Due to GF getting a new job, we need to sell the scooter and replace it with another car.

It needs a reasonable boot to fit in shopping plus pram, but isn't going to be a bike carrier etc as well as we have an estate for big journeys, and pref 4 door, unless the seats go as well forward as they do in a Golf, in which case 2 door would be ok.

We were thinking of a Focus, but there isn’t much choice at a grand, and we can’t spend any more than that.

Ps anyone want to buy a scooter 😉

Mondeo

Mondeo/Vectra

I'd be looking at a Golf.

+1 Mondeo

can you get a reasonable one for a grand, would have though 2 or 3 for a mondeo type thing.

It is my experience, having had two of them, that an old Volvo estate will run reliably for years and years.

Any pre-FWD Volvo will come in at well under £1000, and do very well by your family, I promise.

At £1000 you are looking at a car with issues.

It will need things fixing at some point in the foreseeable future so it pays to make sure they are as cheap as possible. You will always be able to pick up parts for a mondeo at a car breakers.

Car for car if you think a mondeo will be more than £1k, the equivelant Volvo etc will be more expensive.

Only alternative is the Vectra really. £1k gets you a usable car, nothing more

It is my experience, having had two of them, that an old Volvo estate will run reliably for years and years.

Any pre-FWD Volvo will come in at well under £1000, and do very well by your family, I promise.

Runs off to buy as many old volvos as i can due to saxonriders guarentee

clare last year i got a 53 plate mondeo petrol zetec for 1800 so you should be able to pick something up for a grand. (the car i had before that was a 98 mondeo estate that cost me 200 quid and it was still going strong when i upgraded) 😉

Mondeo or Vectra as stated by others.

I used to get a buggy and all the shopping into my ickle VW polo. You could still get a reasonable one for a grand.

Civic

For £1000 you don't choose a car. You look at what's available and buy the cleanest, best one you can find for the money…….

^^ What PeterPoddy said!

…and to get a few more pennies GF could always flog that new road bike he's just bought!!! 😉

lol muffin man, maybe i should just make him ride it to work every day and keep our car for me!

well i picked a mondeo due to the amount of them around , spares prices and vfm i then search for the best cleanest i could find for my money. imo the mondeo is hard to beat for the cash 😉

Mondeo vote here too.
Had 2. both via car auctions.
Both been outstanding, drive well, reliable – just very Fuggly!

Please consider a Volvo estate. Any pre-FWD model should be easily fetched for less than £1000.

In my experience, having owned two and driven them for hundreds of thousands of kilometres, they can not be beat. I am sure that people's experiences of Mondeos and Vectras are fine, but I would be hard-pressed to believe that any of them have the build quality of an old Volvo.

Find one in good nick, and it will take you and your family on holidays across the continent for years, as well as on many MTB trips, and days at work (yech).

Tbh we didn’t really want anything as big as mondeo / volvo etc, were thinking more focus / golf size, it’s really just a run around – to get me the 6 miles to work, and once on mat leave, to get to the park! We have a nice estate for proper journeys. But if they’re the best for the money, then I guess we’ll have a look at them 🙂

Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla or Avensis. Will be more expensive for bits than Mondeos but will never need them. At a grand it's always a bit of pot luck. Mk2 Micra look to be good for longevity too, plenty of 5 door ones for that money, and you have the big car for everybody in.

Sorted – hatchback with the feel of a scooter….

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201004351157738/sort/pricedesc/usedcars/maximum-mileage/up_to_80000_miles/price-to/1000/price-from/500/postcode/de562gr/page/9/radius/40?previous=%2Fsearch%2Fused%2Fcars%2Fpostcode%2Fde562gr%2Fradius%2F40%2Fmaximum-mileage%2Fup_to_80000_miles%2Fprice-to%2F1000%2Fprice-from%2F500%2Fsort%2Fpricedesc%2Fpage%2F9&logcode=p

…and a fiver change!!

lol, that's the one muffin man!

