Does this car exist ? cheap run around

alanco15

Hi all,

just after some advice , i need to get a cheap run around as i am going to commute approx 280 miles per week,
I have a budget of £1500 - £2000, looking for the best fuel economy / cheap tax band
I have seen the vauxhall corsa with a small diesel engine 1.3 cdti which reports to get approx 64mpg and also tax band c ( £30 per year ). but it was £2400 slightly over budget.

So I am after some more suggestions of cars to look out for , any of you got a good little run around.

thanks all, look forward to your suggestions

TiTheRev

A virtually bombproof cheap runaround (depending on how proud you are about looks!) would be something like this?

alanco15

thanks , food for thought, havn't really thought about vw's. its definatley cheap

Any more ?

TiTheRev

German or Jap are the best bets, but I dont know what you like/want from a car.

Another one from Autotrader?

MX5huggy

TiTheRev wrote: »

A virtually bombproof cheap runaround (depending on how proud you are about looks!) would be something like this?

Do you think they have missed a 0 off the mileage? less than 2000 miles a year!

C_Mababejive

I would also recommend a Mk3 Golf.

For the record,mine is almost 20 years old,is closing on 100,000 miles,is simple to maintain,still runs like a swiss watch and it has cost me very little to maintain.

In 20 years it is on its second battery,has had a couple of new rear silencers,some new brake pads and tyres. Apart from that,all the bits are original.

I just smile when i drive it and often pass newer cars broken down at the side of the road.

Lirin

I've had some terrible cars, and some brilliant ones- I've never paid more that 2k for a car. Coupe came with 26,000 miles, and is 40-45MPG.... Just can take a bit of searching around a bit. I usually go for older cars, as they're easier to work on (less electrics) and parts are cheap enough.
The coupe is a Proton, as is my V6, which cost £600 (78,000 miles), very low insurance on them, and very efficient. The best by far was an Escort which i picked up for around £800, and she ran like a dream for 6 years- then everything went at once.

jase1

Larger, old-school diesel engines car might be your best bet, but at 15,000 miles/year it might not be the best idea to go for something that's old and a bit scabby.

I have always favoured Korean cars at the low end (and £1500-2000 is the ideal figure for this kind of thing). Where with a VW or a Honda, great cars though they are, you'd be talking about a 2001-2 car that is nearing the end of its useful life, with some of the Korean stuff (think Hyundai Elantra, Kia Cerato or Daewoo/Chevrolet Lacetti) you'd be talking about a 2005-6 car with plenty of life left (sometimes just out of warranty, so guaranteed to have been well-maintained up to that point in order to keep the warranty). This was a bit of a sweet spot time for the Koreans -- they still had a lot to prove to customers, so the mechanicals are good, but they also still had a lot to learn, so the cars are configured for the US market and hence aren't in the least bit desirable at this point. You see the fruits of their effort in the newest Korean cars, that compete with the big guns on equal terms, but back then the designs were still a bit generic and bland.

I wouldn't get too hung up on badge, and also wouldn't buy anything too small -- little cars aren't built for clocking up the miles, tend to be built more cheaply as there is less profit in them and, paradoxically, have better resale values than the larger cars.

A diesel Citroen Xsara may well be a good bet as well. The cars are plasticky and cr*p, but the basic mechanicals run and run.

alanco15

Thanks all, for your replies, interseting about the korean cars.

Now time to trawl autotrader , and see what i can come up with.

great replies as always, cheers

jase1

Keep an eye on ebay.

Because the Korean cars aren't in demand they tend to go for not much money when they are advertised in an auction format.

e.g. take a look at this: 230575493533 and tell me that a 57-plate Focus-sized car with 23,000 miles isn't worth a look at £2000. Especially when it's just a MK4 Astra under the skin.

alanco15

wow , that was a bargain.