Newbie looking for a snotter

[CAH83]

Good afternoon all :-)

A newbie here from Suffolk. I've been lurking for a while and thought I'd better say hello. My current snotter is a Peugeot 406 2.0 16v.

I'm looking for another snotter. In the past I've had a Vectra, BM 318, Mondeo etc... for doing 45 miles each day on a-roads. Now my circumstances have changed and the Pug drinks like a fish around town and gives 30ish mpg if I'm really careful on a run. What are my better options sub £500? A typical day will be 20 miles or so on twisty B-roads at 60/70 mph, followed by lots of stop/start town centre stuff and more B-roads home. Every couple of months I do a 400 mile round trip (mainly motorway) to see the folks. I will be doing servicing & repairs myself.

My thoughts so far have been:

Below 1400cc would have cheaper tax but might get thrashed to death! I'm guessing I'll do about 20k miles in a year.
Insurance probably isn't an issue (10yrs NCB)
A diesel 306 fed on veg oil could be an option and the bodies are galvanised!
Maybe something a bit different or at least something interesting to drive.

If I was looking for a v6 luxobarge I'd be spoilt for choice round here but the more frugal stuff is a bit harder to find :-(

Any ideas/thoughts/opinions..?

Answers on a post(card)

Carl

[Condi]

Diesel 306 would be a good choice, either TD which runs easily on veg oil, or the HDI which prefers pump diesel, but runs nearly as well on a mix of veg and pump fuel. Either way they should do 40+mpg, the HDI will get 50 or 55 on longer runs and the top spec has climate control, leather seats, etc.

I like mine for what it is; a cheap, reliable workhorse which pulls the trailer well and cruises happily at 80.

[SuperHangOn]

Can you afford to be so fussy about a few hundred quid car? At that price its more about finding the best condition car with the longest ticket you can get your mitts on locally. And some luck.

If you pushed the budget up to a grand you could pick up a diesel VW/Audi, old diesel Merc or something Japanese and not too ancient.

Edited by SuperHangOn on Sunday 28th October 15:30

[Vince70]

I had a 306 1.4 petrol a few years back and it was a fantastic motor, it achieved around 40 to the gallon and was a hoot to drive and was a reliable car and if you buy the 1.4 petrol its in the lower tax bracket.
Plus with the price of diesel it makes it viable sticking with a petrol one.
If you buy one make sure you check the head gasket and obviously being French make sure the electrics are ok.