A classy car for a grand? Any suggestions

CheezePleeze

My missus bought her mother's Nissan Almera (03, with 105K miles on the clock) off her for a grand. Its a solid car - got the NCT no prob - but, well, it's not me. I want something with a bit more class.

But the missus wants a car as reliable, and as economical, for the same money. She has given in on the tax - I can go as far as 2 litre. So, any suggestions - classy car, reliable as a tank/Nissan, economical and cheap.

JoeySully

Primera ?

you need a BMW

djimi

JoeySully wrote: »

you need a BMW

For a grand?

corktina

how about this one. Focus €1100


I think it's on donedeal as well if you can't access efi and don't want to join.

I deleted the link again because It could be against the rules.

I've PMd it to you instead.

kerten

There is no "economical+reliable+classy(luxury+comfort) = 1k" car unless you are a mechanic and going to buy a non-runner.

You have to choose

Have a look at Pre-2003 Honda Accords, it may fit your needs.

djimi

kerten wrote: »

Have a look at Pre-2003 Honda Accords, it may fit your needs.

Cant argue with that. Had a 99 Accord and it was a lovely comfortable car to drive. 1.8 so that tax wasnt awful either. A decent one might be a shade over a grand but worth it imo.

biko

Old Mercs have class and cheap since they have big engines.

CheezePleeze

biko wrote: »

Old Mercs have class and cheap since they have big engines.

Thanks - I have to keep the engine below 2L, but they're classy alright. Are they reliable?

CheezePleeze

kerten wrote: »

Have a look at Pre-2003 Honda Accords, it may fit your needs.

Thanks - that might be it:)

keithsfleet

Clk200 or C180.
Both can be had for in around the 1K Mark and they should tick all your boxes.

bajer101

What about this?

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/volvo-s80-petrol/7520107

bazz26

A €1k Merc will most likely be a rust bucket at this stage.

ba_barabus

OP I think you need to define 'classy'.

Do you want a certain badge, type of car or something left field and different. I'm not suggesting the following are the best of whats on donedeal but it's a sample size of big cars and desirable (to some) badges

For instance:

Lexus IS200 (no nct)

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/lexus-is200-sport-6-speed-2-0l-quality/7126747

Maxima (huge value for money)

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/nissan-maxima-qx-cefiro/7060825

BMW 318i

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/2002-bmw-318-nct-02-2015/7516755

BMW 520

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/bmw-520-petrol-automatic-nct-for-year/7512760

Merc C180

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/2002-mercedes-c180-classic/7509688

Camry

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/toyota-camry-manual-new-n-c-t-2015/7296869

alias no.9

bajer101 wrote: »

What about this?

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/volvo-s80-petrol/7520107

Serious value

26000 Elephants

biko wrote: »

Old Mercs have class and cheap since they have big engines.

Its also true that "there is no car as expensive as a cheap Mercedes..." :-)

Saab 9-3's from 98 - 2002 should be possible at that budget with nct. Make sure it has some service history.

Alfa 156 with 1.6 or 2.0 litre TS should be possible. Either way, you are trading reliability for 'interest'. The more you move from standard jap boxes, the more 'variable' the reliability of the cars.

Idbatterim

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/bmw-520i-auto-bargain/7490172

highdef

Idbatterim wrote: »

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/bmw-520i-auto-bargain/7490172

OP said less than 2 litres

dgt

I have a very sub €1k Mercedes C200. 5 speed manual with near 250k miles (supposed to be anyway :mad:)

So far it's needed basic servicing, that's it. I lowered it, put 17" E class sport wheels and polished it up well. Everywhere it goes, it gets attention :cool:

One week I put up nearly 1000 miles in it, never missed a beat. There's a lot to be said for jumping into a car like this and knowing it will work

Consumption is about 30-32mpg normally. When pressed hard expect 25.

A very comfortable car on standard suspension, soaks up the bumps beautifully. They handle well too but do get roly poly when cornering hard, they are meant for comfort after all.

They came with an amplifier and pre 98 a popup aerial so the sound is fantastic.

Parts are cheap to buy. A very easy car to work on (doesn't need to be jacked for an oil change for example)

They do rust so beware of common rust spots such s the boot, above the diff, floorpans. Scabby wings are not uncommon. Sometimes the indicators fail, usually the relay in the compartment. MAF does give bother when the filter hasn't been changed

Get a nice sound example and drive it for years and years and years :cool:

keithsfleet

I to second an old merc.

