Daughters 04 Civic 2.0 litre is enjoyable to work on, things come undone easily and simply and apart from the oil filter which really needs the OSF wheel removing to get at easily is one of the simplest cars i've touched in recent years, brakes etc are straighforward and well made, adjustable tappets on the VTEC, Aux drive belt is removed and refitted by the use of one spanner to simply lever the constant tension adjuster, gearbox oil change in 10 miutes sat beside the nsf with wheel removed....could qualify as one of the last cars from the 'if it aint broke don't fix it' mould....add in total reliability.

I understand modern Toyota's are good in this respect too, though my most recent was a Hilux which though simplicity itself probably isn't what you want..;)

Corolla would be an excellent bet, one the most reliable cars ever made imo, all models.

Edited by gordonbennet on 11/12/2011 at 13:30

Cars havent been friendly to the DIY'er for 20 years let alone 10. Out of your £3,000 budget, have a good hunt around for cars in the £1k sort of area, if you're not overly picky then you'll be amazed what you can pick up for that sort of money now, especially petrol models as people keep buying into the false economy of getting a diesel supermini on Finance. Keep £2,000 sat there for if anything goes wrong but if you choose wisely it shouldnt do. Ideally you want something petrol, probably no older than 10 years, full history, undesirable sort of car, low miles. The sort of car which feels younger than its numberplate would suggest.

People think any car over 5 years old is a massive bill waiting to happen, it isnt, if you choose right and hunt well you can benefit from people believing such nonsense by picking up a bargain.

I do love cheap car hunts! Can i come?

Are you mocking me or agreeing with me? You're such a strange fellow i never can tell.

It's trite but the easiest cars to work on are usually the ones you rarely need to work on.

I would agree about Toyotas: layouts and materials are v high quality.

You can buy an excellent Corolla for £2k .. and well maintanied it will last 10 years +.

Brum posted:-

"Adjustable tappets - crikey!! I thought they went out with side valve engines. Most proper engines have hydraulic (self adjusting) tappets."

You need to get out more! Or rather, get under a few more bonnets!

Here's a video detailing how to adjust valve clearances on a Honda S2000 motor.

237 hp at 8300 rpm - redline fuel cutoff at 8800 rpm.

Spanner, screwdriver and feeler gauge only required!

www.google.com/search?q=adjusting+valve+clearances...0

Adjustable tappets - crikey!! I thought they went out with side valve engines. Most proper engines have hydaulic (self adjusting) tappets. Gearbox oil change - again all vehicles I've owned over the last 30 years have had lifetime gearbox oil fill.

I think you will find many engines today still have tappets that need some form of check with potential adjustment although at much higher miles than it was in the past. Ford switched a number of engines to hydraulic in the 90's only to change strategy and go back.

Gearbox oil for life is typically for a shorter life than if it was changed. I tend to change gearbox oil every 80-100k my current vehicle is on 246k miles and has had two gearbox oil changes and the box is like new.