Help Please for my Neighbour.

[TinyCappo]

So after atleast 6 months of nearly daily maintenance by me the single mum who lives next door has finally killed her car.

She has asked me to find a replacement and has not given me much to play with so im asking for a the collective PH help to help find her a replacement.

Needs to be economical
Needs to have 5 doors and a reasonable boot
Needs to take 2 under 5s and one 11 year old)
Needs to be cheap to insure
within 70 miles of GU35 8AT

Max budget of £600...and need to find one before the weekend...not a tall order Eh.

Im thinking early 2000s Polo saloon or similar. Hit me with your ideas and suggestions.

[steveo3002]

you sure its a good idea reccomending a £600 banger to someone like that..all i can imagine is you said it was fine /good car when it conks out or falls apart

as for advice..bigger cars tend to be better value if she doesnt go far , all the fiesta /polo size are overpriced as small cars "save" money

Edited by steveo3002 on Tuesday 19th March 10:53

[Justayellowbadge]

TinyCappo said:

So after atleast 6 months of nearly daily maintenance by me the single mum who lives next door has finally killed her car.

Sentence construction can be important.

[Triumph Man]

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2013...

Oh crap, air bag light

[CAPP0]

I suggest that she buys A Car at or around £600.

If that's your budget and those are your timescales and location is an issue, then it's not a question of choosing "which car", it's a question of "what's out there".

eBay and a price/location filter is the way forward.

[zeb]

Justayellowbadge said:

TinyCappo said:

So after atleast 6 months of nearly daily maintenance by me the single mum who lives next door has finally killed her car.

Sentence construction can be important.

how true....

[TinyCappo]

steveo3002 said:

you sure its a good idea reccomending a £600 banger to someone like that..all i can imagine is you said it was fine /good car when it conks out or falls apart

as for advice..bigger cars tend to be better value if she doesnt go far , all the fiesta /polo size are overpriced as small cars save money

Bearing in mind im the one who ends up doing all the maintenance on it in exchange for home made cakes Im trying to steer her away from small tiny boxes that are a false economy into things like this.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/130871106490?ssPageName=...

or a few hundred pounds more into a E36 316 or 318

[TinyCappo]

zeb said:

Justayellowbadge said:

TinyCappo said:

So after atleast 6 months of nearly daily maintenance by me the single mum who lives next door has finally killed her car.

Sentence construction can be important.

how true....

Daily maintenance of her car id just like to point out!

[Dave_]

I had to read the opening line 3 times aswell TBH!

[blongs]

We got a 2000/W Focus Millenium with 103,000 miles for about that.

More miles on similar down your way for £600 though

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2013...

If anything does go wrong the parts are cheap as it is so mainstream. Tax is £121 for 6 months, insurance is cheap too.

[300bhp/ton]

TinyCappo said:

So after atleast 6 months of nearly daily maintenance by me the single mum who lives next door has finally killed her car.

She has asked me to find a replacement and has not given me much to play with so im asking for a the collective PH help to help find her a replacement.

Needs to be economical
Needs to have 5 doors and a reasonable boot
Needs to take 2 under 5s and one 11 year old)
Needs to be cheap to insure
within 70 miles of GU35 8AT

Max budget of £600...and need to find one before the weekend...not a tall order Eh.

Im thinking early 2000s Polo saloon or similar. Hit me with your ideas and suggestions.

Rover 200 or 400 would be an obvious choice. Cheap to buy, easy to main, plenty of cheap spares, actually good cars and lots of choice.

the 1.4 is a good engine or look for a diesel. Non turbo's are slow, but frugal and very reliable.

[kiethton]

Try gumtree....

http://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbikes/kia-...

[steveo3002]

focus isnt a bad car , dont see many rusty ones and the parts are reasonble and plentifull

[SWoll]

blongs said:

We got a 2000/W Focus Millenium with 103,000 miles for about that.

More miles on similar down your way for £600 though

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2013...

If anything does go wrong the parts are cheap as it is so mainstream. Tax is £121 for 6 months, insurance is cheap too.

I've had a 2003 1.8 Mondeo for 3 years as a snotter and done 50K in that time. Only issues have been a coil pack, dead battery and a broken road spring. Parts are cheap and plentiful, easy to work on, very practical and surprisingly nice to drive.

[Krikkit]

SWoll said:

blongs said:

We got a 2000/W Focus Millenium with 103,000 miles for about that.

More miles on similar down your way for £600 though

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2013...

If anything does go wrong the parts are cheap as it is so mainstream. Tax is £121 for 6 months, insurance is cheap too.

I've had a 2003 1.8 Mondeo for 3 years as a snotter and done 50K in that time. Only issues have been a coil pack, dead battery and a broken road spring. Parts are cheap and plentiful, easy to work on, very practical and surprisingly nice to drive.

My lady has had a Focus for 5 years now, despite near-0 maintenance it's just "broken" down this weekend with a weepy thermostat housing. Only costs have been cambelt, tyres, brakes and fuel. Even now it needs a few suspension bushes and probably dampers etc refreshing to keep it running right for another 100k miles, it drives really nicely!

Wouldn't hesitate to recommend one.

Edited by Krikkit on Tuesday 19th March 11:13

[The Vambo]

I would be lookng at a Ford Mondeo

http://www2.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Slightly above budget but should get at least a ton off with a bit of cheek. 6 months tax and a years ticket makes for a great snotter, OK you will lose 8 mpg over a 1.2 Fiesta but if you worked out the actual cost saving I suspect it would be minimal. Parts are chirpy chirpy cheap cheap too.

[TinyCappo]

Giving the skoda and the focus a look later will keep you Posted on how we get on

thanks PH

[kiethton]

or a Honda Civic for <£500?

http://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbikes/hond...

[Devil2575]

Focus/Mondeo or perhaps a Honda Accord?

[kiethton]

or a bulletproof 1.8 nissan Primera with 12 months MOT for £725?

http://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbikes/niss...