The more I look the less I find...

[danlightbulb]

Thanks, good info. I can see that diesels have moved on somewhat from my Mondy era.

The LPG thing, shame there aren't more around because I'd definitely consider it. Of course, its only worth it while the tax breaks are in place. They could disappear at any time. That old £900 Jeep I saw had been LPG'd.

Re the DPF. Older diesels don't have it right, and they pass the MOT. So is it not possible to remove it altogether from these modern cars. Piece it through in the exhaust and code it out in the ECU?

[danlightbulb]

Yeah a quick google search reveals its illegal to remove them. Bloody bureaucrats.

Anyway, some petrol options for £6k. Thoughts appreciated.

1. Honda CR-V, 2006, 62k miles, 2.0 litre iVTEC manual, 150bhp, 31mpg.


2. Hyundai Santa Fe, 2006, 60k miles, 2.7 l V6 Automatic, 186 bhp, 26 mpg BUT LPG'd!.


3. Toyota RAV4, 2006, 44k miles, 2.0 litre manual, 150bhp, 32mpg.


4. Nissan X trail, 2008, 68k miles, 2.5 litre auto, 166bhp, 30 mpg.


5. Volvo XC90, 2004, 95k miles, 2.9l auto, 272bhp, 21mpg BUT LPG'd.



I think LPG could be a serious contender. Not really considered it before now. An LPG'd xtrail or pathfinder. Oh yeah!

noell35 said:

Eski1991 said:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2004-Santana-PS10-4x4-9-...

It's probably the closest you could get to your criteria

I can't wait to hear why he doesn't want this. It fits the criteria perfectly.

Im sure you're gonna hate me. Its too extreme. Love it, if I lived in the jungle, but couldn't live with it daily. Thanks though!

Edited by danlightbulb on Wednesday 2nd September 21:47

Edited by danlightbulb on Wednesday 2nd September 21:53

Edited by danlightbulb on Wednesday 2nd September 21:55

[danlightbulb]

DoubleSix said:

Possible sure, but immoral, don't do that.

Thanks.

Looked it up, illegal. Morality is subjective.


Looking at petrols again now. Surprising how few of them are around.


Will maintenance costs be rough on a 2.5l BMW 5 series petrol engine?

Edited by danlightbulb on Wednesday 2nd September 23:42

[danlightbulb]

What about these 3rd party warranty companies? Would that provide the protection against expensive diesel engine failures at a reasonable cost (say £150 a year)?

Im also looking at warrenty direct's reliability scores for various cars. Almost everything half decent is coming out pretty bad on reliability. Almost all 4x4s score poorly. BMWs and Audis all score poorly. What is going on!

Edited by danlightbulb on Thursday 3rd September 01:29

[danlightbulb]

Bill said:

And IMO those soft roaders look gash and don't have the manly truck look you want, more home counties wannabe.

Have a look at Forester turbos. Easily in budget, shouldn't go wrong, soft roader in a good way looks and fairly quick. Your mpg will suffer though, but you are going to have to compromise somewhere.

I agree, the xtrail probably the best out the bunch looks wise. I could fit some AT tyres with the white writing on the sides, some side steps, and a bull bar at the front to enhances its mean-ness. 30mpg from its 166bhp engine and 68k miles puts it almost exactly the same as this 2.3l petrol mondeo which is up for £5500:

or


So a 30mpg xtrail or a 30mpg mondeo?

Edited by danlightbulb on Thursday 3rd September 16:31

[danlightbulb]

Bill said:

This is a better colour and has a better engine: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

It is very nice, but:

• only 2 years newer than my current car (its a mk3 same as mine)
• 3 to 4 years older than I can get on AT for the same money in a lesser spec
• probably gonna cost me a bomb to insure it

I'm a bit concerned about going for a big petrol. Won't I be more likely to have expensive repair bills as per the diesel argument?


