Daily runner for the £ 2k mark
Discussion
I'm contemplating selling my Accord and would like some suggestions to buy a car for around £2000 my requirements are
i)Petrol
ii)Manual
iii) saloon or hatch back
iv) prefer 4 doors unless its something special
v) I generally do around 800 miles per month plus with 3 or 4 road trips in a year
thanks I like the Mondeo and OK with the Vauxall but never used a Saab before
how abt the Volvos?
ZX10R NIN said:
Avtually i like the 3 series very much I just read up that pre 2007 models had an issue with engines cutting out which was later rectified any idea abt it?
the other thing I was concerned is that as per reviews the rear passengers dont have much head room,please do share more about your car and its performance so far
andye30m3 said:
I went for a £2k BMW 330ci when in the same position at the beginning of the month, quiet enjoying it so far.
I've been running a 2005 Saab 9-3 Aero (pretty much identical to the first link above) since January after leasing a Q50 for 2 years. It's been great for me, hasn't let me down yet. I've done front discs and pads myself, going to be doing the oil shortly, just fixed a power steering leak for a tenner, I reckon I'm about £2200 in for 6 months motoring. Plus I've got the car to sell if I need to. Worth at least a grand from looking at what else is around. I can recommend one!
Edited by ajguk on Friday 3rd August 12:44
Not too long ago we were running a mk3 Mondeo and a 9-3 at the same time just like ZX10 above had posted, personally speaking id have the Mondeo any day over the Saab.
The Saab on the face of it was very nice but after living with them the Mondeo just shone through as the better car to me, it drove waaaay better and dare I say It, t was fun to hustle! Great chassis, quite playful with a nice gearchange and comfortable driving experience.
Mondeo:
+ Cheap and easy to fix, especially the 1.8 and 2.0 Duratorq petrols, pretty economical too
+ Great to drive, willing chassis, precise steering, progressive if not brilliant brakes. Very stable but could be made to do silly things
+ Very comfortable, big footwells, plenty of adjustment on wheel, height adjustment on seat etc armrests are natural
+ Great stereo for what was an old basic saloon, very loud and clear - Surpised me
- Rust, especially the prefacelift (round foglight) they like to rust under the doors especially, tin worm was starting to get into mine
- Have issues with handbrakes, again better on facelifts but I had to DIY for every MOT
- Strangely thrown around by cross winds quite a lot, also a fair amount of wind noise at motorway speeds
Saab 9-3:
+Younger more expensive image than Mondeo, interior looks nicer - The Mondeo looks like what it costs, Saab looked more
+ More refined, quieter maybe more wafty
+ better Headlights and general night time ambiance
+ Felt and probably was very safe
+ Actually went well enough once you lifted its skirt, if little to no feedback
- Terrible stereo, no oomphh or bass
- Small internally, up front i always found the peddles small and footwells small, quality of switch gear was poor and felt brittle, especially stalks - Horrendous - Mondeo was basic but solid
- Rattle and creaks, never stopped, also leaked
My wife preferred the Saab, I preferred the the Ford. Make of that what you will
The Saab on the face of it was very nice but after living with them the Mondeo just shone through as the better car to me, it drove waaaay better and dare I say It, t was fun to hustle! Great chassis, quite playful with a nice gearchange and comfortable driving experience.
Mondeo:
+ Cheap and easy to fix, especially the 1.8 and 2.0 Duratorq petrols, pretty economical too
+ Great to drive, willing chassis, precise steering, progressive if not brilliant brakes. Very stable but could be made to do silly things
+ Very comfortable, big footwells, plenty of adjustment on wheel, height adjustment on seat etc armrests are natural
+ Great stereo for what was an old basic saloon, very loud and clear - Surpised me
- Rust, especially the prefacelift (round foglight) they like to rust under the doors especially, tin worm was starting to get into mine
- Have issues with handbrakes, again better on facelifts but I had to DIY for every MOT
- Strangely thrown around by cross winds quite a lot, also a fair amount of wind noise at motorway speeds
Saab 9-3:
+Younger more expensive image than Mondeo, interior looks nicer - The Mondeo looks like what it costs, Saab looked more
+ More refined, quieter maybe more wafty
+ better Headlights and general night time ambiance
+ Felt and probably was very safe
+ Actually went well enough once you lifted its skirt, if little to no feedback
- Terrible stereo, no oomphh or bass
- Small internally, up front i always found the peddles small and footwells small, quality of switch gear was poor and felt brittle, especially stalks - Horrendous - Mondeo was basic but solid
- Rattle and creaks, never stopped, also leaked
My wife preferred the Saab, I preferred the the Ford. Make of that what you will
Edited by FlatToTheMat on Friday 3rd August 16:01
ajguk said:
I'm with you on the stalks, complete crap. And the rattles. Probably down to my borked suspension though. Another common theme on Saab's of this age. Well she's grown on me at least. Nothing against Mondeo's but I had a '03 one years ago (tdci) and it was nothing but trouble. YMMV
VFM they are hard to beat. Ours to be fair, was very very high mileageGassing Station | Car Buying | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff