I've had the mk1 and mk2 primera, the first primera had a ecu replaced when first bought but that was it, the second had a lcd radio repair after two years, in short very reliable, would cruse at 90mph and return 33mpg both were 2litre models, but not the quietest motorway car, actually quieter at 90 than say 75mph.
Its a chain cam engine and a real drivers car, its looks deceive.
I compared the primera to the 2l subaru before getting the mk2 but although the subaru whent well round islands with the 4wd traction t thought it dull compared to the nissan, for reliablity any of the jap cars from you list.
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If you aren't worried about badges, and can stretch your budget just a little further, you should be able to pick up a decent Rover 75. I've seen a middle-spec petrol version with 80k miles for £5995 on Autotrader, or a middle-spec V-reg diesel with full history for £7195.
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Nick,
I would buy a diesel Xantia but from your requirements you would like a petrol Mondeo.
The DIY and ease of maintenance is one main reason a say that. You can get most bits for them in the local town on a Sunday morning and every mechanic understands them.
Just look at the post where the chap needs to spend £360 a side for hubs on a Lexus because a bush isn't available on its own. This sort of situation is far more rare with a very popular car like the Mondeo because someone enterprising just starts to supply the bush because of demand.
I find the Focus ride too harsh for high mileages.
MM
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Don't foget cars like the Mazda 626 and Honda Accord. Both will be supremely reliable. 7K will get you a 99V 5-door with around 30K, ABS, aircon, central locking, 4 airbags, power steering and so on. Servicing isn't the cheapest, but then nothing ever goes wrong.
Andy
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Thanks for the ideas so far guys. Lots of food for thought, so much choice out there.
I used to be indecisive, but now I'm not so sure.....
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For anyone who's interested (probably only me) I finally bought a 2000 W plate Subaru Legacy 2litre saloon, 55k, full SSH, £6250 from a car supermarket. I looked at Mondeos but too boring (yes I know, probably the sensible choice); tried an Avensis, not bad, lots of toys and seemed well built; primera 1.8, found it very noisy, small inside and the steering was so light. So the lure of a flat four and 4wd won, not to mention the reliability (hopefully!).
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Excellent choice IMO - very safe, well-built and a really good drive too. Not exactly beautiful, but a lot more interesting than the usual rep-box candidates, especially if you value high-class engineering.
Undoubtedly, a good diesel would have been the most rational decision given the car's intended use, but I couldn't bring myself to do it either...
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hi im new here,
seen youre talking about buying cars and that the subject i need help on.
ive got my eye on a renault clio 1.4rt as my first car, its advertised on the net and the guy who owns it lives near me. Im 19 and a student at uni with little cash but enough to wanna have a car. The owner has put alloys on it and coded bumpers and wants £1,395.
questions, is that a bad price, whats the lowest i can negotiate with him and is this a fairly decent/reliable car as i need to go backwards and forwards from hertfordshire to bournemouth occassionally?
cheers caz
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Hi Caz. I'm going to paste this as another topic. We do this all the time, we can sort you out.
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Nick
Re "tried an Avensis, not bad, lots of toys and seemed well built; primera 1.8, found it very noisy, small inside and the steering was so light"
I'll be looking at these in the summer in auto form.
My concern with anything more than 3 doors in this size is that it will have been a minicab, did you have any idea's on avoiding them? and a 'clocking' search has convinced me to ignore milage altogether now.
I will assume it's done 15k to 20k per year, if the mileage turns out genuine (now would I know, really!) then I might have a bargain, if not I'll have paid the right price.
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I was looking at 2-3 years old with full service history and clean HPI. Hopefully I'd be able to spot a car that had been massively clocked unless someone had tried really hard to hide it. But the bottom line is to trust your own senses rather than any paperwork which can be fiddled. There was the 'right' amount of wear, stone chips etc on the ones I looked at and most Jap cars will do starship mileage reliably if you keep changing the oil so I wouldn't lose much sleep over it. Just remember that if the deal looks too good to be true then it probably is, especially from a dealer who will know the true value, so if he's off-loading cheap, why? The dealer I got the Legacy from had two, both reps cars from the same company with virtually the same reg numbers. He'd had them for ages as Legacy saloons seem to have a very limited market. Mondeo man doesn't want them 'cos they're different (flat 4, 4wd), the green wellies want estates and they don't have much of an image, unlike Imprezas. So they are a good used buy if you can find one. Bit thirsty though, compared to a Mondeo 1.8. If you are going to put lots of miles on I'd recommend buying a new as possible but with high miles already so it'll be cheap and probably not clocked. If the service history is good and genuine then it'll be nicely run in.
For a cab, I'd have an Avensis rather than a Primera, it's feels much bigger inside. I've never driven an auto one though but I don't suppose performance is your main criterion for cab work. There's a new Avensis due soon and the run-out models are being discounted so used values should fall soon making them a good used buy.
Good luck!
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RE:
For a cab, I'd have an Avensis rather than a Primera, it's feels much bigger inside. I've never driven an auto one though but I don't suppose performance is your main criterion for cab work.
NO!!
Just trying to avoid ex-minicabs...
And I have not owned an auto before, but clutch work in todays traffic, i've had enough.
Thanks for the advice though.
I'm now tempted by the earlier idea of a rover 75. Ho Hum so much choice.
For anyone else about to buy something or other, I would add, dont buy a car with a tow bar fitted, unless you like diff whine, suspension probs etc. It would be cheaper to buy an unknacked one and have one fitted if you need to.
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