A friend of mine wants...

[The Moose]

...a sub £5k car (preferably sub £4k).

His requirements are:

Auto (accident has fked his left leg so a clutch is painful to use - no matter how light)
Good MPG
Small car

The car is going to be used to commute to and from London over about 40 miles each way so needs to be reasonably comfortable.

He wants a smaller car - he has just come out of a little alfa.

My immediate reaction was a auto diesel golf (prob mk4) with less than 80k on the clock.

Any other suggestions that fit the bill? The chap is as he put it, a car luddite so it needs to be reliable etc.

Also, if anyone knows of something that would fit the bill, then please either post it here or PM me.

Cheers

The Moose

[edo]

Although this is hardly a "PH" car, I think the mileage is pretty good - lot of car for the money....

2003 MERCEDES-BENZ A CLASS A170 CDI Elegance 5dr Auto Diesel Hatchback
Private Seller
2003 (03 reg)
29,950 miles, 5 Door Hatchback A170 CDI Elegance TOP OF THE RANGE, Silver, Diesel, Automatic, one previous owner, PAS, FSH, all MOT's, Very low mileage, A/C, Traction control, Crusie control, 4 eletric windows, eletric mirrors, Central locking, Alarm and alloy wheels. £5,200 ONO.

[The Moose]

edo said:

Although this is hardly a "PH" car, I think the mileage is pretty good - lot of car for the money....

2003 MERCEDES-BENZ A CLASS A170 CDI Elegance 5dr Auto Diesel Hatchback
Private Seller
2003 (03 reg)
29,950 miles, 5 Door Hatchback A170 CDI Elegance TOP OF THE RANGE, Silver, Diesel, Automatic, one previous owner, PAS, FSH, all MOT's, Very low mileage, A/C, Traction control, Crusie control, 4 eletric windows, eletric mirrors, Central locking, Alarm and alloy wheels. £5,200 ONO.

Storming buy! Forwarded it on (only 6 miles away from him!) - thank you very much.

Any other options on the off chance it isn't that great when looked at/on the v-car etc?

Cheers

The Moose

[volvoforlife]

2001+ BMW Compact is a good car.

Edited by volvoforlife on Thursday 4th November 15:01

[The Moose]

Another one to look at!

He's just been down to sit in someones a class and didn't think it comfy.

Cheers

The Moose

[edo]

wont be winning any traffic light races but....

2005 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF 1.6 SE FSI 3dr
Trade Seller: blackheath car sales ltd
Overview Vehicle Summary Performance & Economy Dimensions Interior/Exterior Safety

38,000 miles, 3 Door Hatchback, Blue, Petrol, Manual, Electric door mirrors, Service indicator, Cruise control, Rear headrests, Steering wheel reach adjustment, Alloy wheels.air con cd player automatic gear box !!!!. £6,000.

[edo]

2005 HONDA Civic 1.6i VTEC SE
Trade Seller: Cranham Car Sales

5 Doors, Automatic, Hatchback, Petrol, 28,000 miles, Metallic Silver, MOT-11-2011, 1 Owner. Honda Demo plus One private owner from new with full service history. ABS, Air conditioning, Alloy wheels, Folding rear seats, Immobiliser, Passenger airbag, Side airbags, Radio/CD, Rear headrests, Body coloured bumpers, Drivers airbag, Electric door mirrors, Front electric windows, Height adjustable drivers seat, PAS, Rear electric windows, Rear wiper, Remote central locking, 3x3 point rear seat belts, Alarm, Cloth seat trim, Full size spare wheel, Heated door mirrors, Isofix child seat anchor points, Solid Paint. Insurance Group:6E, £4,995

[Chris_]

The A-Class certainly isn't comfortable on our crappy roads. The wife had one for a while and the suspension is rock hard. Other than that, it is very spacious and practical for its size, but I think that the Honda would be easier to live with

[The Moose]

Fair enough.

Were going to try at 4kish first - keep moving the goal posts.

Any thoughts on a little C2 auto??

Cheers

The Moose

[louismchuge]

Cheers

The Louismchuge!

[jw golf mk4]

Audi a3? Golf's or the civic's both cracking cars - forget a C2 IMO its French ie,, flimsy!

[The Moose]

Problem with A3/Golf is that the period of time they were produced, auto small cars wernt fashionable hence not a lot in that price range (up to £4k).

Cheers

The Moose

[jw golf mk4]

that is true - maybe a focus auto might be abit easier to find? cheaper than the a3/golf aswell. have a look at this link

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2191682.htm

Hard to find but still around

Cheers

[H_Kan]

There are plenty of auto mk4 Golfs, which with the tdi would be a good fit for his needs.

Imo a C2 wouldn't be great for 40 miles daily.

If he wants reliability, I'd steer clear of the gen 1 Merc A class, they have a poor rep for reliability which has been echoed by both of the people I know who have had one. Gen 2 is much improved but doubt it would be in budget.

My choice would be a 320td compact. Search AT with filter of BMW 3 series, auto, derv between £4-5k and 2 decent examples pop up at £4950ish, which should be had for around £4600 with some haggling.

[jw golf mk4]

H_Kan said:

There are plenty of auto mk4 Golfs, which with the tdi would be a good fit for his needs.

Imo a C2 wouldn't be great for 40 miles daily.

If he wants reliability, I'd steer clear of the gen 1 Merc A class, they have a poor rep for reliability which has been echoed by both of the people I know who have had one. Gen 2 is much improved but doubt it would be in budget.

My choice would be a 320td compact. Search AT with filter of BMW 3 series, auto, derv between £4-5k and 2 decent examples pop up at £4950ish, which should be had for around £4600 with some haggling.

I agree with previous poster - the 3 series is an excellent car as well, shouldnt be hard findin a good auto wasnt the E46 3-series the best selling car during its run in the uk one year? should mean plenty flooded on the used market for me doing 40 miles commute i would want something comfortable and economical - a3 tdi, golf tdi or 320td for me!

[tvrolet]

Auto MX5; I bought one for the missus as she wanted an auto. I think it's a gutless little thing and I've never found the handling much to write home about...but it looks the part and other folks seem to like them round these parts.

[Stuart70]

Just out of a small Alfa, but is a car luddite. Interesting combination.

If really luddite, then an ex motability Focus would be a winner - although often the 2l version so perhaps petrol economy not so good.

If really luddite on cars, then auto Honda Jazz has to be all things to all men pensioners.

If not so luddite, then a diesel exec of an age might be a good combination - Merc C class?

Good luck on the search

[The Moose]

Nissan Almera

Anything wrong with that?!?!

Cheers

The Moose

[lescombes]

Fiat Punto Hatchback 5-Door 1242 cc 1.2 16v Dynamic (80 BHP)
£3,995
2005 (05 reg), Hatchback

* 20,000 miles
* Automatic
* 1.2L
* Petrol

5 Doors, Automatic, Hatchback, Petrol, 20,000 miles, Baltic Grey Metallic, Driver And Passenger Air Bags,Air Conditioning,Power-Assisted Steering,Remote Central Door Locking,Front …

Crawley Down Ltd

Ticks the boxes........

Edited by lescombes on Thursday 4th November 13:52

[V88Dicky]

The Moose said:

Nissan Almera

Anything wrong with that?!?!

Cheers

The Moose

Nothing at all. Well built, strong and reliable with a range of chain-cam engines (except the diesel).

Here's a couple I found earlier (quite fancy one myself as my next snotter );

1.5 Manual Petrol (51mpg extra-urban)



http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2010...


1.8 Auto Petrol (46mpg)



http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2010...