Used car under 2k

[Snortan]

Looking to buy a car that's under 2k that hopefully can fit the following criteria:

• under 10-12 years old, so hopefully I don't run into any rust issues any time soon
• cheap to run - owned a VW Passat until now and 90% of the work on it I've done myself with parts being cheap and internet full of guides
• saloon/hatchback(5 doors)- definetly don't want it to be bigger size than passat
• I understand that in this price range I should avoid diesels so I was thinking 1.6 petrol maybe? is that a good mix between economy and power?
• under 100k mileage
• reliable, maybe even fun to drive

Am I asking for too much under 2k?

I was looking at the Ford Focus, golfs and some Mazda's but I have no idea how reliable or good to run are they as a make/model.

Any makes/models I should avoid in this price range?

[benjijames28]

I would be going for a Lexus is200 in that price range. Doesn't fit your brief tho, returning 20mpg, but it will give u plenty of toys, a reliable motor, and lots of smiles.

Should get a very good example for 2 grand, maybe a 2005 with lowish mileage.

Or spent a grand and keep a grand as back up

[Snortan]

benjijames28 said:

I would be going for a Lexus is200 in that price range. Doesn't fit your brief tho, returning 20mpg, but it will give u plenty of toys, a reliable motor, and lots of smiles.

Should get a very good example for 2 grand, maybe a 2005 with lowish mileage.

Or spent a grand and keep a grand as back up

Just had a look at it and I like how it looks outside and in(not a big fan on the gauges thought tbh) and I bet it's a lot of fun to drive with that 2.0 engine but it is £300 for road tax(paying ~220atm on a 2000 passat), more expensive to insure and it swallows petrol with that 20mpg.

PetrolJosh said:

Your requirements are spot on for a MK2 Focus 1.6. I have one, was my first car and i'm still running it almost 3 years later. It's been very solid. Fairly cheap to fuel and tax, very good on insurance (£400/year, been driving <3 years) and is insanely cheap for parts. My starter motor went in the summer, was £100 including labour to replace. Not only that, but it's bloody good fun. Engine loves to rev, car handles nicely. A model with the lower, stiffer "sports" suspension would be my recommendation. I have an LX which has the softer setup, but is a bit too tall and soft for my liking. It does deal with bumps and pot holes well though.

One issue with all MK2 1.4 and 1.6 petrols is that the windscreen washer jets are not sealed correctly around the bonnet and they leak. This water then finds its way into the spark plug well of the engine where it stagnates, resulting in terrible misfires. Easiest way to prevent this (and what i did) is to get some silicone sealant under the bonnet around the jets and fit a Volvo engine cover to make certain it doesn't happen again. Ford didn't fit engine covers to there engines, but Volvo also used these engines and they did fit one, so very handily these covers are a direct fit. It's exactly what I did and it's been running like a dream ever since. All other engines do not suffer from this issue, but i'd personally stick to petrol power.

You can read all about that issue here, hopefully it hasn't put you off because it's really not that bad at all. The car itself is brilliant to drive and has been very reliable for me. Imo, best <£2k hatch you can buy.

Spec wise it goes like this (worst to best): Studio < LX < Sport < Zetec/Zetec Climate/Ghia (Ghia = soft, Zetec = sporty) < Titanium. You can read up about all the differences here.

Yeah, I was looking at the Mk2 focus 1.6 and Mazda 3 1.6 today and comparing them seeing as they're based on the same platform.
Just from pictures I do prefer the inside of the Mazda, especially the console part, I think it looks much better but I haven't driven either of them yet, something I plan to do next weekend and make a more informed opinion then.

How do you find the 1.6 on the Focus? The only complaints I've read so far is it not being very economical and feeling a little under powered on the motorway

[battered]

A Mondeo fits. You can go a LOT newer than 10 yrs/100k for your budget. Mine came to me 2 years ago, 11 yrs old and 95k, under £600 after a tradein of a dead Saab. Now on 125k without incident. It's a bit battered and the doors are rusting, but a better and newer one would be fine. Nice to drive, dirt cheap to mend. The 1.8 petrol delivers high 30s mpg. It's just a bigger Focus, let's be honest.

