What car would you buy for under 2K

[dan boy]

Having been driving in around in an Alfa for last few years, and its true what people say about them , was costing me a fortune in repairs. Finally got rid of the thing and have been cycling for the last couple of months , but am now sick of getting piss wet through every day .
Have got about £2000 to spend on a second hand car and dont want to make the same mistake of buying something unreliable again, but at the same time , i want something that looks the part. I only drive around 4000 miles a year .
Any recommendations ???

[LivinLOS]

You like fast ??

Cant fault a clean golf gti.. Reliable, economical, fastish, and to my eyes has that everyman design cool. A really keen haggle and being prepared for higher miles would even get a VR6 but I suspect you may not want the added costs for the performance.

Also at that price category having a reliable and well cared for example of anything is much more important than its age. Theres really loads of older cars that make good reliable runners, depends on if you want a smaller / hatch or a larger sedan etc.

[dan boy]

Yes i like fast , like to have a bit of power when pulling away from the lights !
size of car really doesnt bother me, i am a single chap with no kids, so only gonna be me in the car most of the time.....
Do you know if the parts are expensive for the Golf Gfi ?

[Masterwoodsman]

Buying the above cars cheap is all well and good but its maintenance costs and insurance premiums that make them expensive...

I mean you can buy a Porsche Boxster now for only 15k but for starters a set of tyres will cost 1,200 quid, service costs, insurance etc

You need to look at the big picture not just the purchase cost

Mind you living where you do i wouldn't bother owning a nice car

[LivinLOS]

Totally out of the insurance loop, but I have found that if you get a good car of some (german) makes and do the routine stuff they truck on for years, similarly a french or italian new motor can be a lemon from birth.

2k would get a VR6 corrado.. 3k gets an 80k FSH miler royal blue with cream with leather (just looked on autotrader ).. Those VR6's well maintained go for years.

[Masterwoodsman]

Originally Posted by LivinLOS

Totally out of the insurance loop, but I have found that if you get a good car of some (german) makes and do the routine stuff they truck on for years, similarly a french or italian new motor can be a lemon from birth.

2k would get a VR6 corrado.. 3k gets an 80k FSH miler royal blue with cream with leather (just looked on autotrader ).. Those VR6's well maintained go for years.

VR6 Corrado and VR6 GTi FVWSH an absolute must !! many problems with supercharger which is why they're cheap and almost extinct...

[MajorTom]

I believe VR6 don't have a supercharger. The older GTI-G60 has one though

[LivinLOS]

I would steer well clear of the G60 (thats the super/turbo charged ones) the VR6 is not IIRC..

Buddy had a VR6 golf.. great little engine.. nice smooth v6... Bulletproof little thing. Not as smooth as a real V6 as they are that offset pistong design and lower angled but great for a small hatch.

99% sure the VR6 never came in a supercharged version... 190 - 200 bhp out of a 2.8 or 2.9 with one being 24v later (cant remember if that went in the corrado's tho)..

[Masterwoodsman]

Originally Posted by MajorTom

I believe VR6 don't have a supercharger. The older GTI-G60 has one though

My apologies you're right.... i was thinking of G60..... they also did a G40 Polo

[LivinLOS]

Volkswagen Corrado - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Looks like the 24v never made it into the UK speced ones.

The 2.9 12v v6.. Really solid.. I actually really wanted one when I was a young un back in the UK.. But its front wheel drive and 3l should be through rear wheels.

[MajorTom]

Heres my old Golf. Had it equipped with adjustable springs. Just like driving a go-cart

Did have a BMW E36 coupe later on, which i think is a far better car. An old 320 or 325 should not be far away from the same price range i guess.

[Soupdragon]

Originally Posted by LivinLOS

Volkswagen Corrado - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Looks like the 24v never made it into the UK speced ones.

The 2.9 12v v6.. Really solid.. I actually really wanted one when I was a young un back in the UK.. But its front wheel drive and 3l should be through rear wheels.

Heaps more fun have that power on tap at the back end but power is nothing without control and so few drivers can keep that sort of vehicle between the kerbs.

I was always a Honda Civic fan for a reliable get you from A to B no frills motor. Engineering wise streets ahead of a lot of the competition.

[Capt. Fantastic]

Just one observation:

You really cannot buy reliable transportation for that money. You may get lucky, there are certainly success stories, but it is a gamble. Are you a mechanic, do you have tools and a place to work? Do you like getting covered in grease? It seems from your post that you are anything but a car guy.

Have said it before, will say it now: Consider cabs. You can take a lot of cabs for the total cost of ownership (maintenance, insurance, &c.) for an "inexpensive" car. They will take you from Point A to Point B then magically disappear. Here in the US cab companies can arrange to bill their Regular Riders monthly.

Once I started driving a cab I discovered how many people just say, "Screw cars." Sure there are tradeoffs but that is true of ownership also.

My .75 baht.

[LivinLOS]

Cabs in the UK are not as workable as in the US.

And at 4k USD (2K GBP) you can find reliable runners, that look ok and drive for many trouble free miles.. But you do have to be more buyer beware.

Hell I bought a 1200 USD van in florida and sold it almost a year later in Alaska for 1600 bucks. How much more reliable do you want than a journey like that.

[Den]

For two grand I'd forget the sports jobs. Anything you get for that price might well have had the bollox flogged out of it by some boy racer, or it'll have been nicked or pranged. The advice on models is sound - just go for a standard spec. The insurance on a V6 Corrado will cost an arm and a leg too.

[LivinLOS]

As I said I am totally out of the loop on UK pricings for insurance.. I do remember it was a high up car tho cos they also got nicked a lot.. 18 ???

Still say golf GTI, find a clean one, solid little runabouts with parts everywhere.

[faultytowers]

Originally Posted by Masterwoodsman

I mean you can buy a Porsche Boxster now for only 15k but for starters a set of tyres will cost 1,200 quid, service costs, insurance etc

Don't buy one if you live/travel in London , Red Ken wants to charge them £25 per day "congestion charge" !!!!!

Porsche challenges C-charge rise.

[briofoz]

Toyota Corolla...any year, will run forever

[dan boy]

[quote=Capt. Fantastic;443566]Just one observation:

You really cannot buy reliable transportation for that money. You may get lucky, there are certainly success stories, but it is a gamble. Are you a mechanic, do you have tools and a place to work? Do you like getting covered in grease? It seems from your post that you are anything but a car guy.

No i am not, hence the post , am sick of throwing away good money because of my naivity ! Have been thinking of going for a diesel, was in the papers here last week that petrol may be £1.50 per litre soon ......its currently about £1.04...

[LivinLOS]

Pug 205 diesel.. my mum has one.. 50 - 60 MPG..

Not bad for an oil burner..

[MrDK]

Originally Posted by briofoz

Toyota Corolla...any year, will run forever

I bought a new Corolla some years ago. Over the life it cost me 2/3 of the new car price to keep it running. The engine was fine, never had a problem with it, everything around it, however, seemed to be replaced once or twice. 5 times it went in for service during the first year / 12,000 miles.

[dawsey]

For reliability I'd go for a Jap car for £2k. That would get you a decent Honda Civic. Much more fun than a Toyota Corolla. If you go for a diesel,a Peugeot 206,Citroen Saxa, or VW Golf are reliable. Just don't expect a lot of speed with any of those motors.

I'd choose a BMW 320 with service history for a fun car at that price.

[LivinLOS]

Thats Thai prices !!!