What car for £1000-2000

[starfarer]

Just want to see what's av'ers opinion on pug 407 1.6 diesel. Being offered one 06 reg 80K years MOT and 6 months tax for £1200.

Though prefer 307 in size and look, but they are bit expensive looking on 2nd hand market and also keeping an eye on citreon C4. Others ford and Vauxhall, but they'll be of older REG that offer above. Budget not big..around £1500 but can stretch to £2000. Requirements simple, just enough to give 2-3 years of trouble free drive and don't really care whether that goes to scrap by the end.

Used to have 01 accord sport 1.8. Road tax of £270 and high insurance costs (usually £300-500 difference on similar types of european make cars) forced the sale.

Edit: All my life only driven japanese cars but thinking of getting euro ones for cheaper insurance.

Edit: thread title changed!!

Thanks.

 

[eob]

In a word: rubbish.

I don't think I've been in one yet where the gears were either a game of chance or stirring porridge.
And also, the interior plastics are akin to that which you would find in a biscuit tin.

Stick to Jap or go German. IMOH.

 

[un1eash]

Not a fan of Peugeot but the C2 and C4 are decent cars. Have driven a few Peugeots and they're OK, just not something I'd buy. Though we are considering an RCZ next.

 

[starfarer]

Not even for the price??

 

[djbsom]

My cars tend to cover between 40 and 50 thousand miles a year, most of them at the hands of my pupils. I keep them until they start needing repairs, usually that comes at about the 140 thousand mark or there about.
I have run mazdas, citroens, Nissans etc and for the last nine years have had Renault clios/modus. So, I've put getting on for half a million miles on the Renaults. Tough miles. Miles where the drivers are trying to drive every where in the wrong gear and hit everything that they see.
I needed a new alternator on a 86bhp clio. That's it. (Apart from fuel and tyres etc) and that was at 148000 miles.
So. My opinion is that Renaults are great, the other French are okay.
And I'd rather push a Renault than drive a Ford.

 

[enigma1701]

I had a clio when I was younger, I didn't even abuse it and it caused me lots of heartache and lots of £££, so for me, I'll never touch another French car, Renault, Peugeot etc no matter the cost.

Everyone's different tho, two of my pals sweat by their megane's!

Decisions Decisions!!!

 

[deantown]

We had a Peugot 405 from brand new and never had any trouble with it. We wouldn't buy another but only because we have moved on to German cars. The car you are looking at would seem a good price if the car is in good nick. I have a 2001 Golf (1 owner low mileage) that someone offered me £1250-£1500. So £1200 for an 06 Pug might be pretty good.

 

[owen021173]

Depending on how many miles you do I would avoid the 1.6 hdi or 2.0hdi . Having reviewed extensively when buying our Peugeot they seem to be littered with engine faults compared to petrol variants .

Having owned 'proper'Saab's and numerous VW's I swore after my dads experience with a 405 and Renault Laguna I would never buy French but I love the Peugeot , it suits us perfectly as a family

Peugeot 307 sw 1.6 petrol btw

 

[gavinl1967]

I owned a 55 plate 407SW 2.0 HDi for 18 months - it was a year old when I bought it. I loved the looks of the car and other than a few 'niggles' really enjoyed the car. Mine seemed well put together and in typical french car fashion it had a really good 'ride' and I got decent mpg - generally around 45, but on a long run I could get 60 (indicated).

The 'niggles' were, it could occasionally, from cold, start as though it wasn't running properly. I just turned it off, started it again and it ran perfectly. It did this perhaps 10 times in the time I owned it. On another couple of occasions it went into what I assumed was 'limp' mode. Again, I stopped/started the car and it ran fine. I also remember sometimes when you locked/unlocked the car, the windscreen wipers would give a couple of swooshes.

There was also a recall on some front suspension/steering (sorry can't remember exactly what), but I would perhaps chack with Peugeot his has been carried out.

Other than that, like I said, I enjoyed owning mine.

I've also previously owned (for 6 years) a Citreon ZX (P reg) and it just ran a ran.

 

[car-man]

I've been in the car repair business for 43 years and find that French cars are no different to any other.

Regarding the 407...the 1.6 engines have weak turbos,( just like BMW diesels) so if you do buy one be sure to change the oil more often than normal and leave the engine running a few seconds before you switch off.
The 407 have weak bottom ball joints, but are very easy to replace.
Hige mileage ones can have DPF problems, but all diesels with a DPF are the same (German cars too).

I own a 407 2.0 HDi and love it to bits, the 2.0 engine is superb (used by Ford and Volvo plus many others.)
The 6 speed gearbox is a joy.

The C2 is alright, broken coil springs are common, same with many other cars including BMW.
Never had more than a broken coil spring on a C4, except the electronic boot lock.

Stupid electrical faults can be a problem with French cars (Renault worse than most.)

Don't believe the anti French propaganda, but don't be taken in by the pro German lobby.

In my opinion, the best cars around at the moment are Honda, Kia, Hyundai.

 

[FZR400RRSP]

Renault Clio 1.5dci we bought new in 2006 and kept until 2009 was the most reliable car we've ever had.
Even Hondas we've had needed something repaired, but the Clio needed nothing, zilch, nowt.
It was better built than the latest model Ford Fiesta we replaced it with as well.

 

[starfarer]

Thanks all for input. I'll take it +ve overall and already arranged for viewing in afternoon. One thing I've noticed and found very common in most 2nd hand french cars esp puegeot and renault are high mileage averaging 120K in 6/7 years. Now IMO that is a some serious driving (for the size of clio, 206, 307 etc) yet anytime look for a review and good chance that it'll be a negative one.

