Best family cars models under 1000 out there

Tinuel

Thanks all for your input so far!

jase1

Anything that's in good order.

Model pickiness is for the fools at this price range.

Tobster86

Early Volvo V70 if you want LOTS of room and a lot of comfort. Police also used them, but because they were good; not cheap.

andygb

forgotmyname wrote: »

Old shape mondeo. MK2, Petrol or diesel, Or maybe a MK3 petrol car, Not diesel though.

I find biggers cars can cost less to buy, And cost little more to run if at all.

Still got our 2000 Verona (1.8 petrol) with 130K miles and counting, and would think nothing of taking that car to the South of France and back if I had to. It cost £2300 seven years ago, and I doubt that we have spent more than £1K on it in that time (excluding tyres, but including two cambelt/water pump changes and minor suspension parts).

Zeitgeist

forgotmyname wrote: »

... Or maybe a MK3 petrol car, Not diesel though.

I find biggers cars can cost less to buy, And cost little more to run if at all.

If you're looking for an early mark 3 Mondeo petrol, make sure that the swirl flaps in the inlet manifold have been sorted one way or another (either swirl flaps taken out, replaced with the updated stronger versions or the whole manifold replaced).

mattyprice4004

I was thrown back in this market last week, managed to get an 02 plate Rover 45 diesel for £500.

Cracking car, heated seats, air con and a sunroof. Paintwork a little tatty, but still fresh as a daisy at 166k and plenty more left!

skivenov

Volvo S40/V40 (the S is the Saloon, the V's the estate) take a bit of beating for a cheap medium sized car. Some have got the rust, but there's a lot of them out there with a good amount of life left in them for not a lot.

niggyp

ASTRA G petrol suffer from EGR faults..clutch judder..cooling problems due to rads being too large, also 8v variants have the ecu bolted onto engine..not a good idea due to heat and vibration
and yes ive owned one

mattyprice4004

skivenov wrote: »

Volvo S40/V40 (the S is the Saloon, the V's the estate) take a bit of beating for a cheap medium sized car. Some have got the rust, but there's a lot of them out there with a good amount of life left in them for not a lot.

Good shout, I love the older S40s. Cracking for the money!

jase1

The Mitsubishi Carisma and Space Star are fundamentally the same car as the S40/V40, mechanically the parts are interchangeable, and despite what the reviews say I have not found them to be significantly different to drive either -- they're both competent-but-dull.

But the Mitsubishis don't have the same "Volvo=run forever" reputation, so tend to be that bit cheaper.

The GDi (petrol) engines need to be run on premium fuel otherwise they can give trouble (this also applies to the Volvo in fact), so I'd avoid them at this age, but apart from that they're a good solid car regardless of what badge is on the back.

I have a Space Star as our second car; there is some surface rust here and there (the NedCar rustproofing could have been better) but it's impressively reliable and well constructed.

I make no representation as to the quality, but the Proton Impian is also essentially the same car. Mechanically I'd expect it to last well also, but the interiors are likely to be flimsy if past Protons are anything to go by. These can be dirt-cheap (I've seen low-mileage 2005 examples sell for £800). Given the mechanicals (which are bought in direct from Mitsu rather than being made in Malaysia) I'd be tempted.