Off Topic - What Car

JesseD

Ok my car is being written off after some white-van-man drove into the back of me and I reckon I am going to get circa £2k for it, so what should I get?

I would love to spend on another bike but I reckon the OH would suss pretty quickly when I am giving her a pillion to work in the morning on a svelte carbon number so it actually has to be a motor.

Would like something under 10 years old with a big boot (poss estate) and must have aircon and also have under 80k on the clock.

So what are you recommendations?

DIESELDOG

JesseD wrote:

Ok my car is being written off after some white-van-man drove into the back of me and I reckon I am going to get circa £2k for it, so what should I get?

I would love to spend on another bike but I reckon the OH would suss pretty quickly when I am giving her a pillion to work in the morning on a svelte carbon number so it actually has to be a motor.

Would like something under 10 years old with a big boot (poss estate) and must have aircon and also have under 80k on the clock.

So what are you recommendations?

What's wrong with windows? And sorry, no suggestions so as usual a pretty useless reply from me!

Love n hugs

DD

team47b

DIESELDOG wrote:

JesseD wrote:

Ok my car is being written off after some white-van-man drove into the back of me and I reckon I am going to get circa £2k for it, so what should I get?

I would love to spend on another bike but I reckon the OH would suss pretty quickly when I am giving her a pillion to work in the morning on a svelte carbon number so it actually has to be a motor.

Would like something under 10 years old with a big boot (poss estate) and must have aircon and also have under 80k on the clock.

So what are you recommendations?

What's wrong with windows? And sorry, no suggestions so as usual a pretty useless reply from me!

Love n hugs

DD

Everything. Mac fan.

Nothing practical to add re car.

t.m.h.n.e.t

JesseD wrote:

Ok my car is being written off after some white-van-man drove into the back of me and I reckon I am going to get circa £2k for it, so what should I get?

I would love to spend on another bike but I reckon the OH would suss pretty quickly when I am giving her a pillion to work in the morning on a svelte carbon number so it actually has to be a motor.

Would like something under 10 years old with a big boot (poss estate) and must have aircon and also have under 80k on the clock.

So what are you recommendations?

Renault Scenic
Peugeot 406 estate
Peugeot 206 estate
Ford Fusion
Vauxhall Meriva/Zafira
Toyota Avensis
Renault Laguna
Citroen Xsara
Nissan Primera
May also pick up an old Seat Cordoba estate or a VW/Skoda equivalent (they are all the same company!)

All available sub 2k sub 80,000 under 10yo spacious and I priced diesels

JesseD

worried about French cars as I have had nowt but issues with my Peugeot 307 diesel, but I do like the Laguna estates, shallow I know but I like how they look!

Fingz999

vauxhall signum has to be one of the best forgotten about cars out there plus you can get a load of bikes in the boot

capt_slog

Astra Estate.

It's what I'm looking for at the moment, Ive had 2 in the past and they are great. I have a Vectra Estate at the moment which is good fun but a bugger to work on/have work done (ECU is £300, and £3-400 to put in a clutch :evil: )

When looking at any estate, look for a flat load bay. By that I mean you don't want a lip at the back of the boot which you have to lift things out of to get them out.

rolf_f

T.M.H.N.E.T wrote:

Renault Scenic
Peugeot 406 estate
Peugeot 206 estate
Vauxhall Meriva/Zafira
Renault Laguna
Citroen Xsara
May also pick up an old Seat Cordoba estate or a VW/Skoda equivalent (they are all the same company!)

All available sub 2k sub 80,000 under 10yo spacious and I priced diesels

I don't think the OP was asking "Can you recommend me a car that will give me a whole lot of trouble and expense for the few months I own it before pushing it into the Grand Union Canal!"

Diesels seem best avoided these days too as technology has eradicated their previous reliability advantages.

Yep - if you buy a French car, you kind of deserve what you get. Ultimately, you can't knock most Japanese stuff even if they are all totally without stylistic charm.

t.m.h.n.e.t

Rolf F wrote:

T.M.H.N.E.T wrote:

Renault Scenic
Peugeot 406 estate
Peugeot 206 estate
Vauxhall Meriva/Zafira
Renault Laguna
Citroen Xsara
May also pick up an old Seat Cordoba estate or a VW/Skoda equivalent (they are all the same company!)

