need a shed for the railway station/recycling dump

[contractor]

Hiya, I'm after a cheap daily that will only be used for getting me to/from the train station car park and going to/from the local dump with crap from the house and garden etc. The kind of thing that if it got nicked in 6 months time I'd just shrug and call a taxi.

The journey to/from the station is a 20 mile round trip (A roads/country lanes) and I'd like either a hatchback or estate to make loading it up with crap easy.

My requirements are:
Any colour
Any make
Petrol/diseasel
Pref auto cos I'm a lazy mofo
MPG ~30
Dents are OK as it's a shed and I'm not proud
Estate/Hatchback/4x4 only
3 door or 5 door if hatchback
Don't care if it's small/large, French/Japanese/Korean etc.

Must be a known reliable make/model (so I guess common rail diesel is out)
MOT more than 9months
Less than £1000

Someone at work said an old Audi A4 estate or something similar. What about an old Focus?

Are there any makes/models that are known for being cheap,reliable snotters?

Thx

[bmthnick1981]

Plenty of sub £1k suggestions here;

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

[williamp]

Porsche 924/944. Reliable, excellent handling, hatchback which will keep their value.

[contractor]

bmthnick1981 said:

Plenty of sub £1k suggestions here;

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

brilliant, thanks for that

[Phateuk]

Mark 1 1.6 focus? Cheap to buy/run, ~40mpg, can be had in hatch or estate, well under £1k. Not sure if they did these in an auto though or if it's any good? The 1.6 zetec I ran about in was decent enough in the early 2000s..

[surveyor]

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2014...

I think this might be just the job...

[anonymous-user]

contractor said:

Hiya, I'm after a cheap daily that will only be used for getting me to/from the train station car park and going to/from the local dump with crap from the house and garden etc. The kind of thing that if it got nicked in 6 months time I'd just shrug and call a taxi.

The journey to/from the station is a 20 mile round trip (A roads/country lanes) and I'd like either a hatchback or estate to make loading it up with crap easy.

My requirements are:
Any colour
Any make
Petrol/diseasel
Pref auto cos I'm a lazy mofo
MPG ~30
Dents are OK as it's a shed and I'm not proud
Estate/Hatchback/4x4 only
3 door or 5 door if hatchback
Don't care if it's small/large, French/Japanese/Korean etc.

Must be a known reliable make/model (so I guess common rail diesel is out)
MOT more than 9months
Less than £1000

Someone at work said an old Audi A4 estate or something similar. What about an old Focus?

Are there any makes/models that are known for being cheap,reliable snotters?

Thx

V70 2.4 with leather. I have a friend who uses his as a van for his bathroom fitting business but the car still cleans up enough to be able to go for a journey out. Tough as old boots, comfortable, anonymous, nice smooth 5 pot.

[frodo_monkey]

Skoda Octavia 1.9TDi - bought one for £2k in 2008 with 75000 on, sold it last year for £500 with 180000 having remorselessly thrashed the sh*t out of it including lots of towing... Best value car ever!

[Dogwatch]

Phateuk said:

Mark 1 1.6 focus? Cheap to buy/run, ~40mpg, can be had in hatch or estate, well under £1k. Not sure if they did these in an auto though or if it's any good? The 1.6 zetec I ran about in was decent enough in the early 2000s..

Just passed mine on to my daughter as the garage only offered £1k for p/ex. '04 plate, 70k miles, decent condition

Cheap spares, not bad load space with back seat folded down (removing headrests is a PITA). Rear suspension link bushes are weak point if not already done - about £80/side at an indie.

[StefanVXR8]

Rover 75 saloon/estate? Hell of a lot of car for the money, loaded with toys and reliable.

I paid £500 for a 2.5V6 Auto that had every option including sat nav. Does 35mpg on the motorway and never let me down.

Stef

[Quhet]

surveyor said:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2014...

I think this might be just the job...

A 9-5 is a no brainer, brilliant value cars and soooo comfortable!

[Vince70]

Go for an old B5 Audi A4...I did the same 4 years ago and it's still going strong and it has never given me a single issue..

Your best bet would be a N/A petrol without too many toys as there's less chance of things going wrong.

The b5 is really cheap these days and a good one with low miles will easily be found for under a grand.

[ShaunTheSheep]

£1k is FAR to easy.

This needs like a £300 limit with a minimum on acceptable MOT length!

[Zerotonine]

Honda Accord. They wear the miles well, bombproof, and the hatchback can fit a copious amount in.

[Otispunkmeyer]

Timely thread OP

I too am after a similar stallion. If the OH gets a job soon we will then probably need two cars. As we are also looking to move house, then get dogs a battered estate is ideal.

I did see a spiffing R reg Volvo V70 XC with the 2.3 T engine on AT for £650, one owner, looked in very good nick. Hopefully the ad has just expired and it hasnt been purchased.

[Otispunkmeyer]

yonex said:

contractor said:

Hiya, I'm after a cheap daily that will only be used for getting me to/from the train station car park and going to/from the local dump with crap from the house and garden etc. The kind of thing that if it got nicked in 6 months time I'd just shrug and call a taxi.

The journey to/from the station is a 20 mile round trip (A roads/country lanes) and I'd like either a hatchback or estate to make loading it up with crap easy.

My requirements are:
Any colour
Any make
Petrol/diseasel
Pref auto cos I'm a lazy mofo
MPG ~30
Dents are OK as it's a shed and I'm not proud
Estate/Hatchback/4x4 only
3 door or 5 door if hatchback
Don't care if it's small/large, French/Japanese/Korean etc.

Must be a known reliable make/model (so I guess common rail diesel is out)
MOT more than 9months
Less than £1000

Someone at work said an old Audi A4 estate or something similar. What about an old Focus?

Are there any makes/models that are known for being cheap,reliable snotters?

Thx

V70 2.4 with leather. I have a friend who uses his as a van for his bathroom fitting business but the car still cleans up enough to be able to go for a journey out. Tough as old boots, comfortable, anonymous, nice smooth 5 pot.

How are the auto boxes and electrics on these? I have heard some not so nice stories about both.

However, I assume for mechanical reliability you aren't going to get much better than a NA petrol (possibly and Japanese NA petrol)

[SuperHangOn]

I don't think the autoboxes are too strong on Volvos of that era, 90's Honda autos are terrible too.

A 1 granddad owner Merc W202 or W210 estate (if not too rotten) would fit the bill nicely.

[Dog Star]

V70.

A V70 also has a certain cachet - the older and more battered they are the richer the owner.

[billzeebub]

Volvo V70, Saab 9-5 Estate,

[anonymous-user]

I'm in a similar situation, so have gone for a mk3 golf.

No one will steal it, simple to fix and easy to get parts for, with reasonable room inside.

£1k will get you a minter