OK, just want a car for running to and from work. Had a Punto and it sucked royally, so now have narrowed it down to some odd choices:

1. BMW 318 E36 Like its looks and equipment level. J/K/L reg
2. Modded Mk 3 XR2i - always liked these cars - so-so build quality. Reg - ifs its got inner wings left LOL!
3. Vectra 1.8 Something to measure against I suppose. N/P reg.
4. Honda Civic - ESi, LSi or VTI. Like reliability and equipement. Older shaped - L/M/N reg.

Remember its only a daily driver. What would you choose - or are there any other interesting, but definately non-Punto type recommendations haha!!

 

Perhaps you've intentionally omotted the Mondeo from your shortlist (?). Of those four above, I'd go for the Civic. Peppy engines, good enough chassis and good reliability.

 

Er, well I just bought a 2.0 Pug 406 (like, two days ago). 12 months ticket and 10 months tax, last serviced a fortnight ago. Climate control too.

Seems OK, if a bit slow and you sit very high up compared to the Scoob. Paid £2.5k -- 80k miler on a 96 'P' plate.

 

mondeo or cavalier v6 would be my choice, a real beuty for this price too. or an xr2i i know how much you like these

 

Depends how you want to go to work.

To cruise, how about a Merc 300E? Hewn from granite, and as quiet and refined as a new £40k car, unlike a baggy Mondeo or (shudder) Vectra. Ultra reliable, good for 250k miles. Three pointed star with every one sold at end of bonnet. Plod will not bother you. Couldn't think of a more relaxing smoker to cruise to work in. What depreciation?

To fly, go for the Civic. I'm a 205GTi man, which suits my journey to work better than any car on the planet (4 miles of empty, twisty B road), but does not suit any form of traffic or town driving where the Civic would be far more civilised.

 

Early VR6 Golf

 

I wouldn't touch anything French. I've had nothing but trouble with my 306 and I will never buy Peugeot again. I would go for something Japanese or German. Given your short list i'd go for the Civic too.

 

Well I reckon I'm too old for hot hatches (i.e. anything Golf/Civic/306 sized) and I only like saloon cars. My long term plan was to get something big enough to carry about wifey and kids (wife's got a 206CC, so that's a non starter for family transport) so that when I had the money I could chop the Scoob in for something less practical (i.e. 2 seats, or 2+2).

I worked on the basis that if you want something reliable and cheap to run, you should look at what taxi drivers have. IME that means Pug 406, Citroen Xantia or Nissan Primera.

Drove the pug back from Ipswich yesterday -- thank God I didn't get a diesel. I couldn't have coped with anything slower.

BTW if you're interested my sister has a Pug 406 SRi 2.0 Turbo for sale [it's not mine, mine's a plain 2.0 GLX], £3250 on an R-plate with 55k on the clock, IIRC. I've offered to help sell it, so there are some pics at http://www.bogart.org.uk/Pug%20406. Mine's the green one in the background of one of the pics

 

nissan primera 2.0 GT - 1996ish

150bhp
very reliable
nimble for it's size
strong high revving enginer (7500rpm)
good full leather seats (better than my 03 wrx)
all electrics
cheap and fast(ish)

had one in the past and shocked a few golf gti drivers, and didn't spend a bean on it in 2 years (1 set of tyres and 2 services)!

andy.

 

Vectra?

Utter toss, I've had/driven over 10 of these "cars" under an enforced company Vauxhall policy. Covered over 80,000 miles in them and can honestly say they are the worse car I've ever driven bar an A reg 2CV. I had various models 1.8, 2.0, 2.2 Petrol and 2.0 diesel variant models from LS to SRi and they were all crap.

Poor handling, crap fuel economy, bad build quality. picked up a 2.0 with less than 100 miles on the clock and the aircon compressor fell out of the engine bay! HAd another with engine mngmnt problems, faulty electric windows etc. The few Mondeos I had were streets ahead in terms of driver enjoyment and build quality.

[Edited by NACRO - 5/26/2003 9:07:02 AM]

 

I had a mk2 crx vtec and sold it last year for 2.5K. What a great little car and what a sound with induction and exhaust mods. Hard to find but worth it! Not bad mpg when out of the vtec too. Classic status?

