What Car for Friend?

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
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Thu 3 Jul 2008 19:47
What Car for Friend? - mikeyb
Looking for some help here for a friend.

He has 2k to spend on a replacement for his Mondeo 1.8. He has decided that now his children are growing up he could trade down to Focus size car. His comute is about 50 mile round trip, but mostly motorway, and in little traffic. Due to budget he sees little benefit in Diesel.

He quite likes the idea of a 1.6 focus, but I wondered what other cars there are that may mean he could get something a little newer / lower mileage for his 2K?

Astra has been rulled out.

Thanks
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Thu 3 Jul 2008 20:16
What Car for Friend? - oldnotbold
First off, don't spend £2k, spend £1k - just as likely to buy a lemon for the larger amount, so tuck it away.

My suggestion - Nissan Almera. Zero image, but well-made.
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Thu 3 Jul 2008 20:32
What Car for Friend? - Lud
Must be good advice from onb. I wd suggest further that he ignore all factors connected with street cred or fashion or indeed personal preference, be prepared to look at many cars and go for condition and history rather than some particular make, although fault-prone models mentioned here should be treated with caution. The choice is fairly wide.
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Fri 4 Jul 2008 19:29
What Car for Friend? - tintin01
Mitsubishi Carisma's are good, cheap cars. Probably more to repair than the Nissan and fewer dealers around, but they are reliable, economical cars.
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Fri 4 Jul 2008 21:55
What Car for Friend? - mikeyb
Thanks fo the help - I was thinking Almera but wanted to see if others had other suggestions. Also the 1K rather than 2 is good as he is tight for cash, so would work well fro him
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Fri 4 Jul 2008 22:02
What Car for Friend? - oldnotbold
Buy a diesel Almera and run it on used veg oil - the injector pump is a Bosch copy.
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Tue 8 Jul 2008 21:46
What Car for Friend? - sunbeamer
Oldnutbold
Running veg oil in the Almera diesel, do you know if you can do it in the 2.2 as well as the 2.0 ? I suppose the later dci is a no no. The Almera's are good value anyway, quite high spec, reasonable reliable, although not for the image conscious.
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Wed 9 Jul 2008 09:41
What Car for Friend? - oldnotbold
The 2.2 DCi engine needs plumbing for a second tank, heated line for the veg oil etc., so is not worth it.

The 2.0D is indirect injection and the Bosch copy injector pump, so in summer it's 100% veg oil, in winter perhaps 70% - the lump is also found in the Primera up to 00/01 I think. Basic, but gets you there.

Edited by oldnotbold on 09/07/2008 at 09:42

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Thu 10 Jul 2008 11:24
What Car for Friend? - zookeeper
i wouldn't reccomend a car for a friend, who's going to get the earache when it starts to go wrong? (and they do) thats why we have car forums after all
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Thu 10 Jul 2008 11:36
What Car for Friend? - Round The Bend
Not quite Focus sized but with that budget go for a late Mazda 626.
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