View Full Version : Decent car wanted for around £2K. Is it possible?
My lady's car has pretty much had it now and we need another.
Can I get some advise on what is good for a couple of grand or so, where to look and anything else you can think of.
I want a golf but I can't see us getting much for our budget.
P.S. The one on it's way out is a Ka so something smallish would suit the Missus but I think we can go a little bigger now she's stopped scraping anything bolted to the floor.
barwel1992
11-10-10, 11:35 PM
golf ? can pick some ok ones up for 2k
The Basket
12-10-10, 06:42 AM
It is possible....but beggars can't be choosers.
Get the best car for the money.
If you want a particular brand or make is when it goes wrong.
suzsv650
12-10-10, 07:37 AM
I just picked up an imaculate MK2 MR2 Import for 1800 its loverly
Mr Speirs
12-10-10, 08:25 AM
My thoughts:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201040369857410/sort/priceasc/usedcars/price-to/2000/model/147/make/alfa_romeo/page/6/postcode/ng57hq/radius/1501?logcode=p
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201039369578611/sort/priceasc/usedcars/price-to/2000/model/147/make/alfa_romeo/page/4/radius/1501/postcode/ng57hq?logcode=p
A lot of car for the money. Engines are fine as long as the belts and service history is present and correct. 36k or 3 years for belts.
MCN_LiamM
12-10-10, 08:27 AM
My Skoda Fabia cost £1800 or so and I can't fault. And they're essentially a Polo.
Tim in Belgium
12-10-10, 08:37 AM
Skoda Octavia, same floor pan as a Mark 4 golf and cheap. I picked up a nice 150bhp 1.8T, with full leather, wood, airco, crusie control, heated seats etc for 1800 quid, it's going well, will do 38 mpg on a long run and is averaging 35mpg overall at the moment. Very comfy, great on the motorway/cruising and towing the bike. Less fun "chucking" it round country roads, it's a little too soft for that.
My thoughts:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201040369857410/sort/priceasc/usedcars/price-to/2000/model/147/make/alfa_romeo/page/6/postcode/ng57hq/radius/1501?logcode=p
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201039369578611/sort/priceasc/usedcars/price-to/2000/model/147/make/alfa_romeo/page/4/radius/1501/postcode/ng57hq?logcode=p
A lot of car for the money. Engines are fine as long as the belts and service history is present and correct. 36k or 3 years for belts.
Engines are fine, gearbox has some issues but even I managed a DIY on one. However electrics are still ALFA!
Should also say the 1.6 TS goes like **** off a shovel!!
warrenhewitt10
12-10-10, 09:24 AM
for 2 grand you actually have quite a large choice, i was looking a car for around £1000, and got bored of looking because there was so many.
www.gumtree.com is your friend, much better than autotrader for cheap stuff :)
Owenski
12-10-10, 09:54 AM
Skoda Octavia, same floor pan as a Mark 4 golf and cheap. I picked up a nice 150bhp 1.8T, with full leather, wood, airco, crusie control, heated seats etc for 1800 quid, it's going well, will do 38 mpg on a long run and is averaging 35mpg overall at the moment. Very comfy, great on the motorway/cruising and towing the bike. Less fun "chucking" it round country roads, it's a little too soft for that.
+1 on this!
Octavia I very nice!
_Stretchie_
12-10-10, 11:25 AM
Of course you can, I bought my 1997 1.5 Civic in May 2006 with 80k on it for £1,400, it's now got 150k on it
CheGuevara
12-10-10, 03:27 PM
+1 for the Honda Civic. We have an '03 1.7 Coupe (130hp), bought 2yrs ago for ~£3k with about 37k miles, now on about 60k miles and not a hint of any problems. It's only cost us fuel (42mpg combined), oil-changes, tyres and a new set of front brake pads.
We will be buying an '01/'02 1.4 or 1.6 hatch when I sell my Hilux Surf (bullet proof and cheap to buy, but not great on diesel) later this year. Our budget for the new Honda will be just over £2k and I've seen several at that mark with ~60k miles on them. I'd also expect it to easily do another 100k miles of trouble-free motoring.
