Right or Shite?

[gtd2000]

Is it possible to buy a reliable car for under £1,000?

 

 

Car: Volkswagen Golf Mk IV

Year: 1998

Lowest price: £900

 

The fourth generation Golf set a new standard for family hatchbacks with its premium quality and classless image. Alloy wheels, SE spec and diesel engines all tip the price to over £1,000 - so you'll probably have to make do with paltry S spec with a petrol engine and well over 100,000 miles on the clock. Golfs are a favourite among DIY tuners so avoid anything with massive aftermarket wheels and engine upgrades (both indicators of 'enthusiastic' driving activity).

 

Car: Mazda MX-5

Year: 1992

Lowest price: £750

 

The first generation Mazda MX-5 was, in the Japanese tradition, engineered to last. The main issue is with bodywork - most examples of this age show signs of rust, especially around the wheel arches. There are lots still about, though, so keep looking until you find one with a near-complete history, clean(ish) bodywork and no signs of having been thrashed around a track every weekend. Cars badged 'Eunos Roadster' are Japanese imports and there are plenty of those too. Don't be put off by that, though.

 

Car: Honda Civic

Year: 1992

Lowest price: £600

 

Another favourite among DIY tuners - more so than the Golf - because it's great to drive and built to survive the sort of thrashing only a boy racer can give. Loads have aftermarket wheels, lowered springs, exhaust upgrades and engine management re-maps. We'd avoid those. Fortunately, the Civic's practicality and reliability also made it a favourite among an older generation of drivers - keep looking and eventually you'll find something that's been well looked after, with original wheels and exhaust intact.

 

Car: Volvo 850 estate

Year: 1995

Lowest price: £700

 

The 850 estate is a classically rugged Volvo box, and a massive one at that. If you're not bothered by big fuel bills, the 2.3-litre petrol version offers punchy performance with reliability. Don't expect anything below 100,000 miles for this price, but do expect a decent service history. A lot of Volvo owners seem to be quite meticulous with keeping service and maintenance records, so don't worry about independent garage servicing as long as the records are there. Space and quality doesn't often come this cheap.

 

Car: Ford Mondeo

Year: 2001

Lowest price: £900

 

Previous generation Ford Mondeos have dropped right down in price, to the extent it's easy to find a high mileage example well under £1,000. However, at this price you're likely to have to choose a petrol engine in a lower specification and with tens of thousands of motorway miles on the clock. Figure on a 1.8-litre LX. No alloys then, but still a quality car. Look out for rust and previous crash damage, though.

 

Car: BMW 3 Series (E36)

Year: 1992

Lowest price: £700

 

Early versions of the E36 generation BMW 3 Series are shifting for pennies now, and that old adage about German build quality rings true; a teenage 3 Series should cause you very few problems. As ever, ownership history is important. There are plenty of modified cars about, so don't touch anything with engine enhancements. Aftermarket wheels are common and should be OK, but try to buy a car with as few previous owners as possible, and look out for rust around the window seals.

 

Car: Audi 80

Year: 1991

Lowest price: £400

 

Recommending a near 20-year-old car might seem a little far-fetched, but the Audi 80 is one of the models underpinning Germany's reputation for quality today. The precursor to the A4 still feels spacious and of good quality, although running costs will be high because you'll have to go for a petrol model. We'd avoid the 2.6-litre V6, as lovely as it is, and go for the 2.0-litre instead. Worth a gamble for a few hundred quid.

 

Car: VW Polo

Year: 1996

Lowest price: £500

 

Third generation Polo prices have hit rock bottom with the introduction of the latest model, making it a very good value used buy. Get a 1.4-litre petrol version for reasonable fuel and insurance costs. The Polo has a bigger car feel than most superminis of a similar age and is built to last. A great first car, but watch out, as usual, for modified cars - especially 'slammed' ones with lowered suspension and, in all likelihood, bumpers and undercarriage damage.

 

Car: Toyota Corolla

Year: 1996

Lowest price: £800

 

Once recognised as the biggest selling car in the world, ever, the Corolla is popular because of its dependability. Exciting it isn't, but the seventh generation version, born in 1998, is as unlikely to break down as anything on this list - regardless of mileage. Corollas aren't often used as motorway cars, so mileages tend to stay within five figures even at this price. As ever, a full service history is important.

