Sensible car for 18 months

[ThisInJapanese]

I've been made a very good offer on my Civic Type R which will see me 'up' on the purchase, I also have a place in the queue for a new Lotus Emira with a provisional delivery date of Jan '23.

So the thinking is that take the offer for the CTR, bank what I get and also bank what would have been the payments for the CTR until the Lotus arrives to form the deposit.

In the interim I need something to run about in, my wife now has a sensible family car that can do all the long haul / family-hauling duties, so I just need something for myself, and ideally, it can deal with the kids and dog in a pinch, but mainly it's for me.

I don't do masses of driving at the moment, but it's mostly motorway (35 miles each way a couple of times a week) and that might disappear totally in the coming months due to a possible new role.

So today I went to look at this but I was actually more interested in this as it was cleaner and I would have thought easier to get parts for.

So, max budget £4k, must have rear seats, would ideally be a hatchback or an estate, would like it to be cheap to run and it will most likely be the daily driver when the Lotus arrives.

I like the idea of the Focus, although 90bhp on the motorway does sound a bit light. I liked the Saab on paper, but what are parts like, are they cheap to run?

I'm open to pretty much anything if it meets though very basic criteria.

[ZX10R NIN]

I'd say the 1.6T Astra GTC SRI 180 is a very good buy as well as a decent steer & you'll get a good one on budget with a little bit of haggling, the long gearing is also a bonus on the motorway:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202107245...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105122...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202107305...

140

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105232...

120

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202105192...

[ThisInJapanese]

That's an interesting shout actually, I think they mentioned it on a podcast I was listening to the other week and they said it was the best looking Astra, and I found myself agreeing with them.

[georgeyboy12345]

I don't think the Saabs are too bad - lots of GM standard parts so repairs are reasonable. That 1.9 TiD engine is actually made by Fiat group and used in loads of Fiats and Alfa Romeos, as well as Vauxhalls from the same period - 2000s through to early 2010s. It's a solid if smoky engine, can be safely remapped up to 212 bhp on stock internals, but be careful that the clutches can handle the extra torque - over 285 lb ft can reduce clutch life in some cars from 80,000 miles down to only 20,000 miles. As long as the oil is changed every 12,000 miles or annually and the cambelts every 72,000 miles or 5 years, then these engines should be good for at least 200,000 miles. Fuel economy on them is great - 35 - 45 mpg around town, 50+ mpg on a run, even better with a remap, but they are most definitely not ULEZ or CAZ compliant! By the way, if the car produces excessive amounts of black smoke, it could be down to a hole in the turbo / intercooler pipe, which is a really cheap fix at £60 per pipe.



Here are a couple of other suggestions that are ULEZ compliant


Most sensible - Mazda 6 2.0 TS - normally aspirated + Japanese car + low miles for age = reliable; decent size, hatchback, big boot, reasonable performance, not bad on fuel
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202106234...


Still reasonably sensible - Renault Megane 2.0 TCe - cheap, low mileage and a decent drive
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/201908131...

[ThisInJapanese]

georgeyboy12345 said:

I don't think the Saabs are too bad - lots of GM standard parts so repairs are reasonable. That 1.9 TiD engine is actually made by Fiat group and used in loads of Fiats and Alfa Romeos, as well as Vauxhalls from the same period - 2000s through to early 2010s. It's a solid if smoky engine, can be safely remapped up to 212 bhp on stock internals, but be careful that the clutches can handle the extra torque - over 285 lb ft can reduce clutch life in some cars from 80,000 miles down to only 20,000 miles. As long as the oil is changed every 12,000 miles or annually and the cambelts every 72,000 miles or 5 years, then these engines should be good for at least 200,000 miles. Fuel economy on them is great - 35 - 45 mpg around town, 50+ mpg on a run, even better with a remap, but they are most definitely not ULEZ or CAZ compliant! By the way, if the car produces excessive amounts of black smoke, it could be down to a hole in the turbo / intercooler pipe, which is a really cheap fix at £60 per pipe.



