IainMilford

iTrader: (15)

Hi I'm playing with the idea of buying a daily runaround car, and looking to pay somewhere between say £500 - £1000 and just wondering what other peoples experiences are, so can get an idea of makes etc. WOuld prefer a diesel, have seen some peugeots 106's 10-15 years old for this sort of price and wondered how reliable they are ...

jpor

iTrader: (1)

Had the same idea as you 4 years ago. Back then just upgraded my classic 2000 to an 03 STi and didn't like the idea that it would get bumped scraped and targeted by theives whilst parked up,(I know paranoid ) but had the same idea about a cheap run-a-round so bought a Pug 205 TD, had one before many years ago and thought it would be ideal to have another one again as I knew they could get over 400 miles to a tank of diesel etc... Well to cut a long story short, bought one and had nothing but problems. First one of the diesel injector pipes sprang a leak on the way home from work spilling a tonne of diesel everywhere. Then whilst driving it home one night doing 60 (on a 60 road of course) someone decided to pull out in front of me from a junction, whilst braking etc... the electrics decided they were'nt going to work anymore and lost all power, only when I pressed the excelarator again and they decide to work again

Since then I have had 4 run-a-bouts, the latest being a little bit younger than my STi which is a 53 plate Daihatsu YRV Turbo (See my scooby (Daihatsu have been the 3rd most reliable manufacturer for the last 2 years running). Moral of the story is that I bought run-a-bouts that were newer and something more fun to match the scooby. Unfortunately that's what happens So in the end to me the scooby spends more time in the garage and the Daihatsu (Which I have already started to mod ) is used more.

M444GY

iTrader: (72)

fiesta m reg 1.6 si . lovely cheap car and nippy to

millzy555

iTrader: (2)

think u have just won my mums clio on ebay. u can have that as a daily runner. been used every day for 5 years with no probs. got a couple of dents in the roof and thats it. ideal for what your after!

WRX JON

peugeot 306 1.9 td , good little car and mine never went wrong even with 140,000 miles on the clock, and really good mpg

AlanG

Was in the same situation a few months ago. Wanted a diesel for mpg etc etc. Ended up buying a Honda Civic 1.4 petrol. One owner, totally reliable and does an average (mixed town driving) of 42mpg. Some said "but what about spares, they're dear". Looked on E-bay for all the usual stuff that might go wrong and parts are cheap as chips. Road tax is £115/yr. Civics are popular and easy to sell when the time comes to move on, plus the difference in cost between unleaded and diesel now is significant, so don't rule out a petrol car.

Tidgy

L reg rover 414, its pure class,,,,, pmsl

GC8WRX

My first proper car, bought it when 19 back in '99!

Slower than my previous xr2i, but mine was a 95m so had the desirable black dash and sunroof!

Dont jetwash the engine if you get one, i did and killed the ecu!

Mark'sWRX

Do your sums first. I thought about it last year, but when you add up the insurance, road tax, MoT, servicing, repair costs etc. against what you save in petrol, I would have been doing well to save a couple of hundred quid a year and would have driving a possibly unreliable $h1t box instead of my pride and joy.

With petrol prices rising, there may be more to be saved, but I didn't want to have a nice car stuck in the garage and then drive a noisy, slow old car.

Tidgy

think its sum you have to do to get a true figure, i have no doubt though that mine saves me a fortune, also means i can leave mine elsewhere in a agarage ratehr than on the street at my house (no off street parking or garage)

bigarf

iTrader: (67)

bought myself a fiesta 1.25 r reg for 280 quid 2 years ago just had a worn clutch which i replaced myself for 35 quid.to say ive done some miles in it is an understatement i use it everyday through the week and just bring the scoob out at the weekend its saved me a fortune in fuel and saved miles on the scoob. in the 2 years ive had it all its cost me is 35 quid for a clutch,20 for a back box an a tenner for some brake pads,as value for money goes its the best move i ever made.

scooby88

i have a 1.1 m reg fiesta with electric windows an stuff all problems i have sorted and has full service history lovely runner plus you would be helping me towards my buying a classic impreza fund lol

lordretsudo

Bought a 1999 Fiat Punto Sporting a year or so ago for £700, mainly because I learnt to drive in one when they'd just come out and had fond memories of it. I must admit I got it mainly for bad weather days as I can't bear my shiny white Scoob coming out of the garage and getting dirty, rather than for petrol economy/tax reasons!

It was something I'd toyed with for a couple of years, but kept being put off by the thought of buying a complete dog... Up to now, I've been very pleased with it - I had to replace the sump when I got it (which was why it was cheap), and I've changed the front brakes, but apart from that it's been totally reliable, touch wood.