Buying Car - 3k - Help !!!

[pickledEgg]

Hi everyone,

So I'm looking buying a new car - this is for part entertainment and part commuting into work. I'm not really experienced with cars and I've had a few before which has caused me loads of issues and expense so for my first time I thought I would turn to this forum !

To cut a long story short I'm looking for a car for 3k (probably 3.5k at a push) which is reliable, cheap to fix, looks good and it would be nice to have something with a kick.

Any advice would be much appreciated !!

[mbwoy84]

MK6 Fiesta ST

[sociopath]

pickledEgg said:

Hi everyone,

So I'm looking buying a new car - this is for part entertainment and part commuting into work. I'm not really experienced with cars and I've had a few before which has caused me loads of issues and expense so for my first time I thought I would turn to this forum !

To cut a long story short I'm looking for a car for 3k (probably 3.5k at a push) which is reliable, cheap to fix, looks good and it would be nice to have something with a kick.

Any advice would be much appreciated !!

reliable, cheap to fix, looks good,has a kick and costing 3k?

I can see why you might have had problems in the past

[pti]

sociopath said:

pickledEgg said:

Hi everyone,

So I'm looking buying a new car - this is for part entertainment and part commuting into work. I'm not really experienced with cars and I've had a few before which has caused me loads of issues and expense so for my first time I thought I would turn to this forum !

To cut a long story short I'm looking for a car for 3k (probably 3.5k at a push) which is reliable, cheap to fix, looks good and it would be nice to have something with a kick.

Any advice would be much appreciated !!

reliable, cheap to fix, looks good,has a kick and costing 3k?

I can see why you might have had problems in the past

MX-5 or mk3 MR2. Easy.

[sociopath]

pti said:

MX-5 or mk3 MR2. Easy.

that depends who's having to fix it.
Doesnt sound like the OP is a spannerman, in which case they could get expensive very quickly

[MattyD803]

I'm playing safe with this.....opting for "factory reliability" over "repair-ability".....

2007-2010 Honda Civic 1.8 Si / Sport / Ex

£3500 should get a nice sub 70/80k mile car.

They have 140bhp, so it won't set your world alight, but nippy enough (9s dash to 60). They are a nice spec as std, soak up the miles with comfort and typical Honda build quality and reliability (of the oily bits at least). Still quite a modern shape, especially facelift cars.

30-40mpg all day and decent on the insurance front too.

OR

2010-2012 Suzuki Swift 1.6 VVTi Sport.....again, nice spec as std, nippy, handle well, reliable etc etc. £3000 should see you into a nice low owner/60-80k mile car. Won't be quite as spacious as the Civic, but better on fuel certainly and a bit more modern/funky.


At this price point and age, and despite how tempting they might seem, I'd personally recommend steering clear of anything from Peugeot, Citroen, Renault, Nissan, Vauxhall, MINI and probably even VAG group products....simply because of the sort of leccy gremlins that tend to creep in on around 10 year old cars.

Edited by MattyD803 on Thursday 11th February 16:23

[ZX10R NIN]

You can get some nice reliable cars for your budget but you still have to look after what you buy.

Astra GTC SRI 1.4T 140 vauxhall running costs wrapped in a smart looking body with a nice interior too, now as long as you maintain your (as in servicing every year etc) car to a decent standard this will serve you well:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202101188...

Mercedes CLC Sport these will cost the same as a VW Golf to run but are more reliable.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202102118...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202012307...

Volvo C30

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202102058...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202011266...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202010024...

[CG2020UK]

MattyD803 said:

I'm playing safe with this.....opting for "factory reliability" over "repair-ability".....

2007-2010 Honda Civic 1.8 Si / Sport / Ex

£3500 should get a nice sub 70/80k mile car.

They have 140bhp, so it won't set your world alight, but nippy enough (9s dash to 60). They are a nice spec as std, soak up the miles with comfort and typical Honda build quality and reliability (of the oily bits at least). Still quite a modern shape, especially facelift cars.

30-40mpg all day and decent on the insurance front too.