Here are a couple of other suggestions that are ULEZ compliant


Most sensible - Mazda 6 2.0 TS - normally aspirated + Japanese car + low miles for age = reliable; decent size, hatchback, big boot, reasonable performance, not bad on fuel
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202106234...


Still reasonably sensible - Renault Megane 2.0 TCe - cheap, low mileage and a decent drive
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/201908131...

My Dad has the later version of the Mazda 6, it's the very definition of a no-frills car! Not a bad option I guess, it's certainly not going to go pop anytime soon. I'm still mildly interested in that Saab though.

The Renault is too old for my liking.

[aaron_2000]

Just get a 320d touring. Built for motorways and usually pretty bulletproof, should still be a fun enough drive too for what it is

[georgeyboy12345]

While you do see a lot of BMW 320d’s pushing nearly 200k miles for sale on autotrader, I’m not sure one at 4 grand would have that much life left in it. They had the N47 engine, which had problems with stretched timing chain, turbo issues, EGR issues and DPF issues.

[ThisInJapanese]

There are loads of 320d examples kicking around, but I'm not sure it's what I want, I get the feeling there are a lot of unloved examples out there that are picked up for 12 months, run and then flipped.

Still interested in the GTC and weirdly the 1.0 Focus as the idea of cheaper motoring has an appeal.

[Canon_Fodder]

I had one of these for a couple of years - cracking little thing

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202107285...

[ZX10R NIN]

The GTC is a good shout they have a nice interior & they're cheap to run with sensible running costs as well as a decent amount go the long gearing makes motorway work less of a chore.

If you like the Focus then look for the 1.6T version with 150bhp:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202108015...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202106173...

Or you can get the regular Astra in SRI 180 (I'd take the GTC everytime) spec:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202107084...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202106294...

SE

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202107165...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202107305...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202106183...

If you're considering the Mazda6 then the 2.5 is the pick real world there's a 3mpg difference between the two when driving is noticeable:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202107134...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202107084...

[HocusPocus]

In your shoes, I'd keep and run the CTR for another 18 months. You know the car, it is reducing its rate of depreciation as it ages and you can still sell it when the new Lotus arrives.

Why go through all the change, the risk involved in an old banger bought at the top of the market which will also depreciate when you already have a perfectly good car? I'd only sell the CTR now if I did not look for a replacement before the Lotus.

[ThisInJapanese]

HocusPocus said:

In your shoes, I'd keep and run the CTR for another 18 months. You know the car, it is reducing its rate of depreciation as it ages and you can still sell it when the new Lotus arrives.

Why go through all the change, the risk involved in an old banger bought at the top of the market which will also depreciate when you already have a perfectly good car? I'd only sell the CTR now if I did not look for a replacement before the Lotus.

Part of the plan is to bank the repayments that I would have made during those 18 months as well, so it's 99% sorted in my head that the car is going. It's a choice between a warm replacement or something cheap to run

[HocusPocus]

ThisInJapanese said:

Part of the plan is to bank the repayments that I would have made during those 18 months as well, so it's 99% sorted in my head that the car is going. It's a choice between a warm replacement or something cheap to run

Man maths at work. Anyway, so long as your monthly savings over 18 months will exceed the 4k blown on a barge, then swapping the CTR for a barge might be a net saving you will be happy to accept. Good luck.

[ThisInJapanese]

HocusPocus said:

Man maths at work. Anyway, so long as your monthly savings over 18 months will exceed the 4k blown on a barge, then swapping the CTR for a barge might be a net saving you will be happy to accept. Good luck.

It will, and the barge might well perform duties well beyond the 18 month timeframe.

[ThisInJapanese]

Thanks for all the suggestions, the Civic has now been confirmed as sold (got more than I paid for it) and I've just agreed to buy a very clean 04 plate Volvo S40 for £900!

Now I wait for the Emira or cancel that and place an order on a Cayman GTS...

[aaron_2000]

Come join the rest of us in the shed thread

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...