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I'm on the prowl for a new motor. I'm doing about 15000 miles a year.
Is there anything that's reasonably cheap, not unreasonably slow and reasonably economical (ie, somewhere between £0-£5k, less than or around 10 seconds to 60, and able to manage 40+ to the gallon on A roads)?
It also needs be vaguely decent (ie, I do not want people to point and laugh) and to be bearable on A roads, otherwise I'd just go out and buy a Fiesta / Polo sized thing. And it needs to be reliable and easy to fix.
At the moment it's looking like a MK4 Golf or A3 1.6 16V or 1.8T a BMW 318 or possibly a Civic. The Golf definitely fits the reliable and easy to fix line as I've had umpteen of them. I suspect the BMW will do less MPG than the official figures reckon, and that the Honda will a) have a typical japanese engine that need revving and b) typical japanese comedy parts prices. Are there any hidden gems I've not thought of?
And I know a load of people are going to start shouting "DIESEL" at me, but I reckon they carry a big price premium and have a lot of bits to go wrong.
I'm a BMW mech, i wouldn't touch the 318. Piece of junk, made to a price point. Parts for them are expensive and a right pain to fit just about anything.
The Audi/Golf (same under the skin) are very reliable but parts can be a bit pricey.
Wouldn't even look at a Civic, parts are insane, engine is pathetic and the interiors are dull.
My advice would be not to expect too much if you are o nly spending £5K.
No
Mind if I ask you loads of questions then Offroading? 😆
I'd imagined that most of a 318 will be the same as a 320? I appreciate one's a 4 cyl whilst the other's a straight 6, but the driveline, interior, electrics and suspension etc. would all be the same? Or do the compacts and lower spec cars get different clobber?
To be honest, I'd sooner have the 320 but those extra 2 cylinder seem to rob you of about 10mpg according to the official figures. That said, the official figures for the 320, 325 and 330 all look to be between 38-40 to the gallon on the extra urban - are they actually that similar on juice in practice? Because if they are, I think I need the 3 litre...
What sort of money would I be expecting to pay for bits? I know VW have a rep for pricey parts, but I've found a lot of mechanical bits for elderly VWs to be surprisingly cheap - I think I paid £30 +VAT at the dealer for a waterpump a while ago, and service kit like oil/air filters is generally less than a tenner. Brake parts I would tend to buy Brembo or Mintex - I guess I'd hope to be looking at <£100 for a set of front discs and pads?
And is the e46 suspension bog standard Mac struts with a bottom arm or will I be looking at 52 different ball joints and bushes that all need replacing every so often?
If you do consider a diesel, have a look at something from Toyota with the 2.0 D4D engine in it
No DPF no cam belt
Petrol A4's look spectacularly cheap as everyone want the diesel.
I think I need the 3 litre
If you do, I've a 330i Sport I might sell you 30mpg, slightly quicker than 10sec to 0-60, semi auto so cruises on long journeys lots of fun or easy cruising on A roads, your choice.
Oh and Straight six rumble 😀
[url= 
]The one with the sexy bodykit....[/url]
Mk1 Leon? same 1.8t as the audi a3/golf gti (red I one!), looks half decent and if you get the Cupra R 225 version with the recaros...
[url= http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/seat/leon-cupra/leon-cupra-r-badger-revo-262bhp-bam/793090 ]Or you could get a silly one remapped to 262BHP[/url]
If its any guidance, the relative state of my cars when I disposed of them at 3 years old (all fetched about £5k)
A4 1.9tdi 51 plate with 110k on - ok, engine mountings were shot, gearbox bearings were noisy.
320dSE (e46) with 148k on. Had new exhaust, suspension bushes at 120k. Some electrical gremlins but nothing scary. Great car.
118dSe with 110k on - faultless, still dove like new.
A4 (current model) had a new gearbox at 20k, otherwise was going strong at 50k when it got nicked.
Personally, I'd hunt down a Volvo S60 D5. Good for intergalactic mileage, comfy, a lot faster than you would think. Or an Audi A6 2.5tdi, but then I like big lazy cars. The 3 series was very very good, but was tired at that mileage.
Any BMW has pretty trick front suspension, the strut is a basic mac but that's not the worry, it's the arms front/rear/ that cost £££ Wheels bearings are a whole hub setup. The E46 has a bottom arm and i can tell you now it's a total utter c***t to change the damn thing. The thing that puts me off the E46/3 series is the under side is steel and rust (badly) just like every other car so why pay a premium for it.
I currently have a 523 which only manages 20mpg and E60 M5 which is brutal on fuel.
Parts on the 318 are fairly similar but not everything. Discs are smalller etc.
on VW's some bits are just nuts. The golf/A3 are bad for back calipers seizing and they are £80+ But the brake pipe threads into them and they are a pain to get in/out without replacement. Access to the rear wheel bearing spline bolts can be a hassle without removing lots of other bits. Clutch is a foo*ing nightmare to do on them
Agree with the above. The Toyota 2 litre D4D engine is VERY good although i had to do the water pump on my brothers at 100K as it was leaking badly.
As for not expecting much for £5k...... You can get a E39 M5 for £5k which will wee all over most modern cars in terms of power/spec 400hp and more toys than you can shake a stick at.
Tron, I'm going to be selling our '07 Golf GT tdi very soon indeed.
2.0l, 6 speed, no DPF and does 45mpg average over the last 25k on mostly country roads.
106k, new tyres, full history, just serviced, had the cam belt and water pump replaced,12 months MOT, Bluetooth phone kit, Denison gateway iPod/USB connector - looking around £5500 or £5000 with a scratch on one side ( had it when we bought it).
