Cheap reliable used car ?

dealgan

Hi folks,
I'm searching for a good used car that is cheap to buy, cheap to run (tax & ins & fuel) but also a bit of fun to drive.

I drive a '97 honda cr-v, but now it is only used for the work commute, so, although it is ultra-reliable, with 109k miles on it, I think its costing me a bit to run it. I did consider trading it in last year, but was highly insulted by a number of dealers when they offered me as low as 4k for it. (I thought that was pathetic, as it is in superb condition, had a full main honda dealer service history, never crashed, bumped, or even scratched, and was around 90k miles). I decided to keep it, but am now getting itchy feet again.

I'm hoping I can change it without spending much, and get something that is reliable, won't give me (too) many problems at nct times, and will keep going for many many miles.

Advice / Suggestions ?

Cheers.

unkel

€4k was insulting alright last year. If you compare that to a '98 CR-V now, you'd expect to get €8k

What's your mileage? If highish mileage (you did 20k this year) you could consider diesel. What's your budget for the purchase and your annual budget for tax/fuel/maintenance?

DukeDredd

Your current car meets your requirements!

dealgan

DukeDredd wrote:

Your current car meets your requirements!

Yeah, probably !. I just have this thing in my head that I'm paying too much in running costs. (Road Tax & Fuel).

unkel wrote:

€4k was insulting alright last year. If you compare that to a '98 CR-V now, you'd expect to get €8k

What's your mileage? If highish mileage (you did 20k this year) you could consider diesel. What's your budget for the purchase and your annual budget for tax/fuel/maintenance?

Hi unkel,
Mileage is now down to around 350 miles every 2 weeks, so say 10k miles tops
(Now sharing travel)

Budget, I have no figure in mind, just "not very much" mabye 1k or 2k with crv. As for maint, I would intend on diy maint, so not alot.

Mabye DukeDredd is right, and I should just keep it until it gives up the ghost!

CrowdedHouse

dealgan wrote:

Yeah, probably !. I just have this thing in my head that I'm paying too much in running costs. (Road Tax & Fuel).

Had an 03 one and I'd swear either there was a hole in the petrol tank or someone was stealing petrol on me ! It seemed every time I got into it I had to get petrol.Bought it new and kept it for 10 months,not only was it a guzzler but it was so dreary as well.
Traded it for an Audi A4 TDI,months seem to go by between fills.
But at least it got the jeep/suv 'thing' out of my system for good(am planning to work on the BMW 'thing' next !)

dealgan

CrowdedHouse wrote:

Had an 03 one and I'd swear either there was a hole in the petrol tank or someone was stealing petrol on me ! It seemed every time I got into it I had to get petrol.Bought it new and kept it for 10 months,not only was it a guzzler but it was so dreary as well.
Traded it for an Audi A4 TDI,months seem to go by between fills.
But at least it got the jeep/suv 'thing' out of my system for good(am planning to work on the BMW 'thing' next !)

I also have an '05 cr-v ! They're not *that* dull & dreary.
Actually a very nice smooth drive, but I expected a bit more poke.
Its a bit better on fuel, but not a lot. Surprisingly its actually slower than my '97 one. Must be quite a bit heavier, as the '97 is not vtec, and has about 15 bhp less, iirc.
The plan was to swap over from having a newish car & oldish jeep, to a new jeep and oldish car, as we tend to use the jeep all the time with all the kids stuff in it. ...but when I went to change the jeep for a car and was offered pitiful money I decided to keep it.
Its quite strange to have two cr-v's .. both black !

anyway, sorry for waffling on .. back on subject .. I've heard the A4 tdi is a great drive, and just sniff's the diesel tank every now & then.

Cheers.

CrowdedHouse

Fine Dealgan...maybe was just me,I think that it was all the black stuff inside..black seats,black dash..carpet panels etc..But you like Black !!
Seemed plasticy for what as you know is quite an expensive car
The 'music on hold' quality stereo and the fact that the wheels spun every time I took off in it and after 4 Accords I just never got to like it.

Best of luck with yours

unkel

DukeDredd has a point. At 10k miles a year, there's less than €40 / month difference in fuel between a car doing 30MPG and a car doing 45MPG. The tax difference is €20 / month

Changing the car for something smaller might not work out much cheaper at all seeing your CR-V is very reliable, will be good for many years to come and you do the maintenance yourself

dealgan

CrowdedHouse wrote:

Fine Dealgan...maybe was just me,I think that it was all the black stuff inside..black seats,black dash..carpet panels etc..But you like Black !!
Seemed plasticy for what as you know is quite an expensive car
The 'music on hold' quality stereo and the fact that the wheels spun every time I took off in it and after 4 Accords I just never got to like it.

Best of luck with yours

Yep, I guess I must like black ! I even waited nearly 6 mths to get the black leather interior to go with the black paint !

I do miss my 03 accord that I changed from though.

How would rate the A4 compared to the accord ?

Cheers,

dealgan

unkel wrote:

DukeDredd has a point. At 10k miles a year, there's less than €40 / month difference in fuel between a car doing 30MPG and a car doing 45MPG. The tax difference is €20 / month

Changing the car for something smaller might not work out much cheaper at all seeing your CR-V is very reliable, will be good for many years to come and you do the maintenance yourself

Hmmm. Good points.

Hell, you folks have just convinced me to keep it !
Mabye if i finally replace the cracked windscreen, and replace the broken door mirror, service it (almost due an oil change), and give it a good polish I might get a new notion of it.

Thanks, I think

Cheers.

CrowdedHouse

dealgan wrote:

How would rate the A4 compared to the accord ?

Its similar in many ways to the last Accord I had - an 01 ES(SE?)

Everything seems to fit right,nice on the road,well put together etc. The thing I will say about the A4 is that there isn't a single squeak rattle or clunk out of it since I got it.
Of course those if you were to get all the toys for the A4 like the Accord SE/ES had(leather,Bose stereo,everything electric etc) you'd have the price of another one,although the A4 basic spec is quite good.
But (and I never thought I'd say this about a diesel) the 1.9 TDI would leave the 2.0i Accord for dead in terms of power/grunt and fun to drive plus the bonus of 50mpg

Cheers