Best car can buy for under £2000?

cpdc1030

Burlesque_Babe wrote: »

I'm a Honda fan, OH is a BMW fan. I don't think you can go much wrong with either. I drive a 1997 Civic Coupe, he drives a 1995 318tdi, both are strong, reliable cars.

I have a 97 Civic Coupe also - it is a different model than the regular hatchbacks that we normally see here (mine is actually built in the good old USA, though it is a proper UK model). Picked it up last Sept for about £1100 all in with 85k miles and in superb condition, and just flew through its MOT with no problems. Only complaint is that one of the electric windows has gone off the tracks but I'm going to try and fix it myself.

Def would recommend the car. Wonderful having both air conditioning and a sunroof now that the weather is getting a bit nicer. Don't be scared off by the age - a 11 year old Honda seems to be in about the same shape as a 3 year old Peugeot. As this model was built for the Canada/USA market (with tough winters), the paint seems to be much better than other models and still looks very nice.

the_devil_made_me_do_it

What are they like on tax & insurance?

cpdc1030

the_devil_made_me_do_it wrote: »

What are they like on tax & insurance?

Insurance is group 10 which is reasonable for a coupe, and for tax it is in the higher band (£185/yr). The Civic hatchback will be in lower bands but is usually more expensive to buy.

JDMYOFAN

It all depends on the cars history and how well it has been looked after!

Jap cars are nice and reliable, along with the older German cars (MK2 golf, BMW etc).

Shoshannah

Aren't the Jap cars quite expensive for parts? Ford parts are still some of the cheapest, if you can stomach a Ford.

(Before anyone gets upset I would like to say that I have been a devoted Ford owner for my entire driving life and think they are fantastic). :rotfl:

Mine cost me £250 four years ago. I have spent a bit of money on it over the years, but all of it wear-and-tear. Brakes needed doing, new battery etc. Nothing I wouldn't expect of a 17 year old car.

People that make the sweeping assumption that older cars are all unreliable are not looking at it sensibly. They are machines and once they reach 10, 12, 15 or 20 years old they WILL have the odd part fail. Fact. There are some absolute sheds out there but they probably haven't been looked after properly. They do need regular oil checks and TLC here and there. Some people can't be bothered to do it (they may have gotten away with it with a newer car), neglect their old car then moan because it breaks down or performs badly.

Mine was 17 this year, was looking and running so good for her age that she was stolen at the weekend. I am pretty devastated. She even had 190,000 on the clock and still started every single time.

(Unfortunately it started when hotwired too).

catpaws99

I paid £500 for a 1994 Ford Escort, with 1 year MOT and 3 month tax. 43,000 miles on clock (and I have all the old MOT's so pretty sure this is right) this was 6 months ago and is a brill car. At MOT time will scrap if costs more than couple hundred for repairs. So far haven't spent a penny on it.
If i was you I would stick with what you have - if it goes why change it?

rattla

When you start talking about cheaper cars, it is FAR more to do with what a particular car is like rather than just stating a make/model.

Also you need to be a bit lucky (helps if you know your basic mechanics!).

Decide what are the important issues (fuel economy, preformance, size/type, features/extras), then see what is around in that category and try to find a well ooked after one!