Banger Reccomendations
Discussion
The time has come for the family to pick up a 2nd car. We already have a Zafira Tourer with reasonably low miles and in good condition, the plan is to keep that as the good reliable car with the missus using it for the odd journey, long weekend trips and at weekends and keep the mileage down on it, Whilst I pick something up for my 40 mile round trip to work. Commute involves about 1/2 on A roads and other 1/2 on the motorway. I'm looking to spend about £3.5k for something that's going to last around 3 years before starting to give me some headaches...
Should I go for a small car like a Ford Ka with low miles and slightly newer, or something bigger and older with high miles like a BMW 1 series? Or something else altogether?
Should I go for a small car like a Ford Ka with low miles and slightly newer, or something bigger and older with high miles like a BMW 1 series? Or something else altogether?
Banger you say ?
£3.5 k budget.
Banger you say ?
Does not compute.
There needs to be a law.
Anything below £600 with an MOT and no significant faults is a banger and if you get 12 months out of it you are quids in
Anything above £1000k is definitely not a banger.
So what you need is a petrol almera and put £3K back in.your ISA
£3.5 k budget.
Banger you say ?
Does not compute.
There needs to be a law.
Anything below £600 with an MOT and no significant faults is a banger and if you get 12 months out of it you are quids in
Anything above £1000k is definitely not a banger.
So what you need is a petrol almera and put £3K back in.your ISA
Chestrockwell said:
Get something Japanese and you’ll be able to keep it longer than 3 years!
Get yourself a 2006-8 Honda Civc 1.8 EX, low mileage for that price point and it will run forever, the EX’s come with lots of equipment standard too
Thanks, lots of recommendations for the Japanese stuff - sounds like good advice Get yourself a 2006-8 Honda Civc 1.8 EX, low mileage for that price point and it will run forever, the EX’s come with lots of equipment standard too
Pit Pony said:
Banger you say ?
£3.5 k budget.
Banger you say ?
Does not compute.
There needs to be a law.
Anything below £600 with an MOT and no significant faults is a banger and if you get 12 months out of it you are quids in
Anything above £1000k is definitely not a banger.
So what you need is a petrol almera and put £3K back in.your ISA
Again - Nissan are Japanese so definitely a theme going here. £3.5 k budget.
Banger you say ?
Does not compute.
There needs to be a law.
Anything below £600 with an MOT and no significant faults is a banger and if you get 12 months out of it you are quids in
Anything above £1000k is definitely not a banger.
So what you need is a petrol almera and put £3K back in.your ISA
When I started driving a good few years ago, Autotrader had a section in the back for cars under a £1,000 and this value has always remained in some peoples mind as the banger value- however 20 years later used car values have increased somewhat and you won't find quite as good examples for less than £3000 in my opinion.
MECHENG84 said:
Again - Nissan are Japanese so definitely a theme going here.
When I started driving a good few years ago, Autotrader had a section in the back for cars under a £1,000 and this value has always remained in some peoples mind as the banger value- however 20 years later used car values have increased somewhat and you won't find quite as good examples for less than £3000 in my opinion.
Not been to the beige forum then ? When I started driving a good few years ago, Autotrader had a section in the back for cars under a £1,000 and this value has always remained in some peoples mind as the banger value- however 20 years later used car values have increased somewhat and you won't find quite as good examples for less than £3000 in my opinion.
Pit Pony said:
Not been to the beige forum then ?
I have not, I don't strictly disagree with Bangers being £1000 or under, but my days of wanting to be out on the drive every weekend fixing this or that on cars are long gone. I tend to see it more of a monthly break down in cost now. I like to spend about £100/month on a car, hence so for £3500 I'd like it to last 3 years without needing any major work. When you look at it like that, it's comparable to spending £1000 on something you hope will last a year, but hopefully with a bit more reliability built in.Pit Pony said:
Not been to the beige forum then ?
I have not, I don't strictly disagree with Bangers being £1000 or under, but my days of wanting to be out on the drive every weekend fixing this or that on cars are long gone. I tend to see it more of a monthly break down in cost now. I like to spend about £100/month on a car, hence so for £3500 I'd like it to last 3 years without needing any major work. When you look at it like that, it's comparable to spending £1000 on something you hope will last a year, but hopefully with a bit more reliability built in.Excellent suggestions here guys, so far they've all been Japanese - sounds like old and reliable goes to the Japanese suppliers! It's very interesting seeing as they only design cars for a 5 year life, although I know not all of them are intended for the Japanese market and may be designed for a longer life.
MECHENG84 said:
Thanks Vocht, exactly the sort of response I'm hoping for, I'll have a read up on them!
No problem. I got mine for the exact reason you have. 40 mile commute, 50/50 motorway split. - Economical: Easily gets 50mpg
- Very Reliable: 3rd most likely car to pass it's MOT (94.5%, only beaten by the Honda Jazz & Porsche 911)
- Cheap Tax: Either Free or only £15 depending on the year
- Well Specced: IQ2 & IQ3 models come with keyless entry, automatic lights, automatic wipers, parking sensors, aircon, mp3, electric side mirrors, auto-dimming rearview mirror, fog lights etc...
- Practical: Fits 3 adults comfortably, 4 at a push (unique 3 + 1 seating arrangement) or alternatively have the rear seats folded down for a good sized boot
- Motorway: Surprisingly good on the motorway. I've done plenty of long trips in mine and it's never missed a beat or felt under-powered.
- Easy to park: Obviously very small with an AMAZING turning circle.
- Value: Very low depreciation and if you buy at the right price, can even go up in value. I got my 09 IQ2 with 11k miles on the clock for £4k. I've put 25k miles on it and it's still worth £4k all day, possibly even a little more!
Long story short, they're often overlooked or dismissed as a 'Japanese Smart car' but they're so much more than that. Nearly all the owners I know end up keeping them for many years and often only replace them with other IQ's. It's one of those cars that really gets under your skin and has the obvious perk of only really costing consumables!
Gassing Station | Car Buying | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff