What car for £2-£3K?

[Nemeliza]

Pic in my sig





ok i wish.....i have a 1.4 VW Polo

[Fox]

my rear windows dont open

I would go with the focus TDi

I wouldn't, for two reasons.

a) Any Focus TD for under £3k is going to have the horrible, hateful, godawful 1.8TD engine in it. It's utterly rubbish. It is not to be confused with the awesome TDCi, which is far more expensive.

b) Focus for under £3k is going to be an early one, higher mileage, bit shabby. Why bother when a newer Mondeo with more kit will... cost less money?

[Zak33]

Well I'd start looking at Laguna's!

Then I'd look at Mondeos as Foxxy-man states.

I'd also not consider Octavia if I had to get adults in the rear, but if I didn't , then I would consider it

I'd look at my old favourite the 406 too :-) HDi 90 or 110.

I'd also look at A4's

I'd avoid Vectra's as though they had a large penis drawn on them....cos they have..in invisible ink ...except that one model I once had that went ok for nearly 2000 miles before letting me down...again! (I've hated them for ever because so many cars out perform it in everything except boot space)

I'd look at Mk4 Ashtrays cos they rock.

I'd look at Primera's cos they dont ever break.

And then I'd wander off

[joshwa]

Cheers Zak - I've seen the new style 2001 Laguna's go for around £3300, which we may be able to stretch to. Saw an older A4 go for £2800 which seemed like a really good deal.

I was in a mk4 astra (the newest ones being mk5?) the other week and found the front seat to be REALLY uncomfortable on a 40 minute drive, but strangely the back seats were Very comfortable!

Just have to see what I can get now. I've seen a good 5dr Almera for £2500 (ie) although I don't know the mileage.

should I avoid cars with mileage over 90,000 ?

[Fox]

It depends what they are. I'd avoid Lagunas with high mileage but stuff like Almeras (Why would you want one of those, its the automotive equivilent of a washing machine) and Mondeo's I wouldnt give a stuff about mileage.

[joshwa]

Thinking now, that I'd quite like an Audi A4 - seen this on autotrader - looks quite good:

2001 AUDI A4 1.8 SE 4dr Saloon, (old shape)
94,000 miles, Met Silver, FDSH, PAS, Full SE Spec, Passenger & Drivers airbags, 12m MOT, Tax, ABS, Alloys, Symphony HiFi, exc cond. £3,995. ono.

should i avoid high mileage cars? - for example - saw one with 150k

[Howard]

I personally would.. That's when things start to go wrong/need attention.. But some people disagree, and some cars last better

[Fox]

No problems with properly maintained high mileage cars. That particular one looks like a rare chance to get an A4 for a non stupid price.

Check it very carefully though, it looks far too cheap to me, even with that mileage.

[Hobart Paving]

I agree with Fox - that A4 is suspiciously underpriced for a 2001 car with that sort of mileage.

[joshwa]

now that people seem to be able to easily change the digital mileage - is there any way of knowing the real mileage? like a backup "black box" that tells the real mileage?

[joshwa]

seen a good deal on a Citroen C5 Y reg - 69,000 miles - am going to have a look at it tomorrow

[J4MES]

MoTs are the best record of mileage, after that it's the service book. An A4 fits the bill nicely, and that price isn't too low to be suspicious - they cope with high miles better than most... as do Laguna's believe it or not - the longevity of Renault engines (if serviced properly) might suprise you...

[Fox]

seen a good deal on a Citroen C5 Y reg - 69,000 miles - am going to have a look at it tomorrow

Be careful. A properly looked after C5 is an excellent car, a neglected one is an enormous money pit. Should be able to get a Y plate one for under £4k tho, which is astonishing value.

[J4MES]

You could do worse than a Focus Zetec 1.4 or 1.6 - fits the bill I reckon...

FORD FOCUS 1.4 16V ZETEC,
S reg. 39000 miles, metallic blue, e/w, c/l, pas, abs, airbags, 5-dr, sunroof, immobiliser, alloys, 11mnths MoT, 6mnths tax, service history, immaculate. £2,995

[Fox]

Focus is a brilliant car ruined by a 1.4 litre engine. 1.6 though, top notch.

[5lab]

You could do worse than a Focus Zetec 1.4 or 1.6 - fits the bill I reckon...

FORD FOCUS 1.4 16V ZETEC,
S reg. 39000 miles, metallic blue, e/w, c/l, pas, abs, airbags, 5-dr, sunroof, immobiliser, alloys, 11mnths MoT, 6mnths tax, service history, immaculate. £2,995

thats very expensive for what you're getting

i picked up a v-plate car for 1/3 of that..