[Jag_NE]

complete lottery at that price point, there is a significant possibility that you will inherit someone elses problems.

assuming that you wont be looking far and wide, my suggestion is to buy the cleanest, lowest mileage, fewest owners FSH car that you can find locally on autotrader. you want lowest risk and lowest hassle.

it probably wont be a very sexy car but something vanilla that has been looked after, low usage and Japanese (ideally) will give you minimal headache.

[Snortan]

battered said:

A Mondeo fits. You can go a LOT newer than 10 yrs/100k for your budget. Mine came to me 2 years ago, 11 yrs old and 95k, under £600 after a tradein of a dead Saab. Now on 125k without incident. It's a bit battered and the doors are rusting, but a better and newer one would be fine. Nice to drive, dirt cheap to mend. The 1.8 petrol delivers high 30s mpg. It's just a bigger Focus, let's be honest.

I didn't think of the Mondeo, gonna check it out, thanks!

PetrolJosh said:

Afaik those Mazda 3's of similar year (BK model) can have rusting issues whereas the MK2 Focus's do not. I actually really like the dash in the MK2, everything is exactly where you'd expect it to be and it's all really easy to operate. Then again, I only have the LX model so i don't exactly have many buttons!

Honestly, I really love it. It just does everything. It is very practical, but is remarkably good fun for a basic family hatch. The 1.6 is a great engine, they have been around for a while and are very trustworthy. I am extremely heavy footed and currently averaging 34mpg, but if I drive normally my mpg rises to 38-40. When I'm on my own with no luggage the power is perfectly fine. No matter what, you do have to give it a bit of a rev to get it going, but the engine loves it and it's great fun. When loaded up with people and a full boot of heavy luggage it does struggle quite a fair bit and you really have to rev it out to get it up to speed, but once you are up to speed again it is perfectly fine.

On the motorway it actually feels right at home. 80mph is roughly 4k RPM, which is exactly where peak torque is, so it is very easy to pick up again if need be. Unfortunately, because of this it is a tad loud but imo not too bad at all. In the spec I have it's very comfortable too and actually quite relaxing and refined, but again there's a decent amount of road noise.

It does tick all your boxes. A 10 year old example with 50k miles can be had for <£2k, and they have plenty of life left in them. There's tons of examples on autotrader with +150k miles on them, so the engine is bloody good. Bit down on power yes meaning you have to work it at times, but I find it quite rewarding and extremely fun. Down B roads it's a blast, and the chassis gives you great confidence. You can just throw it down those twisty roads and keep the engine above 5k RPM and it just does it without a fuss every time, quite amazing really. It's also really cheap on parts. 4 spark plugs being £9, battery for me was £30, starter motor (as mentioned before) £99 incl labour and £50 per corner for good tyres. Could possibly be the cheapest car to repair in Britain? Who knows.

You'll need to drive one for sure, because as you've already stated the main, and pretty much only complaint is the lack of power. I personally find it pretty ok, especially considering how much the car costs to buy and run and how it feels to drive, but you may feel differently. There are 1.8 and 2.0 petrols out there too, no idea how they are on fuel though. There's also a 1.6 with variable valve timing on them (1.6 TI-VCT) which gives you +15hp and marginally better fuel economy and smoothness. Imo that one is probably the engine to go for if you can as it's basically a slightly more refined standard 1.6.

Edited by PetrolJosh on Saturday 3rd December 00:53

Awesome, thanks for the lengthy posts.

Any major gripes you had with it over these 3 years?

[battered]

Jag_NE said:

complete lottery at that price point, there is a significant possibility that you will inherit someone elses problems.

assuming that you wont be looking far and wide, my suggestion is to buy the cleanest, lowest mileage, fewest owners FSH car that you can find locally on autotrader. you want lowest risk and lowest hassle.

it probably wont be a very sexy car but something vanilla that has been looked after, low usage and Japanese (ideally) will give you minimal headache.