I've a 99 clk200 that I bought for 650. It had surface rust on all wheel arches but 3 hours of sanding, filling and painting sorted that out.
A full detail wash and wax sorted out paint work and made it look10 years younger.

Mechanically the only thing I had to do when I bought it was service it including water pump and two new tires.

The only major problem I've had with it in the 14 months I've had it is dropping the key and breaking it. I ended up having to send the key and ignition to a key specialist in Limerick who sent me back my original key, fixed, and a fancy new chrome key. That cost me 250 all in.

Other than that it has never missed a single beat and I've put almost 25k miles on it. It still looks the business and anyone that gets into it always says "ohh Mr fancy with his Mercrdes" then I tell them I bought it for 650 and their jaws drop.

CheezePleeze

OK - the big question is, from an economical point of view, are these bigger diesels (2 litre) as economical as the almera's 1.5 litre?

Thanks, lads, for all of your input - its been fascinating :-)

26000 Elephants

Almera will be more economical. But not by enough to discount the bigger diesels. Kinda depends on your mileage. If you do more than 10/15K miles a year, then the extra fuel of the diesel will be an issue. But less than that and it will be just a few quid a week.

bazz26

Any diesel in the €1k price range will probably have a few large bills around the corner. Most clean, tidy diesels fetch decent money unless they need work done on them.

Meso Harney

Have to be a 94-00 Volvo 850 / v / s 70. Better to drive and easier on juice than a merc, still a simple car that can be fixed easily, no rust, leather is lovely, 30-35 mpg (seen a lovely 850 tdi on donedeal, 45mpg but 2.5(vw engine) tax. If you drive one against a merc, the qualitys easy to see. Nct'd ones from less than €500.

Meso Harney

bazz26 wrote: »

Any diesel in the €1k price range will probably have a few large bills around the corner. Most clean, tidy diesels fetch decent money unless they need work done on them.

Plenty of late 90s diesels can be bought for a grand, with test. Simpler cars, easier fixed. You're never going to see a 15 yr old qashqui or megane in 2029.

bazz26

Meso Harney wrote: »

Plenty of late 90s diesels can be bought for a grand, with test. Simpler cars, easier fixed. You're never going to see a 15 yr old qashqui or megane in 2029.

Test means it passed a roadworthiness test on a particular day. I'm talking about cars that may need work done on them in the short term, things like flywheels/clutch, injectors, turbo, etc. These things are consumables and tend to need replacing. As I said a good working diesel will fetch decent money especially ones that have had some money spent on them by the previous owner. Anyway a 20 year old rattily diesel is hardly what I would describe as classy irrespective of price.

CheezePleeze

bazz26 wrote: »

Anyway a 20 year old rattily diesel is hardly what I would describe as classy irrespective of price.

Bazz, my friend, I hear what you're saying :-)

Meso Harney

bazz26 wrote: »

Test means it passed a roadworthiness test on a particular day. I'm talking about cars that may need work done on them in the short term, things like flywheels/clutch, injectors, turbo, etc. These things are consumables and tend to need replacing. As I said a good working diesel will fetch decent money especially ones that have had some money spent on them by the previous owner. Anyway a 20 year old rattily diesel is hardly what I would describe as classy irrespective of price.

Frankly, I could say the same about a 3 or 4 yr old car. How well the car is looked after counts for everything. Plenty of nasty rattley late model diesels out there. To believe that something that maybe old is automatically a s*itbox is not good advice:)

26000 Elephants

Meso Harney wrote: »

You're never going to see a 15 yr old qashqui or megane in 2029.

If they are properly maintained then i see so reason why you wont see them around in 15 years. I will be 60 then and a 15 year old quashqai will probably make perfect sense to me. I shall drive it slowly too. ;-)

bazz26

Meso Harney wrote: »

Frankly, I could say the same about a 3 or 4 yr old car. How well the car is looked after counts for everything. Plenty of nasty rattley late model diesels out there. To believe that something that maybe old is automatically a s*itbox is not good advice:)

In my opinion good diesel cars fetch decent money irrespective of their age because there is demand for them. Imo if something seems too good to be true then it usually is. Of course there is always an exception to the rule but it is the exception rather than the rule.

Blue850

Rover 75 diesel

Meso Harney

26000 Elephants wrote: »

If they are properly maintained then i see so reason why you wont see them around in 15 years. I will be 60 then and a 15 year old quashqai will probably make perfect sense to me. I shall drive it slowly too. ;-)

And a 2k pump / injector bill will put it in the scrapyard @ 7-10 yrs old. Same as now, see people offloading 2004-2006 cars with faults some get fixed, some don't.