need a replacement for my clio, one more thing that has to go in the parents divorce

Anyway im looking upto maybe a grand or so tops, cheap to insure, decent economy and preferably a bullet proof engine as i spend all my time under the kit car i dont need a tin top to do that as well!

Was thinking a nissan primera diesel, its boring but its cheap theres loads with 100k miles clocked so they last and all ill use it for is plodding up the A1 from sheffield to edinburgh and back every week or two!

A basic list ive got is

Nissan primera/almera diesel
Mondeo
Mercedes diesel (probs not economical but hey itll be cool in a classic kinda way
)
Volvo (heard bad things bout servicing costs)

Any suggestions or reviews on above?

Oh by the way i'm 22 and should have 5 yrs NCB by time i buy the car (fingers crossed)

Skoda Octavia 1.9TDi - cheap as chips (well... just) and very reliable. Hold price well and once you get over the badge thing (which is basically for snobs) they are great!

Steve

I've had both a Primera Diesel (1994) and an Octavia (05). The Primera was not particularly easy to run and was not an exciting drive but VERY reliable. Had a few probs with the Octavia but the performance and economy MORE than make up for it.

Good Luck.

Greg.

[Edited on 5/7/06 by greglogan]

Are you definitely looking at a bigger type of vehicle? Just been and picked up a 1999 Fiat Punto 60SX for my mate's son as his first car. 1999 S plate, 37000 miles, alloys, e/w c/l, uses very little fuel, is quiet as a mouse at an 85mph cruise (private road), loads of room in them and costs nack all to tax/insure. Plus the engines are bulletproof, I started driving in a 55S Uno and I couldn't blow that up as hard as I tried. All for a bag of sand.

[Edited on 5/7/06 by richardR1]

205 turbo diesel

ATB

Simon

ditto - 205 or 306 turbo diesel gets my vote. dirt cheap and will rattle along for years. 306 is better built internally and a bit more roomy.

Many happy miles driven in both.

Yeah i like the 306 but im 22 and the word turbo even in front of diesel makes the insurance companies wee themselves

My mate had a punto and had no end of problems with it. Although i agree smaller probably bit lower mileage and cheap i need something to carry a decent load and because ill be doing 4 hours+ at a time in the car i want something comfy

I do like the octavia ill have to see if any sneak into my range

thanks

If you want something stylish and reasonably reliable, look for an Alfa 156. I'm in love with these things at the mo, and will be buying one very soon. They're stupidly cheap too.

yeah i like the 156 and 147 but realistically alfas have a bad rep for reliabilty and not the best insurance group!(11 or higher!!)

I think itll be a 306 TD (group 5 insurance so not as bad as i thought) or a primera

What about a Seat?anyone had one?i just like the look of them (blame the touring cars!)

Yeah, the reliability is a slight worry, but, what the hell, you only live once
Insurance for me is about 300 notes - it pays to be 40!!

i just bought a rover 825td for £300. Its a bit crap to be fair, but sizeable and comfortable for the time being. Quite quick too for an old diesel. Oddly (since its N reg 95) it has climate control, a factory 6 cd changer, electric seat and one touch leccy windows and roof!

On a more modern note, i had a primera td, excellent car. Couldnt kill it.

note to marcus as long as you don't mind glue'ing something back on to an alfa on a regular bassis or every time you wash them then alfa's are great left my old one with a smile on my face every time i drove it check all electric's carefully cooling fan has a rheostat which operates like a twin speed on the fan these break can be cause of headgasket failure/overheating if it's a twin spark and sounds like a diesel it's the variator for the variable valve timing which can be quite expensive to replace

Hmm i couldnt bring myself to buy a Rover! Not after theyve gone belly up

ANyway looks like primera or 306 are the 2 best options :-)

Andy, cheers for that. I reckon if I can build a Locost, keeping an Alfa on the road should be a piece of pi**! Variators are about 90 quid and fairly easy to fit. I'd change one with the cambelt anyway. Does the JTS have a variator? I think it's a totally different engine. Quite fancy the 2.4 JTD. 5 cylinder chippable to 200 bhp and enough torque to tow a supertanker!.