Decent car for £1500 ?

[nw28840]

As above, my Sisters car has some serious issues and i want to buy her a car that will tie her over for the next year or so. She doesn't have any spare cash , so i'm looking at spending +- £1500.

Unfortunately it can't be an MX5 as much as she would love her next car to be one.
She needs 4 doors , ( reliability as much as possible for this price range ).

Just looking for ideas on what make / type of car would be best to look for ?

I'm thinking Ford Focus ?

What about Alfa 147's - I know they need cambelts changed at +- 60,000 miles but are they expensive to run in general.

Thoughts ?

[XG332]

1989 BMW 316i. One went on eBay for £900 recently.
Hope this helps

[robsco]

An Alfa 147 would be a fine choice on the basis that the belts have been done. They're not 60k intervals on the petrol engines either, they're 36k/3yrs. They must be done on schedule, because they can and do snap. Other than that, they're as reliable as any other family hatch, though regular oil checks are a must as the Twin Sparks do tend to burn oil.

[wackojacko]

318 saloon

Vectra ?

[VxDuncan]

About as dull as it gets. But decent sized, fairly modern, dirt cheap to run.
52 plate vectra c
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2011...

[IanMorewood]

Yep plenty of stuff about 10 years old that should run for a year plus with no trouble. My old Honda would have done me another few years if I spent a few quid on it instead of chopping it in.

[NiceCupOfTea]

VxDuncan said:

About as dull as it gets. But decent sized, fairly modern, dirt cheap to run.
52 plate vectra c
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2011...

That is a lot of car for the cash.

Not the thread for it, but I've been thinking of changing one of my cars for something more exotic, giving me 2 interesting cars, neither of which will thank me for running them over the winter. Something like that in addition from October to March would tide me through the bleak months very nicely

[TRUENOSAM]

You could get a nice BMW 3 series for that money (E36)

[Six Fiend]

Citroen Xsara (not a Piccassole) seems good value and as above a decent Focus should be easy to find.

Edited by Six Fiend on Monday 25th April 22:35

[jannthaman]

Defiantly look for E36's, they are going for peanuts at the moment. E30's aren't.

[The fatboy]

go for some honda civic, even those more than 10 years old are still running fine. japanese reliability too.

[Riknos]

MX...Oh wait, 4 doors? Nevermind..

[ludicrous speed]

Mondeo

[excel monkey]

Go Jap if you want reiability at this money.

Civic EP3? The 5 door model is very spacious.

[djt100]

Keep it simple, look for a popular car, I'd say toyota Corolla or similar, not going to set the world alight but will run forever with minimal care. If she doesn't like the corolla, then just choose sonething else where you have a large supply of cars to choose from

[Simian24]

I had a 1989 BMW 316i, it was brilliant, but it was only a 2 door and the arrival of a new addition soon made this out to be an issue.

After searching around I opted for a Honda Civic 1.4i, 5 door, it was cheaper to buy and insure than it was to simply insure my beema!

Over the 3 years I owned it needed nothing but brake pads, tyre's and a new battery, was cheap to run and the little engine was more than good enough.

Couple of examples

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2400230.htm

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2011...

[stropley]

I am looking at doing something similar for my FIL who is retired & lives in the middle of nowhere so can't get about.

I presume if you're buying her the car you'll be taxing it too?

Something to bear in mind: VED or road tax is much cheaper for engines less than 1500cc on pre-2001 cars. So the 2 Civics quoted above the second one (1.4 engine) would be approx £100 a year cheaper on tax alone than the 1.6 version.

[Tonberry]

E36 Saloon or a 90's Jap Saloon of some sort. Accord maybe?

Job done.

[yellowbentines]

My sister is in a similar position with a Fiesta on it's last legs, we're thinking Ford Focus, Skoda Fabia, Toyota Corolla, all slightly dull, but as with you mentioned reliability is a major factor in deciding what to buy and all of these should fit that bill.

[wiliferus]

I've literally just bought a 1999 'V' plated Focus for the OH. Its a 2.0 petrol Ghia, 80k on the dials, interior looks like its never been sat in, a few age related dinks, 12 months ticket, 6 months VEL. IMHO quite alot of car for the money. £1495.

Only bug bear might be MPG but the OH only potters about anyway fo hopefully won't be a problem.

I must admit, when i started looking i was pleasantly surprised at how much car you could get for your money at the moment.

HTH