What Car For £4-5K?

rizel23

I'm totally stuck with inspiration on what to save for. My current car is a Peugeot 306 D Turbo, has new clutch second hand gear box and new front brakes done last month for £400 so is mechanically sound but has few electrical problems and want to change it in next 3-4 months. Its an OK car, bit small for me being 6"2 and getting on a bit now as a 1998 but handles really well.

I'm male 27, 4 years no claims in July with 3 points from a TS10 in Jan 2007.

I drive 8k miles a year, like the torque of turbo diesels (but will look at any decent MPG petrols) but economy and fun to drive are tops in my 'common sense mind'.

Cars i have narrowed down to these so far:

Ford Mondeo 2.0 TDCI 130 Zetec S 03 onwards - Problems with DMF putting me off as are horror stories of injectors needing changing at cost of 1K!

MG ZT+ CDTi - Always liked look of these, had a Rover 25 and it was OK till head gasket went but hear these have BMW engines and are the best of the MG bunch.

I'm also torn towards spending less on a new (to me car) and looking at something Jap and quick, i know more insurance and less MPG but with my low mileage would be lot of fun on B Roads! Such as Honda Prelude or Honda Accord Type R :T But my common sense tells me no! lol

thanks all!

Hammyman

Get the Mondeo. I have a 04 plate 2L TDCi 130. Its going in for its 137500 mile service next week. Apart form an alternator bearing, its been trouble free. Rear subframe bushes are something to look out for on these and cost about £200 to replace with aftermarket polybush ones that'll outlive the car and its indicated by a knocking from the rear. Parts are as cheap as chips. The alternator I mentioned was £120 for a brand new one from my Ford dealership.

DMF is overhyped. It's not as bad as people reckon.

Quick? Mine kept up with a BMW 328i on 40-70 acceleration which kind of upset him and it'll out accelerate my wife's V6 200BHP Mitsubishi FTO on midrange acceleration which is what you're going to be doing the most. As for handling, there's a wicked set of S bends near me and the Audi R8 driver following me didn't have the confidence to go through them at the speed I did

rizel23

thanks, the Mondeo makes sense the more i look at it even if i budget for worst, girlfriends brother is a mechanic at non dealer ford specialist so labour charge should be average.

I like look of Zetec S i hear 03 onwards is best to look for as there were lot of changes to years before, did the Mondeo have facelift before the Mk changed in 2007?

Hintza

Go and have some fun. You should be able to pick a nice Crossfire in budget....;)

Coveredinbees!!!!

Save a bit more and your in porsche boxster territory.

rizel23

Oooo, i'd love both of those but insurance and tax would be so high for me at the moment! They want near enough £600 for the Ford or Mg from quick quotes on net!

Strider590

rizel23 wrote: »

Ford Mondeo 2.0 TDCI 130 Zetec S 03 onwards - Problems with DMF putting me off as are horror stories of injectors needing changing at cost of 1K!

MG ZT+ CDTi - Always liked look of these, had a Rover 25 and it was OK till head gasket went but hear these have BMW engines and are the best of the MG bunch.

Have a look at Vauxhall Vectra C's (2002-2009), you get a hell of a lot of car for your money. Even the bottom range cars come with aircon, electric windows and whole host of electronic trickery.
The boot, is like a f*cking tardis....

I got my 04 plate in Nov 2008 for just £3000 and it's a great car, at the time a small car of the same age (Yaris for example) would have cost £7000.

I had a 2000 plate 306 XSI 2.0L before my current car and the Vectra has fitted in quite nicely.

Avoid the 2.0 and 2.2 diesels (discontinued due to problems), the 1.9CDTI and the V6 diesel are best and check for DMF noise on the test drive. Petrol engine wise, the 1.8 is the most reliable.

Budget in a full spring/shock change though (£400ish) because due to pre production cost cuts, the original VX springs/shocks are rubbish. You'll think your driving a prestige German motor once it's sitting on some new springs and a set of Bilstein B4's (still oem spec).

rizel23

just got an insurance quote for the 2.5 V6 and its £500, whats going on there! lol 5 groups higher!

rizel23

thanks yes i will look at the Vectra, the guy who did my 306 said he went in the CDTi 150 which had been remapped with VXR suspension and was blown away on how it performed!

Hammyman

i don't think you'll go wrong with either the Mondeo or the Vectra although Vauxhalls are reknown for not having the best handling HOWEVER many police forces use them for traffic cars so I don't know. The boot is bigger on the Vectra. You can remap the Mondeo TDCi130 and have it outperform the ST TDCi. The LX and Ghia versions of the Mondeo have the softer suspension although I've been happy with mine. The Zetec has slightly stiffer but not bone rattling. One thing the higher spec Mondeos have is heated windscreen which is one of those things you can't do without once you've had it.

Strider590

Hammyman wrote: »

i don't think you'll go wrong with either the Mondeo or the Vectra although Vauxhalls are reknown for not having the best handling HOWEVER many police forces use them for traffic cars so I don't know.

That's why I mentioned changing the suspension, what happens is the springs start to crumble after just 30-40k miles and the standard shocks can't handle the cars weight, so after a few years the damn thing bounces all over the road.

A set of good lifetime warranty springs (£150) and some Bilstein B4's, which should also last a lifetime (£170) makes a world of difference, totally transforms the Vectra.

The Ford Mundano might be an easier option, but the Vectra is sooo much more car for the money and generally much better built.


The Police drive around in modified 2.8 turbo V6 Vectra GSI's, with VXR underpinning's and bog standard SRI body kits/wheels