Any used car is a punt. You just have to learn to recognise the good ones. In addition, modern cars are generally good. Simple natasp petrol cars don't fundamentally do very much wrong, and fixing ancillaries is simple enough.

A mate of mine who is a devoted banger man distrusts the £2k market. He regards it as having nearly all the risk of the shed market but with a greater outlay and fewer options to just bin it. He has a point. If you buy a shed and it hands you a nasty bill for an MoT then you can walk away. It will have cost you £500 (say) for a year or two's motoring. If a £2k car needs £300 for the test and the same again a new clutch, then you are rather stuck. The shed will have done more miles and be possibly less well cared for. You have to choose.

[Snortan]

battered said:

Any used car is a punt. You just have to learn to recognise the good ones. In addition, modern cars are generally good. Simple natasp petrol cars don't fundamentally do very much wrong, and fixing ancillaries is simple enough.

A mate of mine who is a devoted banger man distrusts the £2k market. He regards it as having nearly all the risk of the shed market but with a greater outlay and fewer options to just bin it. He has a point. If you buy a shed and it hands you a nasty bill for an MoT then you can walk away. It will have cost you £500 (say) for a year or two's motoring. If a £2k car needs £300 for the test and the same again a new clutch, then you are rather stuck. The shed will have done more miles and be possibly less well cared for. You have to choose.

I definitely understand your mates point of view and have often thought the same way, get a £500 one and bin it when the bill outweighs the car's value.
But after I had a look at that price point, most if not all look completely trashed. I'm hoping by going up to 2k and getting one with FSH that looks taken care of, I'd manage to escape that trap but it can be a risky investment regardless at the end of the day.

[Jag_NE]

battered said:

Any used car is a punt. You just have to learn to recognise the good ones. In addition, modern cars are generally good. Simple natasp petrol cars don't fundamentally do very much wrong, and fixing ancillaries is simple enough.

A mate of mine who is a devoted banger man distrusts the £2k market. He regards it as having nearly all the risk of the shed market but with a greater outlay and fewer options to just bin it. He has a point. If you buy a shed and it hands you a nasty bill for an MoT then you can walk away. It will have cost you £500 (say) for a year or two's motoring. If a £2k car needs £300 for the test and the same again a new clutch, then you are rather stuck. The shed will have done more miles and be possibly less well cared for. You have to choose.

not if it is well within warranty it isn't.

my point is similar to your mates view in that the few k market carries shed like risk but at a price that it is hard to just walk away from.

[aka_kerrly]

benjijames28 said:

I would be going for a Lexus is200 in that price range. Doesn't fit your brief tho, returning 20mpg, but it will give u plenty of toys, a reliable motor, and lots of smiles.

Should get a very good example for 2 grand, maybe a 2005 with lowish mileage.

Or spent a grand and keep a grand as back up

I picked up a year 2000 IS200 with 115k 2 owners and fat service history for £750, the owner had replaced it with a 2005 model.

MPG isn't quite as low as 20, its mid 20s to 30 on a motorway run which is very similar to my BMW 5 series with a 2.5 i6 that has 30HP more an weighs around 200kg more.

At £2k I often find that mid size family cars like a 3/5 series, mondeo, mazda 6, Passat , Audi A4 size can represent better value than small hatchbacks especially diesel ones which people over value considerably - £2k for a year 2000 Golf TDI with nearly 200k is NOT a bargain!!

Honda Accords & Civics (Non Type R models) are good value for money, you should be able to get a 1.8 or 2.0 petrol in a 2003-2006 era for your budget

[exelero]

I'd go for the Focus. I drive one myself and one thing I can tell is that parts are cheap. There is loads on the road and is easy to fix. MPG is good, Engine is lovely. Mine is MK1 but never had major , only the clutch needed changing when I bought it and some new spark plugs and leads nothing ever since

[Snortan]

aka_kerrly said:

I picked up a year 2000 IS200 with 115k 2 owners and fat service history for £750, the owner had replaced it with a 2005 model.

MPG isn't quite as low as 20, its mid 20s to 30 on a motorway run which is very similar to my BMW 5 series with a 2.5 i6 that has 30HP more an weighs around 200kg more.

