Reliable second hand cars for under £3k

tiernsee

I have up to £3k to spend on a second hand car. Really not too fussy want something with a reasonable acceleration (especially up hill) and that is reliable and fuel efficient (probably an unrealistic list!)

I've seen a Rover 25 1.6 engine 03 reg with under 30k miles for £1900 - I have no idea if this is good or not, any comments would be most welcome as would any other recommendations or warnings of what to avoid.

Thanks

flashg67

Gandalfthesecond wrote: »

Don't touch it with a barge pole, !!!!!! not a Rover.

Slightly harsh Gandalf. I know the net is full of horror stories about Rover head gasket failures etc but we've had ours for 9 years and it's 12 years old now with well over 60k, been well maintained, never had any major repairs, gets through the MOT every year and never needed a head gasket replaced! Parts are cheap & plentiful.

I would have another......

Inactive

Do not buy Rover 25, they are plagued with faults.

Buy a Honda or a Toyota if you need a reliable car.

Kilty_2

No no no no no to Rover 25.

Especially since they seem to have a magnetic attraction to the side of my car :@

TiTheRev

Jap or German for reliability. Diesel for effieciency and torque up hills etc. Try Skoda Fabia/Nissan Micra/Seat Leon etc...

wba31

honda civic 1.7 diesel!! you can maybe get a 54 plate at a push for £3k. Incredibly roomy inside, not the fastest car in the world but it doesnt struggle with hills etc. i got 65mpg at 70/75mph in mine on Tuesday!

sconieroany

Get a Toyota Yaris, I had one for eight years, four tyres and a battery in all that time, built well and holds it's value over time.

TiTheRev

The Yaris is a bit of a bumper car though...they seem to attract incidents!

jase1

Or look into Hyundai if, in truth, you're at the lower end of the price range you've mentioned.

Getz is a reliable little car, and examples either just within or just past their warranties are often available for around, or under £2000.

As good in most respects as the cars mentioned on this thread (though a bit plastic inside, and not quite as agile around bends as some), and much better than a Rover 25 (which is, fundamentally, a near-25 year old design now -- based on the original Rover 200 which came out in 1988 IIRC).

Inactive

jase1 wrote: »

Getz is a reliable little car, and examples either just within or just past their warranties are often available for around, or under £2000.

Good advice, not a bad little car all round.;)

Round_The_Bend

wba31 wrote: »

honda civic 1.7 diesel!! you can maybe get a 54 plate at a push for £3k. Incredibly roomy inside, not the fastest car in the world but it doesnt struggle with hills etc. i got 65mpg at 70/75mph in mine on Tuesday!

Agree with this. I recently bought one in your price range and am very pleased with it. The Getz is also a very good shout. Others that I seriously considered were the Mitsubishi Colt (2005 model with around 40,000) and the Fiat Panda (2006 models with low mileages). All came highly recommended from mechanic friends, who knew that I was looking for reliability and cheap running costs. Hope this helps.