I’m after a cheap as chips run about as a second car. Looking to pay up to a grand, but under £800 would be ideal. Needs to have an MOT (6 months+)and not cost the earth to tax.

Plan would be that it’ll not breakdown (ha!) and then if it’s still going come MOT time and it fails by much I’ll scrap it and start the process again.

I’ve not dipped a toe in the murky waters of cheap cars before, so what should I buy? Assume japanese and possibly German cars are the best places to look?

I’ve just been to look a focus, ran alright but the clutch was borked so no good, are they any good normally?

You won’t be able to buy an old Nissan micra that’s for sure. It seems they’ve all been bought up my Arab fast food delivery men the nation over.

that because the old nissan micra is apparently nigh on indestructible according to my mechanic.

[edit] Petrol Focus? Loads about for spare & parts ain’t ridiculous expensive if you do want to spend some money on it, and two ppl I know have bought them for around that price of late.

[edit 2] as much as I loved my 1.8 petrol focus, the tax (VED) did annoy the **** out of me.

You’ll have no problem getting a decent Focus for a grand or less. They usually run for ever (well… 200k plus). I’d go for the 1.8 petrol. They’re the best engine. They do rust on the doors and the sills. If you can get one without that, you’re laughing. As zippy said, parts are cheap as chips if you do need to fix owt. Andd more importantly, they’re pretty good to drive, unlike Jap pensioner mobiles

Honda Logo or Suzuki Ignis …. unloved pensionermobiles

An old Diesel Pug from around the turn of the century (non-turbo 306 or 406). Cheap to run and repair.

Nissan Almera. Very reliable, but fairly boring.
GTi version is fairly quick by old hot hatch standards.

Toyota avensis, 2.0 petrol – bloody indestructible taximobiles

I regret selling my old Focus, felt it was time to sell up before the bills came in. Still know the guy that bought it and its running great…unlike the two Citroens I have now 😳

We had a Nissan Almera for 8 years when we needed fixed price motoring when we had small children. One bulb and a small section of exhaust in that time.

1.6 petrol by the way. Dull, dull, dull – but started every day without fail.

Nissan Micra or Almera

Older Kia/Daewoo

Older Pug 306/406

Something a little bit different:

FTO GPX

Worth a punt at less than £600?

Old honda civic. My FIL has had his w reg one from new, 200k and still going strong.

Rover 200/25, but not the 1.4 petrol.

The 2L diesel is bulletproof and low emissions, had 3 all told and would have had another if I was still in the UK. SD is mechanical turbo so A-bomb proof and yet will give you ~50 mpg and no dpf/dual mass flywheel etc etc etc.

… but its a Rover 😯

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PM8LLp7Q5WQ[/video]

At that end of the price spectrum it’s going to be a lot more down to the individual car you buy than the type.

So just don’t be afraid to get under the car to have a good look at subframes/sills etc.

I’d be looking at:

Toyota – Corolla or Avensis
Honda – Civic or Accord

Shouldn’t have a problem with either as long as you buy sensibly.

I wouldn’t go Japanese personally, the parts prices are high compared to ford or vauxhall. My old Corsa 1.8 SRI needed only a handbrake cable change in 12 months at 108,000 miles. No rust to worry about and they look smart enough with enough poke to entertain and attainable for a grand.

But I’d buy on condition first and foremost, and worry about what it is secondly.

Chances are with older Japanese cars though is that you won’t need any parts other than consumables and they’re cheap enough from places like http://www.carparts4less.co.uk

I hate Vauxhalls… But I’ve been driving a W reg Ashtray for over 6 years now and done over 60k, car is on 90k. It has never broken down and the only thing it needs is a service every couple of years and a set of tyres on the front. Everyone that drives it is quite impressed with the car, nice position and easy to drive. I do not drive like a grandma or treat the car with any respect and it just keeps on going!

You can pick up an Ashtray for £500.

We had a Nissan Almera for 8 years when we needed fixed price motoring when we had small children. One bulb and a small section of exhaust in that time.

1.6 petrol by the way. Dull, dull, dull – but started every day without fail.

Got 17 years out of ours. With 1 oil change.
Only scrapped it as 2 new tyres and a replacement exhaust were more than the 206 the wife’s uncle offered her in replacement!

Old honda civic. My FIL has had his w reg one from new, 200k and still going strong.

Mine cost less than £800 and has sailed through 3 MOTs without fault. Gonna see if I can go for a fourth! One of the most reliable cars I’ve owned. But not the most refined – it has a few quirks.

In my own experience: Japanese cars = fantastic. Fords and Vauxhalls = ticking, rusty timebombs. Never really owned anything else.

In the case of Japanese parts. As pointed out, you should rarely need them, but if you do, learn to diagnose yourself and you can usually pick them up 2nd hand for next to nothing, or equivalent aftermarket parts. It needn’t be expensive at all. If you prefer to keep your hands clean however, and simply drop it off at the garage anytime you hear a noise, it’s gonna cost you whatever you own.

Mk1 Ford Focus 1.6 Zetec

I’ve had two 1.4 Almeras and they always started first time despite a total lack of care and servicing.

The 1.4 isn’t horribly dog slow but neither will it excite.

I’d be looking for rusting in the sills and rear arches before buying nowadays.

If the heater fan only works on highest setting don’t panic – it’s a cheap and easy fix.

Exhaust, brakes and tyres were the only things that ever cost me on mine.

Don’t be tempted by the 1.5 MK 2 version – engine was more gutless than the old 1.4.

