Hi All, hope your 2020 is finally calming down. I need help to choose a good reliable car. I currently drive a Peugeot 308 1.6lt diesel and I want to stick with the diesel models. I have 1500 to spend atm and with the repairs i need on the 308 i might as well get a new car.

So my question, what car can I get with a reliable largish engine for £1500-£2000, whats best to avoid and whats best to look for. i have a Honda Civic 2.2 in mind but i keep reading about bad clutch and it costs a lot to fix.

thanks for the read and sorry about the size, i need to get out the house again haha

The words 'good', 'reliable', 'diesel' and '£1500' don't really work well together. You may get lucky, but you probably won't.

What's best to avoid?, at that price point, diesel, and anything complicated.

What's best to look for?, n/a petrol with a decent MOT history, bought privately from someone who has owned the car for a good few years.

Best chance for getting lucky with a diesel on that budget?, a Vauxhall fitted with the Isuzu 1.7 diesel, a VAG car with the 1.9tdi, another Peugeot (or Citroen) with either the 2.0HDI or n/a 1.9.

But there is no way i'd be going for a diesel on that budget!.

Do you feel lucky?

... what car can I get with a reliable largish engine for £1500-£2000, whats best to avoid and whats best to look for. i have a Honda Civic 2.2 in mind but i keep reading about bad clutch and it costs a lot to fix.

As BBD has implied, one reason that a car is in the price bracket you mention may be that it is not particularly reliable. There will be some good ones but plenty more less-good, so you will have to exercise your skill and judgment and be prepared for repair bills. Not many on here would choose to point to a 'reliable' model at that price.

One strategy would be to buy private, so that the seller can tell you about the car, and you can decide whether his story is accurate. Traders will expect a profit of a grand or more, and probably know little about any car except whether it looks tidy. Today's problems are caused by Covid-19, when test-driving any car can be complicated.