All available sub 2k sub 80,000 under 10yo spacious and I priced diesels

I don't think the OP was asking "Can you recommend me a car that will give me a whole lot of trouble and expense for the few months I own it before pushing it into the Grand Union Canal!"

Diesels seem best avoided these days too as technology has eradicated their previous reliability advantages.

Yep - if you buy a French car, you kind of deserve what you get. Ultimately, you can't knock most Japanese stuff even if they are all totally without stylistic charm.

At the end of the day, spending £2k you aren't going to get anything showroom condition in return. 2/3 cars we own are 10+years old,the other is a 2007 Yaris. Guess which has the most garage visits?

JesseD

Signum looks nice but for £2K you get a petrol guzzling 2.2l and thats less cash to spend on shiney carbon bits for the bikes!

T.M.H.N.E.T - Yep I know you take your chances with an older car but it's all I will be able to afford so am looking for the best of a limited bunch.

I know it's not an estate but I have been considering a Mazda 6 1.8ts or a Mazda 323 sport (smaller but you can pick them up cheapish), or a Mazda 3

t.m.h.n.e.t

JesseD wrote:

Signum looks nice but for £2K you get a petrol guzzling 2.2l and thats less cash to spend on shiney carbon bits for the bikes!

T.M.H.N.E.T - Yep I know you take your chances with an older car but it's all I will be able to afford so am looking for the best of a limited bunch.

I know it's not an estate but I have been considering a Mazda 6 1.8ts or a Mazda 323 sport (smaller but you can pick them up cheapish), or a Mazda 3

Didn't think they'd be in price range,although I kinda went by NI pricing as I don't really know beyond Autotrader how mainland pricing is.

The Mazda6 isn't a bad car although I've only drove the big diesel.

JesseD

Found 1 or 2 2005 plates with less than 80k on the closck for under £2k, no estates though!

Fingz999

my mother inlaw has a 2.2 direct signum i have had it many times i can get 35mpg out of it (more on motorways) she tends to get 30 but drives it around town more than i would, depends how you driving it ok 35mpg isnt great my wifes clio does 50-60 but a large car in that age and price range id be pretty happy with that figure.

not had one but mondeos are normally pretty cheap for the car

soslow

mk3 1.8 Mondeo.. watch for rear sub frame wear but a new MOT should confirm o.k

Vectra 1.8 dont think you will get a facelift for 2k but pretty solid motor,droplinks and other suspension bits a bit weak but cheap to repair

Avoid 406 and i would stay away from diesels, pump,injector and dual mass flywheel issues.If they go wrong repair bills can be eye watering.
both the mondeo and vec are o.k and you should be spoilt for choice and be able to find a good un

southdownswolf

If you are not worried about image, then go for Honda, Toyota or Mazda. Don't worry about the age or mileage as they will last twice as long as any European car.

Honda Accord is fantastic car if you can stretch to it.

garrynolan

If you can stretch to £4500 - £5000 I would recommend the Citroen Grand Picasso diesel. I have a 2007 and all good with nearly 75K miles on it. Can get over 60mpg sitting at 55-60mph on the m/way and easily 40mpg around town. If you're a shorty like me (5' 4") you can get the bike in upright!

snoopsmydogg

southdownswolf wrote:

If you are not worried about image, then go for Honda, Toyota or Mazda. Don't worry about the age or mileage as they will last twice as long as any European car.

Honda Accord is fantastic car if you can stretch to it.

+1 for the accord. Hondas are good cars, expensive if they fail but rarely do.

from personal experience and family in the trade I would stay away from renault diesels. Great when they work but so many sensors they can get costly to fault find (a friend recently went through 2 turbos from what eventually turned out to be an injector issue after the diagnostics reader said turbo fault).

mk3 mondeo vs vauxhall - mondeo every time, generally cheap to repair and much better handling than the vectra. I sold my st220 recently (after 5yrs of ownership) and it was one of the few cars I owned that I was sorry to see go.

