Warm Saloon ~£1-2k
Discussion
Ah really, what's the replacement? Shame your ST's spoken for, it could answer the OP's question nicely! By the way, happy 2000 posts, catching me up big-time 
OP - Mk1/2 Mondeos are lovely comfy things with nicely weighted steering and decent chuckability for a FWD chassis, and bear miles well so long as they're not rusting. The 2.0 Zetec sounded rather nice, so I don't doubt the V6 is palatable. Fairly respectable too, and since they're looking more insurable for you, could well be a better shout than the Audi route?
OP - Mk1/2 Mondeos are lovely comfy things with nicely weighted steering and decent chuckability for a FWD chassis, and bear miles well so long as they're not rusting. The 2.0 Zetec sounded rather nice, so I don't doubt the V6 is palatable. Fairly respectable too, and since they're looking more insurable for you, could well be a better shout than the Audi route?
McSam said:
Ah really, what's the replacement? Shame your ST's spoken for, it could answer the OP's question nicely! By the way, happy 2000 posts, catching me up big-time
OP - Mk1/2 Mondeos are lovely comfy things with nicely weighted steering and decent chuckability for a FWD chassis, and bear miles well so long as they're not rusting. Respectable too, and since they're looking more insurable for you, could well be a better shout than the Audi route?
Not entirely sure yet, I really like the sound of an 850 T5 but it is very hard to find a nice manual saloon. E36 BMWs are on the cards as well, as are B5 A4s! OP - Mk1/2 Mondeos are lovely comfy things with nicely weighted steering and decent chuckability for a FWD chassis, and bear miles well so long as they're not rusting. Respectable too, and since they're looking more insurable for you, could well be a better shout than the Audi route?
Thanks, I do spend a bit too much time on here
I think I am too far away for the OP, but I would strongly recommend them. Mine drives very nicely, managed to hold off some much more expensive metal through the twisty stuff which is fun from time to time
Have a look at the 2.0 Zetec S as well, could be considerably cheaper on insurance and not that much slower than the V6.
Hmm, want to try mine while I look for an E46 330ci? 
B5 A4s are silly sometimes - I picked up a 2.8 30v for £600 with tax and MOT on it, the clutch wasn't ideal but otherwise hard to fault. Nice purple thing, the power was seriously noticeable over my car, now going well (albeit something daft like 60mm nearer the floor) in the hands of an old colleague! Nobody wants big-engine saloons at the minute so crazy bargains abound.
If insurance is vastly better (I seem to remember it's not a huge improvement?) the 2.0 Zetec engine is nice, 136bhp and in my 4WD and therefore power-sapping and 150kg-too-heavy Mk1, 31mpg in combined-ish driving.
B5 A4s are silly sometimes - I picked up a 2.8 30v for £600 with tax and MOT on it, the clutch wasn't ideal but otherwise hard to fault. Nice purple thing, the power was seriously noticeable over my car, now going well (albeit something daft like 60mm nearer the floor) in the hands of an old colleague! Nobody wants big-engine saloons at the minute so crazy bargains abound.
If insurance is vastly better (I seem to remember it's not a huge improvement?) the 2.0 Zetec engine is nice, 136bhp and in my 4WD and therefore power-sapping and 150kg-too-heavy Mk1, 31mpg in combined-ish driving.
Yours is very, very nice but I am looking for something totally different to the ST24. Either RWD (E36), AWD (2.8 / 2.7TT A6!), or just silly fast (T5).
I am very jealous that you are in a position to buy an E46 330i, they are lovely cars! I would have one tomorrow if I could afford one
Just noticed your Mondeo was AWD, are the not very rare? What happened to it?
OP - get quotes for lots of different cars. As mentioned previously, your postcode makes a vast difference. I get the same prices for an ST24, 2.6 A4, Vectra GSI etc, but as you say an A4 is £500 more than an ST24 it would be worth checking if the 2.0 Mondeo is cheaper. Very tuneable engine too, if you are into that sort of thing!
I am very jealous that you are in a position to buy an E46 330i, they are lovely cars! I would have one tomorrow if I could afford one
Just noticed your Mondeo was AWD, are the not very rare? What happened to it?
OP - get quotes for lots of different cars. As mentioned previously, your postcode makes a vast difference. I get the same prices for an ST24, 2.6 A4, Vectra GSI etc, but as you say an A4 is £500 more than an ST24 it would be worth checking if the 2.0 Mondeo is cheaper. Very tuneable engine too, if you are into that sort of thing!
Thanks again, and that's fair enough! Especially since I said above that the engine is the dog of the range
I would look at a 2.7TT A6 if you're within reach of those, I think that'd be great fun! We used to have a C5 A6, a 1.8T one, and that was great, went through front suspension components like nobody's business but very nice car to be in. Surprisingly good fun to hotfoot around as well! Very different character to the Mondeos, you'd find it so much bigger and more grown-up, obviously designed well for autobahn use, but I imagine 260bhp makes them quite hilarious!
