Best 'family' car on a £1k budget????

Dontknowanymore

Hi
My Mum is buying me a car in Feb and has given me a budget of £1k.
I say family car, it's only me and my 2 boys (aged 5.5 and 9 months) but I dont want a small car, I've got a Ford Escort at the moment so somthing of a similar size or a bit bigger would do me.
Also cant have an engine size of more than 1.6.
Does anyone have any reccomendations please?
I have no idea where to start, most of my cars have been bought because I've needed one urgently for my old job so I never had much of a choice, it was a case of get the first one that came up in my price range but I've made alot of bad choices!

dannymccann

Same class as Escort:
Astra
Focus
306
Xsara
Megane / Scenic

Next Size up
Mondeo
Vectra
406
Laguna
Primera

Ones in Bold would be my choice for bext bang for buck

waynedance

I just got my misses mate a Diesel Y reg Vectra for £500 it has done 160k but runs sweet. It was a taxi and the taxi's around here get checked every 6 months and have to meet more than MOT requirements.

1st choice Mondeo mk2 or Vectra..I work at a garage and can say the Mondeo's have the least problems and if they do are cheap to fix.

Dontknowanymore

Thanks for that.
I always wanted a Focus, but want to broaden my horizons a bit.
I quite like the Renault Scenic, but apparently they are not very reliable.
I also like the Astra's but not so keen on the Vectra, but they look like better value for money.

spankymonkey_2

mondeos are not cheap to fix, well as long as you do not get a diesel! steer clear of tdci engines..injectors are prone to packing up costing a grand a time to replace........

tigga_1961

if you want reliable steer clear of renaults they notorious for cylinder heads going, with quite low mileage too, last yr i bought for £200 a rover 600, was desperate ans was meant to last a couple of month till cud by better 9 month later its still going strong, now got 194k on the clock runs sweet as a nut, its got a honda engine, mine is quite juicy 2l, but if u cud get something like a honda accord with quite low mileage, they small family sized and reliable, or nissan primeras are good too imho, good luck in your search.:D

Inactive

Mazda 323. or possibly 626

Honda Civic. ( 5 door ).

Nissan Almera or Primera.

Avoid anything British or French, especially at that price band.


Condition is very important when buying in this price range.

oldtoolie

If budget is the key factor, you want the best car you can find -- make and model is unimportant. Boring unfashionable saloons are often the best priced.

If I was doing this, I would reserve about £250 for unexpected repairs, tyres, etc. Check to see if the car needs cambelt replacement and factor in the cost.

Where to look? At this price I would buy privately. I would assess the seller as much as the car. You want someone who is selling their own car because they bought another one. They can tell you about the car, why they are selling and show you the records. If you get a bad feeling walk away.

You need to know cars or have a friend with you who does. Drive it, look at it inside and out. Go through the check lists. If you get a bad feeling walk away.

Look locally, don't waste your time traveling more than 10 or 15 miles. Ask friends and relatives. Look at newsagent windows adverts, local free ad sheets and sites like GumTree. That way you aren't paying the sellers marketing costs. Autotrader can be useful if you restrict the distance.

I have sold two of my own cars in the past five years at this price range. I know the people who bought the cars got a good working machine with a few miles and a few dents. I got more than I would have with a trade-in so we were all happy.

rev_henry

dannymccann wrote: »

Same class as Escort:
Astra
Focus
306
Xsara
Megane / Scenic

Next Size up
Mondeo
Vectra
406
Laguna
Primera

Ones in Bold would be my choice for bext bang for buck

I'd second all those, but probably best not getting anything French as has been said. Is the 1.6 limit for insurance OP?
I'd also suggest a Hyundai Accent 1.3, which is almost identical in size and shape to an escort, if not a little bigger, but is probably immeasurably better quality and nicer to drive than an escort. I bought mine last month for £800, although that was a bit overpriced.
Are you sure that kinda size is big enough though? I'd have thought mondeo/vectra size would be a bit more practical, although maybe thats pushing the insurance a bit.

Homersimpson

Justbe wary buying in that price band and as mentioned above check out the seller as much as the car. If they have only had it a couple of months chances are its a dealer disguising themselves as a trader.

Most people dont think what a great car I really must get rid of it!

Dontknowanymore

oldtoolie wrote: »

If budget is the key factor, you want the best car you can find -- make and model is unimportant. Boring unfashionable saloons are often the best priced.

If I was doing this, I would reserve about £250 for unexpected repairs, tyres, etc. Check to see if the car needs cambelt replacement and factor in the cost.

Where to look? At this price I would buy privately. I would assess the seller as much as the car. You want someone who is selling their own car because they bought another one. They can tell you about the car, why they are selling and show you the records. If you get a bad feeling walk away.

You need to know cars or have a friend with you who does. Drive it, look at it inside and out. Go through the check lists. If you get a bad feeling walk away.

Look locally, don't waste your time traveling more than 10 or 15 miles. Ask friends and relatives. Look at newsagent windows adverts, local free ad sheets and sites like GumTree. That way you aren't paying the sellers marketing costs. Autotrader can be useful if you restrict the distance.

I have sold two of my own cars in the past five years at this price range. I know the people who bought the cars got a good working machine with a few miles and a few dents. I got more than I would have with a trade-in so we were all happy.

Thanks for that, some great info!
Mum has a mechanic and he said he'll help her find a car so she's gonna ask if he'll help me too, but I want to get a shortlist of what I want anyway.