liverpool to Paris - what £1500 car?

[callywally18]

Morning everyone,

For new year me and my girlfriend are going to Paris and we have had it planned for a while when I had a fairly new car, but since then things have changed and I had to sell it to free up some money.

Currently I'm driving a 1992 toyota mr2 which is a great car, but with its Size noise and lack of cruise Control I wouldn't really fancy a 1200 mile journey in it

So what car would you advise for the journey for under £1500

Need to be comfy
Not appalling on fuel but happy with around 35
Cruise control a must
Reliable
Less chance of problems the better

Any advice greatly appreciated thanks

[Jasandjules]

I sound like a stuck record but a Passat. I drove from Suffolk to Portugal and back and some long drives on top of that, over 3k driving in about two weeks. The Passat is comfy enough to cope with that.

[callywally18]

The Crack Fox said:

Not what you want to hear but if you're only going to Paris (and not touring elsewhere in France) I'd take a budget airline flight and leave the car at home. Paris traffic is horrible and cars there get battered.

Bon voyage!

Hate flying and public transport and we're stopping to see friends on the way as well!

We went in February in my alfa spider and we drove round with the roof down was great.

[nunpuncher]

Not so much a suggestion but in similar circumstances (only we were travelling as a family) I panic bought an 03 2.0hdi picasso with 110k on the clock for £800. So comfy it's like driving around in your living room. It pulls like a train and having now covered 20k miles in just over a year it it's only cost us a couple of tyres, an exhaust back box and a set of brake shoes. We've all become emotionally attached to it although i'm pretty sure i could sell it on with virtually no loss.

[T0MMY]

Is it really necessary to change your car just for this trip? It's not all that far...I drove from Edinburgh to the south of France in a MK1 MX5 without issues and that's a lot less refined than an MR2.

[oilslick]

nunpuncher said:

Not so much a suggestion but in similar circumstances (only we were travelling as a family) I panic bought an 03 2.0hdi picasso with 110k on the clock for £800. So comfy it's like driving around in your living room. It pulls like a train and having now covered 20k miles in just over a year it it's only cost us a couple of tyres, an exhaust back box and a set of brake shoes. We've all become emotionally attached to it although i'm pretty sure i could sell it on with virtually no loss.

[callywally18]

T0MMY said:

Is it really necessary to change your car just for this trip? It's not all that far...I drove from Edinburgh to the south of France in a MK1 MX5 without issues and that's a lot less refined than an MR2.

Not necessary No, just an excuse to change my car

Have seen a v8 lexus ls lpg converted,.. Hmm

[Prof Prolapse]

T0MMY said:

Is it really necessary to change your car just for this trip? It's not all that far...I drove from Edinburgh to the south of France in a MK1 MX5 without issues and that's a lot less refined than an MR2.

Agreed. I had an MR2 and the refinement and space is adequate for most long journeys. I've done double that distance in a TVR Tamora, and slighty larger distance in a Ferrari 360. I would have killed for the Toyota on several occasions on both trips.

I also think it's better the devil you know in the reliablity stakes. It's not often a good idea to get a bargain basement car and head off on a journey where delays can ruin your holiday.

[Prof Prolapse]

oilslick said:

nunpuncher said:

Not so much a suggestion but in similar circumstances (only we were travelling as a family) I panic bought an 03 2.0hdi picasso with 110k on the clock for £800. So comfy it's like driving around in your living room. It pulls like a train and having now covered 20k miles in just over a year it it's only cost us a couple of tyres, an exhaust back box and a set of brake shoes. We've all become emotionally attached to it although i'm pretty sure i could sell it on with virtually no loss.

[T0MMY]

Prof Prolapse said:

I also think it's better the devil you know in the reliablity stakes. It's not often a good idea to get a bargain basement car and head off on a journey where delays can ruin your holiday.

