Best car from this list for £5k

[Hobart Paving]

So which car do you reckon gets me most for my £5k? I do about 250 miles a week.

Basically, I want something thats:-

1. Nice to drive ie comfortable, not too noisy, nice gear change etc
2. Reliable / doesn't fall apart apart after 200 miles
3. No huge yearly repair/servicing bills
4. Must be reasonably quick ie above average

Volvo S60
Ford Puma
BMW 3 Compact
lexus IS200
Audi A3/A4 (old shape)
Peugeot 406 Coupe
Peugeot 206 GTI
Ford Mondeo (new shape but which model is best?)
Ford Focus ST170
Golf GTI/1.8T/V5/Tdi (Mk4)

[dave87]

If you want an 'exec' car I'd be tempted by the S60 or the A4. The BMW will hit you with reasonably expensive service bills, but are pretty reliable.
The 406 Coupe would be a good choice- iirc it was the one designed by pininfarina - also styled Ferraris.
The IS200 is very nice, well built aswell - being a Lexus.
The Mondeo is a nice car - but do you want something like that if you can find a nice 406 Coupe? The other cars I haven't had any experience of.

Hope this helps (a bit)

Dave

[Taz]

Drivers cars: Peugeot 206GTi, Ford Focus ST170, Golf GTi

Comfort: Volvo S60, IS200, Peugeot 406

Looks: Peugeot 406 Coupe, Audi A4

Cheapest to service from the list above: Peugeot 406 Coupe

It's a difficult choice so I think you need to prioritise the criteria a bit more. I personally would buy a 406 Coupe. It's based on the standard 406 saloon so is very cheap to service but it's a real head-turner.

[Tumble]

out of that lot I'd go for the Volvo on comfort - parts n servicing can be pricey though... the 406 for looks, but it's French The Fords look good, go well and are fairly inexpensive to run/service... BUT the winner would be the TDi Golf - espesh if it's the GT TDi flavour. NICE motors... but typically bland and Germanic inside

[hitman67]

If it's a Diesel then I'd go for the A4 Every time. You can now get a T reg A4 2.5 TDi for around £3000 which is a lot of car for the money, or a 1.9 90 or 110bhp for even less.

[Konan555]

406

[5lab]

Volvo S60 - nice car - particularly in d5 flavour it'd give you the performance (0-60 in under 8 iirc, and thats not the strong point of a derv) and comfort. not the best handling car, but probably one of the quietest
Ford Puma - i think, compared to the competition, you may find the quality and quietness of this a little lacking. i wouldnt want to do large milage in one
BMW 3 Compact - dont know much about it but i do know that motoring press think its a lemon - i'd pass myself..
lexus IS200 - apparently its got a very odd dashboard.. gotta love the looks though - a design classic - although i'd recon that on massive alloys (as you see most of them) it'd probably have a fairly harsh ride and a bit of road noise
Audi A3/A4 (old shape) - think you'd get less car as you end up paying for the name - i'd definately avoid the a3 - if you want one get a golf instead.
Peugeot 406 Coupe - looks gorgeous... not sure what its like to drive/own.. i've heard the interior is standard 406 affair, so you might not get what you'd want from a exec-ish car.. the v6 is the one thats swift, but its also fairly thirsty.
Peugeot 206 GTI - same comments as the puma really - i think the interior/noise would dissapoint you
Ford Mondeo (new shape but which model is best?) - one of the tdci ones should be nippy (but you wont get a st-tdi or whatever they're called).. and economical.. dead cheap to run but depreciation is a sod on them - i just picked up a (just) 6 year old example for under a grand
Ford Focus ST170 - nice.. quite common.. might be expensive on fuel? (not sure)
Golf GTI/1.8T/V5/Tdi (Mk4) - again paying a *bit* over the standard for a car of this class, but the gt tdis are pretty quiet cruisers..

a quiet suggestion - volvo c70? basically the s60 in a coupe body.. so as the 406 coupe is to the standard 406.. looks nice.. or maybe a passat..

[Hobart Paving]

Thanks for the tips.

I forgot to mention - a car with a good automatic box would be a bonus provided it isn't lurchy, unreliable (auto boxes are expensive to fix/replace) and doesn't chew too many mpg. Isn't crucial, though it would be nice, as some cars have lurchy manual/clutch combinations in traffic.

Also of the 250miles I do, 220 of them are done in 1 day! I drive from Machester to Birmingham every weekend.

A car with fold down rear seats would also be useful for carrying / moving stuff.

Would that change the suggestions?

With regard to the 406 Coupe - that has a group 17 insurance rating and wouldn't it be a bit slow - 136bhp for big car seems a bit low?
http://www.parkers.co.uk/choosing/ca..._id=658&page=8

Isn't the C70 based on the old V70/80 (police car) floorpan? S60 is a new model introduced in 2001 isn't it and not based on any model previously? That why the reviews for the S60 are quite good but the ones for the C70 say it handle like a dog with lots of torque steer etc?

[5lab]

hmm the s60 is based on the s80 platform (which also houses the xc90 and the newer v70s). to be honest i'm not *sure* which platform the c70 was based on - i thought it was the new one but i may be wrong - it could just be that c70 owners were expecting a more sporty car than s60 owners?

