deleted

[scooters]

deleted

[AnthonyG]

Mondeo or Focus estate?

[cort16]

The Clio 1.5 dizzler is good and you should find one for around £1500. I had the 1.5 dci with 65bhp a few years ago and although it's not quick (obviously) it was okay and I got 65mpg.

It's also cheap insurance and tax and the 5 door is practical. There's also an 80bhp and a 105bhp version if the 65bhp one's too horrific.

As with all these Renaults it's the electrics that kill them so no warning lights and make sure all the windows, mirrors etc still work.

 

Also, what about an Octavia? Either a non-turbo taxi spec or 90bhp tdi will do the job and get 50mph. Loads of space, they're comfy and the 1.9tdi's well catered for, for parts and servicing.

[Rocket88]

2nd Octavia, or should get a Mk3 Golf Estate dizzler for that money

[trigger]

There was a Octavia local to here for sale recently on ebay, £995 would have bought you a T plate 1.9 TDi 110bhp SLX with 98k, in a nice Met. Blue and family owned from new, Hell of a car for under a bag of sand.

 

Not sure if I'd fancy a £1500 Clio 1.5DCi though, that sounds a bit too cheap, I'd expect a life time of grief for that money, My wife's old Micra had that engine and it wasn't great.

[254575]

surely your first criteria rules out any modern citroen?

 

how about something japanese. previa/estima/accord

[scooters]

surely your first criteria rules out any modern citroen?

 

how about something japanese. previa/estima/accord

 

 

He's not happy with the Japanese car he just had....the only one he would consider is a Nissan - I'll suggest a pre 2001 Primera which are bulletproof and built for bush mechanics to work on

 

not sure why you think modern Citroens aren't reliable - IME Picassos and in particular the van developed Berlingo are bulletproof...the problem with looking at these is that under £1500 usually means high mileage

[254575]

surely your first criteria rules out any modern citroen?

 

how about something japanese. previa/estima/accord

 

 

He's not happy with the Japanese car he just had....the only one he would consider is a Nissan - I'll suggest a pre 2001 Primera which are bulletproof and built for bush mechanics to work on

 

not sure why you think modern Citroens aren't reliable - IME Picassos and in particular the van developed Berlingo are bulletproof...the problem with looking at these is that under £1500 usually means high mileage

 

ive only had experiences with the C4/C5 range. seem to pick up an extraordinary amount of electrical problems.

[Rocket88]

If he's doing that kind of mileage, dizzler is the way to go. If he can find a good one, Maestro dizzler is an option, my dad [who's the least car orientated person ever, has had one for about 9 months, and even he's been unable to break it] 40 mpg, and quite brisk once you get them going

[Mr_Bo11ox]

I've got a K-reg Cavalier 2.0 Auto that will hammer up and down motorways all day long. Its very clean indeed, has a new cambelt, and has a full MOT (or will have soon, booked in 8am tomorrow!). i want £550 for it, no offers. Its in Crewe however not Scotland.

[cort16]

I'll admit my Clio was 2 years old when I had it and I doubt it'll have got any better with age.

 

What about this 94k 2001 TDi Octavia in Dundee with FSH.

 

http://glasgow.gumtree.com/glasgow/59/75128959.html

 

2001 Seat Toledo Sport Dizzle in Aberdeen for £1095

http://aberdeen.gumtree.com/aberdeen/86/75190686.html

[scooters]

thanks for the tips and the offers - gotta be a bit careful here as the guy's dad is a good mate and he knows nowt about cars - I was telling him t hat the critical thing to buying sub 1500 daily tin was to ensure you were getting a car with some life in it and a reputation for reliability and that service history and evidence of good owners are more important than anything else.

 

Much will depend on what is avaliable locally - looks like the CHG went onn the Yaris - shame he didn't tell me cos a bottle of K seal may have sorted it!

 

theres several nice ones on gumtree at the moment-

 

there's also a mint 1993 520 se for sale on ebay at the moment for 1200 - it only has 33k on the clock - anyone know about the 520 E34? mine was a 535i and had the bulletproof 6. What are the engines like on the 520?

[cort16]

1993 will be the single VANO jobby with the timing chain. Pretty reliable, 150bhp but ultimatly totally guttless unless you go over 4000rpm and rubbish on fuel.

As it's a 6 pot and you have to thrash the nuts off it you'll not get much more than 30mpg. I've had 2 e39's with that engine and it's super,dooper smooth but not fast.

