€2,500 to spend. Recommendations please.

geckotime

Hi, I'm 42, 4 years full clean driving licence looking for a 4 door car. Have been looking at Honda Accord, Toyota Avensis, Mazda 323, Seats, some Volvos and have an urge to look at older Audi A4s.

Have found these this morning:

http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=201111201604269

http://www.bacars.ie/viewanad.php?ad_id=661631

http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=201116202090934

http://www.bacars.ie/viewanad.php?ad_id=667134

http://www.bacars.ie/viewanad.php?ad_id=651511


I know this is a 2 door but liked the look of it:
http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=201124202860879

Any opinions on the above? Or alternatively, have you seen anything or have a friend who is selling?

Feel free to rip my post apart for any reason. I'm not great with cars although I do know I should look for a recent enough NCT. Thanks in advance.

GT

geckotime

Ok, have decided I'm going to go for one of these 3. Advice on what price I should haggle for on each and what to go for welcome. What surprises me is that they've each had 2 or more owners. Is that a bad thing?

http://www.bacars.ie/viewanad.php?ad_id=638222

http://www.bacars.ie/viewanad.php?ad_id=661631

http://www.bacars.ie/viewanad.php?ad_id=667134

Thanks in advance,

GT

vectra

How about this??

http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=201118202305179

Ghost Train

vectra wrote: »

How about this??

http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=201118202305179

wonder did they forget a zero on the end of that mileage, 4 owners I'd say so

geckotime

^^^^ yeah nice car Vectra but 4 owners would make me shy. It's 9 years old. Why 4 owners!? Seems a bit odd.

Would you look at my second post above lads and see what you think. TIA

colm_mcm

Of the 3 cars in ba, the 323 stands out. Spec might be really low.

zilog_jones

Hi, I was in pretty much the exact same position as you earlier this year (same budget), though I wasn't set on saloons in particular.

Those Honda Accords are nice cars, but the S is poverty spec (can't see which trim level the blue one is) and fuel economy is woeful. The one I test drove was very damp in the boot - apparently a common fault is the rear light seals start leaking.

I also looked at a similar 323, but the 1.5 hatchback - engine was nice and lively (the 1.3 won't be!), but ride, handling and interior were rubbish IMO. Steering was overly light - I found the same problem with 626s as well. If you have an interest in driving don't bother with any Mazdas from that era.

And a Seat Cordoba - why go for something smaller again? These are based on the Ibiza/Polo platform, so it's pretty much a supermini with a boot. The 1.2 is a 3 cylinder so is pretty harsh, not very powerful either. I don't see the point when you can get something much bigger and nicer for similar money.

I went for a '02 Peugeot 406 Rapier 2.0 HDi in the end - it was a bit over my budget at €2900 but it was low mileage, has nice things like aircon, trip computer, armrests and half leather, and I'm happy with it so far. Interior build quality isn't the best (some squeaks, rattles and loose bits) and the electric mirrors and front passenger window don't work but no great loss - at least all the important electrics work fine

Citroen C5s are worth looking at too, but only really diesels - petrol engines aren't the best (same goes for Peugeots). Hydropneumatic suspension is great but does need attention every 5 years ago (fluid and sphere replacement - not really that hard a job but spheres will cost a bit). PSA HDi engines are generally reliable, though later examples will have DMFs and particulate filters which can cause trouble (same problem with pretty much any modern diesels). High depreciation will work in your favour

What about Ford Mondeos? P11 Nissan Primeras (the older ones, 1996-2002) are good too, dunno about the P12s (like what Vectra posted). Alfa 156s are great value too, very nice to drive but not the most spacious saloons and the ride is pretty hard for this country.

