Sub 4k Car recommendation - Page 1 - Car Buying

tom101

Original Poster

60 posts

115 months

[report]

[news]

Tuesday 5th March 2019

Hi all,

My Octavia 1.9 TDI has just gone bang with it needing a new gearbox, DMF, clutch and so I am on the look out for a new car.

I have around 3-4k to spend as I am saving for various things i.e. house deposit so need something fairly sensible which won't cost a fortune to run.

I am steering towards petrol more on the fact they tend to have less bits to go wrong than an older diesel. I want something which will still be half decent to drive, pretty good on fuel, 6 speed box, cruise control for motorway drives and that is just going to be reliable.
What would you suggest. Only criteria is that I don't want a Vauxhall...

cheers

captain_cynic

16,234 posts

116 months

[report]

[news]

Tuesday 5th March 2019

tom101 said:

Hi all,

My Octavia 1.9 TDI has just gone bang with it needing a new gearbox, DMF, clutch and so I am on the look out for a new car.

I have around 3-4k to spend as I am saving for various things i.e. house deposit so need something fairly sensible which won't cost a fortune to run.

I am steering towards petrol more on the fact they tend to have less bits to go wrong than an older diesel. I want something which will still be half decent to drive, pretty good on fuel, 6 speed box, cruise control for motorway drives and that is just going to be reliable.
What would you suggest. Only criteria is that I don't want a Vauxhall...

cheers

You can get some Civic Type R's around that price, they're bulletproof, drive well and go relatively fast but they won't be good on fuel.

Other than that, your bog standard selection of Civics, Focuses, Fiestas, et al.

Mo28

907 posts

121 months

[report]

[news]

Tuesday 5th March 2019

Lexus IS220d's are meant to be pretty bulletproof and can be had from around £2k.

Integroo

11,589 posts

106 months

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[news]

Tuesday 5th March 2019

captain_cynic said:

You can get some Civic Type R's around that price, they're bulletproof, drive well and go relatively fast but they won't be good on fuel.

Other than that, your bog standard selection of Civics, Focuses, Fiestas, et al.

My Type R was a money pit. Parts are expensive. They are also not cheap to insure and get mid 20s mpg. It's also bone shakingly stiff so not good for motorway miles.

tom101

Original Poster

60 posts

115 months

[report]

[news]

Tuesday 5th March 2019

A focus or golf look quite attractive but the Focus petrol 1.6 is sluggish and a 5 speed, the golf's 1.6 FSI gets questionable reviews on reliability but has the 6 speed box!

grudas

1,380 posts

189 months

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[news]

Tuesday 5th March 2019

Mo28 said:

Lexus IS220d's are meant to be pretty bulletproof and can be had from around £2k.

is220d is the one to avoid at all costs.

is250 is good but 220 is a turd and one of the worst from lexus.

PTF

4,456 posts

245 months

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[news]

Tuesday 5th March 2019

Almost in budget. 3.0 straight six. RWD. Manual. And those N52 engines are sublime and very reliable

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

tom101

Original Poster

60 posts

115 months

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[news]

Tuesday 5th March 2019

PTF said:

Almost in budget. 3.0 straight six. RWD. Manual. And those N52 engines are sublime and very reliable

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Lovely car just know I’ll rag it everywhere

mintybiscuit

2,841 posts

166 months

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[news]

Tuesday 5th March 2019

Volvo V70 ( it's the new MX5 don't you know ) smile

flatso

1,358 posts

150 months

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[news]

Tuesday 5th March 2019

mintybiscuit said:

Volvo V70 ( it's the new MX5 don't you know ) smile

Irony off...please expand, wife needs a new car and the V70 is on the radar.

tom101

Original Poster

60 posts

115 months

[report]

[news]

Tuesday 5th March 2019

flatso said:

Irony off...please expand, wife needs a new car and the V70 is on the radar.

Love a V70. Well looked after D5 - surely can’t go wrong?

ZX10R NIN

29,884 posts

146 months

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[news]

Tuesday 5th March 2019

tom101

Original Poster

60 posts

115 months

[report]

[news]

Tuesday 5th March 2019

Starting to sway back over to the dark side of diesel again...I think I might miss the low down torque

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

This looks like a good option

Mr Tidy

28,943 posts

148 months

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[news]

Wednesday 6th March 2019

tom101 said:

Lovely car just know I’ll rag it everywhere

You could always look at an E90 330i with the same N52 engine which ought to be in budget and probably won't encourage you to rag it quite so much! laugh

I bought an E91 (Touring) 325i with the same engine, just smaller, last year and it's really refined cruising on a motorway.

But I can see the appeal of that diesel Civic - but maybe it would be worth looking at a diesel 1 or 3 series if you aren't ruling out diesel? Just make sure it's not a late one with the DPF and the N47 engine!

ZX10R NIN

29,884 posts

146 months

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Wednesday 6th March 2019

The Voice

208 posts

170 months

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Wednesday 6th March 2019

Integroo said:

captain_cynic said:

You can get some Civic Type R's around that price, they're bulletproof, drive well and go relatively fast but they won't be good on fuel.

Other than that, your bog standard selection of Civics, Focuses, Fiestas, et al.

My Type R was a money pit. Parts are expensive. They are also not cheap to insure and get mid 20s mpg. It's also bone shakingly stiff so not good for motorway miles.

My FN2 Type R cost me next to nothing to run. Servicing parts were cheap. Insurance was cheap, and I averaged over 30mpg. I had Eibach springs fitted, and it rode much better. The most reliable car I’ve ever owned, it felt unbreakable.

tom101

Original Poster

60 posts

115 months

[report]

[news]

Wednesday 6th March 2019

ZX10R NIN said:

Always liked that style C class for some reason - might have to go and take a look at one...

captain_cynic

16,234 posts

116 months

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[news]

Wednesday 6th March 2019

The Voice said:

My FN2 Type R cost me next to nothing to run. Servicing parts were cheap. Insurance was cheap, and I averaged over 30mpg. I had Eibach springs fitted, and it rode much better. The most reliable car I’ve ever owned, it felt unbreakable.

Same with my DC5 Integra... Cheap to service, nothing broke, parts everywhere. It would have outlasted the end of the world if some dopey bint hadn't smashed into the back of it. However I didn't quite get 30 MPG. About the only bad point of the car, drinks like a 3L V6... but it goes like one too.

redandwhite

501 posts

150 months

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[news]

Wednesday 6th March 2019

I have a Volvo V50 2.0D (PSA engine)

Despite 'only' having 136 bhp - its perfectly capable in everything asked of it, delivering 45mpg consistently over the last 17.3K miles for me.

However if no diesel, have a look at the V70 T5

JBUK

109 posts

164 months

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[news]

Wednesday 6th March 2019

Mk5 Golf GTI? Picked mine up on 100k for £3k last year, just had belts and brakes done, indicated 30mpg at least (sat in traffic for 30m every morning on a 16 mile commute). Quick enough when the mood takes you, handles well and shouldn't lose too much at this price.