Bargain cars

[doodab]

I'll be back in the UK soon and it seems likely I will wind up needing a car. Funds are tight (or maybe I'm tight, who knows?) so I'm going to be looking for something fairly reliable with a budget of between £1000 and £2000 tops. It needs to have space for a family, ideally a 4 door saloon or estate, and be reasonably comfortable over potential 1hr+ commutes. Decent fuel economy would be nice as well.

I'm predisposed toward an Audi A4 or VW Passat, though I might consider a C class Mercedes. I'm aware that this puts me into 10yr old territory but having run a 10 year old Audi before I found it reliable enough that it wasn't a problem. I'm not particularly keen on the idea of an end of life French, Italian, Ford, Vauxhall or Jag etc so unless it's going to be substantially newer and lower mileage than a German car I'm nor considering those. I might consider a Japanese one though.

Any suggestions?

[TimberWolf]

You're coming back to the UK

I've had luck buying my last two cars at auction, but at around £3K for ex fleet cars. The 1K and 2K category is likely more prone to lemons.

[doodab]

You're coming back to the UK

Indeed. I suspect it will turn out to be among the largest of the many mistakes I have crammed into my short life, but needs must.

[gingerjedi]

For that money you might find 02 plate Mazda 6, the hatchback is as good as an estate as the boot is huge and even the base 1.8 petrol has adequate performance. I bought a low mileage 03 for 3k and its been superb.

Failing that get a Mondeo for the same reasons as above.

[Fred Bloggs]

I'll be back in the UK soon and it seems likely I will wind up needing a car. Funds are tight (or maybe I'm tight, who knows?) so I'm going to be looking for something fairly reliable with a budget of between £1000 and £2000 tops. It needs to have space for a family, ideally a 4 door saloon or estate, and be reasonably comfortable over potential 1hr+ commutes. Decent fuel economy would be nice as well.

I'm predisposed toward an Audi A4 or VW Passat, though I might consider a C class Mercedes. I'm aware that this puts me into 10yr old territory but having run a 10 year old Audi before I found it reliable enough that it wasn't a problem. I'm not particularly keen on the idea of an end of life French, Italian, Ford, Vauxhall or Jag etc so unless it's going to be substantially newer and lower mileage than a German car I'm nor considering those. I might consider a Japanese one though.

Any suggestions?

Serious potential issues with older Passats and Audi A4's (and Skoda Superbs that were all based on the same "B5 and B5.5" platforms). They suffer from water ingress that seriously damages the wiring and the on board electronic control module. Tons of info about this on the net, I have a B5 Superb, so I know all about the issues. Unless you know what to look for, they are bags on serious trouble. Further advice is to avoid the 2.0 litre TDi diesels, they suffer oil pump failure that wrecks the engine and turbo charger. Avoid the 2.0 TDi's like the plague. The 1.9 TDi's are excellent.

[doodab]

Serious potential issues with older Passats and Audi A4's (and Skoda Superbs that were all based on the same "B5 and B5.5" platforms). They suffer from water ingress that seriously damages the wiring and the on board electronic control module. Tons of info about this on the net, I have a B5 Superb, so I know all about the issues. Unless you know what to look for, they are bags on serious trouble. Further advice is to avoid the 2.0 litre TDi diesels, they suffer oil pump failure that wrecks the engine and turbo charger. Avoid the 2.0 TDi's like the plague. The 1.9 TDi's are excellent.

Good tips. Thanks.