by fitting your french blinkers your missing out on some of the best bangernomics motors – dont let me persuade you otherwise – just leaves more cheap motors that go for ever for me to choose from (dont seem to rust the same as my previous ford crap either)

French? 1k would probably buy you a 2008 Renault Scenic 😆

Toyota Camry?

Citroen Xantia?

Condition over model/make every time at this price point. If you find one I can fully recommend something like my Peugeot 205 turbo diesel. It does 350 miles a week, cost £400, bought with 100K on now has 150K and hasn’t missed a beat. I change the oil and filter every 3,000 miles which costs £25 and I reckon that goes a long way to making it last. Also if you can get the 1.8 turbo diesel it’s the same motor they used in the diesel version of the GTI and goes surprisingly fast (you have to apply by post if you want to stop though).
Happy hunting.

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

I took a little nissan march automatic (same thing) offroading in cyprus. Fun. Indestructible. Very underpowered!

I seriously wouldn’t go anywhere near a Ford Ka. It’ll turn to dust. In fact it probably already has. Will just be the paint holding it together.

Someone in the celica owners club has just paid £900 for a very well looked after gen7 with 95k on the clock. It’s missed a couple of services but is otherwise in very good condition. Sub 1k gets you a pre-facelift model which can drink a bit of oil but otherwise are very reliable and on the whole are well looked after. Mines a 2003 and easily takes 2 bikes with back seats dropped.

But her- have done structural repairs to a sill and rear quarter panel ( under the fuel filler) to stop bits (rear bumper and the sill) falling off mid drive in a mates ka 🙂

Wouldnt go near !

I’ve noticed a lot of Kas are rusty as under the filler. Will keep an eye out.

Seen a few late 306s cheap, petrol and non turbo diesels, worth a look? Not too electronical?

by fitting your french blinkers your missing out on some of the best bangernomics motors – dont let me persuade you otherwise – just leaves more cheap motors that go for ever for me to choose from (dont seem to rust the same as my previous ford crap either)

French cars IMO (and I’ve had quite a few!) don’t like not being driven. Drive them regularly, and service them on the button, and they are pretty damned reliable and cheap to run.

I just sold what I consider my best bangernomics car so far… A 2001 Renault Megane 1.9DCi 5 door hatch. Bought it just under 2 years ago with 93k on the clock and a recent cambelt change for £650. It just sailed through an MOT the other week with only a very minor advisory, with 113k now on the clock. I sold it at the weekend for £600, so lost £50 on it in 2 years! The bodywork had a few very minor dings in it, and in the 2 years I’ve owned it I had to replace the EGR valve (MUCH easier, and cheaper than the nay sayers would have you believe, and a brand new OEM EGR valve really did sort the car out for just over £100), a rear wheel bearing, a rear window regulator (about £80) and it had an oil service at 104k. It averaged over 52mpg (genuine) and on a run 60mpg was easily achievable! Group 5 insurance, £140 a year car tax, pretty cheap consumable parts (compared to larger Renaults anyway which can be expensive). It never failed to start, and even handled reasonably well!

Also had a similar story with a Mk3 Golf TDi a few years ago, but they’ll be exceptionally thin on the ground now.

Just bought a B5.5 Passat Estate as I needed a bigger, more upmarket car. Fantastic bit of kit, but being an estate (which I needed) it commanded quite a premium. Saloon versions regularly go for under £1k, and it’s a hell of a lot of car for the money! TDi versions are the pick obviously, and are economical for such a big car.

For anyone into their small Jap cars… My GF’s mum is currently selling her Y plate Yaris. It’s a basic 1 litre car, pretty minimal spec on it, and the body work isn’t the best (it lived under a tree for years, and has had a partial respray). But it’s done a mere 26,000 miles from new, and does about 50 to the gallon! If anyone is interested, the car is in Stourbridge, my email is in my profile, and I can put you in touch…

Anyone who said Civic – no.

