Don't need anything spectacular, just economical and reliable.
A focus 🙂
A Focus ?
🙂
Rover 45 diesel. comfier to drive longer distances if you can live with the image.
Lol. Focus definitely on the shortlist!
Has anyone suggested a Chrysler Crossfire yet? No? Ok then a Focus.
Rover not a good suggestion, esp as they no longer exist. So dealer support / part would be an issue. Astra's are reasonable, or fur ultimate reliability perhaps a Toyota or jap car?
Focus it is then 😉
Golf - get some reliability from the fatherland - everyone say heil!
FORD = Fix Or Repair Daily
[i]Rover not a good suggestion, esp as they no longer exist. So dealer support / part would be an issue. Astra's are reasonable, or fur ultimate reliability perhaps a Toyota or jap car? [/i]
You are spending £3k, whatever you buy will never see a dealer.
And because they no longer exist there value has plumetted, consequently the scrap/dismantling yards are full of them = plenty of spares.
But just buy a Focus.
if I'm going to be bullied into a focus sized focus then, what engines have good reliability records or any to avoid?
1.8 petrols are a good giggle could just about get a st170 if your feeling a bit nuts. The diesels are a good strong motor. No major dramas with any so long as theyre looked after as with any car.
Avoid anything below 1.6 they're truly gutless! Personally I'd go 1.8 zetec or the 1.8tdci - look for fsh!
If you want to get something a bit quirky but good value for money maybe a citroen c4.
The diesel engines are a good bet as they were a joint project with PSA (peugeot/Citroen) so are TDCI in Fords and HDi in Pugs/Citroens they are well proven units but look after them properly as with most modern diesels.
Not too sure about the petrol engines, father did have a 1.6 (iirc)Cmax which felt a little underwhelming, may have been a 1.8 but not sure.
Think also Pug 307, Citroen C4 , Renault Megane or Seat Leon?
With the focus be careful with the smaller engines, on paper the 1.6 might look cheap to keep, but on the road the mpg isn't very good for a little engine, 30-33mpg. The 1.8's are solid, infact the whole zetec duratec range of engines is solid.
My brother has 2.0l Ghia petrol and he see 38/39mpg week in week out.
the 45 is a nice car, there are parts out there, the main problem with the Rovers is the head gasket on the K series engine, find one thats had the head done and then done a 10k and it should be alright. The ZT's are nice.
But so are Focus St170's 33k will buy you one, and they a are cheap to live with.
But then you could have a Civic type R, might need to spend a little more.............I'm not helping now am I:-)
Golf, if they float your boat, personelly i don't see where the extra money goes.
Interesting that the 307 and Focus share the same diesel engine. I drove a 307 HDi hire car once, ragged it and still got 55mpg and it had plently of guts.
Seen a 07 pug 307 1.6 hdi for 5k with 50k on the clock. Will go take a look at it.
"Think also Pug 307, Citroen C4 , Renault Megane or Seat Leon? "
Pug yes, C4 maybe, Megane........run run away!! I know some traders who simply won't take them in on a px any more. terribly unreliable (prompt for someone who did 150k in "the" one that never missed a beat)
Seat Leon, i've got a 59 plate one outside now, goes well, but bits are falling off it, it rattles. Funnily enough a lot of those bits have got VW logos on.
I was told, by my garage (not one who sold me the car, or even sells cars)
that PSA engines went to the dogs around 2006 with the advent of the 12 generation DW engine (1.6HDi)
for a relaible engine, they STRONGLY reccomended changing back to my 2L 206 estate, but only if I could get a 2L one specifically
its a bit tractory, and slow (90bhp) but easily pulls 55mpg combine, 60 on a run, and the engine will keep going long after all the wheels and doors have fallen off.
great for bikes.
my current one was privately bought for 3995, with 35k on the clock. (barely run in on a diesel)
my previous was bought from a Peugeot dealer for 5k with 28k on the clock
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new one is identical, other than being silver/blue depending on the light (a pretty girly colour, so have named it Daisy)
A car dealers dream! You just found another £2k 😆
incidently, the car i got rid of was a 307SW 1.6HDi.
