low cost, reliable car - advice please

jamiec84

Thanks for all the suggestions guys.

What sort of thing should I be looking out for as a warning sign in a car this age? I wouldn't consider anything without a FSH and a test drive for any obvious noises.

what should I look out for in the service history?

Idiophreak wrote: »

tbh, if you need it for 3 months, you might be better off hiring a car...I imagine you'd be looking at £250/month, something like that for hiring the thing...could get something new, economical, under warranty...Kinda removed the risk of buying a lemon and saves you the hassle of selling afterwards if you don't want to keep the car.

Just food for thought.

Yeah, I've considered that and could well be an option. You can get 3/6 month leases too, but the range of cars seem to be limited. It's quite possible that my contract will be extended and if it goes well, I'll be looking for similar work.

Certain a lower risk option though and I will be looking into this fully too.

Furts

ben_m_g wrote: »

I'm looking for an even cheaper car, for a 100 mile round commute, mostly I've been looking a small diesels around 100k with full service history.

Prices seem to be around the £650 mark, and as long as you really don't care what you get, there is a wealth of cars to choose from.

I saw a 106 1.5 diesel the other day, cam belt and full SH, banged and dented on the outside, dodgy aftermarket cd player. 107k miles.
If looked after could run for another 80k without too much issue.

Didn't buy it, as the guy was not only late straight off the bat, but was clearly lying about small details.

I can personally recommend the Nissan Primera with the 1600 petrol engine made until around 2001/2. There was also the 1800 petrol made between 1999 and 2001/2.

These cars are robust, rust resistant, reliable, strong on crash protection and amazing on fuel. There are still some around that have been looked after by private owners - frequently retired people who have an alliegance to the Nissan brand.The cars are not cool and fashionable, the style is not to everyones taste, but they are an overlooked gem, with acres of space and a huge hatchback boot. To cap it all, they were made in UK and spares are readily available - but you are unlikely to need any if you find a cared for car.

force_ten

it is a mine field out there and you could buy a real gem and also you could buy a rough diamond when buying in that price range

you need to watch what and where you are buying from

last year i sold a 2005 ford mondeo zetec with 54,000 miles on the clock full main dealer service history very nice car with no known problems for the princely sum of £1500.00

now to me that car was real gem that would have fitted your bill perfectly but that said there are some real dogs out there

i would look for something like a mondeo or similar there are some good ones about just seen a 2004 Ford Mondeo 1.8 LX 5dr sub 50,000 miles full history one owner from new and on sale just £1300.00 with a three month warranty from the selling dealer

that is the sort of thing i would be looking at

jamiec84

force_ten wrote: »

it is a mine field out there and you could buy a real gem and also you could buy a rough diamond when buying in that price range

you need to watch what and where you are buying from

last year i sold a 2005 ford mondeo zetec with 54,000 miles on the clock full main dealer service history very nice car with no known problems for the princely sum of £1500.00

now to me that car was real gem that would have fitted your bill perfectly but that said there are some real dogs out there

i would look for something like a mondeo or similar there are some good ones about just seen a 2004 Ford Mondeo 1.8 LX 5dr sub 50,000 miles full history one owner from new and on sale just £1300.00 with a three month warranty from the selling dealer

that is the sort of thing i would be looking at

cheers. Any chance you can PM me a link, if you're not looking to buy it yourself

force_ten

jamiec84 wrote: »

cheers. Any chance you can PM me a link, if you're not looking to buy it yourself

that is just a car that popped up when i did a quick search of the web for something that would fit the bill for you

sent a pm with a link but i am not suggesting that is what you should buy just the sort of thing I would be looking at if i was spending that kind of money on a car

jimjames

jamiec84 wrote: »

what should I look out for in the service history?

Lots of paperwork and low number of owners.

If you can see recent big bills then it looks like they've taken good care of the car.

Mine had £400 spent on brand new Continental tyres a few months before I bought it but car only cost me £750. If someone puts those on a car and it has extensive service history then I think that's a good sign.

But I'd definitely say to buy privately not from dealer at that price.

lee111s wrote: »

VW/Audi/Seat diesel.

I bought a 52 plate golf gt tdi last year with 106k on the clock for £2000. Never missed a beat and returns 45mpg avergae.

I'd suggest Golf MK4 too.

Don't worry about mileage, higher miles will be cheaper car.

Mine has 246,000 and still averages 50mpg and has been fantastic since purchase. First MOT of my ownership next week but not expecting any issues.

Depreciation hasn't been a factor, if anything it has appreciated due to general tidying I've done.

Review of the PD130 Golf here, probably the best MK4 Golf you can get but the same engine is also in Audis, Seats and Skodas.
http://vw-golf-mk4-tdi.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/golf-pd130-tdi-owner-review.html

colino

Are you actually using the car through the week or is it getting you there at the start of the week and getting you back come Friday? If it's being parked up and not used, I'd err on the side of public transport, or the motorway muncher, VX Vectra 1.8 petrol. You can even sleep in the things if needed.

jamiec84

colino wrote: »

Are you actually using the car through the week or is it getting you there at the start of the week and getting you back come Friday? If it's being parked up and not used, I'd err on the side of public transport, or the motorway muncher, VX Vectra 1.8 petrol. You can even sleep in the things if needed.

Yeah, it won't be a huge amount, about 4-5 miles to and from work each day, but that will add up in a taxi. And I'm not sure what the public transport will be like. First week will be a bit of a trial run to figure all this out before deciding.

SunReader

If you want a cheap car then go for something unfashionable, large engine etc.. every man and his dog wants a 'cheap' little car, preferably diesel -so they aren't cheap.

If you are mature with NCB you can have something semi-luxury for 1.0 budget city car money.

Old 'cheap' cars can be anything but that if you buy a lemon -then you spend a packet on maintenance for something barely worth it's tax disc and scrap value. Minimise the risk by choosing and inspecting carefully if you have the skills -if not you are taking a risk.

robatwork

Hire for a week, suss out the public transport situation, then do your sums.

I would echo that going for a boring, retiree-friendly car like a Nissan or Rover, or Honda, could be the best option.