 

From memory they have plastic impellors on the water pump that disolve but if it's been looked after it should have been replaced with the revised metal bladed one.

 

If I was doing mega miles I'd rather have a 90k FSH Octavia diesel than a 33k 520i.

[scooters]

Ah - if it is an E39 I won't touch it - I had a 523i and a plastic impeller blade broke and destroyed the engine -

 

are '93s not the E34?

 

I've been having a good look at local cars and the best bet seems to be the grief free Mk2 Primera in 1.8 flavour - I had a 2 lt Ports+ version of this car and untill it was nicked was afantastic motor - very reliable

 

there seem to be several in central Scotland with 60-70k, FSH for under £900

[Shep Shepherd]

For economy, reliability, ease of use and ease of repair, I'd go for an Astra or Focus diesel estate. There are plenty of good ones available within you man's budget nowadays

[pogweasel]

Picasso.

Well, if your man has a family best forget that.

Lots of airbags and NCAPS, shame they forgot about making the important safety feature of brakelights work properly. Twats.

[cort16]

Ah - if it is an E39 I won't touch it - I had a 523i and a plastic impeller blade broke and destroyed the engine -

 

are '93s not the E34?

 

I've been having a good look at local cars and the best bet seems to be the grief free Mk2 Primera in 1.8 flavour - I had a 2 lt Ports+ version of this car and untill it was nicked was afantastic motor - very reliable

 

there seem to be several in central Scotland with 60-70k, FSH for under £900

 

93 is the e34 but the single vano m50 engine was used in the e34 then the e39 until 2001 when it got replaced by a 2.2 that actually had some power.

I had some pretty hairy moments in my 520 as you'd try to pull away from roundabouts and nothing much would happen so you'd mash your foot to the floor then it'd hit 4000rpm and take off like a cat with a wasabi peanut jammed up it's bum.

[Guest Leonard Hatred]

Bristol Beaufighter

[pogweasel]

ZWORKIN "PAL".

[Guest]

Remember how on Fifteen to One the contestants would stand behind a lectern? You could tip one of those over onto its front, add a set of wheels and hey presto - reliable transport for your family. You could even use two of the three "life bar" things as headlights (you don't need the middle one). I imagine one of them wouldn't weigh much so it'd probably get really good MPG. Plus since they haven't made the show since the early 2000s, they would have no use for them now - you would be able to get them pretty cheap I reckon. I don't know much about how you'd fit an engine and such to it, but I'm sure it can be done. Happy motoring!

[dollywobbler]

[scooters]

well- here's what happened.

 

The mate in question is one of these guys who 'knows nothing about cars' but yet puts a load of criteria based around assumption and hearsay and pub chat on his choice!!!! Infuriating - amazing how often that happens.

 

anyway - the criteria were:

 

must have 12 month MOT

must have 5 doors

Ideally Japanese ie Toyota (despite taking a bath on the crap Yaris he bought)

must have a 1lt-1.3lt engine to keep down insurance costs

must be reliable

must be bought over the weekend

must be within 20 miles of his house

must cost under £1500

He won't consider a French car (because he thinks they are crap) nor will he consider a Ford (because they are unreliable)

must be under 7 years old

must have a full service history

must be from trade as he wanted a warranty

 

Inputting all the above into Autotrader brought up the following:

 

2005 Kia Rio 1.3 L, 80,000miles, reasonably high spec, 12 month MOT, FSH - £1,695

 

which he thought was a very good idea so he asked me - I told him that I thought £1700 for a car that cost £6500 when new was a tad steep especially when you consider it had done 80,000 miles

 

I checked for him yesterday and the same dealer took delivery of a 2002 Mazda 3 2 3 GSi 1.6. There was no photo but the car had 12 month MOT, a partial service History, 50,000 on the clock. One careful owner from new. £1450

 

He wanted me to go and look at both cars with him yesterday but I was up to my ears with childcare.

 

I told him to walk away from either car if:

blue smoke from exhaust

mayo under oil cap

coffee in coolant

rusty inner wheel arches

severe wear to drivers seat

clunks from the suspension when driving

any ABS or engine management light

 

I also told him that he should waive his 7 year age limit and engine size as long as he kept it to under a 1.8. I told him if both cars looked ok then to drive them both and despite the kia looking 'more modern' (ie more like a Eurobox) to consider the mazda as it is a very good car with a solid reliabilty record and will feel more solid on the road. i also told him that there was no such thing as a car that doesn't break down - new vehicles as well

 

result - he bought the mazda - a good choice methinks given the stringent and uninformed criteria