| A bit of help needed 20:22 - Sep 27 with 1426 views | vilanovablue |
The better Half's car has died and I've got about 2k spare to get a replacement. I'm at a bit of a loss as to what even to look for. Any ideas or suggestions would be very welcome. |  | | |  |
| A bit of help needed on 20:37 - Sep 27 with 1368 views | Guthrum |
My approach would be going to a decent second-hand car place (if there is such a thing near you, they're rarer than they used to be), plus having a browse of the Autotrader website. |  |
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| A bit of help needed on 20:55 - Sep 27 with 1327 views | Durovigutum |
Can you afford a monthly amount rather than a lump sum? £2k is not likely to get you anything good, but the cheapest lease you can find might work out better - no tyres, MOT, servicing or hidden bills.
It might not work - in which case buy a really unfashionable grandad car. For example I saw a 06 Toyota Avensis estate for sale £3k recently and it looks really clean but very boring. |  | | |
| A bit of help needed on 21:37 - Sep 27 with 1240 views | soupytwist |
Depends what you need in terms of size of car, practicality etc. but if a small car will meet your needs I recently bought a 2013 Suzuki Swift 1.2 for my daughter for more or less that amount. If you get a decent one of those with a good service history you won't go too far wrong. |  | | |
| A bit of help needed on 22:13 - Sep 27 with 1123 views | mellowblue |
| A bit of help needed on 21:37 - Sep 27 by soupytwist |
Depends what you need in terms of size of car, practicality etc. but if a small car will meet your needs I recently bought a 2013 Suzuki Swift 1.2 for my daughter for more or less that amount. If you get a decent one of those with a good service history you won't go too far wrong. |
agree with the Suzuki Swift. daughter has had one for 8 years, just runs and runs. |  | | |
| A bit of help needed on 22:42 - Sep 27 with 1072 views | WicklowBlue |
What died on the car? What year/make/model is it?
I presume repair quotes exceed the 2k but buying another car worth 2k could end up being worse. |  | | |
| A bit of help needed on 23:07 - Sep 27 with 1025 views | WeWereZombies |
Don't discount what you might get for trading in the 'dead' car, you might be surprised by how much it fetches. |  |
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| A bit of help needed on 04:38 - Sep 28 with 892 views | NeedhamMarketKop |
How about investing in a weekly Greater Anglia railway ticket ?
Just a thought. | | | |
| A bit of help needed on 04:51 - Sep 28 with 877 views | Benters |
| A bit of help needed on 22:13 - Sep 27 by mellowblue |
agree with the Suzuki Swift. daughter has had one for 8 years, just runs and runs. |
Good little motors those Suzukis.
I bought a Suzuki Alto cost me £5k new many moons ago.I needed a cheap van and of course vans ain’t cheap!
So I only needed to get my tools to work and I folded the back seats down and used it as a van.
Like you said it just ran and ran. |  |
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| A bit of help needed on 05:37 - Sep 28 with 864 views | suffolkpoker |
I own a little car sales site in stowmarket.
I have got a trusty Hyundai i30 in stock 2011 1.6 diesel 115k £35 tax and 60mpg+
£1600 with 3 months warranty . New MOT and service etc
https://eavesmotors.co.uk/cars
Even if you don’t buy off me, feel freee to drop me a PM with a reg you have found to check over by price, HPI and MOT history. Happy to help pal 👍 |  |
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| A bit of help needed on 06:27 - Sep 28 with 799 views | Blue_Heath |
As others have said more info needed, e.g. mileage you do, size of car wanted, do you need a ULEZ compliant car etc.
Sadly £2k buys sweet FA these days, gone are the days of £500 motors you could run for several years. | |
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| A bit of help needed on 09:21 - Sep 28 with 618 views | vilanovablue |
| A bit of help needed on 22:42 - Sep 27 by WicklowBlue |
What died on the car? What year/make/model is it?
I presume repair quotes exceed the 2k but buying another car worth 2k could end up being worse. |
The car is a Kia Picanto and it's about 20 years old, unfortunately the main issue is rust and so it is getting to the point of being structural, we reckon we can get a couple of hundred quid in terms of scrap value. | | | |
| A bit of help needed on 09:23 - Sep 28 with 614 views | vilanovablue |
| A bit of help needed on 05:37 - Sep 28 by suffolkpoker |
I own a little car sales site in stowmarket.
