I'm considering buying a (very) cheap nail to tool around in which may end up a bit of a pool car.

If I do, it's likely to be parked on a narrow but busy street and likely to get bashed, will be driven with virtually no degree of mechanical sympathy, will be parked in all sorts of salubrious areas and will be treated as a store room for rubbish until I make my way to a tip.

It needs to be very cheap to own, i.e. insurance, tax, servicing (servicing would be limited to an oil change now and then...) with cheap consumables and parts. Fuel consumption not really an issue but the more MPG the better.

It needs to be as indestructible as possible in terms of general reliability. As few electrics and toys as possible. I don't really care what it looks like.

I had a Peugeot 306 Dturbo snotter before which met most of the above, but whilst the engine seemed to be pretty bomb proof, I had a few electrical niggles with it.

I'm thinking something like a 1.0 K10 Nissan Micra. Any advance on that suggestion?

Too good for skip duties!

Mk3 Golf TDI?

Polo 6n, skoda fabia, seat ibiza with the 1.4 8v lump. Mega reliable. Cheap to insure and run. Bits are cheap from the scrappy. 40mpg if your carefull. Not fast or very good handling though.

I'm not sure you'll find a better car for the job than that. We bought an H reg 1.0 LS for a family member over 7 years ago. It cost us £300 and other than an occasional oil change, it's only needed tyres, brakes and an exhaust in that time. There's not even any visible rust on it. It lives in London and is parked on the street, so it has acquired a few scratches and dents over the years, but I can't fault it as a basic reliable form of transport.

They're quite spacious with the seats folded down too, so pretty good for tip runs.

Agree......

Plenty on Autotrader: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/search/used/cars/nissa...

Small: K11 Nissan Micra.
Medium: Mk1 Ford Focus.
Large: Volvo 850.

Micras rust, Focuses need a bit of searching to find a decently looked-after one (but there are tons about, so that shouldn't take long), and 850s suffer niggly things like busted aircon and dead dashboard backlights, but they're all fundamentally automotive cockroaches. There's a greater than average chance of a well looked-after private example turning up in a classifieds near you, too, which always helps.

ps. Primeras and Corollas also a good shout. I reckon you could own one of the latter for several years without having a single memory of actually having driven it though, they're that dull.

Honda Civic?

A friend of mine ran one for *years* and he was relentlessly abusive to it.. it withstood all the punishment he ever threw at it. His old brother recently acquired it, and all it needed were new wheel bearings and remains in daily service.

Based on this I guided a friend (who finally just passed his test) into buying one as his first car.. W reg, 87k, lots of history, aircon, great condition with tax and MOT and was < £1000...

Nil depreciation - in fact, some appreciation in value.

£62/year insurance with nil no claims (limited to 3k miles).

Nil road tax.

Cheap parts (I pay under £200/year for service and MOT)

Cooler than any of the suggestions so far.




and in the winter.....