Help pick me a shed!!

[maxdb]

It's time for me to get another car in the next month or so. As there is a baby on the way it needs to be a 4/5 door and have enough boot space for a pram . I only do about 6000 miles per year at most so I'm not fussed about fuel consumption. Insurance could be an issue for higher performance cars as my insurer won't quote me on a Mondeo ST24 for example. The maximum I can stretch to is about £900. The only requirements must be:

- It must be petrol
- It must be manual
- Not too keen on Vauxhalls or Renaults
- Can not be an MPV
- Needs to be in the south/south east
- Needs to be fast(ish)/good performance

I've seen a few Ford Focuses/Late Escorts/Mondeo's around the 2000 reg mark but I don't know how good they are or what the common problems are on these cars. I also find most are 1600cc, which is a little slow in a Focus.

I have looked at a few BMW's including this one:

http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...

But again I don't not what to look out for on these cars.

Any help appreciated

[a311]

I've just bought a Vauxhall Signum 3.2 V6 for a grand. I'm a seasoned sheder and the best advice is to not get fixed on set make or model, hit ebay and see what there is that's interesting within reach.

My last shed was a 325i with 170k on the clock been great but is a bit too much of a shed. I will be selling that, but in the NW so miles away.

[ZesPak]

I'd say a 156 is a good bet but I think they're just out of your price range.

[Vitorio]

ZesPak said:

I'd say a 156 is a good bet but I think they're just out of your price range.

Not to mention slightly risky on the rust front, especially for the first few production years.

As long as we are putting forth italian stuff, i'd suggest checking out the 155, preferably with an 8v twinspark engine (imune to cambelt issues as they have a chain and less vulnerable to lunching the big end bearing because of low oil), or the almighty V6

[ZesPak]

Vitorio said:

Not to mention slightly risky on the rust front, especially for the first few production years.

I thought the OP didn't mind a bit of risk, considering the BMW he put forth.

[Vitorio]

ZesPak said:

I thought the OP didn't mind a bit of risk, considering the BMW he put forth.

So you point him to possibly the riskiest recent alfa to buy, lol. I personally cant think of anything trickier then a 98 156 with a 2.0 TS engine, rustier then the 155s and later 156s, engine known to be very vulnerable to bad maintenance..

I'd still love to have one though, lovely looking cars and the 2.0 is a nice engine untill it goes bang.

[pjdow]

Volvo 850 or a V70

ideal, parts are not silly prices and lower risk than others suggested.

My 850 cost circa £700, does 45mpg, and should break the 200000 barrier next week. It paid for itself in the first month of commuting.

Why must it be petrol?

[pjdow]

Volvo 850 or a V70

ideal, parts are not silly prices and lower risk than others suggested.

My 850 cost circa £700, does 45mpg, and should break the 200000 barrier next week. It paid for itself in the first month of commuting.

Why must it be petrol?

[pjdow]

Volvo 850 or a V70

ideal, parts are not silly prices and lower risk than others suggested.

My 850 cost circa £700, does 45mpg, and should break the 200000 barrier next week. It paid for itself in the first month of commuting.

Why must it be petrol?

[maxdb]

pjdow said:

Volvo 850 or a V70

ideal, parts are not silly prices and lower risk than others suggested.

My 850 cost circa £700, does 45mpg, and should break the 200000 barrier next week. It paid for itself in the first month of commuting.

Why must it be petrol?

I just don't like diesel lol. Thanks for the suggestions it looks like my current car is going back on Monday now so I got to find one quite quick (mega facepalm!). I do like Alfa's and I don't mind a little bit of risk but a part of me is telling me to get something that won't break everytime I drive it. I do get used to things breaking after owning 4 French cars in the past

[Mr2Mike]

[Vitorio]

maxdb said:

I just don't like diesel lol. Thanks for the suggestions it looks like my current car is going back on Monday now so I got to find one quite quick (mega facepalm!). I do like Alfa's and I don't mind a little bit of risk but a part of me is telling me to get something that won't break everytime I drive it. I do get used to things breaking after owning 4 French cars in the past

Just go for it then, find yourself a nice looking 155 with an 8v engine, should be fairly reliable as long as it doesnt rust. It should handle 6k a year with ease.

[aka_kerrly]

The 5 series BMW in the OP looks like it could be a good starting point!

However £1k also gets you into a good E36 BMW Touring, plenty of nice 323/25/28 models around within budget.

Also I've seen some pretty decent looking Audi A4/6 estates with V6 & Quattro models available in budget. On a similar note a Passat 2.8 4Motion could be considered.

Another suggestion is the Subaru Legacy.

At the moment though I have a strange attraction to Civic VTI-s Hatchbacks/aerodecks, there are some crackers out there.