Cheap and reliable old cars?

Takecareofthepennies

Two words: Volvo 480

dnc1781

user55 wrote: »

At some point in the not too distant future I'm going to be looking to get a sub £1k car

I need it to be fairly reliable and cheap to put right when things go wrong!

Any advice on what cars to look for?

Read this:
http://www.reliabilityindex.co.uk/tophundred.html?apc=3128339010848601

Dazzieboo

manda1205 wrote: »

:rotfl:
i'd deffo steer clear of an old herald (coming from some1 who has 1 in their garden) they rot like hell, some parts are cheap but bodies are shonky, heaters non existant technology from the arc and driving 1 is horse and cartesque

I suppose it all depends on the initial condition of the car, mine was pristine when purchased and pristine when sold and cost me very little to run and maintain, the heater if anything was too efficient and I had the hood down a lot usually to cool off. I did the Round Britain Run in her 3 times, that was driving 2048 miles around Britain in 48 hours, that is relaibilty for you. :j :j

pianeet

get a honda civic cheap reliable and go for ever

hartcjhart

I buy and sell cars now and again so have some experience

go for peugeot petrol or diesel pref diesel,

the 306 is an ideal mid size car in 3 or 5 door variant,

things to look out for

a strange knocking noise that sounds like it could be the exhaust loose is probably a suspension bush,not expensive £15 for the part and apx £40 to fit,

If looking at the diesel version it is vital that the timing/cambelt has been changed within the last 8/10 K miles

this part is expensive to have done and even more expensive if it breaks.

As said I have this year sold many small cheap cars and the peugeot seems to be the most popular dont be put of if the diesel car has done 100k plus AS LONG as there is service history,I recently sold one that had done 250k miles but drove like a new car,

A typical N reg diesel model can be purchased for between £500 to £700 and should have a long mot and some tax, The 1.9turbo diesel is group 5 insurance as are the 1.4 and 1.6 petrol versions

if I can help further just ask

tomstickland

There's loads of solid cars for under £1000.
Personally I'd buy an old BMW, like a the 525 estate I saw the other day for £800.
Otherwise think Nissan and Toyota. Nissan Almera would be ideal.

mr_accountant

At this price it does not matter whether its Japanese, French, German, Italian, American or flown in from Mars.

condition is everything, check all the basic items and go from there.

its amazing what you can buy for £1000, so as long as you know what to look out for these type of cars can be very reliable and cheap to fix if (in the unlikely) they go wrong.

ZootHornRollo

Dazzieboo wrote: »

Triumph Herald / Spitfire. Very easy and cheap to maintain and run, insurance is peanuts and no tax to pay. I had one for 6 years and it gave me the easiest time ever, unlike my 4 yr old Micra.

i'll second that. i ran a spitfire as my everyday car for 5 years, it was 20 years old when i got it. Most reliable car i ever had, never let me down once. In 5 years i replaced the clutch and had a little bit of welding done - about £30 worth (edit - sorry, had wiper motor changed too). thats the only repairs i had done to it other than replacing service items and upgrading parts through choice such as headlamps, radiator fan etc. not sure if you can get a good spitfire or herald for under a grand tho. classic insurance in amazing!!! when i got my spitfire 1500 on fully comp when i was 22 yrs old and it was only £150 a year. i am now 30 in a 2.0ltr car and it costs me almost 3 times that with full no claims and no accidents.

i would avoid japanese/bmw/merc/audi on the basis that anything other than service parts will probably be expensive. and any BMW selling for less than £1k will probably have upwards of 120,000 miles on it.

ford escort or fiesta are probably the best bet. simple, reliable cars that are cheap to repair when needs be. and as much as i hate them - i just don't like vauxhalls, personal thing - an astra would probably be a good by too.

but as a previous poster has said. Condition is EVERYTHING.

user55

Conor wrote: »

Vauxhall Cavalier. Vauxhall Astra. MK1 Mondeo.

Depending on where you live, a neighbour of mine has a nice MK4 Astra for sale for £550. East Yorks.

Thanks, unfortunately I'm not quite in a postion to buy yet - just researching my options while scrabbling pennies together in a coffee jar!

user55

pianeet wrote: »

get a honda civic cheap reliable and go for ever

LOL my first ever car was a Honda Civic, reg # PEN 120S, was old when I got it and that was over 20 years ago :eek: Cost me £400 and reliable wasn't the word I would use. Mind you I learnt a lot about rocker head gaskets, plugs, points, oil leaks etc! I was a bit of a whizz with keeping it going actually!

Actually, when I finally gave up on it, it was because a mechanic told me it wasn't worth the cost of repairs. So I scrapped it. Imagine my surprise when it drove past me some months later :rotfl: