Family Car for under £2000?

Hesse2509

I'm looking to purchase a family sized car to carry myself, the wife, one child in a car seat, one on a booster seat and another who is about to hit his teens; so space in the back would be handy! The car will mostly be used around town, with the occasional trip down the motorway, but generally 200 mile round trips will be limited to a couple a year tops, with annual predicted mileage of around 7000 miles. Ideally I'm looking for something that is reliable, but cheap to repair when things do go wrong; and is also cheap to run. My budget is only £2000, and I only have this due to a recent windfall, so the budget cannot be stretched any further. Basically if you could put the moon on a stick and attach wheels, that's what I'm after.

Reading around on the internet, something in the region of a 2002 Focus seems to fit the bill on most fronts, but I am concerned on two counts. Firstly, I'm led to believe that the older models have limited leg room in the back. What it doesn't say is whether that's based on adult legroom. Secondly, up until about 6 months ago, I had exclusive use of a company car which was a 2008 Focus from new, and in the 22,000 miles that I drove it, the turbo had to go in for repairs three times, and the gear selection mechanism once (and I'm not a boy racer, before anyone asks!). These cars are apparently very well known their reliability, but I was initially put off by my experience, declaring I would never buy one. I'm now wondering if I was just particularly unlucky?

I know for the budget that I could pick up something like a Renault Scenic or Citroen Xsara Picasso, which would cover the space issue, but then I know they can be a nightmare for reliability.

Any help or recommendations would be gratefully received, as I am well and truly confused.

forgotmyname

Petrol Mondeo my 1st choice,

Focus or Fiesta if thats too big.

2002 Focus for £2000 ?? Think bigger and get better value for money.

in 2009 i bought a 2004 Mondeo diesel estate for just over £2000.

Petrol / Hatchback would have come in around £2000 or just under.

For £2000 now i would be looking at one of the last MK3's made 2006/2007.

Hesse2509

I'm guessing then that I should be looking at something with higher mileage than I've been considering to get a Mondeo in that bracket? The 2 grand Focus I had seen was only 37000 on the clock. What sort of mileage in your experience would be realistic, and is there any particular problems that I should be aware of like cam belt or water pump changes at certain mileages?

fatbelly

There are a fair few Mondeos around at that price. Aim for 2005 and 70-80k. It'll probably be a 1.8 petrol.

forgotmyname

I would avoid the 1.8 petrol. Oil burning issues. 2L seems to suffer few pitfalls. Especially from 2003 onwards.

I sold my 2001 MK3 2L petrol with 150,000 miles and it ran sweetly. Better than some 60-80,000 miles cars i looked at.

You want something thats been looked after, Serviced before the deadlines. Mines serviced every 6000 miles usually.

Normally i buy with 100 - 130,000 on the clock. But only if its got the paperwork to show its been looked after.
Ex-Lease or + 1 owner tops.