I have got a trusty Hyundai i30 in stock 2011 1.6 diesel 115k £35 tax and 60mpg+
£1600 with 3 months warranty . New MOT and service etc
https://eavesmotors.co.uk/cars
Even if you don’t buy off me, feel freee to drop me a PM with a reg you have found to check over by price, HPI and MOT history. Happy to help pal 👍 |
That's very kind of you and thanks for the message it's much appreciated. | | | |
| A bit of help needed on 09:26 - Sep 28 with 610 views | vilanovablue |
| A bit of help needed on 06:27 - Sep 28 by Blue_Heath |
As others have said more info needed, e.g. mileage you do, size of car wanted, do you need a ULEZ compliant car etc.
Sadly £2k buys sweet FA these days, gone are the days of £500 motors you could run for several years. |
In reality it is really just a car for short low distances, the daily commute. The kids have left home so something small is fine. ULEZ compliance is not needed as we leave in Eastbourne. I have the main car for any longer distance journeys. Appreciate that 2k isn't a lot these days but cash is just a bit tight at the moment and I was hoping to have a bit more to spend but the car failing it's MOT spectacularly badly has somewhat backed me into a corner. | | | |
| A bit of help needed on 09:37 - Sep 28 with 568 views | giant_stow |
| A bit of help needed on 09:26 - Sep 28 by vilanovablue |
In reality it is really just a car for short low distances, the daily commute. The kids have left home so something small is fine. ULEZ compliance is not needed as we leave in Eastbourne. I have the main car for any longer distance journeys. Appreciate that 2k isn't a lot these days but cash is just a bit tight at the moment and I was hoping to have a bit more to spend but the car failing it's MOT spectacularly badly has somewhat backed me into a corner. |
I have a Honda civic which is great: cheap to run, doesn't seem to break and is OK on fuel (driving carefully on a motorway jounrey can do 50mpg). Mines an 08 plate and I paid 2 grand for it a few years back. |  |
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| A bit of help needed on 09:56 - Sep 28 with 522 views | baxterbasics |
My wife has a Suzuki Vitara, I don't really enjoy the driving of it but close to nothing has gone wrong in several years - only the usual consumables needing replacing.
Japanese brands tend to fare best in the 'well used' market - Nissan, Honda, Toyota. |  |
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| A bit of help needed on 12:00 - Sep 28 with 427 views | soupytwist |
| A bit of help needed on 09:26 - Sep 28 by vilanovablue |
In reality it is really just a car for short low distances, the daily commute. The kids have left home so something small is fine. ULEZ compliance is not needed as we leave in Eastbourne. I have the main car for any longer distance journeys. Appreciate that 2k isn't a lot these days but cash is just a bit tight at the moment and I was hoping to have a bit more to spend but the car failing it's MOT spectacularly badly has somewhat backed me into a corner. |
Here you go - https://www.gumtree.com/p/hond
Under budget, might not be the most stylish car in the world but if it does have the service history to back up the mileage and you can get to Brighton to look at it you should be fine with that for a few years. | | | |
| A bit of help needed on 12:10 - Sep 28 with 404 views | vilanovablue |
| A bit of help needed on 12:00 - Sep 28 by soupytwist |
Here you go - https://www.gumtree.com/p/hond
Under budget, might not be the most stylish car in the world but if it does have the service history to back up the mileage and you can get to Brighton to look at it you should be fine with that for a few years. |
Wow that's quite the find cheers for sharing I have sent the link to the missus | | | |
| A bit of help needed on 15:00 - Sep 28 with 288 views | hoppy |
| A bit of help needed on 22:13 - Sep 27 by mellowblue |
agree with the Suzuki Swift. daughter has had one for 8 years, just runs and runs. |
Maybe if she had a more reliable car, she wouldn't have to run everywhere? |  |
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| A bit of help needed on 17:03 - Sep 28 with 199 views | _CliveBaker_ |
I wont profess to know a lot about motors but I broke down a few years ago and got recovered by RAC. The mechanic who took me home said he goes to call outs every day, yet rarely has to visit a Japanese car. He told me for reliability go Japanese. |  | | |
| A bit of help needed on 17:47 - Sep 28 with 160 views | giant_stow |
| A bit of help needed on 17:03 - Sep 28 by _CliveBaker_ |
I wont profess to know a lot about motors but I broke down a few years ago and got recovered by RAC. The mechanic who took me home said he goes to call outs every day, yet rarely has to visit a Japanese car. He told me for reliability go Japanese. |
I've heard that too and was why I bought the Honda. My mate also has a Suzuki Swift for the same reason and he used to work in a garage, so ought to know. | |
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| A bit of help needed on 18:53 - Sep 28 with 106 views | OldFart71 |
If you buy private you has less protection than buying from a dealer. You are not likely, even with a dealer to get any more than 3 months cover and even that is unlikely to cover things like batteries, tyres and probably the clutch.
