Scotsman

iTrader: (3)

I'm looking to spend around £5k on a car for a daily 80 mile motorway round trip. Lots of traffic so an automatic would be great. Prefer 5 doors as well.

Not that fussy about the power output, but something decent enough to cope with an auto box.

Any suggestions?

tia
Richard.

LG John

Richard I bought John Banks 406 V6 for less than half your budget for the bypass commute and haven't looked back since. By far and away the best car I've ever owned for 95% of my driving. The real bonus is the engine sounds great, isn't too silly on fuel and goes like stink in 3rd gear (enough to hang onto scoobys). For motorway driving you have cruise control, climate control, electric everything, heated seats, etc, etc. Not sure if they did an automatic version but it doesn't matter anyway because you can use first gear to 20mph and slip it into 5th and she'll pull without shudder all the way to 150mph. You'd get a very nice example for 4k with 1k left for the unforseens.

You'd find some good Omega's in your price range as well and they are big and comfy but are a Vauxhall don't forget!

Dark Blue Mark

didn't realise they were so cheap!

That's a lot of car for the money.

MB

LG John

You should see what it looks like just now!!! I spent all day sunday cleaning her up and she looks a million bucks aside from a heavily chipped front valance (motorway!). I've taken on some big journeys with lots of passengers and luggage with east and comfort and not much of a performance penalty from weight. Last week I drove the A9 from Inverness to Perth behind an M5 (just him and his misses) with four blokes each with weekend luggage and a big petrol lawnmower. We were able to match pretty much every overtake me made and with 400hp he was taking on some pretty tight gaps but we still managed to tuck in behind it safely. There really is no replacement for displacement...................now to run a bar through it

Scotsman

iTrader: (3)

Hi Kenny

Good call on the 405 and there are lots of Omega's out there (autos and fully loaded with toys). Just need to make sure that anything I get isn't going to cost a fortune in repairs.

I really fancy another Scooby but I'm going to wait a couple years and get a 2-3 year old 03 model.

Richard.

Kieran_Burns

iTrader: (1)

Funny reading this thread as I'm looking at a new car (thinking about it) and had considered the Omegas (MV6.... 3.0i version) but hadn't thought about the Peugot.

Time to go hunting! Thanks folks.

Reffro

I'd have a look at a Honda Accord 2.0i. I was out looking at cars last week and saw a fully loaded 3yr old car for £6495, so they'll be plenty about for your budget that are slightly older.

Scotsman

iTrader: (3)

Good idea on the honda accord. One of my mates used to have an accord - fully loaded with leather and satnav. They should be pretty cheap by now and the 2.0 vtec is a sweet enough engine.

LG John

The real bonus with the Pug is that if you want to spend a little more and can live with 2 doors you can get the coupe version which has a lovely sleek profile

kammy

Honda Legend. Have a look,pretty cool.
Kam

Scotsman

iTrader: (3)

Just seen a 99T 306 GTi-6 for sale with 55k miles for £6k....... tempting!!

Kieran_Burns

iTrader: (1)

Got to agree here (but then I am a Calibra owner!) and the 3.0i V6 does come with 210bhp so you get a nice bit of oomph as well

Tempted myself... but then I might as well keep me Cally Turbo (bloody pain in the **** car that it is)

LG John

I also found myself looking at a lot of GTI-6s and Ralleys! The final swaying point for me was that the 406 can do everything the GTI's can performance wise (and often more) with the exception of go round corners. However, its a hand down victory for the 406 for all forms of comforts, size, useability, etc, etc. Also, the 406 is miles cheaper to buy than an equivellent age/miled GTI.

For anyone that is interested I had a play with a standard (peeshooters) RB5 today on the bypass. We nailed it from a roundabout and quickly got stuck behind another car. The other car cleared at 65mph and I was in 3rd (just on cam). We both floored it at the same time and remained foot to the floor until midway through 4th (you do the math ) when we caught other traffic. I think he pulled about 12 inches on me, it was too difficult to judge such was the lack in change of distance between us £2k saloon car........

LG John

LMAO, and I'm still feeling it

papascooby

reanault safranne - lots and lots of luxuxry for very little money or an old merc diesel?

Kevin Mc

5 door comfy motorway cruiser - I'd go for a late Saab 9000. For that money you'd get a 2.3 Anniversary auto with all the bits. 200BHP so will shift - loads of room, huge boot, some of the best seats in motoring.

what would scooby do

..or an 1999 Saab 9-3 Turbo @ 185bhp 20-30 mpg

LG John

I recently drove my mates Saab 9000 2.0cd on a long journey and it was ok to drive. The car looked far more dated than my pug and was obviously slower but it handled quite well and felt a lot more 'solid' and 'beefy' than the pug. Ultimately I was glad to get back to my own fresher and faster car but the saab certainly was nice despite its age.

Scotsman

iTrader: (3)

We used to have a Saab 900 4 years ago. Had it for around 3 years and it wasn't too bad. Expensive servicing and parts though. Like the look of the new 9-3 but don't fancy an older one again.

The 306 GTi-6 would, perhaps, hold it's value better than a 406 version, but then it would cost more to start with.

Petem95

Old shape BMW 5-series, you should get a nice 520/523 P/R-reg with motorway miles for that much cash.

Still very smart looking cars IMO, the only draw back is you do get some low-lifes/drug dealers in baseball caps/gold chains driving them round now

LG John

If you shop around you can find a V6 for £2.5k. Its always going to sell for over a grand unless you totally reduce it to a piece of ****. A £6k GTI will still find its way to drop much lower than that.

I'm confident I could sell mines tomorrow for what I paid for it but that is in part because I got a good deal from John and also because it looks the part and you can see its been well looked after.

16vmarc

Skoda Octavia TDi Elegance (110bhp) , youll get a 00 X for around 5k

bugeyes

A bit more than 5k, but a top class luxury 4wd cruiser!
http://bbs.scoobynet.co.uk/showthrea...53#post3550653

Kieran_Burns

iTrader: (1)

Now that's a nice car!

the only thing that puts me off is the mileage tbh... but nice! (and still a 4wd... hmmmm....)

DarkForce

Hi,

My friend just picked up an absolute bargain the other day which I could recommend. Going out to buy a family car (Scenic/Picasso style) he ended up with a superb 1998 R plate Jaguar XJ8 3.2 Auto Sport. Its absolutley gorgeous in metallic Dark Blue, has 45k on the clock, two owners and a full Jag service history. How much did he pay for it?


£5,500!!

I couldn't believe it. It drives superbly and is so comfy. Got me tempted!

Chris

LG John

Now that is a bloody good deal!!! Running costs might be quite high and you'd probably be wanting to retain the jag history.

Scotsman

iTrader: (3)

Currently thinking along the 406 lines. Now I just need to find one near me!

Really nice example in Autotrader but it's 250 miles away.

*****
PEUGEOT 406 AUTO 3.0 V6 EXECUTIVE, 1999, S reg. immaculate gleaming Silver, full Black leather electric seats, alloys, tow pack, PAS, ABS, e/w, e/m, FRH, r/c/l alarm, t/a/bags, air con, remote stereo, luxury prestige motoring, full Tax, MOT, only. £2,500.
*****

LG John

Worth the journey if having spoken to the owner you feel it could be the car. I personally would travel any distance in the UK fro the right car. Only thing that worrys me about the ad is the lack of a mileage declaration. Usually this means its high (i.e. over 100k)

Petem95

How much?!! Was that from an auction, or is it on v-car or what?