passengers, the Civic's huge rear legroom coukd be a deciding factor.
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If you cover no more than 100 miles per day and have easy access to a charging point at home or work, then an EV is ideal for you.

Is an electric car right for me?