Cheapest 2007 Onwards Car For £2000 or less?

Retrogamer

There are some news articles posting that in 2022, Glasgow city centre will "ban" older vehicles from entering due to pollution problems.

Any diesels registered before 2014 will fined if they enter
And likewise with any petrols registered before 2007.

My 2006 Fabia vRS TDi although is great for my commute currently it's on 143k miles and with the looming changes with where i work i need to start researching alternative vehicles to use for my commute.

I'm a no frills guy, so i don't mind if the car feels cheap, looks terrible or is a little uncomfortable with road noise etc.

Priorities are.
Cheap to tax
Good MPG (50+ on motorways)
Petrol
Easy / cheap to repair (i can do most mediocre repairs / services myself)
As reliable as possible within the sub £2000 price bracket

So far i've been looking at the 107 / C1 / Aygo range, Twingos and Yaris' but my knowledge on modern cars is pretty poor

Any suggestions / advice?
Thank you in advance.

Svein_Forkbeard

Fiat Panda 1.2 with bomb proof Fire engine. Cheap as chips to run.

AdrianC

So you're looking at changing cars now because of a consultation over the introduction of emission-based restrictions in a 1 mile x 1.5 mile area in four years time?


Ooookay.


Buy on condition, and condition alone. An 11yo car of any type could easily be ready for scrapping now, never mind by the time it's 15yo. Don't get hung up on looking for any specific make or model.

wgl2014

Keep current car and IF changes come in that make it unsuitable have a look then.
You will get a better/ newer car for £2k in a couple of years time than today!
I would also agree with AdrianC's post, don't get too hung up on a specific car. Also I would look to buy in a private sale especially if you are able to give the car a decent once over.

foxy-stoat

My £2K would go on a Gen 8 Honda Civic - but I would wait until something actually happens in law - and work out how much the "fine" is going to be x how many times you will get fined....can you not park outside the zone and get a fold up push bike for the last few miles?

System

Given that you want to buy a car on the basis that it MAY POSSIBLY BE BUT NOT FOR DEFINITE be banned from entering a 1.5 square mile area of one city in 3 years time then no doubt you want to be looking at a 4x4 for the 3 days of snow we get a year which kind of rules out everything you've posted.

Retrogamer

Retrogamer wrote: »

My 2006 Fabia vRS TDi although is great for my commute currently it's on 143k miles and with the looming changes with where i work i need to start researching alternative vehicles to use for my commute.

AdrianC wrote: »

So you're looking at changing cars now because of a consultation over the introduction of emission-based restrictions in a 1 mile x 1.5 mile area in four years time?

No. Hence the word researching.
I very much doubt my current car will last that long without dumping an unwise amount of money into it. It's on borrowed time just now with a looming turbo failure. So i think it's more wise to make sure that when it comes time for a replacement i can make a more informed decision. Hence this post...

AdrianC wrote: »

Buy on condition, and condition alone. An 11yo car of any type could easily be ready for scrapping now, never mind by the time it's 15yo. Don't get hung up on looking for any specific make or model.

This might surprise you, but i'm not likely to punt £2k on a car that's ready for scrapping. But i do need it to be good fuel economy as my commute is approx 50 miles per day. With that and the miles i do, reliability and mpg are the driving factors so i can save money. Hence trying to seek advice here

wgl2014 wrote: »

Keep current car and IF changes come in that make it unsuitable have a look then.
You will get a better/ newer car for £2k in a couple of years time than today!
I would also agree with AdrianC's post, don't get too hung up on a specific car. Also I would look to buy in a private sale especially if you are able to give the car a decent once over.

I’ll keep the current car as long as I can, but I doubt very much it’ll last much more than another year so I need to make sure that the next car I do buy won’t be a problem for if / when these changes do come into force.
For that price range I’d only buy privately anyway but in all my 12 years of driving I’ve never owned a petrol, or a car any newer than my current one so I’m ptetty out the loop with anything that’s petrol and reliable and cheap to run

foxy-stoat wrote: »

My £2K would go on a Gen 8 Honda Civic - but I would wait until something actually happens in law - and work out how much the "fine" is going to be x how many times you will get fined....can you not park outside the zone and get a fold up push bike for the last few miles?

Sadly not feasible otherwise I would. My work provide free city parking as well and I need to lug in some IT equipment daily along with my personal stuff. I’d need to pay to park outside the city, then risk getting either myself soaked or potentially the equipment with how often it rains here.
I quite like Honda Civics as well. They seem to be quite durable. What’s the MPG like though?

Tarambor wrote: »

Given that you want to buy a car on the basis that it MAY POSSIBLY BE BUT NOT FOR DEFINITE be banned from entering a 1.5 square mile area of one city in 3 years time then no doubt you want to be looking at a 4x4 for the 3 days of snow we get a year which kind of rules out everything you've posted.

Thanks for the less than helpful response :T

motorguy

2007 Ford KA, petrol, mot to Nov, driving well £365

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201807238720492?sort=price-asc&year-from=2007&advertising-location=at_cars&postcode=bt622hb&radius=1500&price-to=2000&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&onesearchad=New&fuel-type=Petrol&page=1

motorguy

... but i'd personally go for a petrol Civic.

foxy-stoat

On a long run a petrol civic returns mid 40's - maybe more. My old 2.2d would return close to 50 on mixed driving.

They have big boot with the back seats dropped down, or you can flip up the bottoms instead (5 door) and it makes a handy space.

motorguy

And i'd personally probably forego the extra few miles of mpg and go for the 1.8 petrol. Much better all rounder.