At £2k I often find that mid size family cars like a 3/5 series, mondeo, mazda 6, Passat , Audi A4 size can represent better value than small hatchbacks especially diesel ones which people over value considerably - £2k for a year 2000 Golf TDI with nearly 200k is NOT a bargain!!

Honda Accords & Civics (Non Type R models) are good value for money, you should be able to get a 1.8 or 2.0 petrol in a 2003-2006 era for your budget

I love the look of Accord but road tax and insurance is more expensive, although I bet the 2.0 engine is lots of fun to drive.
Civics ain't bad looking either so will try to test drive one next weekend.

exelero said:

I'd go for the Focus. I drive one myself and one thing I can tell is that parts are cheap. There is loads on the road and is easy to fix. MPG is good, Engine is lovely. Mine is MK1 but never had major , only the clutch needed changing when I bought it and some new spark plugs and leads nothing ever since

Yeah, it does seem as the Focus/Mondeo is the car that fits the bill more than any other.
Next weekend I'll test drive one and see more then.

[Crook]

CharlesdeGaulle said:

This looks nice.

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/l...



Looks good in green.

Now, bear with me...

I ran an earlier one of these for around a year (cost roughly the same) and over that time it cost me a no. plate bulb and a broken spring however I did treat it as something of an oversized mk2 Escort... That thing where people say the car shrinks around you? This all day long.
I was doing a daily commute of 25 miles each way, part M25 when they were doing the 4 lane stuff ( the traffic was the reason for the purchase )and part lanes. Every day 28+ mpg.
These cars are great, they cost next to nothing in repairs as they don't go wrong. They can be relatively economical even when at motorway speeds and bumbling round town.
They're such a relaxing place to be, the boots are cavernous and the rear seats are sized for adults.
Great great cars.
Beats the st out of a Focus.

[Crook]

Yeah I know. Was just being contrary. They can be a lot of fun though. You'd be surprised at how much you can throw them about.
I've never owned a focus but did hire one a good few years ago, may have been 2008? And I was disgusted at how competent the car was.
Something I will say is that quite often on 'what car' threads someone will say I want a car that is x, y an z that does this and etc. but they may not necessarily have considered more left field solutions due to preconceived ideas. That's where seemingly daft ideas can, when backed up with experience, on occasion, be worth entertaining.


I've just had a bit of a look and interestingly:

Passat B8 wheelbase 2791mm
LS400 wheelbase 2814mm
Passat B8 width 1830mm
LS400 width 1819mm

These are just from the internet so I don't know how accurate but the LS is certainly not as big as it was.

Regarding servicing costs, from memory, oil, air and fuel filter plus fluids was not noticeably different than the Golf mk2 Gti I was running previously so probably within a few quid of a Focus.
Main service, yes 8 cylinders will cost more but not bank breaking and as for parts that break, that's just it, they don't: it's not a Ford.
As for age of car, that's really an irrelevance, if the quality of the car is such that it's still in great condition then what does the age matter. The only real benefit of a newer car is the tech for music and phones.

Edited by Crook on Sunday 4th December 21:56

[ZX10R NIN]

2007 Mondeo Titanium X 97k
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

2007 Vectra SRI 64k
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

2007 Mazda 6 Tamura 97k
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

2007 Mazda 6 TS 50k
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

Honda Accord EX
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

[Snortan]

Crook said:

Now, bear with me...

I ran an earlier one of these for around a year (cost roughly the same) and over that time it cost me a no. plate bulb and a broken spring however I did treat it as something of an oversized mk2 Escort... That thing where people say the car shrinks around you? This all day long.
I was doing a daily commute of 25 miles each way, part M25 when they were doing the 4 lane stuff ( the traffic was the reason for the purchase )and part lanes. Every day 28+ mpg.
These cars are great, they cost next to nothing in repairs as they don't go wrong. They can be relatively economical even when at motorway speeds and bumbling round town.
They're such a relaxing place to be, the boots are cavernous and the rear seats are sized for adults.
Great great cars.
Beats the st out of a Focus.

