Car buying

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DPTC

Joined
Tuesday December 31, 2013
I'm sure this will receive a lot of input, so here goes...

I'm starting the lookout for a car again after 5 years without one, had to scrap my old Fiesta in 2009 cos it was falling apart and costing too much to run, I also had no solid income either.

I'm trying to save up to a couple of grand and am pretty much halfway there. I would like something reliable (key factor) and pretty cheap to run. German and Japanese cars apparently are the most reliable, any models I should be looking at? Golf or Polo perhaps?

Also should I go for diesel? And what litre engines hack motorway driving the best? As I will be driving on dual carriageways quite often.
 
Engine size I would go for a 1.4 minium. Diesel is probably best for long distance driving. For 3/4 k and just going with reliability I would look at a Golf/Hyundai/Honda.
 
Jeez, scraping a 2009? In my book that's barely run in, I guess you don't want another Ford then.

A dual carriageway isn't a motorway, what sort of mileage will you be doing as the justification for diesel isn't as clear as it used to be.
 
Ok I will expect to be driving about 30 miles both ways regularly on the motorway. 1.4 minimum sounds about right, though if I can stretch to a 1.6 it'd be better.

antdad said:
Jeez, scraping a 2009? In my book that's barely run in, I guess you don't want another Ford then.

A dual carriageway isn't a motorway, what sort of mileage will you be doing as the justification for diesel isn't as clear as it used to be.
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I meant I scrapped the car IN 2009!! It was a 1994 Fiesta so pretty old engine! And I meant motorway yes as in M25, M3, M1, etc etc etc.
 
DPTC said:
I'm sure this will receive a lot of input, so here goes...

I'm starting the lookout for a car again after 5 years without one, had to scrap my old Fiesta in 2009 cos it was falling apart and costing too much to run, I also had no solid income either.

I'm trying to save up to a couple of grand and am pretty much halfway there. I would like something reliable (key factor) and pretty cheap to run. German and Japanese cars apparently are the most reliable, any models I should be looking at? Golf or Polo perhaps?

Also should I go for diesel? And what litre engines hack motorway driving the best? As I will be driving on dual carriageways quite often.
Click to expand...

You will probably get as many different opinions as posts mate!

Me, I'd stick with the old fiesta. I drive in London and had a "flash" car nicked a few years back so bought a cheapo (£350) 1.3 fiesta to see me through until the insurance paid out. 4 years later I'm on my 3rd. Ive spent under a grand in that time, first one knackered ...my fault, second one lasted 2 years before the cost to get it through the MOT was more than it was worth (sold the engine to a mate and the body for scrap so actually broke even) the third was the most expensive at £550 and I expect a few years out of it.

Loads about so you have your pick of the best when buying, cheap to insure, parts are cheap and readily available and every back street garage knows how to work on one. The grand you have saved up should get you a pretty decent car with a decades worth of driving left in it if kept serviced.

1.25 with the zetec engine will happily do a dual carriage way, you wont be burning off any M5s but once you hit city traffic the car comes into its own.

Oh yeah, forgot the most important bit, they are an absolute smile a mile to drive.
 
I ain't ruling out a Fiesta at all, they are very nice cars to drive I will agree with you on that, I just had bad luck with my old one that's all! And people keeping going on about German cars being the most reliable.

I ain't looking for anything flashy to show off, just something reliable and won't cost a bomb to maintain. Also for transporting equipment is important so storage space is a factor.
 
Oh I see, LOL.

I agree with Nishy if you can save more dough, 1 - 2k you're bottom feeding really unless you know what you are doing. That saying you should be able to find an okay Honda Jazz 1.4 or a VW polo for your budget, good Golf's are hard to find for that money. If you want something larger Focus mk1 and 2's are plentiful and cheap.
 
Hmm Polo's don't seem to have a lot of storage space, and Golf's will struggle. What about estates? Like a Honda Accord or something?

And what's the furthest back I should be looking for in year? 2001?
 
Yeah like mentioned above, if you're going to go for a fiesta pre 2002 when it changed shape most dramatically, go for the 1.25 zetec engine. I have the 1.3 engine which although is only small, is crap on fuel for what it is. The 1.25 is a great engine, and I'm even considering swapping the engine for a 1.25 one which I've seen on eBay for 100-200 pound. Obviously you wouldn't want the hassle so try and get the 1.25.

The polos and golfs are nice cars, but considering you won't have any no claims bonus, they'll be dearer to insure. Also the golfs start a quite a big engine size. The boot space in the fiesta is pretty damn good in my opinion.

The step up, 2002-2005 fiesta, before they had a facelift and got slightly different lights (2005-2008) are good cars too. Great boot space but you'll be looking at considerably more to buy in the first place. SWMBO has one, 1.4 and will get 300-340 miles from a 55 pound fill up, which consists mainly of sitting in traffic for 30 minutes crawling and 10-20 minutes of dual carriageway driving every day. I personally don't think that that's amazing, but my last car before this one was a 1.1l which was bloody great on petrol.

Both fiestas, mine being 2001 and hers being 2005 are a dream to drive. Smooth and just lovely, very quiet.
 
We have two year old Toyota Yaris found it to be economical and reliable. We get 46 to the gallon that's a mix of a&b roads with 30-40 mph limits. Road tax is £90 a year and insurance is good with two named drivers with full no claims. The Yaris goes well enough. That said it is off soon, trading up for a new Audi A3.

They are small but don't go for a Ford Kaa. My friend owns a Ford dealership and he's not got a good thing to say about them. Perhaps a little too small for you anyway. He does rate the new 1 ltr engine, I'll reserve judgment on that until the ones out there have done a few miles.
 
Mondeo tdci. Super boring. Super cheap. Super reliable. Super useful. Super boring.

I bought one when my first kid was born (2010) apparently my 186 bhp 205 Gti was not an appropriate family car... The mondeo is a great car, but not much fun. That was the only reason I sold mine. (Sold the 205 to a spanish rally driver in his mid 60's)
 
+1 for Ford.

We have a Ford as well for local pottering and school run, it's a Ford Fusion petrol which is basically bigger heavier Fiesta with tons of space like a little estate, I think they started making them in 2002 so there will be plenty in your budget.

In 4 years of ownership (bought with 59k on the odometer) it's never needed anything other than the usual consumables like tyres and brakes. It's a German built Ford and very well put together.

My personal transport is an ancient VW Passat diesel with over 270k which also proved extremely reliable and economical in 12 years of ownership.

I never bought a car for more than £3000 so can't vouch for anything newer than a 2003 model.
 
I don't care how boring the car is lol, to be honest the more 'boring and dull' it looks the less attention it'll attract, my area is known for scumbags.

Some of the Golf's I've looked at are quite 'flashy' with silver paint screaming "steal me!"
 
Cant go wrong with mondeo/focus then. Great cars, and a vw at your budget is going to be a bit rough. The other great thing about fords is the parts are cheap and anywhere can fix em.
 
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