Edit - very surprisingly its only gonna be £550 a year insurance. My 2 litre diesel is £450. Thats shocked me.

Edited by danlightbulb on Thursday 3rd September 17:02

[danlightbulb]

I was more thinking that powerful petrols will place more stress on components such as cam shafts, pistons, valves, crankshafts etc, rather than all the ancillary components fitted to diesels.

Its such a tough decision. I'm DEFINITELY going be having a one third fuel price hike on a weekly basis if I go for a petrol, and its a gamble that this would be offset by repair costs on a diesel. Going from 45mpg to 30mpg at 10000 a year will cost me £556 a year more.

Also, aren't front wheel drive performance engines supposed to be a bit rubbish?

Edited by danlightbulb on Thursday 3rd September 18:05

Edited by danlightbulb on Thursday 3rd September 18:14

[danlightbulb]

Lol.Er...not sure what to say to that. Ive been saying I like 4x4s because of the rugged looks and I get a Chrysler chauffeur type car!

I don't want a statement car. I just like 4x4s. I want something that I will enjoy owning and looking at myself. I don't care whether other people enjoy looking at it or not.

The ST220 is a lovely car and I just watched a clarkson review of it on youtube and he really rates it. I looked at them years ago but at that time I couldn't stump for the insurance. I hadn't considered it could be in my price range now. It will look exactly the same as my Mondy diesel TDCi but will go like stink.

But for my money, I'm not getting anything much newer, you know? Does that matter, I can't figure it out. The extra running cost is doable, provided it does get close to 30mpg as claimed instead of close to 20.

[danlightbulb]

I think if it was going to be a petrol estate the ST220 is probably the best I can get. Just concerned about getting something almost as old as my current car.

Any owners of these cars on here and can give me some detailed ownership info?

[danlightbulb]

God damn it man. I just noticed that these ST220's are £490 a year road tax! Thats £30 a month more than my current car costs me. For fk sake.

[danlightbulb]

Willy Nilly said:

This is your issue. You can't afford the cars you want. Buy something you can afford and will do the job, stop looking at st you can't afford and be happy with your lot.

Like it or not, 6 grand is Fiesta money. And not new Fiesta money at that, or nearly new Fiesta money. Nearly new Dacia money. Not 5 Series money, or Land Cruiser money.

It's fine buying a car you can't really afford when you are young, free, single and live at home. You're none of these.

I know but its so frustrating. The actual CAR is no problem but then you see the stupid road tax price...

Ive come down in my expectations from a 4x4 or a bmw to another mondeo but even that..a fking mondeo...is costing me more. Its ridiculous.

[danlightbulb]

Ghost91 said:

The Mk4 Mondeo can be found with a rare 2.5 turbo charged 5 cylinder volvo engine, usually in titanium X spec with all the toys. These are lovely and in your budget too for one with decent mileage, quick and not too juicy. If it's age you're concerned about then perhaps one of these might be better for you.

The saloons have huge boots anyway so estate might not be necessary

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=...

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=...

Edited by Ghost91 on Thursday 3rd September 21:22

Ive looked at that model yeah looks nice. But everyone is saying the st220?

Summary of this whole thread is pretty much 4x4s are out, any diesel is out, big petrols are out. Im left with 1.6l petrols and there is no point upgrading for that as its not really an upgrade.

[danlightbulb]

Sorry i dont mean to come across as a troll. The chrysler just wasnt for me, i didnt like how it looks. Im not after a sports car, or a top marque. Thats why its so frustrating.

I already have a mondeo, overall great car but i wanted to upgrade ie get something better in some way, otherwise whats the point changing it, unless it fails on me which is 50/ 50 id say.

And i get recommended a nice car which is in budget and i think great, then i look at the tax or the mpg. Id love a fast car always did want one. I love big traditional engines. Its not unreasonable to want good economy also these days, and paying road tax grieves me.


Take the st220. 220bhp at 27 mpg.
Take a tdci. Probably 140bhp at 45 mpg.

