What Car Should I Buy?

Why are BMWs more expensive to insure?

Cost of spares.

what about a nice classic 1980's merc
thats when they actually made good cars

you rang?

hmm thats more 70's but yeah old mercs = massively overengineered
go on for ever

travel to any african 3rd world country and 90% of taxis are old merc 240D's the others are old peugot 405's

Rubbing wheel arches I think!

that's a taxi

hmm thats more 70's but yeah old mercs = massively overengineered
go on for ever

travel to any african 3rd world country and 90% of taxis are old merc 240D's the others are old peugot 405's

You mean 504s.

Do not buy a Cherokee.
Fuck, I had one as a company car for two years and it was atrocious.

Was this an XJ or one of the newer models? My recommendation extends only to this model as everything made after was a piece of shit. The XJ is still quite agricultural despite the leather interior, cruise control, AC etc so don't expect it to handle like a Range Rover Sport but that's part of the charm, much like a Land Rover Defender but loads cheaper whilst having better road manners. Should you ever need to take one off road you'll find them rather capable too.

LPG pops up at larger petrol stations, Shell and BP especially once you hit the motorway and Sainsburys forecourts tend to sell it at their larger stores. Should still be under 70p/litre. Other than that, some gas centres have a pump and it will be cheaper. The duel fuel setup means you'll start the car on petrol and once taken above a certain RPM it automatically switches over to gas. You can flick the switch to run it on petrol though.

Don't know if this is important but LPG systems are banned from the Chunnel due to risk inherent in the high pressure tank going Poooom! In a fire.

that's a taxi

No this is a taxi

kenyan matatu's
the funnest taxi you'll ever go in
sound systems rocking
paint jobs making your eyes sore
lights flashing

That's a 280SL isn't it? Love those.

Could you get one for £2k though?

you rang?

Austin Mini.
Citroen 2CV

Neither cheap

Good call!

If we're going to talk Rally variants though I'll raise you a MG Metro 6R4 Rallye ;-)

RS2000 were the big engined escorts you're thinking of the rs200

I used to own an auto 280SE with chrome over the wheel arches - man that car was great. 1976 and it had electric everything. How many British cars in 1976 had electric fucking anything?

That's a 280SL isn't it? Love those.

Could you get one for £2k though?

If only... In fact you won't find any SL of any era for £2k but you can find* usable *W123 CE coupes for that kind of money. Plenty of new age fun with a vintage feel to be had here: http://pistonheads.com/classifieds/2047174.htm

yeah some of the 70's and 80's mercs can be picked up pretty cheaply

merc pagoda... wants

My dad had this car, nice reliable car, good space.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201042370837513/sort/priceasc/usedcars/price-to/3000/maximum-age/up_to_10_years_old/model/rav-4/make/toyota/postcode/nw62ab/radius/1500/page/1?logcode=p

I used to own an auto 280SE with chrome over the wheel arches - man that car was great. 1976 and it had electric everything. How many British cars in 1976 had electric fucking anything?

The Rover 3500, the Jaguar XJ6 and Daimler Double Six, the Rolls Royce Silver Shadow, the Bentley T series, The Bristol 603. The Jaguar XJS, The Jensen Interceptor, The Aston Martin V8...

I was thinking more British Leyland, Morris et al

Suzuki Wagon R - after my comments above on Zafira's I'll probably get flammed for this too... but they are bonkers fun to drive in town, you can park'em anywhere, they'll last longer than a long thing, and are cheap.

But let's be clear, I still want a bodieanddoyle 2.8i Capri !

My sister has one of these, I recommended she got it.

They are really practical and feel awesome inside with lots of headroom, big windows & upright position. Easy parking too.

Only thing is that they are designed to be run no faster than 50mph really. So if you take them on the motorway they eat fuel like jokes. This was a big surprise! The small carr (1.1l I think) has terrible fuel economny both in the city and on the motorway. The only place it is sort of ok is 50mph A roads.

Octavia's winning then. From what I hear they're made on the same production line as VW's. But because of the name you get more for your money.

My good friend at work suggests a Daewoo (SP?) as they have recently offered a 7 year service guarantee?

I'd be very happy to get over a badge if it means having a good car that isn't considered cool rather than the other way round.

daewoo are chevrolet aren't they?

Kia do 7 year warranty http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=58193

Daewoo, ha, made from cheese. The new Kias (last 2/3 years) are a vast improvement, but will not be in the 2k price range.

Focus zetec estate TDi. Cheaper parts than the octavia. Both great cars.

The Octavia Estate looks nice, and I like the idea of a Cherokee too. How available is LPG though?

My Dad's had an Octavia Estate for about 15 years now, seems to have served him well.

I've been doing high mileages in a succession of Citroen Berlingos for the last ten years, and they are unrivalled as cyclist's cars, being cheap and cavernous, also comfy. Slow though, if that matters. I've got 180,000 mikes on my current Multispace 1.4 LPG doing London courier work, but I would advise against LPG unless you need the congestion charge exemption every day* - diesel works out slightly cheaper and is much nicer to drive. £2k will get you a first generation 2002 Multispace with the naturally aspirated 1.9 diesel, which would be my first choice of motor if I were in your shoes, although the 1.4 petrol is sound too. The 2.0HDi is lovely, but outside your budget.

*And the exemption is probably going to be removed soon anyway