well I don't think I'm going to get much more out of my old focus
its using oil, the coolant has gone a nice shade of black, the water pump looks iffy, the timing belt needs done and I can't seem to get the fan
to go for anything - all fixable, but it'll cost me more than the car's worth just for the parts
so time to think about a replacement...
it needs to be rot free, mechanically sound, with say no more than ~50k on the clock (I want something I can keep for a while) - and my empty bank
accounts say it needs to be cheap! (ideally £1k, but £3k max)
for preference i'd like to avoid things like dual-mass flywheels, variable geometry turbos and EGR valves.
also the GF won't drive anything much bigger than my current focus (and it took me a year to get her to try that!)
so my list so far is:
1 - a newer focus mk1.5 or mk2 (1.8 petrol)
2 - c-max (1.8 petrol)
I've tried astra H's and I'm not really a fan, and most decent VAG cars I've seen are wanting too much money...
what else I've missed ?
[Edited on 16/9/2013 by mcerd1]
Your list looks good to me.
we have a cmax the 'rice pudding friendly' 1.6 diesel and actually really like it.
slightly elevated driving position is much loved by the other half, get a decent spec one rather than the poverty spec style one we ended up with.
there are some lovely ones with leather and panoramic roof etc. they did some very light coloured fabric interiors which get very grubby quickly too.
plenty of space for us for kids etc, nicer place to be than the focus.
we had an 03 1.8 petrol focus before and found it a bit painful on fuel.
quoted figures for the 1.6d are about 62mpg on a run. most days it gets used for short trips, but the majority of its miles are trips from
Nottingham to York/Manchester so we see good figures.
have a look at the cmax owners forum, scare yourself to death! seems its worth avoiding the automatics, especially on the smaller engines.
Go Japanese for reliability - we have a Mazda 2 which is basically the same as a fusion. Its pretty good, and they have a great track record. Not a great performer, though - its just a 1.4.
quote:
Originally posted by swanny
we had an 03 1.8 petrol focus before and found it a bit painful on fuel.
There are cheap options on VAG, both SEAT and Skoda are still VW cars just without the posh badge.
You might get more Mondeo than Focus for the same money, ok it's a bigger car to haul around but the Focus is still a useful 'family
hatchback' whereas a Mondeo is 'just a car'. Same with the Insignia rather than the Astra.
You must be able to get some sort of BMW for that money?
I do like what Hyundai and Kia are doing recently, but then again a lot of other people do as well which means the prices are staying high. I wanted a
Cee'd or i30 for my other half but I won't be affording one of those anytime soon.
quote:
Originally posted by Slimy38
There are cheap options on VAG, both SEAT and Skoda are still VW cars just without the posh badge.
quote:
Originally posted by Slimy38
You must be able to get some sort of BMW for that money?
ETDWM and not meeting your 50k requirement, but this is yours for £1000
Honda Civic
quote:
Originally posted by stevegough
Go Japanese for reliability - we have a Mazda 2 which is basically the same as a fusion. Its pretty good, and they have a great track record. Not a great performer, though - its just a 1.4.
quote:
Originally posted by mcerd1
a leon might just about fit the bill (ideally needs to be a hatch so the octavia is out)
quote:
Originally posted by stevegough
quote:
Originally posted by mcerd1
a leon might just about fit the bill (ideally needs to be a hatch so the octavia is out)
Sorry, got to correct you there - the Octavia IS a hatchback (I've got one of those, too!)
Though mine is a diesel VRS with a little extra 'something' giving it 210 bhp.
There has never been an Octavia saloon in the UK, just saloon shaped Hatches.
quote:
Originally posted by morcus
There has never been an Octavia saloon in the UK, just saloon shaped Hatches.
May I throw in some oddballs?
Ford SportKa
Mazda RX-8
MG ZR
Peugeot 206 GTI
Renault Clio 172
Suzuki Swift
[Edited on 16/9/13 by ettore bugatti]
cheers guys - but so far I'm still looking at focus's
oh and I completely forgot, the GF says it must be a 5 door - in a few months it'll need a baby seat in the back
otherwise I'd be out now looking for a good s1 106 rallye
quote:
Originally posted by Slimy38quote:I stand corrected, i always thought the mark 2 was a saloon!
Originally posted by morcus
There has never been an Octavia saloon in the UK, just saloon shaped Hatches.
quote:
Originally posted by mcerd1
cheers guys - but so far I'm still looking at focus's
oh and I completely forgot, the GF says it must be a 5 door - in a few months it'll need a baby seat in the back
We've got a C-Max 1.8 petrol. Its poor on fuel (average about 32mpg) but great at everything else.
We got the 'zetec' spec, which is ok (air con, leather wheel, sliding rear seats), but i'd go for 'titanium' if we bought
again.
C-Max's hold their money better than a normal focus, so you'll be looking at an older leggy car for your money, but servicing etc is all the
same so good and cheap.
Nothings gone wrong in two years except a broken spring and a flat battery. cant complain with that kind of reliability.
Boot is tall, but not that deep so good for carrying pushchairs etc, Seats are high and comfy, steering is direct but not xactly sporty. its dog slow
unless you rev its nuts off which you wont because of the fuel. I can get a lot more in the boot than in my A4 Avant.
great but dull family car. My wife loves it!
quote:
Originally posted by Norfolkluegojnr
We've got a C-Max 1.8 petrol. Its poor on fuel (average about 32mpg) but great at everything else.
Just my two pence worth...... For under £3k you will get a low mileage (sub 60k) 1.6 16v Renualt Megane. I had one for two years, super reliable (no I'm not joking) and you will get 42ish MPG on a run. Worth a look IMHO......
Mercedes-Benz A-class are pretty cheap and a lot low mileage examples available.
Although they are a bit unreliable (facelift was a bit better, I recall), Lot of space and easy to manoeuvre.
We have a 2 litre petrol automatic c-max as our family car. Can't fault it at all. Well equipped, perfectly capable, reliable, smooth, quiet,
moderate, well-mannered, comfortable, efficient.
I can't stand it it.
[Edited on 2/10/13 by timbedford]
quote:
Originally posted by timbedford
We have a c-max as our family car. Can't fault it at all. Well equipped, perfectly capable, moderate, well-mannered, comfortable, quiet, efficient.
I can't stand it it.