Where is the car in the middle. Something around 36 mpg and 180bhp? Reasonable economy reasonable power. Thats what i want, in a nice looking package. Not top class, just nice.

Edited by danlightbulb on Thursday 3rd September 22:40

[danlightbulb]

noell35 said:

Right. Well
1) Decide how much you want to spend.
2) Put it in to autotrader + & - £1000.
3) Sort the cars by a) nearest first or b) Price high-low
4) If you see a car you like read the reviews on Parkers, Honest John & What Car
5) Repeat from 2 for ebay and possibly gumtree
5) Narrow it down to 3 cars
6) If you need more info on any of the 3 cars ask in here.
7) Choose 1 car.


Any questions?

Thanks. Been doing this for the last 2 weeks lol. It seems that the only car that I would actually like to own and can afford to run is what I already have - a mondy! I must have made a very good choice 9 years ago when I bought it.

What I need to figure out I guess is what engine I can live with in running costs and at the same time live with in my own desirability. Its probably not the 3.0l V6 as much as I would like one. Its also not a small petrol. Been put off diesels now. 2.0l to 2.5l petrol only option left.

[danlightbulb]

MissChief said:

OP says what sort of car he wants. Posters give suggestions. OP dismisses them immediately or, if he's feeling nice, only a few posts later. OP gets no further in what car he wants.

I am very grateful for the suggestions I have received so far, genuinely thanks to all who have tried to help me on this thread. I guess I just have very narrow views on what 'look' I like.

I know what car I would like, but I can't bring myself to bear the running cost increase. Trying to compromise but the cars do not exist that allow that compromise.

Take the ST220 again. Love the car, great engine, great interior and exterior styling. All good!

But then I look around. First I can hardly find any choice of estates. Second the mpg is a bit low, so I look for something a little tamer, say a 180bhp engine. It doesn't exist. The lower spec cars all have lower spec interiors too, and don't have the exterior bodykit like the ST220. Its like I'm forced to get the engine I don't really want to get the rest of the spec I do want.

[danlightbulb]

I need to wait until Tuesday when the Mondy is in the garage for MOT, and for them to have a look at the rear suspension thats knocking. If the cost of this plus any MOT repairs is >£600 then I have a decision to make.

There is a real nice ST220 on AT at the moment. It would cost me approx £80-£100 a month more to insure, tax and fuel, over my current car. Its a fair hit. Can't decide if its worth it.

Guys what is the situation with this. The St220 I'm looking at is on for £5500, but according to AT valuation tool, this car at this mileage is worth half that, at about £2500. With all the options I'd be willing to pay more than £2.5k, but is it really worth double that or has the guy overpriced it? Sorry if you are reading this and its your car lol.

Edited by danlightbulb on Friday 4th September 01:29

[danlightbulb]

danlightbulb said:

Bill said:

This is a better colour and has a better engine: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

[danlightbulb]

CO2000 said:

How about this or one like it?

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

Its nice yeah but ive been warned off the diesels. ST220 has great reviews everywhere, but im not sure on what the right price to pay for ine should be. That one for 5.5k seems overpriced according to the others on sale and a couple of valuation websites.

[danlightbulb]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Oh absolutely not of course. As a buyer though i need to know how to spot something overpriced. It looks in good nick and low mileage, but i put the mileage figure into a valuation tool and it came out £2k lower, so...


Thanks for the xc70 suggestion. I think the whole driver behind the 4x4 was a 7 seater. If i cant get a good modern 7 seater then id rather have a sporty 5 seater, and ive been persuaded against diesels now also.

[danlightbulb]

In this specific model, the ST220, what is the max mileage you think would be reasonable? I know condition is important as well. I am restricted to 2005 cars or older because the 2006 onwards are £490 a year tax.

On 2003 to 2005 cars prices range from 5.5k to 2.5k and mileage from 60k to 130k.