Trading in my old Cavalier for ?

bigfoot125

I have a 95 cavalier done 110k,its a 1,8 engine and its a bit heavy on petrol to be honest,need to change now before the mot comes round again.
Been looking on ebay ,have 2500k to spend tops,looking at a fe Golf's and Audis,trouble is they are all very high mileage,how risky is it to buy such cars.

All i want really is a family saloon type with a decent engine,would not mind a diesel as plenty of Mpg i reckon,i am not mechanically minded so dont want to buy a dud.
If i did buy off ebay i think i would use the RAC checks before doing so,car auctions i have never been to and garage prices scare me off.

Does anyone have some decent choices for me to consider,the TD versions might be a good one ,the cars i have had a look at thus far are

Golf
Audi A3
Seat Ibiza
looking at these types but with low running costs aswell,i know i might be asking for the world,maybe the experts on here can tell me otherwise

thanks for your time

Nile

Hello bigfoot125

I'll move your thread to the 'Motoring & Public Transport' board.

Hi, Martin’s asked me to post this in these circumstances: I’ve asked Board Guides to move threads if they’ll receive a better response elsewhere(please see this rule) so this post/thread has been moved to another board, where it should get more replies. If you have any questions about this policy please email [EMAIL="abuse@moneysavingexpert.com"]abuse@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL].

Regards

Nile

Little_John

The problem you have is that none of the 3 cars you mention are family saloon's they are all hatchbacks and ok for small families.

The golf and A3 are premium priced cars when new if you compare them to the alternatives, they also hold their value so unfortunatly your budget isnt going to go a long way when buying one of those 2 cars. They are both very similar and share a lot of parts. VW diesel engines are very good so a high mileage VW diesel should be ok but check I think it is honest john website it tells you things to watch out for on cars, it even goes in to older cars with advise on possible repairs needed and how good they are for breaking down. aparenty the older diesel golfs were more prone to break down that petrol ones. interesting.

My dad is looking to buy at the moment after the insurance have writen his old astra off due to repair costs being high after someone hit it while parked.

tomstickland

I'd recomend keeping the Cavalier and see what the MOT brings. It's low mileage and they were renowned for mechanical simplicity and long lives.
They shouldn't be hard on fuel unless you're driving it really hard.

anewman

tomstickland wrote: »

They shouldn't be hard on fuel unless you're driving it really hard.

Or poorly maintained/serviced

Inactive

tomstickland wrote: »

They shouldn't be hard on fuel unless you're driving it really hard.

Let us hope that the OP's UserID doesn't reflect his/her driving style.;)

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers!

I would look at something like a BMW 525d touring. Plenty around for that budget and they're excellent cars:

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/332447.htm

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/317248.htm

Don't worry about mileage. So long as the oil has been changed regularly, and as long as there isn't any blue smoke under acceleration or liftoff, or any rattles at idle, you should be fine.

bigfoot125

i must say i like the look of these,wondering what the mpg is ,can i get some decent cars on this particular site,been thinking about looking on ebay but i am not mechanically minded
thanks

bigfoot125

tomstickland wrote: »

I'd recomend keeping the Cavalier and see what the MOT brings. It's low mileage and they were renowned for mechanical simplicity and long lives.
They shouldn't be hard on fuel unless you're driving it really hard.

this i have thought about, the OH thinks it uses too much gas so it has to go,how can i get more efficiency,change the oil regular every 6000 miles but nothing else,what other stuff would i need to change

cheers

anewman

Fuel filter, I think for most cars is done every two years. Air filter, for most cars probably every year. Spark plugs are definitely worth replacing. If the distributor cap and rotor arm haven't been touched in a few years they'd be worth replacing. If a full set of new leads are relatively cheap I'd replace them for the hell of it. If the engine has manually settable tappet clearances, (i.e. not hydraulic) set those almost as often as you change oil.

Don't forget safety like brake fluid renew every 2 years, checking the discs, drums, pads and shoes every-so-often.

Inactive

bigfoot125 wrote: »

this i have thought about, the OH thinks it uses too much gas so it has to go,how can i get more efficiency,change the oil regular every 6000 miles but nothing else,what other stuff would i need to change

cheers

Driving style, anything harsh will waste fuel.


Keep tyre pressures correct, have brakes checked to make sure they are not " dragging".