I recently sold my old faithful... a 1.1 Pug 106 and I'm looking at upgrading to something a bit nippier like a 1.6. At the moment I'm considering the 306, another 106, Civic or an early Golf. I'm a bit stuck at the minute really... I'd love a 306 but I hear the reliability is extremely poor. Any suggestions around the £1k-2k mark?
Cheers!
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At this price i would patiently scour the classifieds looking for a one or two owner, FSH, sale. Civic,Corolla or 323 would be my preferences.
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buy a volkswagen. you wont regret it, the parts are expensive,because there built well and you wont need as many as say ford or rover!! for the money you want to spend an r plate driver or an s plate polo are within reach..... check out ebay!
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buy a volkswagen. there built well....
Except for the coil packs ;o)
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I think sp30 is a bit optimistic in (his?) pricing. I think £3,500 is more like it except possibly at auction.
Personally I'd be going for the nicest, newest car you can find. Civics aren't a bad choice but they tend not to be that cheap so you could be looking at a K plater - and insurance is quite high. 306s vary in quality from the exceptional to the frankly scrappy and Corollas are tough but boring.
A 1.6 Golf in the £1k-£2k range will be slooow too; the 100 bhp 1.6s are okay but they're going to be £3,500 and up, too, and quite rare. You might find a decent GTi but a Mark 3 GTi will be very rough below £2,500-£3k.
My choice, if you can find a nice, unmolested one, and the insurance isn't a killer for you, would be a Seat Ibiza 2.0 GTi. Basically it's a Spanish built Polo with a Golf GTi engine, but in a smaller, lighter package with the same cheap parts - try www.eurocarparts.com if you don't believe me. £2k should get you a very straight N-plater; now all you have to do is find one.
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yes im a he!!! and i did say check ebay! i am optomistic but i have bought some very very cheap cars from ebay! the last one was a mark two gti with a fsh from vag up too 125000 then its had a rouge 40000 miles put on it! its clean and very very quick, £225.00 . also bought the wife a volvo 440 2.0si ac pas cd srs abs etc etc......£550.oo i work hard for a bargain,it is possible!! ill find a golf driver for the amount i said and post it here!!!!! watch this space....auctions are good when you know a bit
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cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2463...3 like this you mean?
That's looking cheap, actually, so I take your point. Of course it still has a day to go but if it finishes below £2.5k it'll still be a bargain if it's as straight as it seems.
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Don't forget the other marques:
Renault Clios
Citroen ZXs (newer ones) though I would get the 1.9TD if you can find one. They can be dirt cheap and don't have the hydrolastic suspension.
Vauxhall Astra, again the TD or the D
Ford Escort or Fiesta. I know of a low mileage N reg Fiesta 1.25 in the midlands that may be up for sale soon.
Rover 200, erm, if you like them.
Honda - worth a look
Nissan - Ditto, you may be able to get a decent Almera 1.6 with all the trimmings for £2K
Seriously, a reasonable mileage latish Citroen ZX 1.9TD. I drove one for a week or two and LOVED it! Get the Aura, I think that's the higer trim spec.
In addition check the prices of the Xaras (R reg onwards I think)
If you want to really push the boat out go and look at a few petrol Xantias, They're as cheap as chips at the moment! I can highly recommend the 2.0 16v VSX. I had one for 2 and a half years.
Hugo
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If your 106 was an old faithful, why do you believe a 306 would not be? I have owned 3 turbodiesels and a 2-litre Cab, and none of them has had a doctor's call yet. Neither did any of the ten or more 205s that have been in my family. You can be unlucky with almost any car if you don't buy carefully.
Hugo suggests ZXs - fine, but if they are OK, so is a 306, tho perhaps a bit dearer.
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