Some friends of ours have temporarily fallen on hard times and as luck would have it their current car, a very reliable Pug 405 estate, is on its last legs as well. So rather than have them tied into some sort of loan I have offered to buy them an estate for 5K and they can pay me back when they can afford it.
Priorites are:
1. Must be cheap to maintain, reasonable service costs, insurance etc.
and
2. Something that can take the day to day abuse of young kiddies.
They don't do enough miles to need a diesel.
At the moment I'm thinking Mondeo, these seem good value and most people seem to confirm they are tough and reliable.
Is there anything else? What about Vectras? Opinion seems to be more split on these.
Or maybe a Rover 75 - these should be going cheap now.
Or maybe a 406, they've had good service out of their 405.
Thanks
X
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Hi X, you are a very good and generous friend!
I suspect you can get something half decent for less than £5,000, but a Mondeo is a good place to start. What about a Focus estate?
How about a Skoda Octavia Estate - very very tough cars. I've seen of taxis with over 200,000 miles on.
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Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
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Now that's what I call a friend ...
I suppose the next question is whether you/they need to spend £5k to get something decent? There seems to be a lot at £2.5k, at which price I'd go for a late Carina 1.6/1.8 - well-built, good size, bit not huge, certainly economical, and always a market for them.
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We ran a Mondeo TD for 18 months, purchase price 1600quid, 112k, servicing over that time 400quid, average 42 MPG. Cavernous inside and would recommend. Should be able to get an old shape 1.8LX for less than your budget. Happy hunting.
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I wish I had fallen on hard time and could afford to spend £5000 on a car!
You can buy a very decent and reliable Volvo estate for £500. You could buy one a year for the next ten years for your £5000.
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No, you're right, it doesn't have to be £5000 but that's what I felt would be a good compromise between getting something not too expensive and hence steep depreciation, and something old which might be costly to maintain. The car would be used daily so reliability is important. It's not them suggesting £5000, they would be happy with a £1000 car but I feel they should get something that will last a good few years.
I hadn't thought of an old Volvo, my Mum used to have a 240 estate, seemed a tough and reliable old war horse.
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Primeras are reliable enough and unloved enough to be a bit of a secondhand bargain, especially if you are happy to get a petrol engine.
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Save a packet, and get a Mk2 Mondeo.
£3k ought to get a nice T, V or W plate Mondeo 2.0 Ghia X Estate - fully loaded with aircon, cruise, leather, heated seats, electric everything, onboard computer and a cavernous boot.
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Take a good look at a used Volvo 940 or 850. I have had a few big Volvos and most moblie mechanics can fix them. They take everything you can throw at them and are tough as old boots. Best thing is that they will outlast most cars...and several drivers comde to that. Visit the volvo ownwers web site and see the starship mileages they have reached.
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Xileno - what a pal. I'm falling on hard times...don't suppose you could lend a hand with getting me an ST220? ;-)
Seriously though, gotta agree with Mike - no nonsense, big comfy car screams out to me to be a Mondeo.
Whilst I don't like singing the praises of my own car, a Focus estate handles surprisingly well and you'd get a cracker for 5 grand. However, nowhere near as big as a Mondeo.
If they need loads of room, Mondeo. If they just want the loading space, Focus.
Both excellent cars in my humble, usually way off opinion.
Good luck
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Adam
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Thank you for all your helpful comments. I shall have a look around this weekend. May even pop over to Westbury car auction this evening for a nose around, see what's going for 5K or less.
Adam
If you get a First Class degree, then I will consider it.
Somehow I think my money's safe. ;-)
X
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And if that doesn't inspire me, I don't know what will ;-)
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Adam
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Bought a 'K' reg Volvo 940SE estate, FSH (mostly Volvo), good clean condition, 120K miles for £950. I am taking it to an ex-Volvo mechanic I know who works from home for a check over, make sure everything is in order before I hand it over.
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