Whats the most basic car you can buy today?

Whats the most basic car you can buy today?

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Emeye

9,773 posts

222 months

Monday 17th May 2010
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XitUp said:
k-ink said:
Forget VAG as well unless you fancy some big bills every few years. I'm not too sure about their simpler models like the Fox, but I wouldn't be surprised if they can even balls that up. They just love making things as complex and weak as possible, from my experience in paying the bills.

However if you really must, I know you can still get newly made Mk2 Golfs, from SA I think. That is as new as I'd ever want to go with any VAG product.
Stopped last year.
I was going to suggest the SA golf, but wasn't it based on the MK1? Shame they stopped making it, always fancied one. frown

Matt_N

8,900 posts

201 months

Monday 17th May 2010
quotequote all
Emeye said:
XitUp said:
k-ink said:
Forget VAG as well unless you fancy some big bills every few years. I'm not too sure about their simpler models like the Fox, but I wouldn't be surprised if they can even balls that up. They just love making things as complex and weak as possible, from my experience in paying the bills.

However if you really must, I know you can still get newly made Mk2 Golfs, from SA I think. That is as new as I'd ever want to go with any VAG product.
Stopped last year.
I was going to suggest the SA golf, but wasn't it based on the MK1? Shame they stopped making it, always fancied one. frown
Yep Mk1, called the Citi Golf.

Dog Star

16,079 posts

167 months

Monday 17th May 2010
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Merc 190?

ZesPak

24,421 posts

195 months

Monday 17th May 2010
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Hugo a Gogo said:
do you get Dacia Logans in the UK?

surprised to see these are available as quite a roomy 7 seater too
yes

Would almost never be my car of choice, but over here they are impossible to beat in car-for-the-money.

JB!

5,254 posts

179 months

Monday 17th May 2010
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hora said:
Fox's are sub4k for a 3yr old example. That must be slipping underneath the VWfashionista's radar then..
thats because they are fugly.

bazking69

8,620 posts

189 months

Monday 17th May 2010
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I'd personally recommend buying something a couple to three years old myself. Let someone else bear the depreciation, and get any niggles or issues sorted before the warranty is up.

JB!

5,254 posts

179 months

Monday 17th May 2010
quotequote all
if i wanted something mind-numbingly reliable, the 8v engine in the MK3 Golf GTI is just that.

Matt_N

8,900 posts

201 months

Monday 17th May 2010
quotequote all
JB! said:
if i wanted something mind-numbingly reliable, the 8v engine in the MK3 Golf GTI is just that.
Mk3's are prone to terribe rust though, top of the windscreen, sills, arches, tailgate, there's not many rust free cars around.

JB!

5,254 posts

179 months

Monday 17th May 2010
quotequote all
Matt_N said:
JB! said:
if i wanted something mind-numbingly reliable, the 8v engine in the MK3 Golf GTI is just that.
Mk3's are prone to terribe rust though, top of the windscreen, sills, arches, tailgate, there's not many rust free cars around.
i thought the later galvanized ones were ok? n-p-r reg?

Dr.Doofenshmirtz

15,185 posts

199 months

Monday 17th May 2010
quotequote all
Aren't we drifiting off the point here? Surely the most basic car you can buy would be a Perodua Kelisa. Cheap, basic and really nothing to go wrong. Plus it has 25% less engine than most other cars.
The more switches you add, the more there is to go wrong. So the Kelisa is the clear winner.
...But that doesn't stop it being totally shyte of course!!

Gotta say I laughed when people started suggesting anything with the word 'Rover' in the same sentence hehe

wombat172a

1,455 posts

182 months

Monday 17th May 2010
quotequote all
According to Warranty Direct, http://www.gizmag.com/go/5657/ these are the most 100 reliable cars from the last decade:

1 Honda Accord
2 Subaru Forester
3 Mazda MX-5
4 Mitsubishi Carisma
5 Toyota Yaris
6 Honda Civic
7 Nissan Almera
8 Honda CR-V
9 Toyota RAV4
10 Nissan Micra
11 Lexus IS 200
12 Mazda 626
13 Jaguar X-Type
14 Toyota Landcruiser
15 Volvo S/V40
16 MINI (BMW)
17 Suzuki Vitara
18 Mazda 323
19 Toyota Carina E
20 Saab 9-5
21 Lexus LS400
22 Ford Ka
23 Rover 45
24 Hyundai Lantra
25 Mercedes SLK
26 Citroen Xsara
27 Ford Cougar
28 Subaru Impreza
29 Skoda Octavia
30 Audi A4
31 Nissan Primera
32 Toyota Avensis
33 Volvo 850
34 Vauxhall Corsa
35 Seat Toledo
36 Volkswagen Golf
37 Daewoo Lanos
38 Fiat Brava
39 Hyundai Coupe
40 Mitsubishi Shogun
41 Rover 25
42 Mercedes CLK
43 Fiat Marea
44 Ford Focus
45 Peugeot 106
46 MG MG TF
47 BMW Z3
48 Hyundai Accent
49 Volkswagen Polo
50 Fiat Punto
51 Vauxhall Zafira
52 Mercedes C-class
53 Volvo S60
54 Toyota MR2
55 Mazda Xedos 6
56 Ford Puma
57 Vauxhall Astra
58 Vauxhall Omega
59 Chrysler Neon
60 Audi A2
61 Ford Fiesta
62 Ford Mondeo
63 Vauxhall Corsa
64 Citroen Saxo
65 BMW 3 Series
66 Vauxhall Vectra
67 Isuzu Trooper
68 Mercedes M-Class
69 Subaru Legacy
70 Rover 400
71 Fiat Ulysse
72 Mercedes E-Class
73 Renault Clio
74 Toyota Celica
75 Peugeot 306
76 Peugeot 406
77 Volvo S70
78 Rover 75
79 Daewoo Matiz
80 Peugeot 206
81 Mazda MX-3
82 Vauxhall Tigra
83 Seat Ibiza
84 Peugeot 106
85 Renault Megane
86 Peugeot 406
87 Saab 9-3
88 Audi A3
89 BMW X5
90 Mercedes S-class
91 Toyota Corolla
92 Seat Alhambra
93 BMW 5-series
94 Daewoo Nubira
95 Alfa Romeo 145
96 Saab 900
97 Mazda MX-6
98 Jaguar S-Type
99 Daewoo Leganza
100 Porsche Boxster