Part-x'ed my civic estate for less than that after spending bout £250 on it over 5 years / 80k

The established logic for cheap cars was go for more expensive (than shopping car) saloons that pile on the motorway miles and depreciate. Because that causes alot less wear than stopping and starting / driving to the shop 5 times a day, especially if it ws cheaper to start with.

Or find something some old couple have had locked in their garage the last ten years.

I bought an 1100 quid nissan primera. 2 litre petrol, fantastic engine. Sold it a year on, still went perfectly. I'd buy another one in a heartbeat.

Edit: forgot to mention it was really, really nice to drive as well. Very underrated car IMHO (which is good 'cos it makes them cheap)

Golf. My girlfriend's one cost a smidge under a grand, it's a 1.6 MK3 and it's done 20k in just over a year with no undue bother – servicing, tyres and brakes. And it does 40mpg, happily cruises on the motorway and so-on.

It's certainly possible to find decent cars at the sub £1k level. You do have to be *very* fast on picking up the Autotrader ads that look decent, and be very specific when quizzing buyers on the phone, or you end up looking at lots of tat.

For a medium sized car id go for a Nissan Almera. No street cred, but (A) cheap (B), well made and (C) likely to have been owned by an elderly person (ie not ragged and regularly serviced).

MEGANE SCENIC

Diesel Mondeo.

Or maybe http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201009353526734/sort/priceasc/usedcars/price-to/1000/make/rover/postcode/ng334hw/radius/1500/keywords/sterling/page/1?previous=%2Fsearch%2Fused%2Fcars%2Frover%2Fpostcode%2Fng334hw%2Fradius%2F1500%2Fkeywords%2Fsterling%2Fprice-to%2F1000%2Fsort%2Fpriceasc%2Fpage%2F1&logcode=p
We had one of those. 2.5L V6 180bhp, full leather, aircon, cruise control, heated seats, electric front and rear seats, electric everything.
Ours was 6yrs old when we got and we paid £1800 at auction. Bit cheaper now. Thirsty, 25mpg, but if it's a second car that shouldn't bother you too much.

Fiat stilo 5 doorLike this

Sell the expensive carbon bling and buy something with a chance of keeping junior safe?

djglover – Member
Sell the expensive carbon bling and buy something with a chance of keeping junior safe?

Out of the 'other' suggestions i like the almera the most. As stated its unfashionable and therefore cheap.

Other suggestion is the vauxhall astra which doesnt seem to hold its value like the focus

Thanks for all the suggestions, some good ideas there so we'll have look at all and see whats around near us.

Serious mode now…
If you can find a tidy, older Volvo 7 or 9 series, it'll run very well and be tough as old boots. And safe as houses too.

As PP said. Don't choose a model. At £1000 the condition and the attitude of the seller matters more than a specific model choice.

If you are going to do short journeys I would look at something petrol, large engine and fuel inefficient. Should enable you to buy something better quality/reliable. Just give it oil changes and drive it till it breaks.

But Volvo 7 and 9 series are huge and this is only for a second car, Almeras are great, so are small Fiats and Astras, My daughters been running around in an old Astra for 3 years it cost her £450 and its since done 40.000 miles and has only been serviced regularly.

I bought my 406 estate diesel for a grand, my ex-neighbour bought his petrol 5-door 306 for 300 quid. Loads to pick from.

Nissan. My parents had two Primeras, an L reg that did 180k no issues, then a Y reg that has 130k on the Clock, no issues. I've just bought one, a bit scruffy, but £1500 for a 40k mileage W reg. They're really comfortable, plenty of space, drive well. Very reliable. My parents also had two of the original Almeras and now have one of the later shape ones. They had two of the original ones as I bounced one off a barrier near Fort William. None had/have any issues, other than my driving, completely reliable, cheap, functional. Can't recommend them highly enough at the price.

my 02 1.8 astra sri, just had £600 spent on it and £400 on new tires in the about 6 months ago. has a few dents but a good car looking for over a grand?