HEY!! long story short-i need the expertise of you honest john peeps!! PLEASE! I have £1000 to buy a honest non flashy reliable car but i have sooo many people (who dont have a clue to be honest!) telling me buy this buy that...... what do i trust? i will allways look for FSH and no boy racer mods etc.... but what car? i really dont care of brand or image. I have had quite a few VW cars and they have dissapointed to say the least! there must be one brand that stands out and is worth a chance. What do you reccomend? thanks in advance! Kursk.
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If insurance is not a problem a lot of people seem to rate the 2.0 Nissan Primera highly. You could get a top spec one for a big less than with plenty of life in it.
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Thanks Rattle! i have full no claims so a 2.0 should not be too bad on insurance! plenty roomy too. strangely my dad reccomended the nissan brand........... he mentioned the bluebird?!?
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Forget the Bluebird they stopped making them in around 1991! The Primera was the replacement for the Bluebird. I am not actually a Nissan fan but the Primera had a very good chasis and I actually quite like the looks.
A top spec Toyota Camry may also be worth looking at although running costs would be suspect.
You may also want to look at something like a Ford Puma, Vauxhall Omega etc, it really depends what you mean by flashy.
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Hey rattle! i mean not flashy as i would drive an old squre sqare lada if it was reliable....
all i need is a car that i can depend on for work and when i collect my kids from the ex for the wekend. fuel costs must be reasonable, as in no V6 etc. I dont care of image or anything else I.E air con, electric windows, alloys or any other gimmicks! I have looked on ebay (for a start) and seen so many low milage Primeras with FSH for so little! will look at the Camry next!! thanks!!!!
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Do be very wary on flea bay.
Try to find a car that has every MOT cert from 3 years and with some sort of paperwork to confirm at least the early mileage, remember most cars will have a service history whilst under warranty, its when the warranty runs out that services go west, thats when the MOT's become the true indicator of mileage. We've seen recently how manufactured service histories are available on that site, and don't go just on mileage, condition and previous owner care is the prime desire here.
Car wise, so many to choose from, you don't say what size, just no 6 pots, thats fair enough.
Primera, almera, carina, corolla, avensis, camry 2.2, accord, civic, accent, elantra, sonata, nonchav owned 3 series BM 4 cyl, poss MB190 with care, toledo, octavia, volvo s40. German stuff can be good due to the 2 very good parts suppliers.
There are dozens more, have a browse around and if you see any good possibilities, give us a shout.
Try to avoid ex mini cabbed rubbish at all costs, ( primera, carina, avensis especially, that tells its own story) MOT's again, and maybe a good idea to see if there is a good recommended independent mechanic locally and see what he/she specialises in first, unless you are good mechanically.
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I would recommend the toyota corolla 97/99 model (ugly twin headlamps).Extremely reliable,cheap to run and maintain,low insurance.Go for the 1.3 engine.Only downside is that it does not handle too well on motorway.Avoid the 2 door version if you are going to carry passengers often.
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I would recommend something Korean, either kia or hyundai. All those anonymous small saloons they did until recently must be mega-cheap by now. They are automotive white-goods but reliable and many will have been looked after by sensible, elderly owners.
Find one with a full history and you're on to a winner. Look at Honest John's reviews for info, I can't remember what any of them are called! I think the primera is also a good choice, might be hard to find one that has lived a sheltered life, may have been flogged by by more recent owner(s).
Edited by Smithsonian on 30/10/2008 at 12:34
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The problem with older Korean stuff is they tend to be quite bad for safety and parts can be harder to get. I would stick to a better known japmobile like the Avensis (I find these boring as a dish washer but thats my personal opinionon) Primera (find a rust free one),
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Mitsibishi Carisma - very cheap cars with excellent mpg for a 1.8. Repairs and servicing not as cheap as Ford, but very reliable. Cheaper than the equivalent Nissan or Toyota, though those will be good too.
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The problem with older Korean stuff is they tend to be quite bad for safety and parts can be harder to get.
You've mentioned the safety thing a few times, but I'm having a hard time trying to find a 2000 onwards, Focus or above sized Korean car that doesn't have at least 3 stars for safety.
Perhaps the 2000-2003 Kia Rio -- that's about it.
As for parts, I can't say that it has been a problem and I've had a few of them. Not that I've needed all that many parts!!!
The 3* rated, Mitsubishi-engined Proton Impian can be had for quite spectacularly silly money at times. Think £1200 for a 4 year old car. Years and years left in it.
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Must be a Corolla or a Mazda 323 for dullness with reliability
Edited by massey on 30/10/2008 at 13:35
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Or maybe an Almera - once advertised as "the car they don't want you to have".
'They' succeeded, it would seem :-)
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I'd go for a petrol engined Vectra or Mondeo.
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With £1000 you need to look for a local car you can see & inspect - I wouldn't bother travelling or ebay-ing. My view is that most cars are reliable if treated well - 'treated well' is what you should look for, not any particular brand. Even the most (notionally) reliable cars can break down or have dodgy histories.