From the dimensions you gave it's not that much bigger than a passat as you said but it looks absolutely massive in pics
Are all Lexus's so reliable? I've always considered them a luxury car with appropriate maintenance/fuel consumption prices.
28+mpg with a 4.0 engine? Is that even possible?

ZX10R NIN said:

2007 Mondeo Titanium X 97k
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

2007 Vectra SRI 64k
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

2007 Mazda 6 Tamura 97k
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

2007 Mazda 6 TS 50k
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

Honda Accord EX
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

Thanks!
Love the look of the Accord, too bad it goes in limp mode and it's automatic.
Mazda 6 looks great too!

[snowandrocks]

If you like the look of an Accord, get one.

You'll easily find a decent manual saloon for £2k and you'll get something that really is in a different league to a focus.

We picked up 2004 Accord Tourer 2.0 Exec with FHSH, 74k and one owner last year for £1700. It's been absolutely faultless so far and I actually prefer it to my previous much newer Audi A6!

Quick enough, handles well, rides smoothly, sounds quite nice and the VTEC revs freely to 7+k. We seem to be averaging low to mid thirties MPG and there's no timing belt to worry about.

If you can find an Exec spec it's nice inside and pretty well equipped - ours has full tan electric heated leather, cruise, dual zone climate, glass sunroof, powered tailgate, decent hifi with cd changer and sub.

My only other advice is to be fussy, there's loads of them out there so pick a decent one, even if it means travelling a bit.

[Snortan]

snowandrocks said:

If you like the look of an Accord, get one.

You'll easily find a decent manual saloon for £2k and you'll get something that really is in a different league to a focus.

We picked up 2004 Accord Tourer 2.0 Exec with FHSH, 74k and one owner last year for £1700. It's been absolutely faultless so far and I actually prefer it to my previous much newer Audi A6!

Quick enough, handles well, rides smoothly, sounds quite nice and the VTEC revs freely to 7+k. We seem to be averaging low to mid thirties MPG and there's no timing belt to worry about.

If you can find an Exec spec it's nice inside and pretty well equipped - ours has full tan electric heated leather, cruise, dual zone climate, glass sunroof, powered tailgate, decent hifi with cd changer and sub.

My only other advice is to be fussy, there's loads of them out there so pick a decent one, even if it means travelling a bit.

I don't mind travelling at all if it looks to be a decent one.
Any ideas how they are when something fails? Like did Honda make it impossible for you to change it yourself and you'd have to go to a garage even for simpler things?

The only thing holding me back on the Accord is that the smallest engine is a 2.0, insurance, road tax and fuel is gonna cost more but at the same time I think it looks way better than most cars, inside and out.

[snowandrocks]

Snortan said:

I don't mind travelling at all if it looks to be a decent one.
Any ideas how they are when something fails? Like did Honda make it impossible for you to change it yourself and you'd have to go to a garage even for simpler things?

The only thing holding me back on the Accord is that the smallest engine is a 2.0, insurance, road tax and fuel is gonna cost more but at the same time I think it looks way better than most cars, inside and out.

Quite difficult to answer really as I haven't had to do anything beyond giving it a service. Changing the oil and oil/air/fuel/pollen filters was certainly very easy. On looking back through the folder of receipts, the only apparent issue over the 13 years from new has been a set of anti roll bar linkages. From memory the full genuine service kit including a set of plugs was about 50 quid from www.coxmotorparts.co.uk which seemed reasonable to me.

I've no direct experience of the equivalent aged Civic but with the same/similar engines and running gear I think they'd be pretty good if not quite so grown up/polished to drive.

[ZX10R NIN]

Accord without the engine fault.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

2.3 Mazda 6 Sport

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

If you want maximum bang for your buck as well as the chance to own a true sleeper car then this Vectra is worth a look:

2007 Vectra Elite 79k 250bhp

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

More sensible version of the above:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

Haggle & a ST Mondeo could be sat on your drive.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FORD-MONDEO-ST220-SILVER...