Which Second Car? - Having Issues with Evans Halshaw

[Arran]

We need a second car. There are several reasons for this, but the main reason is that my mother and father in law (to be) are working over in Qatar and when they come home every now and again will need a car to drive around in.

Other reasons are so we can put the dog in the boot, when my missus goes to uni she can leave it on a car park without worrying about it being dented or scratched. I can use it to put my bike in, general house duties, etc.

So it needs to be

a. small enough to park easily but,
b. big enough to seat 4 and put a dog in the boot, so looking at 5 doors
c. very cheap to tax and run
d. half decent
e. reliable
f. about £2500.

So far I have looked at:

Megane's (especially the 1.5 DCi as it's £35 p/a tax), but have heard they're a tad on the unreliable side.

Astra's, but they tend to hold their money a bit better and are dearer to run.

307s, but I don't know a lot about them, they seem to be best of most worlds, cheap to run, tax and insure and well equiped. Are they reliable though?

Car's I'm not considering are:

Focus's. They rust and Ford don't seem to care about that fact, so I have ruled them out on principle.

Anything like Meriva's, Modus, other small mpv type poo boxes. Just don't want to drive one.

Anyone got any more suggestions or any info on the models I've listed above?

Thanks.

 

[Azza]

Mg zr diesels are extremely reliable and highly tunable. Meets pretty much everything your after really and they cheap to buy/repair. Theres mobile specialists now who repair them at your house a lot cheaper than any garages

Audi A3 is a good bet too but expensive on repairs?

 

[welshtom1990]

Think your choices all seem a decent option. Maybe a golf diesel?

 

[mark_1873]

I'd say a MKV golf, we had the 2.0tdi from new till 70k and it was a brilliant car.

 

[weebob]

My mates got a MK4 golf gt tdi 130. Done 140k and had very few problems. Its been remapped and managed 175bhp/350lbs. He still gets in the 50's mpg if he behaves

 

[Arran]

Sorry people, should have included my budget of £2500. The only Golfs locally within that budget I've seen on Autotrader are petrol & they're bad on tax, even the 1.4. The missus isn't too keen on them either.

I did find a quite nice looking Leon for a good price, 1.9 diesel. 02 plate though.

 

[Willis]

Skoda Fabia or Octavia diesel? Cheap to tax and run, bombproof too.

What about something like a Suzuki Vitara? Bit off-beat, but they'll tick every box...

 

[Robo_#1]

Subaru Forester? Pretty bomb proof by most accounts and there's TONS of room in them. Might not be the cheapest to tax though. Could go for a mondeo, but I wouldn't call them easy to park, smaller option would be Fiat Stilo or a Megane maybe?

 

[Chrisgti6]

307 definately!

I've just sold a 307 2.0 16v HDI Sport. 136 bhp, £135 to tax and 50+mpg. Mine was 2005 05 plate on 71k and I let it go for £2550.

We had the car for 18 months, apart from wear and tear stuff it was spot on, just make sure it's had the clutch/flywheel done if possible (only the 136 hp engine) as the DMF don't seem to last much more than 60 - 70k. It's not a cheap job either, I was quoted between £800 - £1200 but I did it myself in the end so cost me £400 for parts and a couple of days on my back on the drive.

If you want any info on them give me a shout.

Chris

 

[930Tech]

I have a nice 1.5 diesel clio that could be well inside your budget.

Here it is.

It's not the £35 a year tax though, it's £100 for 12 months, has air con too thats not in the ad.

 

[mark_1873]

Sorry people, should have included my budget of £2500. The only Golfs locally within that budget I've seen on Autotrader are petrol & they're bad on tax, even the 1.4. The missus isn't too keen on them either.

I did find a quite nice looking Leon for a good price, 1.9 diesel. 02 plate though.

Dont worry about age with them mate.

We have a Seat Inca van. We've had it from new (02 plate) its now on 202000 miles and its still going strong.