Valuation on parkers is £2000 for poor private.

Regarding the 407...the 1.6 engines have weak turbos,( just like BMW diesels) so if you do buy one be sure to change the oil more often than normal and leave the engine running a few seconds before you switch off.
The 407 have weak bottom ball joints, but are very easy to replace.

Will keep this in mind.

 

[gavinl1967]

There was also a recall on some front suspension/steering (sorry can't remember exactly what), but I would perhaps chack with Peugeot his has been carried out.

The following is what was replaced on mine, all done under recall/warranty.

The 407 have weak bottom ball joints, but are very easy to replace.

 

[Ed Selley]

While I can't see a situation where I would see myself choosing a Peugeot or Renault to buy with my own money, I have a weakness for Citroens and think the DS3, DS4 and the now departed C6 are all very appealing cars. Thanks to appalling CO2 emissions, the C6 is now ridiculously cheap to buy and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't tempted from time to time.

 

[starfarer]

Not in the condition that I was expecting for year. Now looking for advice on any other cars in price range.

 

[nonumb]

I bought a vw passat 1.9 and a skoda fabia 1.9 diesels. High milage but seem solid. The passat has now done 164k miles but it's pretty common to find 250k mile examples. My uncle has an a6 with the same engine which is over 300k miles. The fabia has 100k miles but only had it a short time.

Both running well but be aware of cambelt changes.

I had a citreon Ds3 hire car and my god it was awful to drive compared to the passat and fabia. No idea on long term reliability yet for my cars but done 8k miles in the passat and it seems good so far.

My sister had a pug 206 diesel and at 60k miles it was uneconomical to repair. Felt terrible to drive and very very poor build quality. This has really put me off pugs although worth noting that it was a budget model.

I'd definitely look at a vw/seat/skoda/audi with the 1.9 pd engine.

 

[bl0at3r]

I bought a 2003 Astra 2.2 SRi a year ago for £2k - only had 29k on it and after 12 months it now has 39k, sailed though its mot in September and I have just had to put some tyres on it. Touch wood it is an excellent car and has been 100% reliable. Clearly this is reflected by the huge folder of servicing, old mots and that it was generally well treated by the previous owner. It has all the toys like aircon and cruise etc

Would thoroughly recommend them and despite it being one of the cheapest cars I have bought in recent years - I like it the most.

Will try and keep it going as long as I can but I hope it will go on for many years.

 

[chump]

Just out of interest why would it have had a 'folder full' for a car with such low mileage? Just curious

 

[Kieran83]

I would imagine that a careful and respectful previous owner would have serviced it regularly regardless of mileage.

It is 10 years old mind, age related services, brakes amd tyres were probably done out of precaution rather than necessity.

Kieran

 

[bl0at3r]

Just out of interest why would it have had a 'folder full' for a car with such low mileage? Just curious

Because he serviced it annually - as with most older cars it is 12000 miles OR 12 months whichever is sooner - not condition based servicing like today's cars.

Plus I have every mot since 3yrs old and receipts for wiper blades, tyres and such.

 

[bl0at3r]

I would imagine that a careful and respectful previous owner would have serviced it regularly regardless of mileage.

It is 10 years old mind, age related services, brakes amd tyres were probably done out of precaution rather than necessity.

Kieran

 

[Exemplar]

Just out of interest why would it have had a 'folder full' for a car with such low mileage? Just curious

I bought a car once that had a folder full. It had every receipt for every job, tyres, wiper blades etc etc..

 

[starfarer]

Don't mind high mileage as long it's been serviced properly. Couple weeks back, almost got vectra (07, 1.9 Diesel,135K, 1 owner, FSH) until owner decided can't make half trip to Derby/Nottingham and refunded the deposit. I took my brother's Toyota Corolla (1.6 petrol) and each mile I missed my Accord.

Some on local gumtree:
05 Chevrolet tacuma 5DR 65K £1195
06 Mondeo Edge 5DR 101K £1895
05 Mondeo Mistral 5DR 100K £1295
57 Kia Rio Zapp 5DR 50K £2190
06 Seat Ibiza 3DR 90K £1700
54 Rover 45 CVT 5DR 40K £1100

There is also a Jazz (06, 40K) for £2500 but after testing m8's one, not sure I want. No any experience on all above and personally don't know anyone who owns them apart one guy on automatic mondeo. What's catching ppl's eyes from the list?

Also how big a difference (in costs like road tax, insurance and fuel consumption) going from 1.8 to 2.0 petrol. Is there any 1.8/2.0L petrol car that is economical or as comparable to any 1.6L?

 

[bl0at3r]

The 2 mondeos or the seat. High mileage auto slush boxes are possibly trouble.

I used to worry about road tax but when you work out that the difference between £270 and £100 a year is just about 46p a day I thought it wasn't worth bothering about.

With regard mpg - I had an 06 fiesta 1.4 which used to return around 34mpg according to the computer on the dash - mainly because I used to thrash it everywhere as it was a small engine, and it didn't like motorway cruising much. The 2.2 Astra I have now returns about the same on a run and manages about 30mpg the rest of the time.

Again, not enough difference to worry about on the 10k miles I do in a year.

IMHO with bangernomics (something I now whole heartedly subscribe to) you will save money in the long run by buying a well cared for example over a ratty one as it will likely need less spent on it in repairs - not worrying about mpg and tax. Buy whatever takes your fancy - the bigger engined cars usually command less money as everyone wants small economical cars now.

 

[bl0at3r]

I bought a car once that had a folder full. It had every receipt for every job, tyres, wiper blades etc etc..

Exactly - and this I always have done with all my cars - even down to keeping old tax discs.