OR

2010-2012 Suzuki Swift 1.6 VVTi Sport.....again, nice spec as std, nippy, handle well, reliable etc etc. £3000 should see you into a nice low owner/60-80k mile car. Won't be quite as spacious as the Civic, but better on fuel certainly and a bit more modern/funky.


At this price point and age, and despite how tempting they might seem, I'd personally recommend steering clear of anything from Peugeot, Citroen, Renault, Nissan, Vauxhall, MINI and probably even VAG group products....simply because of the sort of leccy gremlins that tend to creep in on around 10 year old cars.

Edited by MattyD803 on Thursday 11th February 16:23

I’d agree with sticking Japanese to try and increase reliability. Also good choice of cars.

Obvious choice to me would be a Corsa VXR but be very buyer aware many live a hard life and know you may have to spend.

Left field choice would be something that looks well kept like this. I don’t know much about the model so research to see known problems.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202011116...

I bought a car once at the price and it was a disaster so I understand your worry and that was on a run around.

Remember pick two cheap, fast or reliable.

[ZX10R NIN]

CG2020UK said:

I’d agree with sticking Japanese to try and increase reliability. Also good choice of cars.

Obvious choice to me would be a Corsa VXR but be very buyer aware many live a hard life and know you may have to spend.

Left field choice would be something that looks well kept like this. I don’t know much about the model so research to see known problems.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202011116...

I bought a car once at the price and it was a disaster so I understand your worry and that was on a run around.

Remember pick two cheap, fast or reliable.

I think in all of my picks you get all three.

[OllieJolly]

I'd have to suggest a Mk2/2.5 Focus Ghia/Titanium.
Largely reliable, fun to drive, looks good, practical, and the 2.0 16v has plenty of goose.

[MattyD803]

ZX10R NIN said:

I think in all of my picks you get all three.

I mean I admire your confidence, but i'm not sure how much faith I would personally put in a 9 year old Astra with a 1,4 turbo lump, which the owner to his own admission sounds like he enjoys having a good hoon around in.....not to mention the engine management light being on intermittently. And that's just what he's admitted to in the advert. Those engines are known to be problematic, and it's a London car* too.....to my mind, that's not going to serve well at all.

If the OP doesn't have a great deal of spanner wielding capability, i'd suggest they need to rein in the 'fun' a little and get something bombproof....

• As an ex-Londoner myself, the London reference serves only to suggest that it's probably spent a lot of its life in start stop traffic, parked up kerbs (evident), driving over speed bumps, parked on the street etc.

Edited by MattyD803 on Thursday 11th February 23:05

[MattyD803]

OllieJolly said:

I'd have to suggest a Mk2/2.5 Focus Ghia/Titanium.
Largely reliable, fun to drive, looks good, practical, and the 2.0 16v has plenty of goose.

To be fair, I deliberately left Ford out of my mini list of cars to avoid.....particularly because I think the mk2 focus is a great car - my mate a 1.6 petrol that went on for years and years with little to no maintenance, but always felt solid to drive. I'd avoid diesels though.

[ZX10R NIN]

MattyD803 said:

I mean I admire your confidence, but i'm not sure how much faith I would personally put in a 9 year old Astra with a 1,4 turbo lump, which the owner to his own admission sounds like he enjoys having a good hoon around in.....not to mention the engine management light being on intermittently. And that's just what he's admitted to in the advert. Those engines are known to be problematic, and it's a London car* too.....to my mind, that's not going to serve well at all.

If the OP doesn't have a great deal of spanner wielding capability, i'd suggest they need to rein in the 'fun' a little and get something bombproof....

• As an ex-Londoner myself, the London reference serves only to suggest that it's probably spent a lot of its life in start stop traffic, parked up kerbs (evident), driving over speed bumps, parked on the street etc.

Edited by MattyD803 on Thursday 11th February 23:05

Didn't read the advert but there are a few for sale in the OP's budget, I've sourced a fair few of these & they seem to be pretty robust, I'll also say the same for the C30/CLC.

[anonymous-user]

ZX10R NIN said:

I'll also say the same for the C30/CLC.

But doesn't the CLC 180 have the M271 engine - the one with the reputation for having weak timing chains?

Edited by anonymous-user on Friday 12th February 02:00