Spara Dritto Posted June 14, 2012 Report Share Posted June 14, 2012 Hi guys, As in title, what do you advise I get? Looking for 4 - 5 years old, 40k MAX miles price range 3 - 5k. Looking at Astras, but never had one before what do you think?. Nothing too showy e.g. BMW's or Audi's. ATB SD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bionic Man Posted June 14, 2012 Report Share Posted June 14, 2012 Wife had an 02 plate diesel Astra estate. Very good car, relatively basic inside, ran until 110K miles. Changed to a Golf recently as we were getting concerned that we were likely to run into some bigger bills. The 'Which' magazine was a good buy, as it steered us away from some motors that she liked, but had various weaknesses. Hope the search goes well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweedledee Posted June 14, 2012 Report Share Posted June 14, 2012 i`ve been running golfs for years with no probs.regular servicing by any back street mechanic should put you on the road to years of trouble free motoring. i reckon a golf is a sound bet. should really be no bad cars today,just service them well and they should perform well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harrycatcat1 Posted June 14, 2012 Report Share Posted June 14, 2012 i`ve been running golfs for years with no probs.regular servicing by any back street mechanic should put you on the road to years of trouble free motoring. i reckon a golf is a sound bet. should really be no bad cars today,just service them well and they should perform well +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bedwards1966 Posted June 14, 2012 Report Share Posted June 14, 2012 I'd be looking for a VW, they're reasonable and the build quality and reliability is far superior to Vauxhall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beretta28g Posted June 14, 2012 Report Share Posted June 14, 2012 Skoda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canis Posted June 14, 2012 Report Share Posted June 14, 2012 i`ve been running golfs for years with no probs. regular servicing by any back street mechanic should put you on the road to years of trouble free motoring. i reckon a golf is a sound bet. should really be no bad cars today,just service them well and they should perform well I've a friend that has been running golfs for many years, great cars in most respects, Ive just two issues with them. 1. high residual value. Great if you are a new car purchaser- its still worth a greater percentage of what you paid for it when you come to get rid at 3 years old The op however has 3-5 k to spend. for that money he would get a golf that is probably 8 to 10 years old. With normal makes he will get something 5-6 years old. 2. when I last took a lift in my friends golf (56 model)the boot would not fit my 30" shottie in its slip in the boot without releasing the rear seat backrest and moving the top edge of the backrest forward 2 inches ( luckily no one needed to travel in the back and we didn't need to lock the gun in the car) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferguson_tom Posted June 14, 2012 Report Share Posted June 14, 2012 Dont you have to replace the water pumps on golfs at the same time you do the cambelt as well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Geordie Posted June 14, 2012 Report Share Posted June 14, 2012 (edited) Dont you have to replace the water pumps on golfs at the same time you do the cambelt as well? Personally I do that with ALL my cars as a matter of course. If the pump fails the belt will normally go too I know a chap who had his pump squeek for 4 mile and then sheered off :eek: I do my own work thoigh so keep costs down. I just put a new belt, pump, tensioner, aux tensioner and aux belt on my car for under £110. Edited June 14, 2012 by Lord Geordie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDAV Posted June 14, 2012 Report Share Posted June 14, 2012 Water pumps are cheap if your doing the belt do the pump as well! I looked at the golf Astra is is a better drive, seat Leon or Ibiza have same engines etc as golf and fabia etc worth a look if you want something from that stable. If you want something different and nice to drive Hyundai are getting much better a mates wife had a coupe now swapped to an i30 and is really impressed by the cost of servicing and parts as well as the reliability and finish. Shotguns are a pita in lots of cars my estate will only fit them on a diagonal but in a break down slip it is no issue at all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweedledee Posted June 14, 2012 Report Share Posted June 14, 2012 back in the mid 80`s it was said that a vauxhall was needing work done at 80k and the vw was only running in at that. any car will have issues and won`t suit everyone. never found the need to buy anything else other than vw,i never find running costs that bad and if the shotty does n`t fit in the boot here is always the option of a breakdown case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muddy Funker Posted June 14, 2012 Report Share Posted June 14, 2012 I got the **** ripped out of me for this but I bought a 206 1.4 HDI. Due to running costs I couldn't afford a fast car. 550+ miles to a tank and £30 a year road tax, I'm the one thats laughing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDAV Posted June 14, 2012 Report Share Posted June 14, 2012 I wasn't driving in the mid 80's but I have run 3 diesel astras 179k 225k and currently 90k all have needed some work at various times I would look for fully maintained rather than a specific mileage 4 year old 40k your looking at school run shoppers.