 

[Foxspeed]

Skoda Fabia or Octavia diesel? Cheap to tax and run, bombproof too.

yeh - fabia diesels - been tempted myself to get a second car but just cant afford it at the moment but they are on my "second car list"

renault dci - are reliable - i had a megane dci 106 - never missed a beat and 60mpg!!!

 

[Arran]

307 definately!

I've just sold a 307 2.0 16v HDI Sport. 136 bhp, £135 to tax and 50+mpg. Mine was 2005 05 plate on 71k and I let it go for £2550.

We had the car for 18 months, apart from wear and tear stuff it was spot on, just make sure it's had the clutch/flywheel done if possible (only the 136 hp engine) as the DMF don't seem to last much more than 60 - 70k. It's not a cheap job either, I was quoted between £800 - £1200 but I did it myself in the end so cost me £400 for parts and a couple of days on my back on the drive.

If you want any info on them give me a shout.

Chris

Sounds good Chris, we'd be looking at the lower powered version, I think it's a 116hp?

Subaru Forester? Pretty bomb proof by most accounts and there's TONS of room in them. Might not be the cheapest to tax though. Could go for a mondeo, but I wouldn't call them easy to park, smaller option would be Fiat Stilo or a Megane maybe?

Forester would be too big & costly to run I think. Meganes are still on the list though.

Mg zr diesels are extremely reliable and highly tunable. Meets pretty much everything your after really and they cheap to buy/repair. Theres mobile specialists now who repair them at your house a lot cheaper than any garages

Audi A3 is a good bet too but expensive on repairs?

Not really an MG guy, they seem a bit cramped & dated. Sporty looking though, so that's a plus point. I don't think the other half would want one either.

I have a nice 1.5 diesel clio that could be well inside your budget.

Here it is.

It's not the £35 a year tax though, it's £100 for 12 months, has air con too thats not in the ad.

Could do with 5 doors, but that does seem like a good buy.

 

[Chrisgti6]

They do the following diesels in the 307

2.0 8v 90bhp
2.0 8v 110bhp
2.0 16v 136bhp
1.6 16v 110bhp (in the later cars, 2005 onwards I think)

If you can pick up a later one with the 1.6 HDI you would be getting a good solid engine in a great car. They map nicely too, about 140bhp i believe. Low tax on the 1.6's too

 

[Arran]

yeh - fabia diesels - been tempted myself to get a second car but just cant afford it at the moment but they are on my "second car list"

renault dci - are reliable - i had a megane dci 106 - never missed a beat and 60mpg!!!

Ye, I'd imagine the engine is probably strong, but heard electrical faults are common. I've had a quick look on warranty directs website and the reliability score of the megane compared to the 307 is shocking! I suppose it's luck of the draw though, my Renaults have been more reliable than the Mazda I've got now.

 

[Arran]

They do the following diesels in the 307

2.0 8v 90bhp
2.0 8v 110bhp
2.0 16v 136bhp
1.6 16v 110bhp (in the later cars, 2005 onwards I think)

If you can pick up a later one with the 1.6 HDI you would be getting a good solid engine in a great car. They map nicely too, about 140bhp i believe. Low tax on the 1.6's too

It's the 2.0 110hp I've seen on Autotrader. The 1.6 HDi isdearer to buy I think because of how cheap it is to run and they're generally lower spec models. Plus I think the facelift one looks terrible! Lol!

 

[Chrisgti6]

It's the 2.0 110hp I've seen on Autotrader. The 1.6 HDi isdearer to buy I think because of how cheap it is to run and they're generally lower spec models. Plus I think the facelift one looks terrible! Lol!

I'm with you on the looks front! We had a pre-facelift thankfully!

 

[Foxspeed]

Ye, I'd imagine the engine is probably strong, but heard electrical faults are common. I've had a quick look on warranty directs website and the reliability score of the megane compared to the 307 is shocking! I suppose it's luck of the draw though, my Renaults have been more reliable than the Mazda I've got now.

307 have a bad reputation for electrical faults......

 

[M19TNR]

Don't get a Peugeot.....french crap....

 

[BenW]

I'd go for a mk6 or mk6.5 fiesta, my sister just bought one of these and it does feel a decent car.