Mk1 leon fr tdi 45 mpg, o-60- 7.2 secs, 140 mph and available for less than 4 k
Seats 5 people, genuine parts from avs.co.uk very cheap
Job done
My c class? Would regularly do 38mpg and will go on forever, plus you'd have £2k left to spend on bike bits!
I think I need the 3 litre...
😉
I did. Its horrendous on fuel in town, but I can see over 40 mpg on a steady motorway run. All in all pretty close to the quoted figures so long term average is 29 ish. Servicing is no more expensive than any other car I;ve owned. Tyres are a bit more, no big bills for DPF, DMF, Turbo etc etc
The soundtrack and handling through, make it all worth it :-))
Having just bought an e46 330i touring I can honestly say it is a cut above in terms of built quality. I've had alfas, renaults and porsches in the apst, and by far and away the quality is better on the BMW. Small things like use of good fasteners makes working on it a much ncier experiance. And having had a laguna, the BMW and a boxster up on ramps in quick succession the BMW was by far and away in the best condition underneath (all similar age/mileage).
Can't disagree with Offroading's experience working on them, but every car has it's weak points, use google and you'll hear horror stories for every make/model. Suspension is known weak point on the e46 as it front wings rusting, neither is insurmountable. And as you say, fuel economy isn't much between the 320 and the 330, so get the 330! last 3k miles we've averaged 32.4, so not bad for a 12 year old car with a NA straight 6 engine!
Mrs_d bought a 56 plate Citroen C4 (2 years old at the time) coming up to 4 years ago for about £5k with 20-odd k miles on the clock.
I've been using it for the last 18 months since I gave up my 9-3 & it's not a bad car. Still only got 59k miles on it, 6 years old, it's barely run in.
I know people knock French cars especially the electrics but it does mean you can get s/h french cars for a lot less than equivalent german ones of the same size/age.
1.6 petrol, I get 36-37mpg commuting through Bradford in the rush hour both directions; diesels would be much more economical
[i]I currently have a 523 which only manages 20mpg and E60 M5 which is brutal on fuel.[/i]
Surprised about your 523, as my recently dead 535i would do 25mpg no problem.
[i]My advice would be not to expect too much if you are only spending £5K. [/i]
Not if you buy right. 535i lasted nearly 5 years and cost me £2k (80k to 125k), and I paid £1k for its replacement, an AWD 3.0i X-Type (70k). Although coming down to a V6 after a V8 is a bit of a bummer 😉
blimey. What planet are you on. What you mean is; if you want to keep up with the Jones and fall for the 'only good car is a new car' con trick then you'll struggle. But I've never spent more than £2k on a car and I've had some cracking motors. Currently running a functional 306 td as my commuting hack (cost £300 several years ago, done 70k trouble free since) and a very nice Merc c250td estate for the family car, cost £2000 with 72k on the clock, now 92k absolutely nothing spent on it other than fuel, oil and filters and pads. Flown through two MOTs so far. But of course, neither are 'new'...angeldust - Member
My advice would be not to expect too much if you are o nly spending £5K.
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Toyota Corolla, Avensis, Verso or Skoda Fabia, Octavia.
😀
Volvo S60
My c class? Would regularly do 38mpg and will go on forever, plus you'd have £2k left to spend on bike bits!
I know i've not exactly got lots of experience of driving cars, but i've got plenty of being in them 🙂
In true STW fashion i'm going to recommend my own car, which is around your budget:
Merc w203 C class estate 180k
Avantgarde
Sports package
Leather
Lots of gadgets
40mpg+ on an A road run (without trying)
Loads of space and really really comfortable
I had originally planned to keep this until the end of my first year of driving, then pick up something else once my insurance premium dips (hopefully!) however I now have no intention of getting rid of it and plan to run it until the repair bills make me cry.
I've got a few other people on the insurance who have been driving for a long time, and they absolutely love it, really nice car to be in or to drive 🙂
I suppose the sticking point would be whether you can repair it yourself.
We had a VW Passat. Had 189000 and still going strong. Easily averaged 45-50mpg on long runs at 80-85.
Written off last week(smacked in the rear by a MandS Lorry)
Just bought a Octavia for £3000 with the golf tdi 140bhp engine. Incredibly fast, powerful and economical. Cost us £50 to get back to London from Edinburgh last week!
Cheers for all the info. Will definitely have a look at the Mercs. To be honest, if I had £££ I'd be driving around in a 1980s SEC or the AMG 190E...
The consensus I'm getting from googling the BMWs is that I'll be lucky to see more than 35mpg from any petrol engined 3 - does that seem about right for the lads on here who run one? For what it's worth, my commute is about 30 miles one way, about 3 miles through town then 50mph most of the rest...
http://mercedesclforsale.wordpress.com/http://mercedesclforsale.wordpress.com/
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My wife has a 320i and gets about 30 mpg, though she does have a lead right foot. Lovely car but the MSport suspension is a bit firm for my tastes.
Test drive a few, was sure I wanted an A4 avant but after test drive it just felt like my old Vectra (albeit with a much nicer interior). Ended up with a 5 series which a very relaxing drive on motorway but still ok on twisty country roads I actually drive on each day.
Subaru Forester,get a nice 2.0 non turbo for cheaper running costs.
Honda civic, 2.2 turbo diesel. Mine averages 50 mpg, is pretty powerful, comfy as hell, and an absolute cavern inside. The back seats concertina down to the floor, meaning there is a huge space with them folded down. I recently got a 6x3 foot table in the back, no probs.
Fabia vRS / Golf GT TDI 150 - both well affordable for your budget with a load of change. Yes, they're diesel but they're quick, economical even when giving it some beans and well built.
Focus 2.0TDCI Estate? (-different engine to the Mk3 Mondeo)