Cheap and reliable old cars?

user55

tomstickland wrote: »

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.

Ooh there's an Almera for sale near here! Maybe I'll take a peek - maybe it will still be for sale when I've got enough cash together!

user55

hartcjhart wrote: »

go for peugeot

You've just reminded me actually, I once asked an RAC guy, who was fixing whichever old banger I had at the time, what he'd recommend, and he told me he never got called out to a Peugeot 205! Shame they stopped making them!

LandyAndy

The main difficulty with reliable old cars is that people don't sell them. 99% of old cars for sale are being sold because something expensive is going to happen soon. It doesn't mean they're not out there - just be prepared to kiss a lot of frogs.

I have an 'M' reg Peugeot 405 diesel estate with 187,000 miles up. It's very reliable (tempts fate) and I do about 15,000 miles a year in it. I would never sell it while it keeps running because it's only worth £500 max and is worth far more than that to me.

ajaxgeezer

I'd recommend Proton to anyone. They look pretty ugly (so 'they' say) and lose value fast so you can pick them up cheap. I think my W reg is only worth about £800 now.
However, they are hugely reliable.... in 9 years of driving Protons I have never had one break down, and I don't get services done regularly. The most I've had to pay out in one go is £120 for two sections of exhaust, and I reckon I have definitely spent under £500 in 9 years on replacement parts. They have Mitsubishi engines I think.

mattaious

With that money you can get a decent toyota avensis or corolla.

Japenese built and last for ages.

GO FOR TOYOTA

rent_a_tent_3

I have had a Citreon ZX diesel for years I use it every day it has 130 000 miles on the clock and whatever I do and no matter how much I abuse it it just wont die! It's actually quite nice to drive and bits are dirt cheap. Cant fault it for reliability and economy and you'de have loads of change from £1000

mr_accountant

also look on www.autotrader.co.uk it will give u idea what cars can be picked up under £1000, then you can narrow your search down some what

hartcjhart

Rent a Tent, yes I forgot about the ZX great little car,especially the turbo diesel,

User 55, no more 205s,but the 106 is a comparable sized car and just as reliable,again goi for the diesel but the 1.5 not 1.4,gives on a run apx 55mpg,and again if looked after will do 200k plus

bigmarkie999

user55 wrote: »

At some point in the not too distant future I'm going to be looking to get a sub £1k car, preferably medium sized , but certainly no smaller than a VW Polo!

It's going to be a while yet, but I'm scared! I've never had a good experience with used cars, never mind very cheap old cars! I'm not worried about looks or street cred but I need it to be fairly reliable and cheap to put right when things go wrong!

Any advice on what cars to look for?

I bought a Mercedes 190E :T ( 2 litre) 1990 G reg It has been amazing- reliable and comfy. One of the best 4 cylinder cars ever built- a car that was well over engineered and so solid. It has been brilliant. I had one thing go wrong on it...alternator- even that was easy and the alternator could be repaired- rather than dumped!!;) A few Brushes and done!
:beer:
It is nearly 19 years old now had it for 4-5 years - TOP CAR- I paid £850 for it! :rotfl:Keep you eye out for well loved- old git- cars lovingly polished each Sunday.... The bodywork is bomb proof too!

bigmarkie999

Like to know more about SAABS for when I change... at the moment I feel I should just keep driving the Benz...its so good really and has been the best car I've ever had....and have even had new ones!!

Under a Grand>
AVOID: French, Italian (defo) Fords& Vauxhall (when old they are just rubbish) Anything with Spoilers and sports kits on. Look for Hondas and green metalic reliable old Victor meldrew cars with loads of Service History. Toyotas, Nissans, Mitsubishi's etc. VWs are good but likely the ones worth £1K are on way out.You wil llikely need to pay more BMWS: Again old mens cars...-may get a bargin. Old Mercs..lovingly looked after.