What car £1500?

[iacabu]

Now my car is up for sale I am looking at my next purchase which needs to be as close to £1000 as possible but if I can get a nicer example or open a few more options up, I might stretch to £1500.

At the minute, I'm thinking along the lines of:

e36/e46/e34/e39 - any particular engine/year better at this price range?
Saab 93/95 - possibly an aero but I'm scared it will be too costly
Focus ST170
Audi A3/A4/A6 - any particular engine/year better at this price range?
306 GTI
Toyoya Celica VVTi
MX5
Vectra SRI/GSI
Volvo

There's definitely plenty to choose from and I always sway to the sportier models of cars because I'd like some poke and they tend to look better IMO. However, I'm just worried that I'll be letting myself in for some bills I can't manage at this time. Are the cars above at this price range going to be fairly decent and there's a good chance I can make it 6-12 months without too much trouble?

Realistically I'm only going to be doing about 10 miles per day and not every day on mostly straight roads 40/50/60 limits. And only until July as I'll be going to sea after that for the best part of 6 months. I'll likely let my dad use it during that time or sell it.

Any help would be appreciated as well as any other ideas...

[iacabu]

vtecyo said:

Civic VTi.

I had a look at Civics yesterday. They're not high up the list but if I saw a good one for the money then I would consider it.

Engineer1 said:

Find the least knackered one with the best service history and condition.

I guess that's fair enough. I realise I don't have the pick of the bunch at this price range but as long as there's a decent chance of it lasting me then I don't mind it being rough around the edges.

[iacabu]

Thanks for the input so far.

I will keep the Saabs in mind when I sell mine. Kam's looks good. RJ can you send me a link/details of yours please?

The Mondeo looks like a lot of car for the money...how are the 2.5 v6 at this price? A lot of them about.

[iacabu]

Another car I've been looking at which I forgot to add was the MG ZT (maybe Rover 75 too). Probably the 2.5 but I'm aware they need to have had the belts done ideally.

[iacabu]

Bill - that sounds a very good way of going about things...I doubt I'll be so sensible and will only go for a car I have pre-selected

Andy665 said:

I picked up an 02 plate Saab 9-5 Aero last November

Everything works perfectly, loaded with equipment,, full service history, long MOT - cost me £1200, absolutely love it

Sounds great, would like to think I end up with something similar. Is it manual? What sort of mpg do you get? So this would be a 230bhp model, any issues with sludge/doing a sump drop?

[iacabu]

Bill said:

iacabu said:

Bill - that sounds a very good way of going about things...I doubt I'll be so sensible

Look at the Mazda 6 then, they hadn't registered before I bought one but were car of the year one year.

A friend actually had one for a while which he bought for £1500ish and eventually sold to someone breaking it for £500. I don't think it's my cup of tea but a nice car and I think he was happy with it.

kiethton said:

Going to sound a little out there but how about pitching up at BCA/Manheim and seeing what goes through, cap yourself at £1.1k bid to allow for the fees/make good fund and you can't go too far wrong (if you know what your looking for and inspect it before it rolls in/as its started etc.)

Can be a good day out - print of a catalogue a day before, identiy the cars you think will ebd up in the price range and you'll be good.

My experience is stuff at your money goes cheap, its the ex-fleet white goods that make strong money - some bargains to be had for less desirable petrols/older cars!

(I got my 540i this way for well under £1k below what other private cars were going for)

It's a good idea and one I have thought of as I have a very local auction house to me. Been a few times but never with any intent to buy so definitely worth a look once I have the funds.

W41RU5 said:

From experience I'd be cautious of the E46's, had an E36 which was great, simple and indestructible. The E46s have all been fairly problematic, usually small niggly stuff that can be fixed in an hour or two but unless you fancy spending a fair bit of time with the spanners out maybe give those a miss.

I have heard a few times now that people have had a lot of issues with certain BMWs, in particular the 3 series (not so much e34 and e39 to some extent). My old E46 had things needing sorting and were fairly expensive fixes.

ToothbrushMan said:

you do indeed get a lot of saab for your money at this level. of that original list i would be looking at a loaded up 9-3 or 9-5 2.0t's minimum 175bhp tune or the aeros, the 2.3t's not so much although im not sure if they stopped those with the 9000.

I like the positiveness towards Saabs as I am keen on the idea of one.

PaulGT3 said:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Citroen-Xsara-2-0i-16v-2...

Ugly 306 GTI with 5 speed box and many years newer

I just don't think I could, shame because I know it will be a fun drive...yes, badge snobbery. No, I don't care.

[iacabu]

I've mostly been looking at Saab's over the last couple of days. Any more advice on them?

I see a lot of people are paying well within budget for aero models, are they a safe bet or a big gamble? Otherwise I might just look at a vector/li ear model to keep costs down a bit

[iacabu]

Just got round to checking up on this thread. Thanks for the last few replies. I'm still keeping Saab's in mind, will likely be a 2001 shape (and whatever other years they were around) and not a HOT or aero (sensible hat on).

Will keep an eye on Focus too but again, probably just a 1.6-2.0 to keep costs down.

I have looked at the b5 a4's and do quite like them. I had assumed the TDI might cause expensive diesel stereotype problems but if they're older engines and good for big mileage I will look at them again.

Just need to get this Fiesta sold now!

[iacabu]

I had an MR2 n/a t-bar for about a year but only drove it for a week as it had a problem which got ignored and I bought something else. Wouldn't necessarily disregard another but I don't think I will be on the lookout for one

[iacabu]

So my car has finally sold and I've got the cash in my pocket to go and buy a new one...makes a change from when I normally browse the Classifieds.

I've been thinking about what car to get for so long and my mind has changed so many times I just don't know what to look at anymore. However, I am going to look at a friends MX5 on Monday, so I'll go from there

ETA- to conclude the thread, I have bought an MX5! Readers car thread to follow

Edited by iacabu on Monday 21st April 21:54

[iacabu]

So it's nearly a year later already...the mx5 was sold to a local buyer before I went away last year. I didn't enjoy he experience as much as I'd hoped. Mainly because it was quite gutless and too small as a daily driver for me.

Next week my money should be clear in the bank and I'll once again be shopping with a £1500 budget with a bit more for the right car.

Been going through all sorts, Saabs, Volvos and BMWs at first. I wanted something fast and lazy with an auto box. Now I'm reconsidering the costs of ownership for this sort of car and top of the list for me to look at now is a Clio 172. Bit different to the others but they tick a lot of boxes for me.

It looks like I should get a good one for my budget but there are a few 182s creeping around. Think I'd rather a clean 172 with good history inc belts to be honest but the 182 looks better imo.

Any thoughts?