Cars that go on forever

[carpetviper]

Sorry but It would have to be a mondeo theres a reason its been car of the year for many years. I think the 2L TDCI would be an excellent choice especially the ghia x model.

[UnkleBob]

you'll get a perfectly fine Focus for £2k, mine's just turned 132,000 miles, but might be best to avoid the diesels. Mine's a 2.0 but a 1.6 or 1.8 should be a bit more fuel friendly.

[JoeS]

+1 for the Audi 100, had an 88F 2.2E as my first car, as far as I know it did 267,000 miles. They are purely retro and supremely comfortable.

 

If I had £2,000 I'd buy three or four of them and keep the others as donors!

 

I got it at 189k from my dad and I sold it to a bloke for £75 when I was at uni and couldn't afford to run it anymore, it had done just shy of 250k miles when I sold it on.

 

Unfortunately I think it was the next owners carelessness that caused it to go to the scrappie, not mechanical failure.

[pem123]

you'll get a perfectly fine Focus for £2k, mine's just turned 132,000 miles, but might be best to avoid the diesels. Mine's a 2.0 but a 1.6 or 1.8 should be a bit more fuel friendly.

 

Other way round. Diesels will outlive petrols and generally be cheaper to run

[medusa]

Put £1000 in a bank account to pay for repairs and more petrol than you were planning for and spend £1000 on a really good SAAB 9000 hatch or estate (P reg-ish). They're good for a couple of hundred thousand miles without blinking and they will get you from A to B in style and comfort (and quite a lot of speed!).

 

You also have the advantage of having a SAAB specialist in Sheffield who knows more about old SAABs than SAAB do!

[Snook]

I'd go for something like this. It seems to be everything that you're looking for, and if I was looking for something that was older but reliable I would stick to the likes of Honda, Toyota, and VW, rather than the likes of a Ford which is more likely to need money spent on ongoing repairs.

[MAMALOCHA!]

Go with something Japanese

 

second that

[Number Six]

I'd go for something like [well priced, tidy 1. Civic] . It seems to be everything that you're looking for, and if I was looking for something that was older but reliable I would stick to the likes of Honda, Toyota, and VW, rather than the likes of a Ford which is more likely to need money spent on ongoing repairs.

 

I reckon I'd want something a bit bigger and more powerful than the Civic, but it looks a good honest car that would go on for a long, long time.

 

This looks quite good though. An LPG converted Mondeo Ghia estate (2001) with only 44k miles for £1880.

 

Not sure on LPG though - if it's a good install presumably they're ok?

[SHYTOT]

Fiat Stilo.

 

They depreciated so much from new that you can get the last ones made for around £2K.

 

You are then driving a 3 year old car rather than an old banger.

[Snook]

I reckon I'd want something a bit bigger and more powerful than the Civic, but it looks a good honest car that would go on for a long, long time.

 

This looks quite good though. An LPG converted Mondeo Ghia estate (2001) with only 44k miles for £1880.

 

Not sure on LPG though - if it's a good install presumably they're ok?

 

I think it'll come down to personal taste in the end. As I said, if you are wanting it to do a lot of miles without many problems I would avoid a Ford, and especially the Mondeo. If I had to have a Ford it would be a Focus, as they seem to be the best of the bunch. On the plus side, parts for Fords are usually quite cheap, which is a good job, really. I can certainly understand the power thing, especially if you are doing a lot of motorway driving, but as for space inside there would be more boot space in the Mondeo but more leg-room in the Civic. LPG will save you money and will be the major selling point of the Mondeo, I'd just have a check where your nearest garage is.

 

Fiat Stilo.

 

They depreciated so much from new that you can get the last ones made for around £2K.

 

You are then driving a 3 year old car rather than an old banger.

 

But it's a Fiat, so about as reliable as an old banger.