Looking for a cheap to buy/run/tax/insure family car

JohnN

JohnN

Suspended / Banned
Messages
6,359
Name
John
Edit My Images
Yes
So I'm no doubt looking for the impossible, but with a budget of 2000 what should I be looking for that'll last a few years, is cheap to run and insure and can fit a family of four and a huge tent for the family holiday?

I could just fit all that lot in a Toyota Avensis, but that's decided to be a pain, so while I'm upgrading I might as well look for better mpg & insurance.

Any suggestions gratefully received.
 
Last edited:
Skoda Octavia TDi estate? 110 PD engine
 
Splendid, thanks I'll add that to my search in the morning.
 
At that price you might also find a decent(ish) Ford Focus, the C-Max would probably fit your size requirements.
 
Mine did 140,000 and everything still worked and I got on average 475 miles from a 50 litre tank and I had a heavyish right foot :)
 
we had a Renault Kangoo for 6 odd years, chuffing awesome it was, me the wife and 3 kids on numerous camping trips, you could pretty much buy anything knowing it would fit in, and fair enough it was 20 odd 3 mile trips but we moved house with it..

only trouble was and its the same with all of them (Kangoo/Berlingo/Doblo etc..) is they are horrible looking, get by that and as a cheap to run fit everything and the kitchen sink workhorse perfect for the camping family, I would have no problem recommending the Kangoo
 
Lol, had a quick look and you're right its no looker, tax and mpg are a bit lacking, I can see how they'd have sheds of room though, the first one I saw was a van ☺
 
I'd fix the toyota. The devil you know is often the cheapest alternative, especially if up until now it's been reliable. £2k is banger territory and very pot luck on whether you get something good or a clapped out money pit that you'll have to throw away in a year or two.
 
I was told the engines terminal which makes it a bit of a biggie
 
JohnN said:
Lol, had a quick look and you're right its no looker, tax and mpg are a bit lacking, I can see how they'd have sheds of room though, the first one I saw was a van ☺
Click to expand...

we had the 1.4, always seemed good on fuel.. but yeah it was all about the space, from the shelf above the windscreen, the netted storage above the side windows for coats/kids colouring books etc... we never ever ran out of space to carry stuff..

if you are looking at a new car purely to help with camping what about a top box?

EDIT: just read above post, so you are after a new car
 
JohnN said:
I was told the engines terminal which makes it a bit of a biggie
Click to expand...

Terminal how? Exactly what is wrong with it? Most gasket failures are an easy fix and bottom end issues eg failed bearings aren't too bad.

I've just had to do some engine rebuilding on mine as I know it should last quite a number of years with all the work that has been done. Cost about half what I paid for the car a few years ago :(
 
Apparently its lower gasket - it seems I'm an idiot and forgot to check for oil!

My worry is that knowing nothing about cars (and it being old - 2003, so due a newer one anyway) is that parts would be £x then labour being hours * £x * random figure + how peeved they are tax (yep I don't like garages!) it would cost a few hundred then always have niggling doubts about it anyway, so I may as well consider then cost of repair as a discount against a new (to me) car and call it a day.

If I'm honest if I didn't need a car I just wouldn't have one - I don't much like driving them and really don't like the way they can suddenly make you skint.
 
One I was looking at was a Vauxhall Zafira with a 12 month guarantee - £1700 - 2003, 89k on the clock.
 
Dave1 said:
At that price you might also find a decent(ish) Ford Focus, the C-Max would probably fit your size requirements.
Click to expand...
Decent(ish) and ford.......................not too words that usually go together lol

I'm guessing your avensis is the 1.8, really bad oil burner so not surprised. I was lucky with mine as the excessive oil burn was picked up and Toyota replaced the bottom end of the engine under warranty. The build quality of that avensis isn't as good as the previous model either shame really as Toyotas are pretty reliable normally.

I had a zafira couldn't stand it and sold it just after 6 days lol, but I know a lot of people who do love them.