Of course this should be taken with a pinch of salt, but it does give some comparison. So I suppose if you're after the most basic & reliable car, just look at some of the most boring one's on that list.

Try a Daewoo Lanos S, 1.4 litre single overhead cam GM engine, suspension from a Mk2 astra, no cd player, no electric windows, mirrors, and a NCAP rating of 2.5 stars. Perfect! thumbup

300bhp/ton

41,030 posts

189 months

Monday 17th May 2010
quotequote all
hora said:
eldar said:
You aren't going to find a new car without ECU controlled injection and ignition.

Are you looking for cheap to own/run, or something else?
Cheap to own and run. I'd service it myself.

On the Landrover front. I owned a Subaru Forester and was sick of replacing parts; clutch, loose heatshield, coolant prob, driveshaft failure, cv boots, drop links, bushings, drivers electric window. That was my car for life but I became sick of renewing parts.

This also never broke down and always got me home- just had something new that needed attention soon.
I thonk you must be living in clouds if you think you can get a car that won't need bits or maintenance.

A Landy is not a bad suggestion as they are easy to work and all bits are avaiable. But parts will still wear and need replacing. But that's because a car, any car is quite a complex machine with lots of parts and most are used heavily and abused.

HereBeMonsters

14,180 posts

181 months

Monday 17th May 2010
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Why all this clamour to not have an ECU? In my experience they're more reliable and easier to maintain than carbs...

joshc

487 posts

171 months

Monday 17th May 2010
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The old Ford Ka fits the bill, (except it has an ECU) - but you could get a base model which doesn't have many electrics. Just watch out for the rust.

300bhp/ton

41,030 posts

189 months

Monday 17th May 2010
quotequote all
hora said:
300bhp/ton said:
hora said:
eldar said:
You aren't going to find a new car without ECU controlled injection and ignition.

Are you looking for cheap to own/run, or something else?
Cheap to own and run. I'd service it myself.

On the Landrover front. I owned a Subaru Forester and was sick of replacing parts; clutch, loose heatshield, coolant prob, driveshaft failure, cv boots, drop links, bushings, drivers electric window. That was my car for life but I became sick of renewing parts.

This also never broke down and always got me home- just had something new that needed attention soon.
I thonk you must be living in clouds if you think you can get a car that won't need bits or maintenance.

A Landy is not a bad suggestion as they are easy to work and all bits are avaiable. But parts will still wear and need replacing. But that's because a car, any car is quite a complex machine with lots of parts and most are used heavily and abused.
Bits of maintenance yes. Not every month there is something new to look into on google or ooo what could we expect to see next lottery.

I fully expected the gearbox to give me jip next. Why not? Everything else was having its turn wink
Lol I sort of know what you mean.

But sadly I think that's just car ownership. Most if not all cars suffer some form of niggles, be it minor rattles you can never tack down or heated rear windows that don't work to more major issues. None are excempt.

A new car would at least mean that any issues would most likely be covered and items that fail due to fatigue, such as rubber hoses, bushes and so are far less likely to occur. But to get this you have to pay more and lose more due to depreciation, so it's a trade off. Also new cars can still have stuff go wrong and need taking back to the dealership.

Simple cars are often built on a budget, so while there may appear less to go wrong thy can still suffer silly issues. But it's the wear and tear that occurs daily that will cause issues, but then that's just a car being used for it's main purpose.

Maybe it's worth trying some differet brands of cars and see if you get on better with them. Running a car into the ground is not really a sound way of hassle free motoring as it'll stnad more chance of things going wrong.

unpc

2,831 posts

212 months

Monday 17th May 2010
quotequote all
Had a Fabia 1.4 Diseasel last week to rent and it was as basic as any I've driven lately. Didn't even have any sound deadening that I could make out. Bloody fast though.

HereBeMonsters

14,180 posts

181 months

Monday 17th May 2010
quotequote all
unpc said:
Had a Fabia 1.4 Diseasel last week to rent and it was as basic as any I've driven lately. Didn't even have any sound deadening that I could make out. Bloody fast though.
I really hope you're being ironic.

patmahe

5,744 posts

203 months

Monday 17th May 2010
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Why not go the bangernomics route with an older car, if it breaks and is uneconomical to fix, then scrap it and pick up another for 500 quid or so, if it doesn't then yipee cheap motoring.

unpc

2,831 posts

212 months

Monday 17th May 2010
quotequote all
HereBeMonsters said:
unpc said:
Had a Fabia 1.4 Diseasel last week to rent and it was as basic as any I've driven lately. Didn't even have any sound deadening that I could make out. Bloody fast though.
I really hope you're being ironic.
I meant for what it was. I've rented tons of dross over the last few months. Seemed quite sprightly at autobahn speeds. I'll STFU now. paperbag

uk_vette

3,336 posts

203 months

Monday 17th May 2010
quotequote all
Dog Star said:
Merc 190?
.
.
Good choice,

an oldish 1993 190 D

Run on veggie oil