If I had 2 grand and had to buy a car for my mrs.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201039369365338/sort/pricedesc/usedcars/price-to/2000/make/bmw/page/1/radius/1501/postcode/se11xj/quicksearch/true?logcode=p
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201038368971305/sort/pricedesc/usedcars/price-to/2000/model/300_zx/make/nissan/postcode/se11xj/radius/1501/page/1?logcode=p
Actually second one would be if it was for me :-)
husky03
12-10-10, 04:29 PM
fiat bravo years mot, 62000 miles, four months tax-£750
Biker Biggles
12-10-10, 04:45 PM
Nissan Micra 1997 one elderly owner 30000 miles immaculate £700
Family member bought this over a year ago and it now has 55000 miles and the only expense has been tyres and basic servicing.No point in paying good money out for cars when this sort of thing is available.
Dave20046
12-10-10, 04:45 PM
If you've got around the £3k mark you can have my 2002 golf in black with under 60k on the clock....
After reading Che's post I'm tempted by a civic! How do they drive? I'm really picky about cars being comfy to drive.
Jackie_Black
12-10-10, 06:53 PM
If its not going to be driven a lot of miles a year get an e39 five series, I paid £1700 for mine 3 years ago and its the best car i've ever owned. It drinks a bit but its awesome and cost someone £50k at one point. Its fast, safe, reliable and cheap to service (although the oil isnt) and has done 150k now.
Dave20046
12-10-10, 07:00 PM
If its not going to be driven a lot of miles a year get an e39 five series, I paid £1700 for mine 3 years ago and its the best car i've ever owned. It drinks a bit but its awesome and cost someone £50k at one point. Its fast, safe, reliable and cheap to service (although the oil isnt) and has done 150k now.
Insurance group 17 though... :(
Tim in Belgium
12-10-10, 07:01 PM
^ what engine have you in your E39?
fizzwheel
12-10-10, 07:02 PM
Nissan Micra 1997 one elderly owner 30000 miles immaculate £700
If I wanted a small cheap car, thats what I'd buy. I dont know anybody whose owned a Micra and not been impressed with it.
Tim in Belgium
12-10-10, 07:04 PM
Yep the noddy style ones are meant to be great, and fun trying to maintain momentum in them.
gruntygiggles
12-10-10, 07:12 PM
Haha, I had an E reg Nissan Micra years ago, given to me by my nans late best friend in her will. Was a cracking little car. Survived twice daily trips to the farm up and down a really bumpy lane and managed to come away unscathed from a direct attack by a deer jumping on it...lol.
Hondas are very very good for the reliability and the civic was and still is a good drive!
Jackie_Black
12-10-10, 07:21 PM
^ what engine have you in your E39?
Its a 528 auto SE with loads of silly things inside it like a phone, tv, climate control etc.
It does 22mpg round the doors and 38 on a motorway. But I don't care about the fuel etc its worth it. Its pure luxury for escort money and makes you feel great every time you drive it. Plus all the idiots buy audis now.
cb1000rsteve
12-10-10, 07:22 PM
I bought a 51 plate Focus ghia 1.6 petrol recently for £2K with full history lots of receipts/All MOT's 2 owners (pre reg) 53,000 miles. It averages 41-45mpg and i can see why it was the biggest selling car back then. It really is a well put together car and i for one can't fault it.
fizzwheel
12-10-10, 07:30 PM
We had a 53plate TDci Focus, was a damn good car. Lovely to drive, good on fuel, just dont know whether that would be in the OP's original budget. Only reason we chopped it in for our Audi ( yes I am an idiot ;-) ) was we wanted something bigger with some more toys / comfort and it was getting to the point in its life where it was getting expensive every time it went for service or MOT. But then I think all vehicles when they get to that age go through that stage.
Jackie_Black
12-10-10, 07:38 PM
Not all audi drivers are idiots really, my brother has two and he.... actually hold on. :)
Do you find diesels cost a fortune to service compared to petrol?
My old cavalier diesel used to cost more to service than me beemer and it was a hateful skip of a vehicle. Oh and i wouldn't recommend an alfa to the OP. They drive beautifully but most components in the engine seem to be made of chocolate and they have annoying belts that cost £500 plus to change.
jimmy4237
12-10-10, 07:44 PM
Yes of course its possible. Stick to a jap car (The wee Honda Civics are bulletproof, and keep on running). The ford focus too is a cracking car (the old shape ones are the best especially in 3dr). As parts are cheap, and the cars just on going.