What kind of driving are you doing, and what's your limit on engine size?

geckotime

@ colm mcm - yeah, I like the look of it myself. Spec is low but I'd say tax wouldn't be too high and its not a bad looking car and I hear Mazda are reliable enough. He's looking for €2,899. What do you reckon it's worth considering its nct'd till 2013? Do you think €2,499 or lower?

geckotime

@ zilog jones - most of your post made no sense to me but thanks for your effort and time. Bravo. What i'm looking for is the most bang for my buck obviously but as with most people these days because I'm on a budget I don't want to be crucified with tax. I don't think insurance will be to much of an issue as I said earlier I'm 42 and have 4yrs full clean licence. I'd like a modern enough looking car so I don't look like a pizza delivery man!! :-)


Any opinion on any of these so as I would view these as maybe more of a gamble or am I wrong?

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2216265

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2189039

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2216306

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2232905

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2231531

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2255762

zilog_jones

geckotime wrote: »

@ zilog jones - most of your post made no sense to me but thanks for your effort and time. Bravo.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

What i'm looking for is the most bang for my buck obviously but as with most people these days because I'm on a budget I don't want to be crucified with tax.

With a 1.8-2.0 petrol you're more likely to be crucified by fuel costs than tax. Things like a 316, 520, and non-turbo Saab 9-5 are underpowered and will be pretty bad on petrol. Do you have an aversion to diesels? What kind mileage are you doing?

The early VVTi engines like the one in that Avensis you posted are known to burn a lot of oil - if it hasn't been checked regularly it could be trouble, or could be too much hassle anyway. Also it's way overpriced considering the poverty spec (no aircon, cassette player!).

No interest in anything I suggested then?

bazz26

I'd be looking at the Mazda 6 petrol, very little goes wrong with them, they are nice to drive and still look well 10 years on.

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2141747

geckotime

@ zilog jones - thanks for your reply. yeah I get what your saying and had a look at some Mondeos and saw these -

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2252088

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2244914

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2077294 (no pic of nct cert!)

opinion?

(call me weird, but there's a lot of others on done deal within my price range but the attention to detail, bad spelling and punctuation in a lot of the adverts put me off every time)

vectra

geckotime wrote: »

^^^^ yeah nice car Vectra but 4 owners would make me shy. It's 9 years old. Why 4 owners!? Seems a bit odd.

Would you look at my second post above lads and see what you think. TIA

4 Owners in 9 years is nothing.
I would have a look at it all the same. You might be surprised.

geckotime

bazz26 wrote: »

I'd be looking at the Mazda 6 petrol, very little goes wrong with them, they are nice to drive and still look well 10 years on.

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2141747

Nice find Bazz26! I like the look of that. You reckon an offer of €2,400/500?

geckotime

@ vectra - Its a nice car but the 4 owners really puts me off plus I'm not a mechanic and dragging one down on a trip to Tipp is a bit much. I really appreciate you replying to my posts though. Thanks again.

bazz26

geckotime wrote: »

Nice find Bazz26! I like the look of that. You reckon an offer of €2,400/500?

Yes I'd start at €2400.

geckotime

@bazz26 - Cheers, will do. I'm gonna ring the guy tomorrow morning to arrange to see it. I'll update you on my progress :-)

bazz26

Best of luck, let us know how you get on.

geckotime

geckotime wrote: »

............


Any opinion on any of these so as I would view these as maybe more of a gamble or am I wrong?

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2216265

If that tickles your fancy and I can understand why it does as they are a fine bus then you might be into this

http://www.adverts.ie/car/5-series/5-series/bmw-520i/602381

the seller posts a bit on here, that car as per the add is very close to getting a two year NCT and it looks :cool:

geckotime

@RoverJames - Thanks for your time dude. Yeah, looks nice and he seems like a straight up no-nonsense seller too. I'm just wary of the cost of upkeep of a Bmw as I was recently made redundant.
I have my eye on this one as well as the Mazda 6 Bazz26 recommended
http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2252088 long NCT on it and a newer car.

delly

That Mondeo is being sold by a dealer and is pretty basic spec tbh. Obviously the price is low because of the mileage, but i'd be looking to verify the mileage as it its entirely possible it could be a lot more. I'd also look for some service history as it would be an indicator of how hard a life it had over that amount of miles.

