Good run around for £300-400 ?

[marb]

My mother needs a small run around car to get to town and back. Nothing fancy but she only has £300, £400 at a push.

Is it possible to get something that is

Reliable
Cheap to run
Safe
Cheap to tax

For this money ? If so I would be grateful for any suggestions on makes to look at.

Thanks.

 

[Burnerman]

Drum roll The Nissan Micra, K11 - up to 2002. Look how many there are kicking around, some as old as the hills.
John

 

[Peter.N.]

I was going to suggest Peugeot 406/C5 until I noticed 'small'. The small Peugeots pre about 03 are pretty reliable, especially the diesels.

Peter

 

[big-all]

insurance may be the decider

 

[marb]

The Nissan Micra is way out of her price range I am afraid. Even the 1995 model is £495 looking at Parkers.

Again, the 406 lowest price on Parkers comes up at £795

 

[Peter.N.]

You can get sometimes them cheaper than that, look on ebay. There are quite a few 306s for less than £500.

Peter

 

[Burnerman]

Forget about the price guides....its really shop windows for prices like this.
You have to appreciate that you are approaching scrap value here, so people wouldn't want to pay to advertise.
The Citroen AX is another candidate....just don't have a crash in one
John

 

[Mursal]

Try here http://bit.ly/1ia8Swb

Then put your own location in for a radius you want to travel to purchase.

Just be careful, get an MOT if you can

Good luck

 

[Belle427]

At those prices its a bit of a lottery im afraid so take care.

 

[paulc2]

You will struggle to get the combination of cheap to purchase and cheap to run! Depends what you mean by cheap to run, but if you look at the mileage you go and the cost of fuel, then eg a 60mpg diesel vs a 40mpg petrol will mean thousands per year saved on fuel. People know this, so small diesels have something of a premium. Also beware that older 'modern' diesels have things like ECUs, dual mass flywheels, etc which can get costly to fix if (when) they go wrong, and most diesels will have high mileage. Also, beware of ex-taxis.

So, bearing this in mind and rejecting petrol, you are somewhat limited:

Vaux Astra - crude, not that good a car but cheap
Pug 306
Citroen Xsara (Picasso)

Then you're into older (possibly rust), or larger (less economical)

Ford Mondeo
Vaux Vectra
Golf Mk3

If you really don't want diesel and want a petrol, look at Ford Fiesta, Vaux Corsa as cheap to buy and run. Fiesta/Corsa diesels will be a premium. Pug 206 petrols are too unreliable, diesels are a premium.

If you can find one, with a decent rear beam (the bearings wear out), a Pug 106 would be VERY cheap to buy and run. Beware of rust though.

 

[Peter.N.]

If you go for a Peugeot diesel get the 8 valve Hdi 2.0. engine they are bombproof, I have two in a 406 and C5, both have done around 200,000 miles and have the original clutch and DMF. In the 406 it will do 60 mpg if driven carefully and more in the 306. They used these engines from 99 -03.

Peter

 

[Mursal]

That 2.0Hdi would be just shy of a grand to tax over here for one year, crazy stuff

 

[paulc2]

That 2.0Hdi would be just shy of a grand to tax over here for one year, crazy stuff

In the UK, beware that there is a change in the car tax after 2001 (Y reg and onwards). Pre-2001 it went on engine capacity (only), so a diesel over 1549cc will be much higher than after 2001 (when it went onto CO2 emissions). Y reg onwards diesels tend to be worth a bit more....

 

[Burnerman]

Lets not forget, the bigger the car, the more the spares cost......I can get Micra discs for £9
The thing is, with such a small amount of cash any maintenance / repairs at all is a non starter.
John

 

[Peter.N.]

Spares for the 406 are pretty cheap John, or I wouldn't run one there are thousands of them about. Get a diesel registered March 01 onwards and the tax is only £140 per year too.

Peter