My position is, alas, nowhere near good enough quite yet, was mostly in jest - a 330Ci is most definitely the plan, but I'm about a grand light of a decent one even if I got good money for the Audi. Seems like a natural progression when I can afford it, though!
Yeah, 4x4 Mondeos are very rare indeed. So rare in fact that when my grandad used to book it in for a service (he owned it from ex-demo in '96), Ford would question it - are you sure it's not a Sierra? We've never made a 4WD Mondeo.. etc etc. Great
I believe around 100 still knock around, though most are Si spec and a Ghia like mine is such a rare beast I've never seen another. I wrote her off. Which hurt. A lot.
ETA - Just checked, 120 total left.
I would look at a 2.7TT A6 if you're within reach of those, I think that'd be great fun! We used to have a C5 A6, a 1.8T one, and that was great, went through front suspension components like nobody's business but very nice car to be in. Surprisingly good fun to hotfoot around as well! Very different character to the Mondeos, you'd find it so much bigger and more grown-up, obviously designed well for autobahn use, but I imagine 260bhp makes them quite hilarious!
My position is, alas, nowhere near good enough quite yet, was mostly in jest - a 330Ci is most definitely the plan, but I'm about a grand light of a decent one even if I got good money for the Audi. Seems like a natural progression when I can afford it, though!
Yeah, 4x4 Mondeos are very rare indeed. So rare in fact that when my grandad used to book it in for a service (he owned it from ex-demo in '96), Ford would question it - are you sure it's not a Sierra? We've never made a 4WD Mondeo.. etc etc. Great
I believe around 100 still knock around, though most are Si spec and a Ghia like mine is such a rare beast I've never seen another. I wrote her off. Which hurt. A lot.
ETA - Just checked, 120 total left.
Edited by McSam on Monday 20th February 23:39
McSam said:
Ouch, I wonder what's weighting your quotes so heavily? I paid £1200, although it has to be said postcodes don't come much cheaper than mine. I had a twelve grand claim against me, though! As regards general insurance help, having two named drivers between 40 and 65 with clean licences will help no end (they don't have to be related to you!), garage or driveway parking are not necessarily cheaper, and your estimated mileage will obviously affect it a lot. An interesting one is also what year you bought the car, which makes a huge difference but strikes me as rather untraceable.. Not that I said any such thing, of course!
And BorkFactor (not used to seeing that name!), thank you very much, I'm prone to an occasional look at yours too! Lovely
Yeah, I have 2 named drivers on. Parked on road is cheaper than drive for me. C rated Postcode (was sure it was a B this time last year though And BorkFactor (not used to seeing that name!), thank you very much, I'm prone to an occasional look at yours too! Lovely
).My Fiesta quote is 950 this year. I am determined to get a new car this August though. Just have to save (as well as saving for 2 holidays too
Hoping I'm not biting off more than I can chew hardcorehobbit said:
Toledo V5. Could be possibly cheap enough to insure?
Or perhaps, god forbid, a Vectra SRi? Primera is a good bet, even the cooking models with a 2.0 have 130bhp.
2.3 V5 toledo 170 would be a good car for you to check out (in my biased opinion). Group 13 (which for the power is pretty low), relaible chain engine, all the toys you want (leather electric seats, sat nav etc.), handles pretty well, and all it topped with the great sound of a narrow angle 5 cylinder engine Or perhaps, god forbid, a Vectra SRi? Primera is a good bet, even the cooking models with a 2.0 have 130bhp.
edit to fix terrible formating error
Edited by Codswallop on Tuesday 21st February 08:04
McSam said:
Thanks again, and that's fair enough! Especially since I said above that the engine is the dog of the range
I would look at a 2.7TT A6 if you're within reach of those, I think that'd be great fun! We used to have a C5 A6, a 1.8T one, and that was great, went through front suspension components like nobody's business but very nice car to be in. Surprisingly good fun to hotfoot around as well! Very different character to the Mondeos, you'd find it so much bigger and more grown-up, obviously designed well for autobahn use, but I imagine 260bhp makes them quite hilarious!
My position is, alas, nowhere near good enough quite yet, was mostly in jest - a 330Ci is most definitely the plan, but I'm about a grand light of a decent one even if I got good money for the Audi. Seems like a natural progression when I can afford it, though!
Yeah, 4x4 Mondeos are very rare indeed. So rare in fact that when my grandad used to book it in for a service (he owned it from ex-demo in '96), Ford would question it - are you sure it's not a Sierra? We've never made a 4WD Mondeo.. etc etc. Great
I believe around 100 still knock around, though most are Si spec and a Ghia like mine is such a rare beast I've never seen another. I wrote her off. Which hurt. A lot.
ETA - Just checked, 120 total left.
The thing is, I can afford to buy a fairly nice 2.7TT A6 but I fear the potential for a massive bill is a bit too much for me. Twin turbos would be great fun, but very expensive if they decide they want replaced! I would look at a 2.7TT A6 if you're within reach of those, I think that'd be great fun! We used to have a C5 A6, a 1.8T one, and that was great, went through front suspension components like nobody's business but very nice car to be in. Surprisingly good fun to hotfoot around as well! Very different character to the Mondeos, you'd find it so much bigger and more grown-up, obviously designed well for autobahn use, but I imagine 260bhp makes them quite hilarious!