If pushed, brand-wise, I'd suggest a Ford Escort, Mondeo - whichever you find in best condition for price, simply because they've improved greatly over the past 10 years & are a doddle to get fettled & spare-parted. It's condition that's important, not the fact that XX-brand can go 300,000 miles without taking the head off or uncle Fester had a Hyondazuki for 15 years & only had to replace a visor & all that nonsense.
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An early Octavia 1.9 TDI. Decent performance, strong engine and 50 mpg plus along with top notch VW build quality. You might struggle to get one for a bag of sand though except a very high mile ex taxi.
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Kirklander73,
I would second Rattle's 2.0 Primera suggestion. Twelve months ago I was in a similar position to you, looking for a decent, reliable car with a budget of £1k. I could not find a decent Primera 2.0GT though!
Eventually I bought a Mazda 626 5dr hatch. 1998 S plate with 95k miles, but FSH. Top of the range SE with leather, climate, elec sunroof, 6 disc CD etc etc. Admittedly it has cost me circa £600 this year for 4 decent Michelin Energy's, full service and belt change, but I am averaging 42mpg with spirited driving.
No image at all, but I don't care! Highly recommended.Also consider the Xedos?
Edited by legacylad on 30/10/2008 at 22:17
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thaks everyone !! been to see a honda 1.4i today but it looked suspiciously like a rover 400 my grandfather had are these Hondas a rover clone??????
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The Rover 400 and Honda Civic of a certain era are the exact same car. Joint development from the time when Honda was partnering with Rover. Even the last 45 was still based on this car.
A Honda Civic would be a safe bet. Very tough and reliable, although interestingly a friend who lives in an area plagued by joyriders tells me they are the latest target of these delightful individuals.
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So far some very reliable and ultra boring cars have been suggested. Because I think boring or not so good looking means not many people want it, hence it tends to be cheap! Almera being the prime example.
I would highly recommend Toyota Carina. I had one and so did my brother in law! They are bomb proof. I think you'll be able to get the latest top of the range a lot less than your budget and most of them now would be owned by careful owners.
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Thanks Everyone. Still looking.... soooo many ideas!! will post what i got (in the end)!!
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Not in the North West by any chance - saw a lovely Primera GT on their owners' club forum - www.npoc.co.uk/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=18296&PID...6 but you have to register to see their claissifieds. £795
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Mazda 323 or 626's are pretty sound. HJ says of the 323 that they are 'sensationally reliable' and our experience certainly bears this out. Mrs JBJ's 323F GT is 18 years old and is still a hoot to drive. Practical, quite comfy and even nice to look at.
I concur with the Primera/Almera comments, too. Go for the youngest one you can, but don't worry unduly about mileage, as long as it's been serviced.
Edited by J Bonington Jagworth on 03/11/2008 at 16:13
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I can honestly say our Accord 1.8VVTI man was so so reliable and drove like a v expensive car, very solid. Only downside 25 MPG sometimes worse.
As said in a previous post Toyota Corolla, not the 1.3, but if you can find one the (rare) Diesel. Drove one of these at nearly 230k miles and it drove like new, gearbox smoooth as can be.
snipquote
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 03/11/2008 at 19:04
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At that price, it is just a question of looking for something that has been reasonably well looked after and seems to be from an honest vendor. There are some obvious no nos -like Rovers whose head gaskets will fail and diesels that are about to blow a turbo, but there are plenty of good cars out there. I just took a Primera from a client. Her parents had the car from new before giving it to her. It has been well serviced and has a full mot and only 79k miles from new on a 1998 S plate. It doesn't mean it won't break down, but you get my drift - a better bet than a 130k mile 10 owner banger!
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Since starting ths discussion i have looked at so many possibilities, and they are all either very overpriced i.e corolla 74k 3 dr 1.3 on a R plate priced at 2,500! or complete rust eaten non serviced dogs. i live midlands way in the sticks so to speak, so either i go further afield, use flea bay or go to the auctions........ never thought this would be so hard (!?) any advice on auction tactics and how to go about purchasing one from there??
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Since starting ths discussion i have looked at so many possibilities and they are all either very overpriced i.e corolla 74k 3 dr 1.3 on a R plate priced at 2 500! or complete rust eaten non serviced dogs. i live midlands way in the sticks so to speak so either i go further afield use flea bay or go to the auctions........ never thought this would be so hard (!?) any advice on auction tactics and how to go about purchasing one from there??
DON'T
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Don't try buying in that price range at auction. Leave that to the dealers who operate in that market. There are too many potential pitfalls. On line auction sites are just a market place. You need to see the car and test it to authenticate the advert content. I have never ever bought a car or been happy that is was as described on on the site you mentioned.
I am going to put the Primera I mentioned earlier up for sale if you are interested. It is a perfectly good car and will be less than £1000 and it is in the West Mids, so may not be too far from you. You can see my profile if you click on my user name.
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