£7,495 maximum. Would prefer something from a dealer. Needs an aircon. Sold the scoob to save money so want it to be cheap to run (service and fuel) so not more than a 1.8 if petrol really. Cheap insurance. Not interested in how fast it is but want something reliable. Not too bothered on style whether its a saloon or a hatchback. No estates though.

I have had no problems with Jap cars in the past but nothing new and low mileage looks good and jumps out at me. Any ideas here?

Was looking at a Focus but have been looking for weeks and the general quality of them is pants - people just dont look after them. Even at local Ford Dealers Ive seen £8k cars with front discs that are so corroded I am amazed they are still on the car.

Not too sure on any of the French cars as here lots of bad problems with build quality and reliability.

Would like a Golf but you dont get much for your money 2nd hand.

Simon.

Have you thought about a Skoda Octavia? If you can get over the badge snobbery side of things, they are based on the Golf MKIV, have more room and are cheap. You can get a 1.8Turbo or a N/A 1.8 20V starting at about 5.5K for one a couple of years old. Insurance on the 1.8T will be a lot cheaper than an Impreza turbo as will other running costs.
I'm very close to getting a VRS myself.

Erm a quick flick flick through autotrader finds X reg Octavia GLX's at £7-8k?

Simon.

from Autotrader online :2000 SKODA OCTAVIA 1.8 20V TURBO
SLX, 2000, W reg. 60000 miles, metallic blue, full leather, heated seats, alloys, CD, air con, arm rest + lots more, 1 owner, FSH, VW engineering, full dealer facilities. £6,295.

Auto Exchange
Tel: 0113 2719107 or 07956 937750

or for a N/A car

2000 X Reg Skoda Octavia 2.0 GLX
Petrol, Manual 5 speed, Blue Metallic, Estate, 29,000 miles , 5 Doors. Air-Conditioning, Driver Air Bag, Electric Windows, In Car Entertainment, Passenger Air Bag, Air Bag, Central Door Locking, One Owner, Power-Assisted Steering.CD Player £6,395.

RushmoresDealer's Website Dealer's Location
Tel: (020) 83141020


or a diesel perhaps if you really want to save money


98(S) SKODA OCTAVIA 1.9 TDi SLX 5-Dr,
Dark Blue Metallic, 58136 miles, Anti-lock Brakes, Air Bag, Air Conditioning, Alloy Wheels, Central Locking, Electric Windows, Power Steering, Radio/cassette, Sunroof, Tinted Glass, Engine Immobiliser £6495.

Autosales LtdDealer's Website Dealer's Location
Tel: 01902 4022222

There are loads on the online autotrader

Mazda 323F Sport. OK, it is an estate (ish) but more "wagon" like.

The sport 1.8 can be picked up for under 8K on a W/Y reg. Insurance is cheap(ish), servicing is fine and reliable as you like. Handles well as well.

E.g.
http://www.listersgroup.com/listersc...es/T130LOF.jpg

Dealer Car available in Northampton but use this to search for Mazda 323 Sport to get to the one in the picture.

Cheers

Ian

[Edited by IWatkins - 9/14/2003 6:52:08 PM]

Integra Type R.... Early one with a few miles on for about 7500 - 8000.

MB

great cars :D except they aren't cheap to run, or insure :(

Toyota celica ST202..??

Dan:D

Moose - How come they're not cheap to run?

MB

Integra Type R, all day and everyday, THE best drivers car I have ever owned.

Not cheap to insure but not that expensive to run.

I have a focus zetec as my second car and i love it. It's the 1.6 so not very quick but 370 miles to a tank of fuel, bugger all to insure and even less to run. Oh it handles well to. With aircon you also get heated mirrors and windscreen which is a godsend in the winter.

You can get a brand new Nissan Almera for £7250 with aircon and CD, appears to fit your criteria. Have a look at www.honestjohn.co.uk in the best deals page on the right. Skoda RS180's for £12,699 from Motorpoint look like a bit of a bargain too.

I like Nissan, even had a Primera ('99) but the Almera just doesnt do it for me.

Mazda 323 looks alright and my mum had one that was well reliable and got all mod cons. Dont they do a non-estate version though?

Simon.

Umm, brake discs kind of tend to corrode - the whole constantly having an exposed metal face to the elements... take it round the block to clean the rust off, then see what you think. Or if you really dont like rust, have them spray wd40 on them just after driving it - just dont expect the brakes to be great!

Lancia Chris - thanks for the sarcastic reply. The car in question was a Y reg Zetec with under 30k on the clock. Both the front discs were completely corroded as were the calipers. It looked like they had been submerged in salt water since first registration. In fact they were even chunks of the discs missing. If youd buy a car in this state then big up to you. The fact a main dealer can put such a car for sale on the forecourt doesnt instill much confidence in me. I bet if some mug bought that car they wouldnt mention anything about the brakes.

Simon.

P1Fanatic,

If they had of been submerged in saltwater since new there would be pretty much no rust at all on them...........you need a healthy dose of oxygen in the equation too remember ;)

Could you not just get them to replace the discs before buying anyway as if they are that bad then surely they are in an unroadworthy state?

Cheers,
Ian

Here's me thinking water was H2O when all the time it was H2 LMFAO at the above

Pie n chips,

Quite correct mate but I don't believe there is a great deal of Oxygen in saltwater, if you dissagree I suggest you take a long stroll on the bottom of the Irish Sea ;).....I did say "healthy dose of oxygen is needed" & also I didn't say there would be no rust, just not a "great deal" :D Just think about those shipwrecks, been in the sea for decades & when you see programmes with divers going down to them they are almost pristine. Certainly not the ANYWHERE NEAR the amount of corrosion you would see if left to the elements out in the open like brake discs would be normally (they would be a pile of dust at best).............that was my whole point :p

[Edited by Ian2wdsaffcos - 9/16/2003 12:07:12 PM]

Unfortunatly the ability to take a lesuirely stroll across the bottom of the ocean is beyond me, but the corrosive nature of salt water would reduce most brake discs to mere pile's of rust upon constant submersion.

As for shipwrecks, i think the lower tempratures encountered at the bottom of the ocean may have something to do with the preservation of various metals, but hey i'm no scientist :)

LOL well there was no mention of any depths in P1fanatic's post ;) so let's leave it there shall we as we're getting slightly off topic (my fault initially I know LOL).

Anyway, my personal opinion P1fanatic is that you should hold out for a decent Focus mate as they're cracking little cars :D

Cheers,
Ian

LOL agreed

Try looking in "Which?" magazine ;)

If you go to www.skoda.co.ukthen click on the 4th button in from the left you can get a listing of all the cars held as dealer stock. Select a model and price range, and it will tell you dealer stock.

For example, Marlborough have a black 1.9TDI GLX in black with 34,500 miles, V plate @ £7495

There are loads on there, with lots of different engine and trim levels, at or below your price limit.

with that budget for myself id be looking for a golf/passat tdi, great reliable motors with a good feel to them

Im thinking Golf at the mo but there aint too many TDI's around either dealer, trade or private. Not from my searches so far anyway.

Passat is a little too big and too company car like for me.

Simon.