Take a look at 307sw, small car but pretty spacious. I moved to a standard 307 from my avensis estate and the space is still pretty impressive. Rear leg room matches the avensis and the boot isn't that much smaller, obviously SW would give you a bit more.

I don't think your going to find anything more newer than your avensis (couple of years maybe) though with your budget
 
Bottom end repair isn't that bad. If it's just a sump gasket then it isn't much expense.

Getting another car of the same vintage could be a waste of money, especially a zafira as they aren't much cop. Unless you can find something much newer another car could be a complete money pit. I'd also want some independent verification on that mileage as just under 90k for a work horse vehicle that is 11 years old is suspicious.

Check out honest john car review sections. That has all the uglies on every model going.

If you run older cars you have to be more careful with checking levels and listening for noises. This avoids most of the unexpected bills ;)
 
check out http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar

EDIT see srichards mentioned it to lol, definetly work checking it out for the model your looking at as it does give up some common problems that you could be aware of before viewing the intended car, best to go arm with information and what to look out for.
 
Great tips guys - thank you.

Just took a look at Honest John and now I just feel a little sick - I was struggling to find something (just spotted a Renault Megane Scenic 1.6 VVT Privilege which looked okay - tax ok, insurance group 11, 2004, 60K, but after looking there I'm not sure) - I could spend so much time looking that I may end up never getting one!

Suz, thanks for the tip on the car but at the end of the day I just won't trust it - but you're so right on the noises!
 
lol, just looked at mine on HJ and I never would have looked at it if I'd looked there first. So its a list of everything that could go wrong - good to know if scary.
 
i think you'll be pretty sick looking at any renault tbh lol, they aren't exactly known for their build quality.
 
get yourself a ford focus it will do you fine, even the estate version for more space, i love it when people say a ford is unreliable yet name every other car that has the worst reliability records ever
i would stay away from anything vauxhall or french at that price
 
terryuk said:
get yourself a ford focus it will do you fine, even the estate version for more space, i love it when people say a ford is unreliable yet name every other car that has the worst reliability records ever
i would stay away from anything vauxhall or french at that price
Click to expand...
This is the thing cars are very personal, one will love fords others will love renault. Its down to what you've had yourself and how it was for you.
Having had a couple of peugeots myself I have found them to be more reliable then any ford i've had. Not problem free (in fact the avensis I had was the only problem free car i've EVER had lol) but at the OP's budget looking for something thats been well maintained and meets his needs and budget is the most important rather than the Marque as its going to be used and its going to develop a problem at some point
 
lol, okay Vauxhaul Astra SXI 04, 90K, 1.6, £950 (private sale though..... :eek:)
 
Astra G nice little car,ample boot too had the 2.0Dti estate version. Not a bad price either depending on its history etc. Would check service history and when it had the cam belt done though
 
JohnN said:
I was told the engines terminal which makes it a bit of a biggie
Click to expand...

2 grand would cover getting a new engine - or at least a low mileage one out of a crashed one - and having it fitted.
 
big soft moose said:
2 grand would cover getting a new engine - or at least a low mileage one out of a crashed one - and having it fitted.
Click to expand...
I think the OP has decided he wants a new (different used) car. Sometime you cut losses and walk away instead of throwing good money into a bad idea you have no idea what else the car may or may not need.
If the car was mint and top spec maybe it might be worth it if the OP really wanted to keep the car or was considering replacing it like for like, better the devil you know and all that. The engine in the avensis isn't a great one anyway its an oil burner.
 
pitkin2020 said:
I think the OP has decided he wants a new (different used) car. Sometime you cut losses and walk away instead of throwing good money into a bad idea you have no idea what else the car may or may not need.
.
Click to expand...

True but if you buy a car for 2 grand you have no idea what it may or may not have about to go wrong with it - I've had a 500 quid car run sweet as a nut for four years, and a 3k car need major work in year 1.