You’ll be lucky to find one for less than a grand that isn’t a complete dog or hiding issues, they are the most over rated and over inflated cars going. Don’t buy a granny owned VTEC model (moreso the older oil pressure actuated ones) as they don’t like not getting a workout. Expect to pay scene tax on insurance for anything other than a 1.4 (6th gen EJ9 or 7th gen EP1), there are smaller engines but the EG (5th gen) that comes with them is reknown for being very easy to steal so insurance is, again, silly. Oh and EP1 has known clutch release bearing issues so you’re left with the EJ9. Oh, did I mention the 5th gens like to rust as well?

I’d have recommended by 7th gen diesel but tbh there are potentially expensive underlying issues (turbo, steering rack) that can be avoided by looking elsewhere. If you got a good one though then it would be worth a look if nothing else. If you do look at 7th gen models then check the clutch release bearing on 1.6 and 1.4 models (listen for a whirring with the clutch in) and check the electronic steering rack is okay (will be kinda dead but should never be heavy, if it is then it’s gubbed and you’ll need a new one). Diesels have known turbo issues, new one is ~£300 plus labour but if it’s good you just block the EGR and either live with the MIL constantly being on or get it mapped out. 5 door models are cheap as the kids don’t like them.

Check out road tax prices as post 2001 their based on CO levels. No point getting a cheap car and paying £230 per year for road tax. I ran an Astra diesel for a couple of years and it was £30 a year to tax but was only £500 to buy.

Mboy- how much is she looking for for the yaris?

lalazar – I’m very conscious of the tax, my 60 plate hyundai only costs £30, so paying over £200 is a no go. Especially on a £5-600 car

OP for abit more you could get something like my car (which I’ll be selling/PXing soon). 2007/6 main dealer stamps, last MOT done at the main dealers, new dics/pads, just done 700miles this weekend at an average of 40mpg (which surprised me as its a petrol). A few scratches, 2x new front Uniroyal rain tyres.

I’ve done 11,000miles in the 9months that I’ve owned it.

Its a 2007 Citroen Xsara Picasso. Not the most attractive car in the world.

I have kept an eye out for Xsara Picassos but there’s not a huge number around my way.

Very very popular/regular round my way- even taxi drivers drive them 😯

So why I went all the way to Ayr to get this one from a main dealer disposal- god knows

My last car prior to my current one was a 1997 Honda Civic 1.4 and it was exceptional. We bought it at a year old and it lasted until 2011 before a number of small issues made it uneconomical to repair, but it was not well looked after for the last 3 years of its life. Engine wise it was flawless, no issues whatsoever. This was the 1.4, I suspect a vtec would last longer. Much better quality inside than cars of a similar age and with seats down swallows a mountain bike without removing the wheels. Couldn’t have been happier with it.

Its a 2007 Citroen Xsara Picasso. Not the most attractive car in the world.

Thats understating things a bit.

Sis in law asked why I don’t lock it or shut the windows.

Praying for a blind scally who needs an easy get away car.. I told mrshora ‘it’ll be gone as soon as it breaks down’.

I’ve now revised this to it’ll never break FFS so I’ll just do the usual and look for something decent looking.

My main issue with the picassos I’ve looked at in the past is how you have to dislocate your pelvis to use the pedals. I know the speedo is in the middle but I’m not that desperate to stare at it!

I heard a couple of posters say this previously. In the past few months I’ve been Manchester to Brighton, London and Edinburgh and back and not noticed it! I’ve also not had a bad back either. Then again I once drove from Manchester to Germany in an Aygo and jumped out of those seats fresh as a daisy.

Weirdback.com

To be fair, I’ve not actually driven one, I sat in a couple a few years ago when we bought our c-max, so it might not be so noticeable when you’re doing something else. Like driving.

Well, I did it. I ended up following hora’s advice and got a tidy rust free 2002 Puma with FSH. 1 owner from new.

As a result, the pebbles around cannock chase have been trying to kill me.

Nice enough car though. The heater control valve is iffy, but other than that everything works. Haven’t tried the heated screen yet though, for obvious reasons.

😀

IME, the heater valve is always iffy on Pumas, if it’s stuck with the heater off you’ll be fine for a few months yet. 🙂

My 17 year old Toyota Corolla 1.3 hatchback has just passed it’s latest MOT

We have one of these, R reg and passed its last three MOT’s with nothing wrong.
Best car we have ever had and still see quite a few old ones about.