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Righty - after introducing my old Yaris to a wet, muddy bend in the road & then immediately after that, a hedge, i'm in the market for a new (old) car. Only looking at about 5k per year so mpg isn't really a biggie, don;t want to be paying more that aboot £250 in tax - do I go for an old leather-clad BMW / Merc or a Honda Jazz or suchlike? Need to be able to get a bike in the boot as November-February-ish I drive halfway to work - back seats down is fine.
Any thoughts for 2k? Leftfield choices welcome - looking for it to last as i'll run it into the ground unless I run it into a hedge first, any reason not to go for an old 5 series or similar?
Cheers!
John
If you’re going for an older (for example) 5 series, remember to consider the amount of electrics in there, lots of relays and switches which (might) go wrong.
Of course, they could all work perfectly too.
i have to be honest, i always feel more comfortable in a bigger car.
there is a certain appeal in having something big enough to throw a bike in, and old enough to not care if it’s muddy.
5k a year?
Huge barge.
Omega Estate, Big Citroen, something tasteless from Korea.
Rover 75 estate?
Can you get a LS400 for £2000?
ZT-T?
Not quite sure I'd fancy a £2k XJ6 but I'd be tempted.
Me too.
Was offered an S Class for a couple of grand a few years ago. Not crispy, crazy miles, but needed a service and tyres.
Ended up with a 200,000 mile Omega for £300. I was robbed, tbh.
I'd love a nice, low milage, well looked after Omega/Carlton Estate, but I don't think there're any left.
Hang on, those ugly Ford Scorpios? Any left?
Get a massive V8 saloon, BMW or Jag would be my pick. Folding seats are an option on some saloons so don't forget to check that.
I had actually thought about the MG ZT / Rover 75 as an option - they've got the BMW diesel engine eh? I quite like the 75 with the leather interior & they sometimes pop up with low miles...
Anyone know if a bike will go in a 5 series saloon? I'm assuming the rear seats go down but never had one to try.
Glad the overwhelming response is to go big - a BMW 7 series popped up with 110k for 4 grand - looks like a private jet inside, although that would be stretching it a bit 😂
Can you still get bargain BM's? I assumed they were so popular anything decent would have gone way above £3000 years ago.
A taxi driver mate buys nice Avensis Estates and moves them on, but nice ones aren't cheap.
I've always fancied a Prelude, tbh. As much Japanese quirkyness as I'd want. Nice for a couple of grand...
I bought a Rover 75 diesel when Rover went bust and nobody wanted them, it was cheap and the most reliable car I've owned, but I wouldn't buy another now as they are just too old with production finishing 2005. I had a Ford Scorpio before then so like an undesirable luxo-barge. I'd look at Toyota / Mazda / Honda / Ford older high end motors but avoid BMW / Merc for the extra kudos tax they often command.
I went down the luxury sofa route myself and bought an old (20 yrs old) Volvo V70 for £800. Full leather, fake wood and a growly 5 cylinder petrolholic engine. Its not perfect but I love it.
BMW are nice cars and well built, but they're not the most reliable. Watch for rust and leaks, and if it hasn't any, expect them to develop.
Honda Accord is an option. Diesels have weak clutch though and it's an expensive fix.
this was quite a fun thread, on exactly the same topic.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=4939613#topofpage
Matey ended up with an old v6 Hyundai
SAAB? A quick peek at Ebay throws up a lot of motor for not a lot of cash. A workmate has one. It had a doctor as the previous owner and in decent nick, He paid peanuts for it and loves wafting about.
This looks pretty good at £1295
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/saab-9-5-Estate-1-9-tid/202314751820
Choose something where it's worth more in parts if it dies and go big, Range Rover 4.6? When the big bill comes sell the rest off but by bit, requires time and patience mind. And probably a big shed if people want body parts before engine and interior.
Big Alfas, 164/166 for cheap. How much are old coupés going for, thinking Calibra/Rover Tomcat. Prelude was a good shout. MR2 for mid engine fun but bike in might be awkward, will it fit behind the seats?
2004 Honda Accord. 800-1000 easily. Goes forever. Cheap to run too
Can you fix cars yourself or will you be paying somebody? Makes a big difference. If you are paying somebody I would get something "boring" and reliable like a civic (shouldnt break that much, cheap to fix when it does). If you can do it yourself I would get something more interesting (also depends how much you like lying in the driveway at the weekend!) Civic type R is reasonably fun, reasonably practical/reliable and cheap if you dont mind be stereotyped as a chav.