 

Car: Mitsubishi Carisma

Year: 1999

Lowest price: £900

 

In few contexts would we advise a Mitsubishi Carisma to anyone, but in this case it's a lot of car for very little - and, of course, reliable. The Carisma might have a daft name and be dull as dishwater, but it is spacious and practical. And, like the Corolla, it's favoured by older drivers and therefore used examples tend to be well looked after and maintained.

 

Note: These are just suggestions, and the prices for guidance only.

 

 

http://uk.cars.yahoo.com/24112010/36/possible-buy-reliable-car-under-po-0.html

[Negative Creep]

Is the mk.4 Golf not notorious for going wrong? Most of what I read about VW says their reputation for quality is totally undeserved

[Guest]

Some lousy suggestions amongst a few reasonable ones - if you're only getting the very worst examples of something in your budget, you can't afford it. MK4 Golf is the best example of that, just went on eBay Classifieds and they're all a load of over 150K miles and/or write-off toss. You'd get a cracking Mondeo or Carisma to be fair, though.

 

I reckon the best "car under a grand" would probably be some big Korean thing, I bet a grand would secure you the best Kia Clarus in the world.

[scaryoldcortina]

I'm still waiting for the day I pay £1000 for a car! I'm of the opinion that anything is reliable if you keep on top of it. Most actual breakdowns aren't the car's fault (except modern renaults).

 

My sister has a golf IV, we got it in '03 as a 4 year old ex company (Mannheim auctions) with 70k on it. It now has 140k, and is over 10 years old, It has needed 7 oil changes, 7 MoT tests. 2 sets of tyres, 1 set of brake pads, 1 exhaust, a clutch, 1 wheelbearing (OSF), and 1 coolant temp sensor. Car still looks/drives like it is (fairly) new, hasn't rusted anywhere or fallen to bits despite her treating it like crap, never washing it and ussing it as a 4x4 at glastonbury one year. Her golf III fell apart inside a year, the volvo 480 was a nightmare and the Micra she had when she passed her test was comically bad when she got it. So if you ask her, the golf IV is the best car ever.

[In The Pit]

Typical for a motoring journo to big up anything german, however the Audi 80 is a nice choice also nothing wrong with the Carisma a nice looking motor. The MKIV Golf doesn't seem to rust anywhere as bad as previous generation Golfs but as they are so dull to look at the windscreen could be rusting and I wouldn't notice.

[Pillock]

I too am surprised at the love for the '80 but the rest is generic toss.... 1996 Polo is a Mk4 not Mk3, if it were an actual Mk3 you wouldn't get the 1.4

Quite a lot of hate for any sort of modifications, fair enough if it's dripping in fibreglass and primer but some aftermarket wheels and a remap? Hardly going to make it explode in a ball of fire.

[eddyramrod]

Car: BMW 3 Series (E36)... should cause you very few problems.

 

...Except you will never be let out of a junction into traffic, or changing lanes, because of the universal hatred the thing generates in all around you!

 

But to answer the original question: of course it is! 1987 Volvo 740 Estate, 450* (in 2006); 1991 Chevrolet Lumina, 575* (in 2007); 1990 Chrysler Le Baron convertible, 400* (in 2004); 1988 MG Maestro, 280* (in 2003), and I could go on. Every one of these was a perfectly acceptable daily-driver: reliable, comfortable, powerful. I was constantly amazed at the eminent usability of the two V6/FWD American autos listed, the strength and versatility of the Volvo and the sheer power of the MG.

 

*Sorry for the lack of pound signs there, but my Cypriot keyboard doesn't have them.

[Negative Creep]

MX5 is a good shout though

[gtd2000]

*Sorry for the lack of pound signs there, but my Cypriot keyboard doesn't have them.

 

Press and hold the ALT key then type 156 = £

 

Never had a £ sign on any keyboard of mine either

[gtd2000]

I reckon the best "car under a grand" would probably be some big Korean thing, I bet a grand would secure you the best Kia Clarus in the world.

 

I had a look at a KIA Clarus before I bought my second Proton (silver one).

 

To be quite honest although quite a comfortable looking beast, it was shoddily knocked together. looked worn far beyond its year and odometer reading and had the air that it would soon have the look of a tea bag due to surface rust.

 

You can pick up an XG30 quite easily these days for less than a grand on the Bay and I have to admit I'd like to try one but the reports of potentially nightmare bills puts me right off.

 

I'm seriously thinking about getting an 05 Sonata for my next "daily" as it must be roughly the same size but without all the potential drama and lack of fuel economy?

[eddyramrod]

*Sorry for the lack of pound signs there, but my Cypriot keyboard doesn't have them.