If you aren't mechanically minded it may pay to take someone who is with you as you don't want to be paying out for repairs.
I always check the MOT history and if it flags up parts that are worn, but not considered dangerous which would mean they would have failed the MOT it may be that if you don't get a full years MOT with the car that the next MOT it fails.
Best to try and get a car with a full MOT and as much service history as possible.
Check on a google search to see what a particular make and model is prone to and check that out on a test run.
Nothing can guarantee the car you buy won't have problems, but you can at least check as much as possible. | | | |
| A bit of help needed on 18:58 - Sep 28 with 96 views | ArnoldMoorhen |
| A bit of help needed on 09:26 - Sep 28 by vilanovablue |
In reality it is really just a car for short low distances, the daily commute. The kids have left home so something small is fine. ULEZ compliance is not needed as we leave in Eastbourne. I have the main car for any longer distance journeys. Appreciate that 2k isn't a lot these days but cash is just a bit tight at the moment and I was hoping to have a bit more to spend but the car failing it's MOT spectacularly badly has somewhat backed me into a corner. |
Would she even consider getting an electric bike?
If it really is just for commutes then the bike will be able to go as quickly through most commuting traffic as a car can. Running costs will be pence per journey. No obligatory insurance. Minimal servicing and repairs.
And two grand would get a very nice electric bike.
Just make sure it is totally legal with pedal assist only. | | | |
| A bit of help needed on 18:59 - Sep 28 with 96 views | giant_stow |
| A bit of help needed on 18:53 - Sep 28 by OldFart71 |
If you buy private you has less protection than buying from a dealer. You are not likely, even with a dealer to get any more than 3 months cover and even that is unlikely to cover things like batteries, tyres and probably the clutch.
If you aren't mechanically minded it may pay to take someone who is with you as you don't want to be paying out for repairs.
I always check the MOT history and if it flags up parts that are worn, but not considered dangerous which would mean they would have failed the MOT it may be that if you don't get a full years MOT with the car that the next MOT it fails.
Best to try and get a car with a full MOT and as much service history as possible.
Check on a google search to see what a particular make and model is prone to and check that out on a test run.
Nothing can guarantee the car you buy won't have problems, but you can at least check as much as possible. |
Newcyblue helped me and many others on car buying tips - see: Car recommendations by Zx1988 26 Sep 2024 17:37Following some good car advice in the past, I'm after some more...
We've been running a 2014 Honda Civic Tourer for a few years now and, although I think it's a fantastic little car, Mrs Zx has called time on it as the seats just don't agree with her back.
The perfect solution would be if we were able to swap out the Honda drivers' seat with something a little more comfortable, but I get the feeling that this would be far more hassle than it would be worth...
So...
I've been tasked with finding a suitable replacement car, for Mrs Zx to use as her runaround, with the boot space to allow her to trundle off to Guide camp two or three times a year.
I'm thinking to go down either the estate or SUV route, with about a £5k budget, and a mind to get something fairly high mileage that'll allow us to get a decent motor that should have a few more years of trouble-free occasional (probably less than 5,000 miles a year) use left in it.
Any particular recommendations? High-mileage late-model Vauxhall Insignia estates seem to be fairly easy to come by, and look to offer fairly decent quality. A Volvo (we've already got a 2017 XC60) would be a dream find, but I get the feeling that the budget wouldn't stretch to a Volvo worth having.
What would you be looking at in our shoes?
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| A bit of help needed on 19:33 - Sep 28 with 59 views | strikalite |
| A bit of help needed on 17:03 - Sep 28 by _CliveBaker_ |
I wont profess to know a lot about motors but I broke down a few years ago and got recovered by RAC. The mechanic who took me home said he goes to call outs every day, yet rarely has to visit a Japanese car. He told me for reliability go Japanese. |
Yep Japanese all the way, even a high miler as long as it has a full service history, they run forever, people are obsessed with mileage so it's possible to pick something up cheaply. |  | | |
| A bit of help needed on 19:49 - Sep 28 with 33 views | Pinewoodblue |
| A bit of help needed on 19:33 - Sep 28 by strikalite |
Yep Japanese all the way, even a high miler as long as it has a full service history, they run forever, people are obsessed with mileage so it's possible to pick something up cheaply. |
Another Japanese suggestion Honda Jazz.
Make sure no advisories on recent MOT. |  |
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