it was fast as death, quiet, and smooth, but it was built from the inside out.
the cabin was LOVERLY, but the mechanicals underneath were a freakin nightmare.
had it 4 months, and spent 600 quid on it.
hence why i changed back to the 206.
its VERY reliant on its computers and "clever little thingys" which would be great if it was a more expensive car, but they have all been built down to a price (and not a very high one)
(indeed spesh paul, but it was 4 years ago, and a younger car)
VAUXHALL ASTRA, RENAULT Megane, SEAT Leon. but I think astra is the best choice
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Can't believe there's only been 1 and-a-half votes for the Golf! Someone even voted for a Citroen, for crying out loud!
The Focus is nice enough, but personally i just don't like Fords. For me, Golf every time. Get yourself a nice 1.9 TDI (with the 6 speed box ideally) and you'll not regret it.
I dont like ford too, I agree about golf!I forgot about it =)
Olly, that wasn't for you (its always about you isn't it 😀 )
The thread started about a focus for £3k now he is looking at a pug for £5K, and the salesman hasn't made him a cup of crap coffe yet:-)
lol - 3-5k ish 😆
Well spotted, even I missed that. Money to burn yee haaa!
oops, sorry, i am quite self centred its true.
RE the golf:
i was looking for one, but for the money i had (4k) i could get a 35k 206 or similar, or a golf that wouldn't be lower than 100k. (unless it was borked)
just tooooo overpriced for what they are (though not denying they are nice)
a bike friendly alternatve maybe.
SKODA Roomster 🙂
duffer + belonthium
Sense at last!
In my now rather lengthy experience Fords are o.k. only coz parts are cheap!! - Vauxhall are terrible and all French cars 'surrender' at about years 8-10 when niggly faults appear; usually electrics, windows, etc etc
So after 25years on the road my advice - buy German or Swedish
Little experience of Japanese stuff barring a hideous little Toyota Corolla in OZ which managed to shed a lot of body parts along the Pacific Highway
Have a soft spot for SAAB's although they've been victim until recently of GM modification -they're still terrific cars; I've had 4 of them; totally solid, reliable and dependable
1.8 tdci focus.
Have done 65k in less than 2 years, company car, drive it hard and get 40 to 45 mpg.
Could apparently do 50 mpg if I drove it like it was my own.
Avoid the 1.6 tdci as there has been documented engine problems.
Rover reference from my previous car, fits your description.
"Don't need anything spectacular, just economical and reliable."
Did 70k in three years, ran until about 165k on the clock and as said, plenty of dead ones around for donor parts.
Can't believe no one suggested Skoda fabia or Octavia yet.
If you can live with the image, I'd say a corolla diesel. Owned by the blue rinse brigade. Rock solid motors.
Edit: Apart from the one tankslapper had. Not sure whether the Oz ones will come from the same factory as uk models. We had a few at work for years and they really were a great little car. We've now got a few of the Auris too and they're just as good.
FORD = Fix Or Repair Daily
Try telling that to the Puma I just had MOTed, 10 years old and only thing I've done is change the cam belt.
SKODA Roomster
I'm getting one - the sensible, if possibly slightly boring, choice.
Puma? Jeez!! 10 years in a 'hair dressers' car! Raaaaaaasspeckt!
Very happy with our 06 Focus LX 1.6 which has been faultless from new other than:
- AC leaked from new which would have been easily fixed if the dealer hadn't been completely useless 🙄
- Power steering hose came loose at 2.5 years. Easily fixed under warranty.
Comfortable, reliable decent to drive and planning to keep it a while yet. In fact happy enough with Ford to have also bought a Mondeo which has been great too.
Puma? Jeez!! 10 years in a 'hair dressers' car!
I think it's more an ex-hairdressers' car surely - no self respecting hairdresser has been seen in one for years! It's great and I will miss it.
