replace car - something good thats as cheap as poss

newfoundglory

Currently own an old-shape 2008 ford ka, and have done since almost new. Has a 1.3L engine (not particularly efficient). Gets about 23 to 24 mpg around town.

Tax is £170/year; seems ridiculous to me given the car is a super mini - with a small engine, lacks any power and is not that old.

I'm sure there are better cars, with more space and power for similar or less money.

I would like something larger with more space - more comfortable in general for long/motorway journeys, and should have good level of power.

Diesel/petrol not overly fussed either way. Would prefer manual, but again not fussed. No requirement on number of doors, age of vehicle or mileage.

Must also be suitable for doing lots of relatively short journeys.

Should be as cheap as practically possible but no more than a few thousand £s, and a reputation for being well built/not prone to being a rust bucket.

Will consider old bangers/previously-luxury vehicles.

Any ideas?

forgotmyname

2008 KA??? 1.3 does 23mpg? Are you sure? You either live next to me or someone is stealing your fuel. Or maybe your calculator needs new batteries.

I thought the 2008 had the more efficient engine 45mpg instead of 42 and £135 a year tax?

Are there better cars.. Easier question are there any worse cars.. Not many.

£2000 will buy you a nice 2007 MK3 mondeo. Petrol or diesel, Saloon/hatch/estate.

oliverr

There's a heck of a lot of cars that would suit your requirements, so it's difficult to name a car when there are so many possible cars that you might like.

Head to a car supermarket where there are loads of different cars from loads of different brands and sit in them, try them out, take a few for a test drive etc... whatever car supermarket you go to they will have all the major brands and so you can compare different cars instead of going to each induvidual dealership.

steve-L

oliverr wrote: »

There's a heck of a lot of cars that would suit your requirements, so it's difficult to name a car when there are so many possible cars that you might like.

Head to a car supermarket where there are loads of different cars from loads of different brands and sit in them, try them out, take a few for a test drive etc... whatever car supermarket you go to they will have all the major brands and so you can compare different cars instead of going to each induvidual dealership.

.. and of course, no need to buy just cos you tried!

In general stay away from new diesels (as the DPF will be a problem for your lots of short journeys) ....

My 2005 Honda (no DPF) has way more miles than you'd want (180,000) but very reliable ... wouldn't be super efficient on short journeys though....

more comfortable in general for long/motorway journeys, and should have good level of power

Has all that....

So would an older Volvo diesel ...... Passat or Octavia, Mondeo???
In your position i'd look for something nice (if you're in no rush) and go for something nicely spec'd out and good price

I (personally) like the Octavia's but it seems difficult to find a top spec one going cheap....

Value for money a pre-DPF Saab 9-3 ???
Never driven one personally but have a friend with one.....

Cruise autotrader and get some ideas then tootle off to a car supermarket and sit in some and test drive any seem nice.... then go home (whatever you do don't buy yet) and think it all over, check out specific cars and what to look out for once you narrow it down...

Someone as unfussy as you will doubtless get a bargain .... IMHO it's people who simply must have a specific car or wouldn't be seen dead in x,y,z who don't!

newfoundglory

forgotmyname wrote: »

2008 KA??? 1.3 does 23mpg? Are you sure? You either live next to me or someone is stealing your fuel. Or maybe your calculator needs new batteries.

I can go about 190 miles on 36 litres of petrol..... not good. I am heavy with the right foot, but it makes no difference on short journeys around town. Will do 45 to 50mpg on the motorway...

newfoundglory

I was actually hoping to just spend a grand on something that can just be sold for scrap when it goes wrong. I only do about 3 to 4k miles a year.

Would a 10 to 12 year old diesel A3 with high miles be any good - were Audi's good that long ago?

steve-L

No prob but for the Turbo?
If your spending a grand then if the Turbo goes it will be economically a write off.

My Honda Turbo did 170k and then needed cleaning (cost me about £300) and has done 10k since without hickups... but if it goes it will be a non-economic replacement!

if you find one with a new Turbo 15k or so ago then your in luck.... (less than 3000 it might still have been badly fitted or their might have been damage to the engine when it went - they can get bits of metal through the oil that will wreck the engine)

forgotmyname

Working it out from partial tankful's isnt very accurate. You may have run it below the red light when you put 36 litres in. Then topped up and refilled sooner.

So you maybe anything upto 15 litres out.

So your estimated 20's may actually be close to 40mpg.

To get as low as 24mpg you would either need to be leaving it ticking over whilst parked for very extended periods. Hours!!!
Or its leaking fuel.

It if were running rich and burning it that much, The plugs would be covered in black soot like a layer of coal.

You wont want a modern diesel with trips that short. And they can cost a fortune to repair.

StrongWork

Petrol Ford Focus.

Job jobbed.

Incidentally as above - mpg estimates seem VERY low for the Ka.

steve-L

as Strongwork and forgotmyname both say, a diesel isn't really suited to 5 mile trips.

The 'modern' ones (though I don't think you are looking in that price range anyway) have a DPF (Diesel particulate filter) ... these require frequent high temperatures for 20 mins+ OT they block and need replacing and that is expensive.

An older diesel (pre 2006 in general) won't have one but it still won't like being run cold and that is the first 5 miles..... so it will wear more quickly AND not get the same MPG.

Much as you want to change the Ka, perhaps you shouldn't worry too much about MPG on 3000/yr!

What would you LIKE ..... as in what might you get into and think you were looking forwards to the drive? You mentioned earlier an ex-luxury car... and I can see the attraction (after driving a Ka)...

a) I would like something larger with more space - more comfortable in general for long/motorway journeys, and should have good level of power.
...
b) Must also be suitable for doing lots of relatively short journeys.

c) and you want to spend about £1,000

The difficulty is what would be reliable for you in the £1000 range... given you always run a risk but in some ways.... a,b and c are possibly incompatible?


Levels of comfort and spec vary widely (i.e. you can get something older all singing and dancing from driver comfort levels) and personally I like leather practical and looks nice and if maintained lasts well..... I don't care about electrically adjusting seats though (just something to go wrong) ... etc.

So given electrical is often the problem on older cars, you might want to avoid electric windows, mirrors etc?

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201301034777281/sort/default/usedcars/fuel-type/petrol/maximum-mileage/up_to_80000_miles/price-to/2000/price-from/500/make/honda/onesearchad/used/onesearchad/nearlynew/onesearchad/new/radius/1500/keywords/leather/page/1/postcode/bb79da?logcode=p

p.s. My Honda Accord has 180,000 and 'drives like a 50k car' ... electrics all work.... (not knocking the Mondeo either) some nice ones in Titanium Spec.... but I have to say I continue to be impressed with the long term reliability of the Honda! (Not just engine but the other parts as well)

newfoundglory

forgotmyname wrote: »

Working it out from partial tankful's isnt very accurate. You may have run it below the red light when you put 36 litres in. Then topped up and refilled sooner.

So you maybe anything upto 15 litres out.

So your estimated 20's may actually be close to 40mpg.

But the ka only has a 40 litre tank!

Also good point about a failing turbo! I'm guessing not even a used replacement would do due to the labour costs involved in fitting?

Do feel like i need to replace the car though. I hate taking it on the motorway not just for comfort reasons, it's not got the power needed for motorway driving.

You may be thinking that the ka must be cheap on insurance - and it is - but bigger more powerful cars in far higher insurance groups cost virtually the same insurance wise.