4k budget for something reliable, spacious and comfortable at motorway speeds.

ozt9vdujny3srf

Hey folks,

I am currently driving a 01 Mazda 323 which is super reliable. It has breezed through the NCT for the last 3 years. It has 9 months NCT and Tax. As a 14 year old car it has a couple of body work dings but it still looks fairly respectable. I'd hope to get about 1200 for it. With that amount in mind, that gives me around a 4000 euro budget to replace it. I have a few solid options.

This BMW 318 Touring from the Bangernomics thread seems pretty much ideal bar the tax. I can only assume it's not amazing on fuel either!
http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/bmw-318-touring-nct-march-2016/8713566?offset=5

There's also this 156 Sportwagon, which is nice - although nowhere near as nice as the Beemer in my head!
http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/02-alfa-romeo-156-sportwagon-nct-11-15mint/8782274?offset=6

My last option is my neighbors Passat 1.6 FSI Comfortline Saloon. It's an 05 model (B6) and she is getting 4k cash for it from a dealer. It's only has 60,000 KM on the clock and it looks immaculate. I have an option to buy it from her instead of the dealer.

The last option is to keep the Mazda until September, get it's NCT renewed and then go from there.

I'm wondering if you folks have any advice you can offer about these models, or the prices they are being sold at? Any ideas where these options might be on the reliability side of things?

bazz26

If reliability is one of your priorities then a 12 or 13 year old 3 Series or 156 are really the last cars you should be looking at this stage of their lives. Neither will be anywhere near as trouble free as the 323 you have become accustomed to. Better off either keeping the 323 going or sell it and put the proceeds and the 4k towards something else.

Soarer

No sure on the reliability side of things, but this has a fresh NCT and seems genuine.

Diesel Vel Satis

It certainly ticks the spacious and comfortable boxes!

Idbatterim

how long is your motorway journey each day and what kind of mileage are you doing op?

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/bmw-520-automatic-full-leather/8726810?offset=28

Toyotafanboi

http://cars.donedeal.ie/view/8492807

http://cars.donedeal.ie/view/8181771

You mention motorway, so is diesel a contender?

Coming from a 323 saloon a mk2 avensis seems like a natural progression if you want to maintain reliability and gain a bit more room.

As above, you couldn't really mention reliability in the same sentence as an older 156 or 3 series. They are both nice cars, but be prepared to throw a few quid at them.

landmarkjohn

I'd take a punt on the neighbours Passat.... "immaculate" "only 60,000 KM" "lady driver"..... and you should be able to get an honest history from her.. sounds good to me!

Big question is why is she changing? If it is because she can afford it and likes to move up the years then great.

Idbatterim

"lady driver"

laugh out loud at this one, people generally put it down to make the car more saleable, it does the opposite to me as a potential buyer!

JJJJNR

Without seeing the Passat I would guess it needs the timing chain replaced at this age, which is a fairly big bill (might be already done). I think there was an issue with the timing chain stretching on the FSI engines, so when you look at it see if it makes a loud harsh noise on start up and then even out, I've no idea how much it costs to fix that but budget 1k.

if it checks out its a no brainer to go for the passat, I like that engine, its very rev happy, should be good for about 35mpg and well up for massive mileage once looked after.

Bpmull

I think the Passat would be a good bet if you know its history and that the mileage is genuine. Even if it needs a timming belt they are only about 300-400 and at least then you will have a comfortable car that you know abit about rather than a car you got on donedeal that could have loads of issues.

Also it's great buying all these high mileage older bmw cars really cheap but you have to pump serious money into them every year to keep them on the road.

ozt9vdujny3srf

For the BMW, I would expect to have to spend some money on it off the bat to get it in good nick. A yearly money pit would get old very quick though. In the 3 years I have owned the Mazda I have spent about 500 euros on it - consumables, service and a timing belt.

Also, is 4k particularly good value for a Passat in perfect nick? It is being sold because the owner no longer needs such a big car. She is replacing it with a Golf. The Passat has been serviced at the same mechanic for it's full lifetime - I'll need to check the notes he's left in the services history book to see what's been replaced or might need replacing. Is there anything in particular I should look out for?

Many thanks for the advice so far.

JJJJNR

I would have thought 4k is very good for a 05, it might be a shrewd purchase.

I would be looking at the suspension bits very closely for signs of wear, CV joints for holes, these are all checked in the nct so if its been recently done it should be all good. Check tyres are wearing evenly, take it for a long spin on the motorway and through stop go traffic, check it for bangs and noises when turning left or right.

It might be worth running an odbc reader on any of the cars you are thinking of buying I found one online for 14 euros, they are a good investment. Otherwise after these checks bring the car to a good trustworthy mechanic and ask them to do a compression test on the engine, it should be perfect but you never know, its your 4k so putting out a 100 euros on some checks could be well worth it.