Buy on condition and mileage serivicing etc and nowt else as at that price you could easily end up with a pup irrespective of make. i.e a 60,000 mile French motor in good nick has got to be a better option than a 100,000? mile vw with dubious history. go to autotrader gumtree and ebay and see whats available also worth looking up to £1200 as you can usually bid down, check regularly on especially gumtree as good cars can be away within an hour.

had a Y reg focus we bought for £400. ran it for 4 years and sold it for £400. cost maybe £300 for MOT work on it over that time and £90 for a new door from the scrappy as the old one had a big gauge out of it. the best VFM motor i’ve ever had, in fact regret selling it but couldnt afford 2 cars and my partner was dead cert on getting a new car when we had the little un

it had 90k on it when we got it and sold it with around 130k – 1.8tdci engine ran perfectly but gearbox was starting to feel rough when we sold it. it was cheap as it had a scrape on the rear passenger side needing the new door – pretty easy stuff to do if you’re ‘handy’, so don’t by shy about something thats cheap cos its a bit dog eared. better having dodgy looking bodywork than a dodgy engine/gearbox/electrics if you ask me. in fact its still going strong, we often see it around here as sold it to someone local

where are you? theres a 52 plate nissan micra in a garage near me for £895 (near newcastle) i’ve noticed a few times on my way past

if i was going back to bangernomics i’d be looking at something japanese, preferably something an old granny’s been mincing around the village in for 15 years

My 17 year old Toyota Corolla 1.3 hatchback has just passed it’s latest MOT – only failed on a couple of lights out and some excessive play in a rear suspension link (or sommat like that). Granted, a few days prior it had been weeing petrol onto the road and ended up in the garage, but that turned out to be the fuel filler neck was corroded to the point of being as flimsy as tissue paper. Can’t really grumble as it was an original part.

I bought it when it was about 4 years old and over the years nothing serious or expensive has gone wrong with it whatsoever. Been an absolute bloody star of a car. Would thoroughly recommend them to anyone as a reliable cheap little runabout.

Cheers everyone. Reflecting on the one I looked at yesterday I’m definitely going to look for something less battered and not be so concerned about what it is.

Any absolute lemons that should be avoided like the plague at 10 years old+?

I run bangers as 2nd cars, I’ve had

Ford Ka: v.cheap to run and service, rusted away and went to the scrapper. Surprisingly fun to drive if v.agricultural

Saab 9-3: did require a bit of servicing, tax and tyres were not cheap – recommend if you want something a bit more swanky

Citroen Xsara vtr hdi: bit rare but (IMO) worth a look, 110bhp, 53mpg, low tax, seems relatively solid – but for terrible trim quality! Also handles well (compared to the Saab at least!) – ugly as **** though

I’d also look at Peugeot 306 hdi & 406 hdi, skoda octavia, mazda 6

I walked past a Nissan Micra for sale outside someones house this morning on my way to the station. £600, 50k miles (!!!) and looked in pretty good condition. Didn’t catch what reg it was but it was the little bubble shaped one which was around in about 2000.

My mate had one for a bit as a runaround 2nd car. He’s a big guy, his brother is a big guy (copper and prison officer) and the three of us cruised the M62 one day on the way to the football at a marginally illegal speed (I wasn’t driving so all I did was think about the childrens faces etc before anyone has a go). Was a bit concerning when the steering went all ‘light’ but that was an ace car.

Just flogged on my banger Saab 9-3 to a guy at work for £650 which is a bit less than the going rate for the but can be had for under £800

Mine was a 2002 2.2 TID with the cam chain so didn’t need replacing. Had 127K on the clock but ran beautifully.

Massive boot that you could chuck a bike in complete. Wasn’t the best handling but gave me 45mpg all day long

Audi a4 as log as the suspension doesn’t knock under braking.

Whatever you go look at, before you do just have a quick look up on common faults. All cars have them. Some bigger than others! But it’ll give you a better idea of what to look for when you get there.

Ford Puma 8)

Heres my old one:

Or stretch a wee bit and buy a 04/05 Panda

I’ve had a look at a couple of Pumas on autotrader, they look pretty decent. I’d look more camp than I already do though on the way to the station. There’s a cougar round the corner from me too under budget, but the MOT has run out, and I’m not willing to risk it. Also the tax would bankrupt me.

Puma’s are cheap, I have one as a track car yes its got straighteners, hairdryer, scissors, etc. Parts are cheap, easy to work on, quick (1.7 Yamaha VVT engine) and good handling.

Pumas are still definitely on the list. As are Kas. Actually, other than the french lot, the list is pretty long. I saw a Perodua Kenari that looked ‘decent’ yesterday…

Pumas and KA’s rust. Check carefully otherwise you may end up with a welding bill.

Hora failed to mention he scrapped his when the MOT repair bill was too high (IIRC).

Bought a Volvo V70 T5 a month back mahoosive miles but FSH runs sweet all the elecs work incl heated seats and it goes like shi* off a shovel! £500 on ebay! result they are bullet proof the T5’s, bit juicy though 25-30mpg!

My Puma was a 1999 and cost me £900. The 1.7 engine loved revving and I took it allover the country in the year that I had it.

They rust around the rear quarters and are easy to repair.

I was given a £500 bill so I sold it spares or repair (£200). A small mechanic bought it and it now livss in Stockport.

£700 for a years motoring.

I had no qualms of thrashing it. Buy a 2002 with annual history stamps and 12months MOT.

T32 BJR is still on askmid and still on a Puma on confused so it lives!

Finally you can get a mtb in the back and they tend to be more looked after than similar age Foci