I just got my grans old car ('X' reg clio 3dr), she's owned it from new, and its only covered 8,500miles. Its last year MOT showed it had only done 32 miles.... The year before that was 26!!! Yet she still insisted on MOT'ing and taxing it every year. Total madness.... She's given up driving now because her vision is failing..
The wee car is mint too - not a scratch on it..... I'll sell it on for a good profit..
We won't be going from a 1.3 Ka to a fat Beemer or an Alfa Romeo. It'll mostly be for the Missus and she doesn't want (and isn't allowed) anything that much bigger.
Thanks for the advise so far. I reckon I'll wittle it down to a few models and keep my eyes open. I do like the idea of a civic. Type R. He he.
Jackie_Black
12-10-10, 09:03 PM
My lass drives mine, she only has an automatic licence and says its dead easy to drive, always comes back with worse economy than when i give her it. Plus its a sensible family car with full leather and 18s :p
CheGuevara
12-10-10, 09:46 PM
After reading Che's post I'm tempted by a civic! How do they drive? I'm really picky about cars being comfy to drive.
They drive very well, revy but made for that. If I have one "complaint" it's that they tend not to use a lot of sound damping material (presumably to save weight) -at least not in the Civic, so you can get a bit of road noise at 70mph. But if you're fussy and moderately handy you can always whack a few sheets of dynamat type stuff on the floors and in the doors, and then it will be like a German car without the expense or break downs :)
I think they'd be incredibly popular new cars here if it weren't for the price in the UK (duty perhaps?). In Canada a brand new 2010 Civic with 140hp 1.8L vtec (the base motor there) costs £10k ($16k CAD). A Civic in the UK with the same motor costs £18K :smt104
Nissan Micra
+1 for this suggestion. Micras are damn near indestructible, and if they ever do go wrong the parts are cheap as chips.
I had an M plate 1 litre Micra, and managed to drag two Suzuki TS50s I'd bought the 50 miles home with them in the boot in bits. I sold that car over two years ago for 300 quid and it's still going strong despite not having been serviced or maintained in any way since I let it go.
I just bought a 2000 W reg VW Bora V5 for £1200.
Really nice car to drive.
Don't believe all the horror stories about Alfas, I only sank 2 grand into my 156 V6 over the course of 18 months and ended up selling it on ebay with no MOT for a quarter of what I paid for it. Was worth it though lol.
yorkie_chris
13-10-10, 11:50 AM
+1 for this suggestion. Micras are damn near indestructible, and if they ever do go wrong the parts are cheap as chips.
I had an M plate 1 litre Micra, and managed to drag two Suzuki TS50s I'd bought the 50 miles home with them in the boot in bits. I sold that car over two years ago for 300 quid and it's still going strong despite not having been serviced or maintained in any way since I let it go.
Aye but you'd be mad to spend £2k on one.
No particular vices though don't intend on getting anywhere in a hurry.
My 1.5D 106 cost me 1.5k about 6 years ago. Does better mpg than the Bike. Moved house with it too - obviously getting on a bit now. Check out road tax rates before you buy.
I've had a couple of Micras in the past, then got a Yaris in 2000. The Yaris is a way better car in practically every respect. You can get a very nice example for under 2k now.
Just had a look on Autotrader and surprisingly you can now get a Honda Jazz for 2k, high mileage but they have an enviable reliability and owner satisfaction reputation, ride a little harsh on earlier examples but it's all relative.
Generally I suggest to people that they should go for a recent design car, safety has improved dramatically. The old jelly mould Micra was basically a 1990 design or thereabouts, the first Yaris was 1999 (so a generation later). We are now into a generation further along. Put safety well up the list of wants, it may well save your life one day.
Honda has probably the best overall reliability of any marque, FWIW, Toyota nearly as good (there was a study done in the US where they came to the simplified conclusion that statistically a 5 year old Toyota had a similar reliability to a 1 year old VW). If you want European, Skoda is probably the way to go, avoid French, Italian, and most GM.
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