My position is, alas, nowhere near good enough quite yet, was mostly in jest - a 330Ci is most definitely the plan, but I'm about a grand light of a decent one even if I got good money for the Audi. Seems like a natural progression when I can afford it, though!
Yeah, 4x4 Mondeos are very rare indeed. So rare in fact that when my grandad used to book it in for a service (he owned it from ex-demo in '96), Ford would question it - are you sure it's not a Sierra? We've never made a 4WD Mondeo.. etc etc. Great
I believe around 100 still knock around, though most are Si spec and a Ghia like mine is such a rare beast I've never seen another. I wrote her off. Which hurt. A lot.
ETA - Just checked, 120 total left.
Edited by McSam on Monday 20th February 23:39
Seems like a good idea, it would be a nice step up from your A4 in terms of both power and dynamics
I think I have only ever seen 2 or 3 for sale, and only one was worth looking at. That is a shame about writing it off, these things happen though.
Good shout on a Toledo V5, they are meant to be very nice, and have great interiors
BorkFactor said:
The thing is, I can afford to buy a fairly nice 2.7TT A6 but I fear the potential for a massive bill is a bit too much for me. Twin turbos would be great fun, but very expensive if they decide they want replaced!
Seems like a good idea, it would be a nice step up from your A4 in terms of both power and dynamics
I think I have only ever seen 2 or 3 for sale, and only one was worth looking at. That is a shame about writing it off, these things happen though.
Good shout on a Toledo V5, they are meant to be very nice, and have great interiors
Surprised how cheap they've become! Bizarrely, you're often better off looking at higher-mile ones, especially those that have done a lot with their current owner. This makes them more likely to have had the regular failure points addressed, especially the turbos - the S4 is known for lunching them and I guess this should be no different. By now, though, most S4 turbos have been replaced with K04s (I think?) either out of necessity or precaution, so maybe the A6s are also a lot more trustworthy now Seems like a good idea, it would be a nice step up from your A4 in terms of both power and dynamics
I think I have only ever seen 2 or 3 for sale, and only one was worth looking at. That is a shame about writing it off, these things happen though.
Good shout on a Toledo V5, they are meant to be very nice, and have great interiors
My grandad had the Mondeo for his caravan - he could watch all the guys in their soft-roaders struggle on wet pitches while his lighter weight and 205 tyres saw him drive straight out with nary a blink of the traction control! You really needed to have a purpose for it, because you could feel the car was a bit heavier than designed for and clearly wasn't delivering all its 136bhp where it should have been, ie the wheels rather than pissing it away in the drivetrain
but nevertheless, it was a lovely car that drew a surprising amount of compliments from passers-by and those who rode in it!Flatline, I'm surprised you say that about B5 A4s.. I've had mine for two years now, and know of a couple more, none driven gently. All it adds up to is my eleven-quid thermostat and some electrical niggles which I sorted myself with a multimeter, and a MAF failing. The V6s don't actually have these, so happy days! Only other problem is quite quick wear of suspension components. Maybe you were unlucky?
Somnophore said:
Bit left field but not sure if would be better Insurance as not a boy racer car
Volvo S60 easily get a 2.0T for £2k or less. T5 be too much to insure
Volvo S60 easily get a 2.0T for £2k or less. T5 be too much to insure
The S60 2.0T is a great car.
Get a quote for a T5 though, As Volvos are cheap to insure because chavs don't like them ..same goes for Saabs too
look at Aero modelsA young lad bought my old T 98 model e46 323i saloon. 170 bhp 2.5ltr 6cylinder so a nice motor. Getting on a bit but within the 2k budget if you shop carefully and find a winner. Might be worth getting an insurance quote for some of these suggestions as some motors can throw up surprise figures regardless of insurance groups.
Good luck. The Volvo S40 always looks reasonable value as well, they do a T4 which will be pretty quick.
Good luck. The Volvo S40 always looks reasonable value as well, they do a T4 which will be pretty quick.
Codswallop said:
hardcorehobbit said:
Toledo V5. Could be possibly cheap enough to insure?
Or perhaps, god forbid, a Vectra SRi? Primera is a good bet, even the cooking models with a 2.0 have 130bhp.
2.3 V5 toledo 170 would be a good car for you to check out (in my biased opinion). Group 13 (which for the power is pretty low), relaible chain engine, all the toys you want (leather electric seats, sat nav etc.), handles pretty well, and all it topped with the great sound of a narrow angle 5 cylinder engine Or perhaps, god forbid, a Vectra SRi? Primera is a good bet, even the cooking models with a 2.0 have 130bhp.
edit to fix terrible formating error
Edited by Codswallop on Tuesday 21st February 08:04
There was also from 2003 a Toledo 1.8 20vT 180 (basically a 4dr Leon Cupra/Golf GTi/Audi TT etc...) Insurance group 15 IIRC...
Then again there's the Skoda Octavia vRS 1.8T (i know it's a hatch, but it's a saloon-like)
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