 

Press and hold the ALT key then type 156 = £

 

Never had a £ sign on any keyboard of mine either

 

Thanks, but tbh, cba! I'll muddle through as usual...

[Pete-M]

I'd avoid a MkIV Golf like the plague. One of those for a grand is gonna be knackered.

[Tayne]

.

[AnthonyG]

You'd get a great Mondeo Mk1/2 for that money, not a Mk3 one though which is what the journo is suggesting. Also a £1000 Mk4 Golf is likely to be a right load of bother unless you were very lucky. Hirst's point is correct - if yoy can only afford a high mileage, poor condition or pov spec version of a particular car, you maybe need to look for a different model.

 

Some of the other suggestions are quite sensible though.

[Negative Creep]

*Sorry for the lack of pound signs there, but my Cypriot keyboard doesn't have them.

 

Press and hold the ALT key then type 156 = £

 

Never had a £ sign on any keyboard of mine either

 

Thanks, but tbh, cba! I'll muddle through as usual...

 

 

 

 

Doesn't work on my Kiwi spec laptop

[Richard]

It has to be the number pad numbers, not the ones along the top, not great for laptops.

[Guest Leonard Hatred]

Doesn't work on my North Korean spec laptop.

[Negative Creep]

I'll just keep typing "quid" then

[lovejoy]

Actually, chaps, it's " Alt" 0 1 6 3 on the righthand (alpha-numeric) numbers....

we just have coconut symbols on our keyboards out here, no Pounds or Urose or whatever you chaps trade with....

( Oh, I forgot, we do have the "Eric Clapton" dollar sign though, but coconuts are preferable... )

[gtd2000]

Actually, chaps, it's " Alt" 0 1 6 3 on the righthand (alpha-numeric) numbers....

we just have coconut symbols on our keyboards out here, no Pounds or Urose or whatever you chaps trade with....

( Oh, I forgot, we do have the "Eric Clapton" dollar sign though, but coconuts are preferable... )

 

£ = ALT 156 on all the PC's round here with a numeric keypad.

 

£ = ALT 0163 on this PC too - but typing 156 flows better with my fingers

 

Does the above work on a laptop/notebook without numeric keypad?

[gtd2000]

Doesn't work on my North Korean spec laptop.

 

Do not under any circumstances press the RED button....

[Richard]

It doesn't work on mine, even with the pretend keypad.

[eddyramrod]

I seem to have caused a hijack there, sorry! Time to return to topic, I think...

[scaryoldcortina]

Just to further the hi-jack... {alt} number codes only work on windows. Unix style systems need {ctrl}{shift}u+the hexadecimal code for the symbol. So pound is hold control+alt type U followed by A3 (hex for 163) and you get £.

Or, if the board allowed html, you could have used £ or even £ but they don't seem to work here anymore (and I can't find a bbcode tag to tell the system to parse as HTML)

 

I'm sorry, I'll stop now

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

It's quite accurate and well researched - not the usual nonsense then.

[Guest Leonard Hatred]

Is the Mitsubishi Carisma particularly reliable? They don't seem to last well.

[cobblers]

I'd rather slam my balls in the back door of a pikeys transit pickup than own a £900 Mk4 Golf. Imagine it? It'll have about a million miles on it, probably be a 1.4 75bhp so completely gutless, it'll smoke its BOLLOCKS off on overrun and piston slap like an icecream van. It'll also probably have been fitted with some lexus back lights by the previous owner and an ebay backbox. Imagine.

[Guest]

Is the Mitsubishi Carisma particularly reliable? They don't seem to last well.

Their low book value seems to put them in the hands of people who don't look after cars and they were fairly popular as company cars which won't have helped. I wouldn't touch a cheap one, but I bet a grand could get you some lovely one-owner one (probably not a diesel). It has a Mitsubishi engine and mechanicals so I reckon they'd keep fine.

[warren t claim]

Is the Mitsubishi Carisma particularly reliable? They don't seem to last well.

Their low book value seems to put them in the hands of people who don't look after cars and they were fairly popular as company cars which won't have helped. I wouldn't touch a cheap one, but I bet a grand could get you some lovely one-owner one (probably not a diesel). It has a Mitsubishi engine and mechanicals so I reckon they'd keep fine.

 

 

What are the GDI petrol models like? Aren't they supposed to be super economical?

[Guest]

Dunno, I just like the way loads of people will think the "D" stands for diesel.