I'd second the comments about smaller engined Foci, I have a 1.8 TDDI- hardly a mighty powerplant- and my dad has the 1.6 petrol and the difference in drivability is enormous. The 1.6 is pretty rapid once the engine's spinning but the low down power is poor, it's like a motorbike engine. Quite a lot of fun on the open road but for nadgering around town it's not so good, and the mpg isn't great in the real world since if you want to make progress you need to rev it a lot. Heavily loaded it's quite hard work too. Still, lovely little car.
My own TDDI is older and a bit more sheddy 😉 But it goes, it stops, it has a boot so vast you could almost fit another Focus in it, and it's pretty small for its capacity- I'm not sure if it's best in class but it's up there, the full-width boot and no boot lip are both a big deal I reckon. Back seat legroom isn't great but otherwise I've not much bad to say about it.
The TDs do have a wee bit of a rep for DMF failures though, on higher miles. At 110000 miles it's feeling a bit baggy but still works better than some other models do with half the miles.
Both of them need a 6th gear mind. And don't buy a silver one, you'll park it in Tesco one day and never find it again. From out my window I can see 20 cars, 14 are Foci of some description and 11 are silver 
Last thing, I'd have gone for a Mondeo and I think they make more sense, but the extra size literally meant one won't fit on my driveway. But you get more there for your money IMO.
I can only comment on my car but no one has mentioned a 306 pugeot,
I've got an 306 estate with a gutless non turbo 1.9 diesel engine,
but I calculated it doing 50mpg,
very cheap insurance group 4,
it's been ok reliabilty wise i bought it 2nd hand and only had to replace consumables tyres,brake pads discs, cambelt etc, in the last 2 years.
as a small estate its pretty massive inside
Mazda 3?
1.6 is a decent lump, dunno what the deisels are like but they are a nice drive and handle superbly. 😀
Thanks all for the input.
Went to see a very tatty 307 with lots of fresh oil on the outside of the engine so I walked away sharpish, uncovered a very nice Focus 2.0 TDCi Ghia in vgc, spent an hour or so there, ran a check on it and discovered it was a cat D insurance write off! Walked away again.
Saw a couple of Golfs, 2 tatty ones and an as new 1.4 S petrol. Took it for a ride and it was just too sluggish, so left it. Shame though as it really was immaculate and low mileage.
Thank god for autocheck vehicle checks by the way - we'd have bought that focus if we hadn't run a check on it. I've not run checks on past cars but I get a few free checks now and suddenly I realise their value 😯
Mazda 3 - yeah, I drive a 2l sport which is superb but a bit thirsty (29mpg). This new car is for my bro who wants more economical than that.
Thansk for your help, the search continues... (and the budget did end up at 5k!)
Why not go leftfield and look at Saab 95 2.2 tid estate? Buy a decent gold aftermarket warranty.
I wouldn't touch a peugeot unless you like dashnboard light bingo or like paying through the nose for a older Golf.
Why is mpg important, how many miles do you do a year? Do the maths on the realword difference + the loss in value of your own car..
Don't know a great deal about running a focus, however if doing a lot of miles you can get a mondeo 130 tdci for that money and it will be more comfy on long trips. Mine gets thrashed around the lanes and sticks pretty close to 50mpg still. Massive supply of cheap ones and parts.
Otherwise I'd probably go for a 1.7/1.9 diesel Astra. Not a Vectra though.
Check what the insurance write off was, can't remember the Cats. but may not have been crashed, could be keyed, stolen recovered, replacement engine etc. Vendor should be able to get this information. Should be priced well below market. When I've looked in the past, it's not made a difference to insurance quotes. It will be roadworthy too, if it has been written off it has to go through a VIC? test to go back on the road.
I wouldnt be to bothered about a cat D write off. knock the price right down and you laughing.
Can also be flood. They do not tell you the exact reason but the amount of times I've heard 'cosmetic damage' or light corner.
Look at some of the pre-repaired newish cars offered for sale. It will put you off IMO.