just had the following email from a colleague, he's narrowed his search to this list of 4 cars:
Goal ? to last 3-4 years ? cheap to run ? little repair bills ? will not be looked after apart from yearly service and MOT
HONDA Civic Aerodeck 1.6i VTEC SE Petrol, 2000 X Reg, 64,812 miles FSH £2,995
TOYOTA Avensis 1.8 VVTi GS Petrol, 2002 02 Reg , 58,703 miles FSH £3,495
VAUXHALL Astra 1.6i Club Petrol, 2002 02 Reg , 75,000 miles £2,995
VAUXHALL VECTRA 1.8 LS Petrol, 2000 X Reg 55413 Miles £2495
which should he go for?
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.....will not be looked after apart from yearly service and MOT....
If he factors in an oil change at 6 months as well as the service it´ll look after itself, regardless of the mileage.
The Vectra is underpowered with that engine.
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The Astra. I loathe Vauxhalls, but the others risk unavoidable bills; cheaper solutions always exist for a low-spec, mass-market, tin-can. An ABS failure on the Honda would write it off.
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The Vectra we had (97) was a dog and a money pit. With 300,000 trouble free miles in Civics over the last ten years, that would be my choice. Current one at 145K has only needed a door handle and fan resistor above the usual pads/tyres/exhausts. All the garage servicing mine gets is a once a year oil change at MOT time. I do check the condition of gaiters and brakes occassionaly though. The Toyota should be as reliable though, and may be more economical and has more room in the rear seat.
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The Astra in Club spec might only be the 8v, a lot less refined anf less powerful, the 1.8 Vectra is a decent drive, a crisp engine if in good order.
I would probably go for the Toyota though would ask myself is it worth more than the similar mileage Vectra, the answer depends on how tight cash is.
Though for £3500 there is probably a wider choice, I would consider a Clio (having had great service from ours) if space is not too much of an issue.
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If was me I'd take the Avensis...none of the cars are particularly exciting but you cant go too far wrong with a Toyota. A friend of mine had a 1.6 with 130k and was still going as good as new the day he sold it on. It never missed a beat but it did have a bit of a drink problem. Apparently the 1.8's are more economical in the real world as the engine does not need to be stressed as much. I dont have experience of this but I have read it on more than one occasion.
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I meant to say "is it worth £1000 more than the similar mileage Vectra".
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I had two Vectra B's (N and P reg) and I'd not want another one - it was a company car.
The N reg was a 1.8LS and not only had little performance but very little traction in the wet! Easy to wheelspin. Only got my mate's 2.0 GLS when he moved to Papua New Guineau because it had traction control! Okay a bit more powerful and more toys but it made a difference pulling onto roundabouts in the wet!
In the 1.8, I pulled out once and then the car almost stopped and was just spinning the wheels! And traffic now heading my way. With only a low powered 1.8!
Never had a car since that had so little traction and they have all been more powerful/torquey. How much less torque does a 1.8 Vectra petrol car have vs. a Mazda6 143ps diesel? Okay I could find out how much the 1.8 had/has but the Mazda has 360Nm from about 1800rpm I think.
But the only thing that went wrong on the Vectra whilst I had it was a failed alternator which took 6 weeks to arrive in the UK! But I got a V6 Vectra as a hire car in the meantime :-) Nothing apart from a plastic bag on the exhaust went wrong on the 2.0 GLS - which helped find the melted water pipe after a service. Nothing else. So maybe when nearly new they were reliable.
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I had two too!
A '96 'N' 2.0 SRi, very well equipped (they down specced the SRi interior later), nice crisp engine, though had a vibration through the clutch pedal which was never sorted. TC was too intrusive. Handling was not as good as the Mondeo of the same era.
A '98 'R' SRI V6 Estate, not quite so well equipped, '98 model SRi's had improved suspension which was adopted on others at the facelift, handled well, very stable at high speed cornering, really liked that car. TC worked brilliantly. Engine gruff at low revs though smoothed out as it reved, characterful.
The dealers though were simply carp!
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In the 1.8 I pulled out once and then the car almost stopped and was just spinning the wheels! And traffic now heading my way. With only a low powered 1.8!
If it spins the wheels, on a "low powered 1.8" (!), it sounds as if there's an issue with any or all of the following:
a) The tyres;
b) The road surface;
c) The foot.
Probably not the car.
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Avensis, how many pleas for help do you ever hear of?
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"If it spins the wheels, on a "low powered 1.8" (!), it sounds as if there's an issue with any or all of the following: a) The tyres; b) The road surface; c) The foot."
Not a problem with tyres or foot so maybe it could have been road surface on that occasion (diesel spill from somone putting 69 litres in a Mondeo III's 58.5 litre tank?).
But the 1.8 had traction problems (albeit not so extreme) other times. Never had traction problems on any other car and all since the 1.8 Vectra more powerful.
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I think the Avensis is the least risky of this bunch, especially as it has FSH. He should offer £3,000 and perhaps get it for £3,200.
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Would normally say Avensis, without a doubt, having helped two friends buy 5 year old Carinas for around that price that both went on to give over 5 year's further faultless service...but....
...do a bit of research on the 1.8 VVTi Avensis and it's oil consumption problems. Worth checking if this individual car has had any work done to rectify the problem (Toyota seemingly fix the problem even outside the 3 year warranty). From reading the Avensis forums, I would say this is by far the biggest and most common problem affecting the Avensis. May be worth seeking out a 2.0 VVTi or an older 1.8 non-VVTi (for less money obviously) unless the history of the car on sale can be proven?
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He's going for the Avensis - many thanks for all your comments and advice.
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