geckotime

@ Delly - Jaysus yeah! Just spotted that. 18,000 miles a year is a lot. You also reckon I should get more Mondeo for my money too so that will keep me away. As a matter of interest, how much Mondeo should I expect for €2,300 - €2,700 (at a stretch) ? Btw thanks for your reply.

delly

Well by taking a quick look, I would think you could get an '03 if lucky and there being so many out there you can take your pick really. Its just a case of finding the right one that ticks as many boxes, as there will more than likely be something you will have to compromise on when dealing with limited cash.

john.west

Geckotime seen as your considering Mondeos take a look at one I'm selling on behalf of my brother who had to move to UK to take up a new job. It is a very smooth car, a lot smoother than the 119k miles would suggest. NCT mechanic remarked to him that the car was in fantastic order when he took NCT in March and has done pretty small mileage since. If your not interested thats honkey dorey too.

Repolho

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2250726

not much left on NCT but eligible to be retested now if the seller was agreeable!

The High King

Although I don't really have any helpful advise regarding anything, I do feel compelled to step in a give you a friendly push towards the e39. It may be heavy enough on petrol, but that doesn't matter. That doesn't matter at all.

vectra

That Mondeo will be pretty thirsty around town.. I had one and often burned €30 petrol in less than 100 Miles.. ( That was around 06/07 when petrol was cheaper.. it was also pretty new with only 35k on the clock so was in good nick.
AFAIK the Mazda 6 is just as thirsty,

vectra

I saw this car this morning.. Looked very clean. I know the guy selling it personally and he told me it had 2 owners and was cared for like a baby.

Take no notice of the mileage. I have driven one of these with near 400,000 miles on it and running great.

Cheap car for you.
Long NCT as well,

http://www.donalbyrnemotors.com/car_sales.html

Perfromance is woefull from those diesel Primeras though.

langdang

Accord or Mazda 6 , 1.8 petrol,would be my choice.
Running costs on both would be low - considering your budget I assume that's a big factor.
Those Accords are older models (98-02 I think), a bit slow in my opinion but that might not bother you. Very reliable. Seat maybe a little low if you've any back trouble.

The Mazda 6 is only available from 02 on. There is great value to be had in the older petrol models at the moment, but I think most would still be slightly above your budget.

The 626 would be more equivalent to the Accords you linked to in your first few posts. Steering is very light as mentioned by zilog. I like em tho - more power (felt like it anyway!) than the Accord and the handling didn't bother me - the Accord I was comparing the 626 to probably needed some bushings or tracking done tho.

I'd be tempted by mondeos, but have heard too many stories of the intake flap problems and rear subframe bushings.

zilog_jones

Those Honda Accord 1.8's are actually a lot more powerful than what's in the 626 of that era, but they are the old-style VTEC engines so you need to keep revs high (over like 5.5k?) to get anything out of them, and that doesn't really help the fuel economy issue...

langdang

Yeah, I drove a few other 626s and none had the same pull as my own. Maybe the estates had the 135hp 2.0. But they seem more torquey generally than the accords. The accords need the revs alright.

JJJJNR

I had a 00 1.8 Accord (auto) for years, amazing machine and loved driving it, still up there with the best in terms of handling, you can throw them into corners with confidence. Nice cruiser also if you can get an auto... truck killed mine

Heres a nice example

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2248051

pappyodaniel

Would you consider a Tdi Octavia?

Boring I know but they go forever if she's serviced regularly and you should be getting 50mpg.

You could easily get either of these for around €1500 so you'll have a nice bit of change left over.

This
and
This

margio

JJJJNR wrote: »

I had a 00 1.8 Accord (auto) for years, amazing machine and loved driving it, still up there with the best in terms of handling, you can throw them into corners with confidence. Nice cruiser also if you can get an auto... truck killed mine

Heres a nice example

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2248051

hey just wondering what the fuel economy is like. I am looking at a 2002 accord, I know of what I heard they are a great machine, But a 1:8 in this day and age, would it be a robber on petrol