http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2505764.htm

do it, do it now!

 

Mk3 mondeo, they are a nice fun drive, good road holding and the steering is good. I'm going to get 130 tdci as a family car. Get good results from a remap too.

 

Not any old 130 though!!!!
Mine is an LX with std 16" wheels which wallows like a boat. My Dad used to have one which was a Zetec-S which sat on 18's. I don't know if the suspension was any different to mine but the drive was a million miles better than mine (did ford do funky suspension from the factory?).

 

Is yours a high miler? As far as i know all suspension is the same across the board apart from the st's. The ones I have driven have not felt wallowy.

 

You will get a 2000 Volvo V70 T5 for 1200 at auction. Full leather, all the toys, plenty of power and estate for plenty of room

 

Mine has 74k. I guess the difference must simply be in the wheel size. FWIW,as much as it handles fine, it's by no means fun, especially when the other option on my drive is the Wife's Fab VRS - a complete hoot

 

Drove one of the saloons about 9 years ago, fantastic engine

 

I got this last week, its mint, great run about for the wife,

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...=STRK:MEWNX:IT


My 335i is now my weekend car :-)

 

So many bargains about! You should think sensible stuff if its the main one chocolate

Says me who forked out £3k for a T reg classic mini cooper

Certainly shows the difference between German stuff and British built stuff! (love the little sod though)

 

I'm now looking at all sorts again whilst sat here with a can of "damn, that's a light tasting beer"...

Saabs and Mondeo's today. Seen a nice 2001 red Zetec for £1,000 with 118k? Reasonable?

 

Ive had a Saab in the past, a 9-3 2.0 turbo 150 saloon very very nice car like driving a living room about but the engine was very sluggish. I also hear what you are saying about 156's very nice cars and as james says the best bit is the interior, which is where you should spend most of your time. My two pence worth..........do it

 

This is the Mondeo I've seen. Emailed the guy about it. It hasn't any service history which is the only thing that bugs me... cam chain or whatever the Zetec has.

Any thoughts?

http://pistonheads.com/sales/2551682.htm

Cars only 6 miles away...

 

I'm starting to go boring and sensible in my search now. Queue Ford Mondeo's and Peugeot 406's.

Scouring eBay and Pistonheads for maybe a bargain diesel. Looking around 2001...

 

is there such a thing as a bargain diesel? I was looking for one not so long ago and it looked like a case of if it goes wrong, it goes wrong expensively.

 

yup, VW injectors are £400 each!

 

cant see much wrong with that mondeo , petrol likely to be less costly if things go wrong,
me id still go french , cheaper parts thro gsf

 

How about a mk3/4 Golf GTI 5 door?

 

friend had a 156. try 700 fixing a gearbox. another 200 sorting faulty door fobs out.

he'd actually bought a decent one too, not a grands worth of crap as he's loaded.

couldn't wait to px it and get shut.

only other bloke I know who had one (actually a 147) (bought brand new) got shut after 6 mths and bought an audi. fed up of faults on it.


dunno what 1200 will buy you in all honesty ? fiats perhaps ? citroens I think are overlooked and surprisingly good.

 

When I first saw your post I had a feeling your future could include a 406 estate.

OK its french but the diesel engine should go forever, parts I assume are cheap and you should be able to fit all the baby gear in the boot.

 

If you are going French - take a risk on a Citroen C5? As long as the suspension is ok should be good... know someone who had one for years as a tow car and it never failed. The estate is hearse like in load capacity too.

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2558299.htm


5t.

 

Hmm still looking but nothing concrete yet. Eventually, I'm having another Scoob so I may try keep my decision sensible to keep costs down. The Mondeo or 406 is obviously sensible as petrol or deisel they are common and easyish to work on with cheapish parts.

 

The only thing to worry abount on the Mondy is the Clutch - £700 i understand due to the duel mass flywheel (or sommat)

 

Ooof. That a dealer price or indi?

 

Our accountant lady has a diesel mondy and the DMF clutch went on that. Think £700 was mates rates - pretty sure it started out over a grand. It's not on big miles either.

It sounds almost like a when not if problem with them.

Think?? its only diesels that have the issue.

 

To petrols have a different clucth system Edd? Or is it the oober deisel torque which destroys them

 

Have you considered a 306 GTi-6? You like Peugeots, there are some at your budget, also not too old, and with potentially some fun factor.

 

id say a nice vectra b, or 5 door focus wouuld be perfect for that sort of money

 

Yeah, but 2 reasons why it's not too sensible.
1. Insurance is with a generic insurer not a specialist so would be horrendous if they want £600 off for a 406 LX
2. 3 doors and I need 4 really for baby seat.

 

Just did a quote online on CIS insurance website and it came back at £690 for a Saab 9-3 Turbo
Tee hee

 

Today was the first time I'd gone and looked/driven a car. Went to Mansfield to look at a Saab 9-3 turbo (low pressure model). Was a lovely drive and had a stamped service history book, tax, test etc. But 2 things put me off slightly, there was a slight oil leak from the right hand side near the cylinder head and the steering had slight wobble with the wheel off centre.
The car was up for £990 and I tried to negotiate this down a little for the above but the dealer wasn't prepared to negotiate at all.

So search continues....