What car for £1500 ?

Lennylegs

Hi

My OH currently has an R reg Hyundai accent and is looking for a 'new car' our budget is kinda £1500 but we keep creeping up to the £2250 mark looking at cars we like. He's 23 (soon to be 24) so nothing too heavy on the insurance, a lot of his driving is around town so good mpg is important, size doesn't really matter - we dont have kids and cant see it happening any time soon so no pushchair space needed He doesn't want an automatic, doesn't mind if its petrol or diesel.
Which cars should we be looking at for this sort of price ? Any suggestions or reccomendations ?

Thank you
Leonie x

DavidHM

What's actually wrong with the old one?

If the Accent is reliable and does what he wants and needs it to do, keep it as you won't get anything drastically better than that in relation to the trade in price you will be offered.

Quinny_2

I've just bought the wife,a Peugeot 306 1.4 LX,99 on a T plate,for £1500.

It came with 5 months tax,and 12 months MOT.

We have her Nissan Micra 1.3 SR for sale,which is a 97 on a P,with 6 months tax,and 7 months MOT.

Ken.

Lennylegs

Thanks

The hyundai is costing tons in repairs, despite regular upkeep of maintenance everything keeps going wrong with it, we've held out for the last year and a half saying its not worth changing but hubbie has had enough of it ! I'll have a look at 306's later. Thanks

DavidHM

I like 306s enough to own one but they're likely to cost you at least as much in repairs as an average Hyundai accent. Each repair is likely to be cheaper but there are probably going to be more of them.

That's the trouble with £1,500 cars - you could get one that's like new, or you could get one that's like scrap and no matter how careful you are when you check it out, you never really know.

joshm_2

I agree, better the devil you know and all that. Spending £1500 without knowing exactly what to look for is a bit of a lottery. Unless you know something catastrophic is going to happen with the Hyundai it might be worth sticking with it. After all, the person trying to sell you their car may have the same idea as you, i.e. trying to ditch a supposed "lemon".

That said I don't know the maths and if it is truly a lemon, I'd suggest Honda Civic or something with a good track record for reliability. Failing that, something that is easy to get spares for and easy to work on - perhaps an Astra or something? Not a great fan of Vauxhalls but I guess they must sell well for a reason...

movilogo

Some very reliable cars in your budget -
Nissan Primera, Old Honda Civic, Old Toyota Corolla, Nissan Micra, Nissan Almera, Toyota Avensis

OrangeProse

Generally, big Japanese cars at this level are pretty good value. Nissan Primera, Toyota Carina E or Avensis, Honda Accord, Mitsubishi Carisma.

Keep an eye out for ex mini-cabs - they will likely have spent a lot of time doing 20-30 mph and will have massive mileages. Also at some point a hen night will probably have been sick into the back of it.

The way to spot something that's been a mini-cab in a previous life is to check around the bonnet, wings and rear bumper - mini-cabs have to display stickers and bolt-on panels displaying their license details, and sometimes the removal of these can leave marks/holes. Also, inspect the back seat thoroughly. If it's been a mini-cab, the back seat will look much more worn than the front passenger seat.

If you're after something smaller, Escorts are really good value. They're old tech but you could get two for £1500 and they're reasonably comfortable and easy to work on.

Or, try a Nissan Almera or VW Golf mk3.