Good point there...I wouldn't fancy buying an old car and immediately setting off on a long journey in it. There can always be issues that wouldn't be obvious to the best mechanic in the world until they crop up on a long drive.

callywally18 said:

Not necessary No, just an excuse to change my car

Have seen a v8 lexus ls lpg converted,.. Hmm

Fair enough, in which case I'd recommend an E36 328i maybe? You'll get mid 30s mpg on a long run and they're very refined if a little lifeless to drive. That said, I'm basing this on what was available last time I bought one about 5 years ago...they might all be nails now. Not sure how much E46s are these days?

[TooMany2cvs]

1200 miles at 35mpg = 150 litres
1200 miles at 25mpg = 216 litres

So you're going to buy another car for the sake of one fillup, a little bit of noise, and not being able to put an electronic brick on the loud pedal...? Just man up, and admit to yourself that you're bored of the MR2 and fancy something different, instead of trying to justify it...

Never mind Sleazyjet/Lyinair, your better bet might be http://www.eurostar.com/uk-en

[Leins]

BMW E32 735i, and a few hotel numbers for on the way just in case!

I used to live up around that way (Liverpool, not Paris), and had planned a few years ago to buy some old barge with a buddy of mine to head down and across Europe, seeing how far we could get. However, anything fancy for sale at low money that we looked into normally triggered said mate to exclaim "That's a Stafford car at best", referring to his belief that we'd be looking to get it to the nearest scrapyard somewhere around that location

[callywally18]

TooMany2cvs said:

1200 miles at 35mpg = 150 litres
1200 miles at 25mpg = 216 litres

So you're going to buy another car for the sake of one fillup, a little bit of noise, and not being able to put an electronic brick on the loud pedal...? Just man up, and admit to yourself that you're bored of the MR2 and fancy something different, instead of trying to justify it...

Never mind Sleazyjet/Lyinair, your better bet might be http://www.eurostar.com/uk-en

I never said I was unhappy with the mr2 fuel economy, I said 35mpg because that's around what the mr2 will get maybe slightly better.

Main reason for a change is just the comfort and size of it, the lumbar support has collapsed on my seat and having two seats is becoming an issue lately

[Adenauer]

If you're starting from Liverpool why would you need to buy a car?

[callywally18]

Adenauer said:

If you're starting from Liverpool why would you need to buy a car?

Was waiting for something like that!

[IanCress]

Volvo S60, or maybe even an S80. Nice and comfy and a decent stereo. I certainly agree that you need to take it out for a run before you set off though, as a £1500 car could be hiding faults that you don't notice until it's fully warmed through.

[Baryonyx]

Jaguar XJ, the perfect way to cover distance.

[g3org3y]

Couple of points:

1) Is the MR2 that bad on the motorway to justify changing? You mention that you're going to see friends along the way so I expect the drive to be broken up? For me, lack of cruise control is not a deal breaker.

2) If you're going to buy another car, drive it for a month or so before hand in order to get a grasp on the niggles/foibles and other potential problems that may lurk. You don't want nasty surprises on your first trip when you're on the wrong side of the channel.

Edited by g3org3y on Friday 26th September 11:24

[g3org3y]

oilslick said:

nunpuncher said:

Not so much a suggestion but in similar circumstances (only we were travelling as a family) I panic bought an 03 2.0hdi picasso with 110k on the clock for £800. So comfy it's like driving around in your living room. It pulls like a train and having now covered 20k miles in just over a year it it's only cost us a couple of tyres, an exhaust back box and a set of brake shoes. We've all become emotionally attached to it although i'm pretty sure i could sell it on with virtually no loss.

Noticed that too.

[callywally18]

g3org3y said:

Couple of points:

1) Is the MR2 that bad on the motorway to justify changing? You mention that you're going to see friends along the way so I expect the drive to be broken up? For me, lack of cruise control is not a deal breaker.

2) If you're going to buy another car, I'd drive it for a month or so before hand in order to get a grasp on the niggles/foibles and other potential problems that may lurk. You don't want nasty surprises on your first trip when you're on the wrong side of the channel.

I'd be looking to change in the next month th or so and we aren't going until new year so please ry of time to find all the faults