Also check the price of general consumables/spares, dont want to end up with something thats £800 for a pair of front discs!
Do you want fast, fun, luxury, comfort?
A8s, 740, 540, big Merc or Lexus etc are all great wafters, can be brutal on fuel and tyres if driven hard though!
Had a couple of Preludes in the past - last one was a 1999 model with the H22A8 2.2 engine & the closer ratio gearbox, really liked that, had that for 7 years and still kinda regret selling it as it was still as fresh as the day I bought it.
Spanner-wise everything would be done at the local garage so I don't really want anything that's gonna require loads of maintenance - Saabs look like a pretty decent shout, always quite fancied one of those.
Decisions decisions
Mondeo estate
SAAB 95
Puegeot estate
something with common parts share across a number of vehicles
much like the list that duncancallum provided
highly suggest steering clear of anything rover or range rover or alfa for bangernomics unless you willing to walk away the first time it takes a dump on you. $$$$$
Add in Citroen if you're going Pug. As always do a thorough MOT background check to see what life it's had.
Mercedes CLS. Plenty of those for less than £4k. Apparently the very earliest need to be avoided as there was a problem with the hardness of balancer shaft gears, there is a definite engine number when they become OK though.
I've got a octavia vrs I need to sell. Full mot 130k 2001 £850. It looks a heap as the lacquer in peeling on the bonnet, bit it's mechanicaly sound. Nottingham based. Owned by me since 2008 🙂
S-Type Jag. They look pretty depressing, but much cheapness and a couple of grand will get a good example with lots of toys.
Lexus of some kind?
Toyota Avensis?
Sofa on wheels, definitely.
Any older Lexus. Can't go wrong. Better value for money than a BMW at the moment but prices are rising.
It's got to be the Bangernomics king, the Toyota Corrolla. You'll be amazed at what you can get for 2K (it's what I'm looking at after my £600 Clio gives up).
Had a quick look at 9-5s - seems like a decent compromise between true lux-o-barge status & something my missus would almost approve of, you do get a lot of Jag for 2 grand though! those Merc CLS are tidy for the money - much like the 7 series BMW's but a bit rich for my blood
J
Mercs are rust ridden heaps at bangernomics level, I'd be avoiding like the plague.
Go rollerskate - does the older BMW Z4 fall in to this price bracket yet?
Anything with the VW/audi 1.9 engine they stopped making in around 2005-06.
i had a tdi golf with 222,000 miles that gave another excellent years service until i crashed it.
We had an A4 with 170,000 miles when we bought it and sold it three years later with 270,000 miles still going strong
Current banger is a 2003 Golf with 140,000 miles (barely run in) with an awesome remap and goes like stink while still giving 50mpg if driven sensibly
If you’re really jammy you can find this engine in some early registered mk5 shape Golfs with a 6 speed box but owners keep them as the boxy mk4 wasnt for everyone.
Octavia estate, Volvo 850 T5 estate 😉 or V70 estate, Zafira. Zafira VXR would be fun, but probably well outside the budget, but the higher spec models with the turbo go well, and with seven seats, loads of room in the back. Popular with Motability clients, loads about, so should be plenty within budget. Might be worth checking BCA website for Motability specific auctions, surprising what goes through those, the cars can be a bit ‘well-used’, but often low mileage.
A Volkswagen Phaeton would be worth a look also - a good example might be in budget.
£2k is Bangernomics?? 😮
I need to up my game!!
Another shout for a phaeton if you can find a diesel or can afford the petrol. Think there was a very thirsty v10.
Lots of honda CRVs and HRVs out there, reliable, cheap possibly a bit dull.
There’s a Subaru Legacy estate, 2.0i on autotrader for £995, 106,000miles, with virtually a full mot (may 2019)
looks reasonably tidy.
i had one, great car.
Old shape Panda 1.2 (not the original obviously). Cheap as chips, cheap parts massively fun to drive. You'll have to take the wheels off your bike though.
Got an 07 Vectra estate.
huuuuge boot. Trek Fuel goes straight in with the seats down.
with both wheels off, I can sleep in the back too and I’m 6 ft.
£800 bloody bargain