Need help buying a good reliable car

conzy

Hi, passed my test during the summer and bought a 2002 Renault Laguna 1.9dci dynamique for e2000.. it had an nct until 2012 and seemed like a solid car. had it home a few days and noticed oil around the inlet manifold.. turbo dying.. then few weeks later gearbox packed it in... sold it for 650 at the weekend.

Have some money saved and the parents are helping me out so i have a budget of around 2k again.

Would prefer a diesel but would settle for a 1.6 or 1.8 petrol maybe..

have seen cars in the 1998 to 2003 range but a lot of the diesels have huge mileage.. 150k+ i saw a lot of passats and a4s and octavias on done deal..

The petrol cars i have been looking at are ford focus 1.6 ford Mondeo 1.8 a few opel astras and a few almeras. found a few with around 80-90k miles and a lot with over 100k miles, is that very high for a petrol?

Will be driving up and down to maynooth every week so mostly motorway driving and victims also why i would prefer diesel. the laguna did around 55 mpg on the motorway. but there seems to be a lot more bargains on the petrol cars?

any opinions / help / car recommendations greatly appreciated

thanks

squod

Focus.

CompleteCarGuy

It isn't sexy, but something like a Toyota Carina or early model Avensis will put up with a lot of abuse for that sort of money. If you really want something that is functional transport and cheap to put right then you could do worse. http://www.carzone.ie/search/Toyota/Carina/1600-GLI/201023198354549/advert?channel=CARS

CompleteCar.ie

CompleteCar.ie wrote: »

It isn't sexy, but something like a Toyota Carina or early model Avensis will put up with a lot of abuse for that sort of money. If you really want something that is functional transport and cheap to put right then you could do worse. http://www.carzone.ie/search/Toyota/Carina/1600-GLI/201023198354549/advert?channel=CARS

€1750 for a 1997 Carina, f that :pac:

CompleteCarGuy

Not suggesting you would actually pay that for it!

Echospace

I'd go for something like a nissan almera/primera/maxima from 1997-2001. There really are no other cars built like them in the world, with the exception of the old toyotas. It's not uncommon for these cars to do 250,000 miles and over. How about this

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Nissan/Maxima/2.0-SE/201029198867916/advert?channel=CARS

johndaman66

conzymaher wrote: »

Will be driving up and down to maynooth every week so mostly motorway driving and victims also why i would prefer diesel. the laguna did around 55 mpg on the motorway. but there seems to be a lot more bargains on the petrol cars?

I myself think people are way too eager to hop on the diesel bandwagon. To justify one I think you would need to be doing at least 25k miles per annum low water. Thats assuming you would be looking at something like a 1.9 diesel passat for example and taking into account your budget also. I am also saying this from the point of view that when things go wrong with them they can break your heart and your wallet also! Am sure I don't need to tell you that after the Laguna for that matter. Also assuming you won't be doing much or any towing with car...for carrying yourself, some gear and a few others mainly.

Like Completecar.ie I'd also recommend a Toyota Carina E. Have one myself and they are relatively hassle free bread and butter motoring for those on a budget. As completecar.ie says they ain't by any means sexy and they won't set your pulse racing but they generally won't let you down either. I have a 1997 1.6 carina and get about 40mpg in pretty mixed driving conditions. A grand or even less would buy you one in great order with a long test if you shopped well.

I feel your pain with the Laguna. That model laguna is noted for being especially poor. I started driving with a diesel Renault Megavan...never again....turned out to be a dog of a thing. We learn by our mistakes

I'd also recommend steering clear of carzone, particularly on your budget as really and truly its not the best place to look when on a small budget. As an aside from this I maintain there are a lot of dreamers trying to sell their cars on it!

Poulgorm

Certainly, you should be very wary of buying a second hand diesel. If (when) something goes wrong, they will cost a fortune - all the savings on mpg are quickly dissipated. Someone recommended a Focus. The petrol one is good, but steer clear of the diesels - that PSA 1.6D has a serious habit of blowing turbos

bazz26

Poulgorm wrote: »

Certainly, you should be very wary of buying a second hand diesel. If (when) something goes wrong, they will cost a fortune - all the savings on mpg are quickly dissipated. Someone recommended a Focus. The petrol one is good, but steer clear of the diesels - that PSA 1.6D has a serious habit of blowing turbos

Not in my experience of owning two of them anyway. If people knew how to treat turbo charged engines properly then most of these issues can be prevented. Regular oil changes and letting the car run for a few minutes before switching it off after a journey can help prolong the life of the turbo.

OP if you are not doing at least 20k miles a year then I would suggest sticking with a petrol. On a budget of €2k you are more than likely going to get a better petrol car than a diesel one. I would suggest something like this:
http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=201037199569000

conzy

Thanks for the suggestions!

I saw a 2000 Mitsubishi Carisma in a local dealership for 1500 euro, 1.6 petrol 52,000 miles.. By no means a nice looking car but its not too bad.. Thoughts?

I heard people say not to go Diesel unless you plan on doing > 25,000 miles but surely if diesel is 10c cheaper per litre and the cars typically use less of it that means the first time I fill it I will be saving money?

10000 miles @ 39mpg = 1680 euro

10000 miles @ 55mpg = 1100 euro

I suppose its only 600 euro in the difference and when used diesels are expensive at the minute the saving is probably negligible at my mileage.

Im going to have a full car every week and I have a feeling a 1.3-1.4 would struggle on the motorway?

Would you buy a petrol Mondeo with 100k miles or a Focus for that matter? Are they end of life or could one expect another 20k miles out of them easily?

Thanks again

bazz26

conzymaher wrote: »

Thanks for the suggestions!

I saw a 2000 Mitsubishi Carisma in a local dealership for 1500 euro, 1.6 petrol 52,000 miles.. By no means a nice looking car but its not too bad.. Thoughts?

I heard people say not to go Diesel unless you plan on doing > 25,000 miles but surely if diesel is 10c cheaper per litre and the cars typically use less of it that means the first time I fill it I will be saving money?

10000 miles @ 39mpg = 1680 euro

10000 miles @ 55mpg = 1100 euro

I suppose its only 600 euro in the difference and when used diesels are expensive at the minute the saving is probably negligible at my mileage.

Im going to have a full car every week and I have a feeling a 1.3-1.4 would struggle on the motorway?

Would you buy a petrol Mondeo with 100k miles or a Focus for that matter? Are they end of life or could one expect another 20k miles out of them easily?

Thanks again

Look at the bigger picture though as the cost to fill up is only one aspect of cost of ownership. A diesel car of that vintage will have covered a hell of lot more miles which could result in the car needing more maintenance than an equivilant petrol model at that age. You said yourself that diesel cars within your budget all seem to have around 150k miles covered on them. Things like suspension, gearbox, clutch, etc are not as durable as the engine. So any savings at the pump could easily be cancelled out by anyone of these components needing replacement.

Maybe something like this would be worth looking at:
http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=201036199468374

New Timing Belt, tyres and decent NCT. 1.8 litre is not too bad on fuel and well able for motorway cruising.