136 on a diesel will be quicker than 136 on a petrol - theres no *given* amount by which this is, but a derv will nearly always be quicker due to a flatter, lower torque curve (the diesel has MORE torque than any other engine in the range..). that said, if i wanted a quick 406 coupe, i'd go for the v6.

[javalord]

The 406 coupe is not put together by Peugeot, and its hard to find a HDi version under £5k.
Insurance wont cost as much as you think, some other forum users got some quotes and was quite suprised by how average they were, despite their high IG.

If most your mileage is motorway, most definately consider a diesel. Can leave it in 5th gear for most the journey.

[Fox]

Erm you wont get an IS200 worth buying for £5k, neither will you get an E46 BMW 3 Series. If you could I'd recommend one of these two provided they are proper high spec 6 cylinder cars, but you can't so I won't.

You'll either get a decent, modern normal car or an old, tatty, low spec or dated prestige car. Go for something normal - you dont really have the budget for a nice Audi or a BM - the Compacts are particularly nasty.

Mondeo would be my choice but get the highest spec you can possibly find.

Or find a few more grand and buy a really lovely E39 5 Series. Oh yes.

406 Coupe is utterly beautiful and worth putting up with reliability issues just for the looks. Golf far too expensive for what it is.

[Howard]

I agree with Fox.. Prestige cars like BMWs and Audis require a little bit of a budget for insurance, maintenance, etc. If you're on a low budget you will want to consider something more "normal"

Out of that list I'd go for the Volvo, Mondeo or Golf in that order. The 406 Coupe looks fairly nice, but I don't think it looks fantastic

A smaller car like a 3 series compact or a Puma won't do you as well on a motorway, and they're slower than the above 3 probably. Lol

[Konan555]

Plus the small 3 series looks like a glitch in BMWs cad software

[davidstone28]

The best car(s) from that list having regard to your budget and criteria are easily the S60 and the Mondeo (provided its not the diesel Mondeo).

S60 - easily best car of the lot though for £5,000 you'll be looking at a high miler perhaps 100k and it won't necessarily be a 'cheap' car to run. Very comfortable seats and driving position. Superb car for motorway work and you've got the Volvo safety and build quality. Volvo's seem to last forever too, so mechanical integrity is probably pretty good. For a 2.0T, I doubt that you'll see more than 28mpg with a mix of A/B/M roads though. The only thing I'd be slightly worried about is what the replacement intervals are for the cat and other parts. If you pay £5,000 for a 90,000 mile 2.4SE and the cat is due to be replaced, you'll have to factor in the additional cost. £1,000? £1,500? You really want to be picking a car with a full Volvo service history. If you go for private buyer, he'll may well have the invoices as well showing exactly what work has been done (and what's due). Avoid the big 18" wheels or sports suspension. The Geartronic versions (sequential automatic + normal automatic) aren't worth the extra money. Also if there's a major failure its about £2-£3k to replace.....best to stick to the manual or normal automatic. TBH, if you're going to pay £5k for the car, you should also set aside another £1k for any necessary work and servicing. A high miler may have worn suspension etc.

The Mondeo is a very underrated car. Very nice to drive - everything works well from the steering, gearchange, clutch, acceleration, handling etc. It's very fluid. You also have a huge model range to choose from and for £5,000 you could get a 1 owner 2.0 Ghia X with leather, AC etc. Parts and servicing is cheap, so you'll get alot of car for your money. The big downside, and this applies to all Fords is that you get very inconsistent quality control. One Mondeo could be fine and then another one could be an absolute lemon. Build quality is going to be okayish but you're not going to get the mechanical integrity of Japanese cars. Your Mondeo will fall to bits far sooner than say, a Honda Accord. Best to go for as low a mileage as your budget will allow for a car like this. I'd also avoid the diesels - they seem fine on paper, but the TDci engines have had a history of build quality gremlins. You only have to look at the number of recall notices relating to those engines to reliase that they were built by monkeys.... Still. a petrol 2.0 will be fine car to drive. The V6 will be creamier that silk, but you'll pay in terms of mpg of about 27/28mpg.

You could probably pick up a E46 BMW or Lexus IS200 at auction for £5,000. I saw loads of base spec BMW 316s/318s at one of the BCA auctions before Christmas. All ex-lease cars from Lloyds, high mileage but properly serviced and with full history. The problem you're going to have with these sort of cars is that the parts are mind numbingly expensive, and you're going to have to expect to start replacing parts on cars with 100k on the clock. Nothing wrong with replacing parts, but I'd hazard a guess that a new cat, complete exhaust, or steering rack on a BMW are going to be well over £1,000 each. Coupled with the high price of servicing, that makes for a very expensive car.

Bottom line: the Mondeo is nice to drive and cheaper to run, but the Volvo will last longer but will be more expensive to run. Swings and roundabouts

[Fox]

My 130k mile Mondeo has yet to fall apart or cost money, when can I schedule this in to happen please?

[Skii]

My 130k mile Mondeo has yet to fall apart or cost money, when can I schedule this in to happen please?

Your Mondeo will never develop a fault Fox, it is the best car ever made.