Personally if I wanted to upgrade instead of fixing the avensis I'd be putting the 2k down as a deposit and buying something much newer. However if that isn't an option for the OP virtually any estate car in the price bracket would meet his need (although I'd stay away from French cars and rovers)
 
definitely but personally i like a different car, christ im itching to change mine as i've had it 8 months and want something else lol.
I wouldn't avoid Rovers or some french cars, personally wouldn't touch renault or citreon but always got on with Peuguots we have 3 of them in the family now (2 307's and a 106) and can usually be bought pretty cheap.
I've had a rover 75 and it was a smashing car, the 1.8's are prone to HGF admittedly but the 2.0 and 2.5 are rock solid just a bit thirsty lol. If you went down the MG zt or rover 75 diesel again can be had very cheaply are a brilliant car especially the estate version and you have BMW diesel engine in which is pretty much bullet proof and one of the best diesels around IMO
 
I had a Peuguot - worst buy I ever made , prone to HGF, clutch made of cheese, crap build quality, poor service and expensive parts - never again
 
Well the deal is done (Pete don;t shoot me!) but I got a Peugeot 307 SW (or will have next week and thanks for the suggestion Richard) - even didn't look too bad on Honest John, Richard is right I really just didn't want it any more. I did however get a 12 month guarantee on it which for peace of mind is a huge boon (assuming its worth the paper - but it was free, just what the garage do)
 
Last edited:
your car your choice mate - I just hope it turns out to be more reliable than my partner van did. Top tip - if the head gasket goes, once you've fixed it, sell the vehicle while you can, it will go again ! (if the clutch goes replace it with one of those third party life time guarantee units , not a manufacturer plates made of soft cheese by French peasantry unit)
 
never head a gasket or clutch failure touch wood.

Thats the thing everyone has their choice of car and threads like this always end up with just opinions and no one technically is wrong, ive got friends who will only have vauxhall and another who will only have audi, both claim to be the best yet both always have big bills for stuff lol. The other thing all new cars are rubbish really, hard to work on unless you have diagnostics and so much technology to make emissions better, hgher MPG etc with such fine tolerances, great till it goes wrong.
 
hehe, duly noted and thank you - I can't quite decide if I'd wanted to see your post or not (I was out test driving it when you posted) - I was struggling to decide and after a lot of choosing and discussing with the family we went with that one.
 
pitkin2020 said:
I've had a rover 75 and it was a smashing car, the 1.8's are prone to HGF admittedly but the 2.0 and 2.5 are rock solid just a bit thirsty lol. If you went down the MG zt or rover 75 diesel again can be had very cheaply are a brilliant car especially the estate version and you have BMW diesel engine in which is pretty much bullet proof and one of the best diesels around IMO
Click to expand...

Funny for the price I was going to suggest the same as they are BMW bits from when they owned them, hence decent cars for little money because of the Rover badge.
 
Still at least on paper this one looks okay - low tax, plenty of room, insurance a little lower than I'm used to, good mpg (its a diesel and the belts not due for ages) and honest John giving it a thumbs up...

Still at the end of the day its down to the car and how its bean treated in the past - neither of which I know, but fingers crossed!
 
as you've got a warranty on thats great, you want to head over to here http://www.peugeotforums.com/ once you get the car and try and find a member local to you with Peugeot planet and get them to give it a quick scan (would be better to do before buying but as you have warranty) and make sure everything is good.
What engine is the one your getting?
 
Its this one - link - I got £95 knocked off and £300 on my car (they knew about the engine trouble)
 
very nice, good spec with the climate control and mileage is good too. I got the 1.6hdi but mines the 90bhp yours is the 110bhp and I find it a really adequate engine, i thought it would be a bit underpowered but to be honest its not so mundane as the 1,8 petrol avensis I had. Mine has 145k on the clock!!
Deffo head over to the forum I linked loads of decent help and advice
 
Thank you, I'll be signing up and this time I may even put oil in it :D
 
deffo keep an eye on the oil, the 1.6 does like a specifi and frequent oil change aswell, I do mine every 8k as it is a simple and cheap job
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top