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted June 14, 2012 Report Share Posted June 14, 2012 I got the **** ripped out of me for this but I bought a 206 1.4 HDI. Due to running costs I couldn't afford a fast car. 550+ miles to a tank and £30 a year road tax, I'm the one thats laughing we recently got my missus's mum a 207gt HDI and really can't fault it for 6K got so many toys its ridiculous verging on being quite quick as well. Road tax is the same I believe and she fills it up once a month very cheap motoring. The golfs have a very keen following but the newer engines are no where near as reliable as the old ones and do need a certain amount of preventative maintenance that tends to be pricy. Add that to the residuals and they never really end up as cheap motoring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leeds chimp Posted June 14, 2012 Report Share Posted June 14, 2012 most cars just service them like clockwork is the main thing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmyvonk Posted June 14, 2012 Report Share Posted June 14, 2012 Skoda +1 on that - We've got a 10 year old TDi Octavia and it runs like a Swiss watch... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
storme37 Posted June 14, 2012 Report Share Posted June 14, 2012 golden rule jap or german Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the poacher Posted June 14, 2012 Report Share Posted June 14, 2012 i,ve got a ford focus 1.6 tdci climate on a 05 plate with 64,000 miles it runs like clockwork and does about 56 miles to the gallon 100 per year to tax comes with elec windows,elec mirrors,air con,cd player,alloy wheels,parking sensors its in excellent cond runs a1 looking at 4,000 ovno its going on ebay very soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northamptonclay Posted June 14, 2012 Report Share Posted June 14, 2012 Hi guys, As in title, what do you advise I get? Looking for 4 - 5 years old, 40k MAX miles price range 3 - 5k. Looking at Astras, but never had one before what do you think?. Nothing too showy e.g. BMW's or Audi's. ATB SD Good job you don't want anything to showy, 4-5 years old less than 40 k and a max budget of 5k you ain't gonna find any BMW or Audi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDAV Posted June 14, 2012 Report Share Posted June 14, 2012 I would seriously consider this http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201222474307571/sort/default/usedcars/maximum-mileage/up_to_40000_miles/fuel-type/diesel/model/gt/make/alfa_romeo/page/1/radius/1500/postcode/ta218ed?logcode=p Mate has one and its stunning to drive, economical looks great and apart from silly niggles been very reliable (same engine as astra 1.9 CDTI) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Livefast123 Posted June 14, 2012 Report Share Posted June 14, 2012 I own 2 VW petrols, a 2001 Golf 2.0 GTi which has 190,000 miles on the clock and a 2001 Polo 1.0 Mpi which has 165,000 miles on the clock. Both sound as good as the day they left the showroom and i'm sure they'll carry on going till the cows come home. Unless you are doing 20,000 + miles I would say beware modern diesels, if something goes wrong they cost a fortune to fix eg dual mass flywheels, injectors, diesel particulate filters, MAF sensors etc ect. I always go for high milers as they tend to have been cared for better and plodding up and down the motorway generally is much less stressfull than school run mum or stop start city driving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chr15j Posted June 16, 2012 Report Share Posted June 16, 2012 Have you considered leasing, that way you can get what you actually want. 300 a month will get you in a Merc c-class (pm me if you want to know more) Alternatively I have a FSH Skoda superb I'm selling for one of my customers who took an e class Merc from me. It's a Skoda superb 1.9tdi elegance auto. FSH with nav leather heated seats sunroof etc. it's a 2005 plate with 126k on the clock. Looking for £3,500 for it. Pm me if your interested. Thanks Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smig4373 Posted June 16, 2012 Report Share Posted June 16, 2012 keep ya money and just buy a £500 runaround every year for next 10 years...no servicing,no mots,no hassle,no need to keep clean,no need to sell on... :good: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chr15j Posted June 16, 2012 Report Share Posted June 16, 2012 Unless you are doing 20,000 + miles I would say beware modern diesels, if something goes wrong they cost a fortune to fix eg dual mass flywheels, injectors, diesel particulate filters, MAF sensors etc ect. DPF's are very modern (past 3 or so years) and you dont need to be doing 20k+ per annum for these (or any other of the issues you raise). Basically, DPF's no good if you only ever drive 5 miles at a time (or equivalent) as the DPF needs to burn off the particulates it captures by reaching a certain temperature (typically achieved on a short motorway run (10 miles or so). Even if that is all you do, the car will tell you if you need to burn off your DPF (a little icon will illuminate) then all you need to do is take the car for a good run to burn off the particulates. Yes Watchdog did a thing about the Nissan Qashqai and Juke saying they wern't 'city proof' (Nissans Marketing gumpf) because of the DPF issues. However it was more the drivers not reading their manuals and having been mis-sold by the dealer. Sometimes a petrol is more suitable (i.e. city only driving never going anywhere else). Also diesels typically run far longer than petrols (look at the old moon mile peugeots and mercedes in the uk, and middle east, theyre all diesels). Also taxi drivers wouldnt use diesels if they caused so many problems as you suggest. In short Diesels are fine. Oh and the Skoda I'm offering you does NOT have a DPF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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