Best choice for economy?

fred7777

Abu_Yoosha wrote: »

See comment #8.

I am looking at £1000, possibly more (but that would probably meaning a family/friend loan) which I want to avoid. Besides, I want to keep any extra money spare for maintenence and repairs.

Ahh, didn't see that.

I had to shell out almost £600 for repairs last week so if I only had £1000 to spend I would be looking for the most reliable car with the best service history I could find.

A £1000 car is going to be older and high mileage so I would be looking for:

1. Lots of service history. Doesn't matter if main dealer, backstreet or self serviced. Ideally lots of receipts and notes of what had been done.
2. Clutch replaced if over 100K miles
3. Cam belt done in past 20k miles

The petrol or diesel question would be way down my list compared the above. However the purchase price of a petrol or diesel at this age would be similar and depreciation would be similar so as a diesel would cost less in fuel per mile (even though petrol is cheaper) if it was a choice between two similar history cars I'd go for the diesel.

Also an older diesel won't have the dual mass flywheels and deisel particulate filter problems that people worry about with newer models and diesel engines tend to outlast petrol engines.

Graham_Devon

Octavia TDI? You'll oinly get one of the earlier ones for the money, so miss most of the expensive problems associated with newer turbo diesels.

An SDI would be slow, but that would remove the worry of a turbo if you are on a budget. They do mega mileage with normal servicing, hence why taxi companies used to use them...until the engine was phased out in favour of euro regs.

Shawn_Dark

Graham_Devon wrote: »

Octavia TDI? You'll oinly get one of the earlier ones for the money, so miss most of the expensive problems associated with newer turbo diesels.

An SDI would be slow, but that would remove the worry of a turbo if you are on a budget. They do mega mileage with normal servicing, hence why taxi companies used to use them...until the engine was phased out in favour of euro regs.

i did go to see a octavia classic 1.9 sdi (2003 plate). the owner was a real nice guy but the pedals were really loose (i.e. car drove unresponsively). I've drove a few octavias of the exact same model/type/age so I knew this one was an old dog.

The mileage said 97k but when I did a MOT history check online it was showing as 193k last year. So basically it had done nearly 200k. I still would not have hesitated in buying it for the price (£900, taxed and tested till march 2013) but not without any service history or reciepts for work.

I guess for the money I'll have to look for 02/03 diesel focus or astra. The estates seem to go cheaper as they are less desirable. But with a young/small family that shape would suit me better.

mattyprice4004

I've had a few cars around this price point, here's a rundown with faults:

- 2002 Rover 45 diesel (current). Paid: £650. Owned for: 2 weeks (still owned). Mileage: 167k. Faults: None, drives lovely. Could do with 2x tyres soon.

- 2003 Rover 75 Estate diesel. Paid: £1500. Owned for: 10 months. Mileage: 200k. Covered 40k during ownership. Faults: Needed rear brakes and an alternator.

- 2003 MG ZS diesel. Paid: £1800. Owned for: 3 years. Mileage: 135k. Covered 45k during ownership. Faults: Cracked head in winter due to no antifreeze (my fault!) and needed a new clutch due to my lead foot.

As you can see, even what people see as 'unreliable' cars can be dependable when looked after properly. I serviced (probably mothered) each of these, and as a result didn't shell out much at all during ownership.

Service history doesn't matter, buy on condition.

I have high hopes for my current 45, it's done nearly 170k but is lovely to drive. Heated seats are good in this weather, too.

s_b

for the mileage you are doing and considering your debts you should be looking for a 53 plate 1.2 petrol punto with about 60,000 miles on for around £1500
get a proper service done on it and it will be ultra reliable for you if you pop the bonnet once a week and kick the tyres (takes 5 mins)
i supplied my son in law the exact same car 15 months ago and he does the same mileage as you and he came from what he thought was his ideal car a diesel vectra, the money hes now saving allowed him to just give us another grandchild
road tax £125 a year
petrol £1.39 a litre
compare that to an old lump of a car as offeredc as alternatives on here

no contest
and yes your family will get in it

mattyprice4004

I don't see many old lumps in this thread.

Plus, all that mileage in a Punto?! Would rather have a bit more breathing space

Shawn_Dark

s_b wrote: »

for the mileage you are doing and considering your debts you should be looking for a 53 plate 1.2 petrol punto with about 60,000 miles on for around £1500
get a proper service done on it and it will be ultra reliable for you if you pop the bonnet once a week and kick the tyres (takes 5 mins)
i supplied my son in law the exact same car 15 months ago and he does the same mileage as you and he came from what he thought was his ideal car a diesel vectra, the money hes now saving allowed him to just give us another grandchild
road tax £125 a year
petrol £1.39 a litre
compare that to an old lump of a car as offeredc as alternatives on here

no contest
and yes your family will get in it

That's a really nice story and a refreshing alternative.

However, my wife has a 52 plate 1.2 petrol corsa (had a few niggles but nothing major). We cannot put the baby seat in the back which means if she drives baby goes in the front and I have to sit between two more baby seats (in the back). Its a near on impossibility for me and hilarious for passersby to watch (i.e. me getting in and out). We cant put the two back seats next to each other as getting belts on/off carries a risk of getting your hand chopped off.

I would drive but with an on-going leg problem I need to either drive an automatic or drive as less as possible (especially those short, local journeys that require constant clutch pressing).

I love my little cars but I dont want to keep using my wifes in case that develops problems (as she needs to use her car on a daily basis).

Notmyrealname

Abu_Yoosha wrote: »

I have always stuck with 1.9/2.0 turbo diesels but now people seem to think that with petrol prices, a 1.4 or 1.6 petrol would do better, with the added bonus that I would have less going wrong. Diesels seem to be costly to repair.

That is because they are idiots. The price difference is less than 2% yet a diesel will typically return more than 25% higher MPG than a petrol equivalent so it at least 22-23% cheaper to run.

As for repairs, they are the same. Injectors and EGR valves can fail on petrols. Petrols have CATS which diesels don't have. Petrol ones have coil packs that fail which diesels don't have. Petrols need spark plugs replacing every third service which diesels don't have - overall it is about the same.

Notmyrealname

s_b wrote: »

for the mileage you are doing and considering your debts you should be looking for a 53 plate 1.2 petrol punto with about 60,000 miles on for around £1500

compare that to an old lump of a car as offeredc as alternatives on here

no contest
and yes your family will get in it

Yes it is no contest - the Punto will be horrific for the travel to work journeys compared to a medium sized car. Puntos are horrible rattly bags of poo which get shoved all over the road in a stiff breeze at motorway speeds with a 1.2l engine that makes you deaf as it screams its nuts off at 70MPH. And as mentioned, you can't fit anything in the things. My brother has one as part of his job. Can't get anything other than a pram in the boot. Certainly can't fit a pram and a week's shopping in it.

the money hes now saving allowed him to just give us another grandchild

I doubt it.

mattyprice4004

Notmyrealname wrote: »

Yes it is no contest - the Punto will be horrific for the travel to work journeys compared to a medium sized car. Puntos are horrible rattly bags of poo which get shoved all over the road in a stiff breeze at motorway speeds with a 1.2l engine that makes you deaf as it screams its nuts off at 70MPH.

This was also my experience with the Punto!

I think I referred to it as a 'hateful ****box' to the mate who took me with him for a test drive of one.