 

The Primera GT idea is a good one if you can pick up a FSH privately owned one

 

Ford Sierra XR4x4 2.9 V6

One of the most underated cars out there, superb piece of kit for the money IMHO.

 

Some good ideas coming out here. I have a strange calling from the BMW though. Must be my lack of use of indicators driving the scoob at spirited speed on local back roads.

Had an RS kitted Mk1 Mondeo Si and it was a great car. Vectra's cant be that bad heh-heh. Never thought of the Pug or Nissan though?

 

Definately stay clear of the Vectra..i've still got an Sri 140 Vectra alongside my Scoob...absolute bag o' sh**e ! Had nothing but problems with it.

How about a Cavalier Turbo ??

 

Get a civic vti - don't bother with LSi or ESi if you're used to speed though, as they'll frustrate the hell out of you.
Early VR6 golf a good bet - sold my 1996 p reg for just over £4k a couple of months back, so you should be able to pick up a K/L/M reg one for your price easily.

 

I'd be tempted back to the Mondeo, definitely a V6 one though. As you know I've had a 16V one for years but it feels **** slow now compared to the scooby even though it's faster than 90% of the rep-mobiles out there! The prices of them have went through the floor and if you get one that's been looked after they are very little bother and have excellent handling for the type of car. Mine is still running like a dream I still use it for going to work every day and whenever I'm going on a long journey to give the scoob a rest. You can pick them up for buttons these days so a well specced model with decent mileage isn't hard to find.

Not keen on the Vectras at all, I used to think they were OK and the 4-door SRi/GSi looks quite nice yet subtle but they ain't a patch on the Mondeo to drive. My dad got one about 18 months ago cos he needed a diesel for the company car thing and their 2.2DTi was one of the better options at the time. It's a CDX so has all the fancy stuff but the handling ain't as good as the Mondeo and the gearbox is horrid in comparison to the MTX75 (and that's with my Mondeo being about 8 years older). Only decent thing is the engine which has a sh1tload of torque from less than 1500RPM and gets 48MPG. He's considering getting rid of it already to go for an E46 BMW 320d/330d or going back to the Mondeo with a new TDCi Zetec-S, or possibly even a Focus ST170.

 

[Edited by bros2 - 7/2/2003 3:51:01 PM]

 

205GTI

 

VW CORRADO G60.

 

For a family hack at a very cheap price the V6 mondeo takes some beating, had mine since new (nearly 6 years), nothing ever seems to go wrong with it (consumables only) good, capable, boring, family car.

Rgds
Neil

 

my dad had a vectra, it was the worst car in the world.!! stay well clear.

 

I have a Vectra Gsi, and have had many fast and enjoyable miles in it. But everyone is entitled to there opinion.

Have you ever thought of 2.2 Audi 80 quattro. Also you could get a decent Cavalier Turbo aswell. Also Rover 600 Ti's are quite fast for the budget that you are working with.

 

I'm away to see some BM's tomorrow - pre Scottish Cup off course. Had a shot of a Civic coupe LSi 1.6 and quite liked it. Tried an XR2i Tud - gawd ruff as a bears wotsits!! Havent seen anything else local enough yet.

 

In what world are you expecting to get a vw corrado g60 for 2 - 3k??? last time i checked these were going for an absolute minimum of 5k up to 10k!

 

er corrado G60's are cheap as chips.

VR6's command more dosh

 

cavalier v6 they start at £1000 upwards, very very reliable and smooth as silk to drive. rarer than the mondeo but both are a good buy. you know you want too

 

Drove 2 318i SE's today. Both alright, one in particular has my attention. Not a whipper snapper for speed, but definately a nice cruiser feel to the car.

 

Could always get an early Sport? That's what I use now to reduce the mileage on my WRX :-) They take the miles well too.

 

You could get a Astra GTE 16v, ***** out fun, surprises a LOT of cars out there, 156bhp, with torque to match

or like sumone said a nice cav V6, ultimate cruiser long ratio gearbox, cant remember think these are 170-180 bhp

you could get a cav turbo 204bhp 4x4, but for about 2k i wudnt bother, if you can find a nice minter of a cav gsi thats nice same engine as the astra 16v


dont like the mondeo v6, seem to be much slower then they should be, not sure if they are