The main issue for most new cars is the dual mass flywheel giving up around 70-100k miles (DMF). It's basically a clutch but a lot more expensive to replace, since these are fitted to most cars now its worth doing your homework.

JesseD

Sort of settled on either a Mazda6 estate or a hatchback version (with a roof rack for bikes) as they seem to be in my price range with less than 80k on the clock and less than 10 years old.

The estates are a little harder to find but not impossible, in fact there are a couple that I am interested in specifically a 53 reg version with FSH and 59k on the clock, it's a petrol but my miles per week are no more than 100 on average unless we go visiting family around the UK. I have also found a 1 owner 2007 Diesel one with 102k on the clock which is the face lift version but I am concerned about the high mileage.

The hatchbacks are a bit cheaper and to be fair have pretty big boots and I can fit the bikes on a roof rack for the odd occasion I take my bike anywhere in the car. Spec seems pretty good on these as well.

snoopsmydogg - Excuse my igronance but is it just diesels that have dual mass flywheels or do petrol cars have them as well, I have googled them and most modern diesels have them I see to help smooth out the engine vibrations (I think) but I am not sure about petrol cars?

mudcow007

i wouldn't touch a French car with a poo-ey stick

that goes for Seats too

mondeo estate?

unless your doing trillions of miles i would get a petrol more reliable, cheaper to fix if it does go pop

cheaper to buy

check insurance on the mazda they are pricey to fix!!

snoopsmydogg

JesseD wrote:

Sort of settled on either a Mazda6 estate or a hatchback version (with a roof rack for bikes) as they seem to be in my price range with less than 80k on the clock and less than 10 years old.

The estates are a little harder to find but not impossible, in fact there are a couple that I am interested in specifically a 53 reg version with FSH and 59k on the clock, it's a petrol but my miles per week are no more than 100 on average unless we go visiting family around the UK. I have also found a 1 owner 2007 Diesel one with 102k on the clock which is the face lift version but I am concerned about the high mileage.

The hatchbacks are a bit cheaper and to be fair have pretty big boots and I can fit the bikes on a roof rack for the odd occasion I take my bike anywhere in the car. Spec seems pretty good on these as well.

snoopsmydogg - Excuse my igronance but is it just diesels that have dual mass flywheels or do petrol cars have them as well, I have googled them and most modern diesels have them I see to help smooth out the engine vibrations (I think) but I am not sure about petrol cars?

For the mileage your doing its probably worth working out the extra cost of a diesel over petrol, ie buying, running, servicing and the petrol may well come out on top. People seem to fear petrol now but forget that its roughly 10ppl less at the pump and most decent petrol engines can get 35mpg+ anyway.

DMF is there to help smooth the vibrations but unfortunately fitted to pretty much all manual cars now. Some have tried to fit solid conversions (transit flywheel to mondeos etc) with different results as some say it just transfers the vibrations further down the line.

TBH I wouldnt worry too much as it is not guaranteed to happen but like any car it helps to be aware of any possible expensive repairs. If you google for dmf it will help with what to look for but some signs are erratic/lumpy idle and ticking when clutch pressed in. There will be more but i cant remember off the top of my head.

JesseD

Most of the reasonably priced hatchbacks and a couple of the estates I am looking at are petrol 1.8's, my last car was a diesel and yes it did more mpg but factor in higher servicing costs and the price of diesel etc and it made sense to go petrol.

Would you shy away from a Mazda petrol engine with FSH and circa 95k on the clock, I know diesels can do high miles and still be fine but do I have anything to worry about with a petrol engine?

With regards to DMF's, I know they are expensive to repair as I looked into it with my diesel Peugeot after it developed a knocking sound, luckily it turned out to be an engine mount which was a hell of lot cheaper to replace, for a 307 Turbo Diesel they wanted circa £900 to fit a new DMF and clutch (as apparently you should do both when replacing the DMF) I almost fell off my chair!

snoopsmydogg

I wouldnt shy away personally, if a car has been well cared for then it can run for many miles.