# Most reliable car for 2.5k?



## Guitarjon (Jul 13, 2012)

After a string of fun and fast cars I now need to sell up and buy something tragically dull. 

Must have 5 doors and be as reliable as possible. Although the more I look into it nearly every car has some sort of common issues. 

I also don't want a great car at the bottom end of the budget as these are often hard to find in a good condition. Bmws seem to be common for this. The ones I've found in budget are generally in very poor condition. 

So I'm looking for something like a focus/ mondeo/ Astra/ passat. I like golfs but the only ones I've found in budget are mk4s which I don't like. Not a fan of a3s or a4s either. 

So what can you reccomend. Along with the bad points. I know they all have some bad points but I need some cheap, trouble free motoring for a while. I know cheap and trouble free don't go in the same sentence but it's better than cheap and fun if that makes sense?


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## CLS500Benz (Jul 28, 2013)

When i hear the word "reliable" one car comes to mind, The Lexus LS series.. 

Wont be for everyone though due to the size of the car, engine limited to a V8 petrol...etc.

Anyway thought i'd through that in there :thumb:


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## Kerr (Mar 27, 2012)

It would be something Japanese I'd vote for. 

Honda Accord or similar.


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## Guitarjon (Jul 13, 2012)

I'll check out the accord, want it to look fairly decent. Some of the older jap stuff isn't great.

I'll look at which accord I can get for the cash as some are better than others. I looked at Toyota avensis too as these seem like a good buy but nearly all of them have been around the world and back. I guess there is a good reason many taxi drivers in my local area have them. 

I've found a few 1.9 mk5 golfs. Any problems here with dpfs?


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## Guitarjon (Jul 13, 2012)

vxlomegav6 said:


> When i hear the word "reliable" one car comes to mind, The Lexus LS series..
> 
> Wont be for everyone though due to the size of the car, engine limited to a V8 petrol...etc.
> 
> Anyway thought i'd through that in there :thumb:


Steering clear of anything with silly power. Currently have a jaguar s type r with 400bhp.


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## Guitarjon (Jul 13, 2012)

Looks like it's the nicer shape accord in my price budget. One to consider thanks Kerr.


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

Toyota Carolla, spent nothing more than servicing items for the missus one since she's had it, only got it because we needed something reliable for her, but you can fling it about when you want too lol


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## Roody262 (Mar 6, 2010)

Volvo... V70, s40/60 can be bad for good money. Well put together cars.


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## President Swirl (Oct 23, 2011)

Accords are great cars. Also consider an Octavia as well mate. I had one for a while and it was excellent. Not bad on fuel either for a 2.0.


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## Guitarjon (Jul 13, 2012)

Mate had an octy. He much prefered his passat that got written off before it though. Was always on the look out for another passat. 

With the vag group cars what are the engines to go for? I'm not too bothered petrol or diesel. The 1.6 petrol is a bit too slow for me though as they are generally fairly heavyish cars. 

The accord is Definately looking like a great option. I've looked at volvos a lot. I do like estates.


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## Certi (May 5, 2011)

Honda Accord is a good shout.


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## Kimo (Jun 7, 2013)

My uncle had nothing but problems with his Passat

1.7 cdti Astras are reliable. The 1.9 have a couple of common problems but if you avoid them then they're fantastic cars


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## VW Golf-Fan (Aug 3, 2010)

What about a 1.9CDTI Vectra?


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## jay_bmw (Jan 28, 2010)

VW Golf-Fan said:


> What about a 1.9CDTI Vectra?


He said reliable :lol:

My 150 vectra needed;

new injectors
new gearbox
clutch was slipping
dual mass was rattling

all common issues on 150 cdti's

What about a Mazda 6?

Ref the 1.9 golfs, they dont have DPF's on them mk4's & early mk5's - just the later mk5's have them & it states it on the logbook.


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## Bigsanj (Oct 30, 2012)

Audi a6 is a huge motor and can get a decent one for your money. Good specs too. 

Honda accord as already mentioned would be second choice


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## VW Golf-Fan (Aug 3, 2010)

jay_bmw said:


> He said reliable :lol:
> 
> My 150 vectra needed;
> 
> ...


Just because you had problems with the Vectra doesn't mean to say that all Vectras are going to suffer problems like that. 

And what mileage would yours have been on to need that whacking great list looking at?


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## yetizone (Jun 25, 2008)

I'd be looking at a Mazda 6 or an Accord I think, or perhaps the B5 Passat if you can find a specced low mileage example - according to a VW specialist buddy, this was the moist robust gen Passat.

I always found driving a Mazda 6 put a smile on my face, especially for such a big car, its one drawback being slightly high on road noise coming into the cabin. I found the Accord much more refined over distance and comparatively felt well screwed together - also seems there are many 'alarmingly beige' interiors chosen for the Accord saloon to avoid / use as price negotiator


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## Guitarjon (Jul 13, 2012)

I have had a stream of mazdas (mx5s) and they have always been extreamly reliable. The older 6s seem to be a bugger for tin worm though. It's one to add to my list though. I love the new mazda 6s but they will be outta budget. 

I'm not making any quick decisions. I've got plenty of time to find one. I know threads like this come up often but I have to admit Id have never thought of an accord. That's winning so far.


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## Delboy_Trotter (Jun 7, 2007)

Focus gets my vote - plenty about, so plenty of choice.

It will be boring a sin, but comfy and reliable, plus a good size boot.

If your going petrol then id recommend the 1.6, its a good compromise between economy and power

Derv for 2.5k you'll be looking at a mk1/mk1.5 so it would be a 1.8 tddi (or an early tdci), which are strong as houses and no dpf/dmf to worry about


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## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

If reliability / running costs are key criteria then pointless looking at anything European - EVERY single reliability report I have read for the last ten years + has been them well down the list

Don't know what your size requirements are but I'd be looking at Civic, Accord, Auris / Corolla, Avensis, IS200 - all with rock solid reputations for giving little trouble

If you do consider European the only thing I'd look at is Saab 9-5's, look at the number with well over 100k on them to give you an idea of toughness


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## yetizone (Jun 25, 2008)

Agree - an Accord is a good shout as they superbly screwed together and a good drive too. I see quite a few for sale locally as its a relatively aged demographic and low mileage one owner examples often come up for sale in the small ads.


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## jay_bmw (Jan 28, 2010)

VW Golf-Fan said:


> Just because you had problems with the Vectra doesn't mean to say that all Vectras are going to suffer problems like that.
> 
> And what mileage would yours have been on to need that whacking great list looking at?


err,try googling vectra 150 cdti problems. It was on 66k when i got it.


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## jay_bmw (Jan 28, 2010)

and like i say, all common problems, so if you dont consider those a problem for reliability then happy days


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## Kimo (Jun 7, 2013)

jay_bmw said:


> and like i say, all common problems, so if you dont consider those a problem for reliability then happy days


You missed egr valve and inlet manifold off the list


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## jay_bmw (Jan 28, 2010)

lol exactly, and this is from a Vauxhall technician himself!! /\ /\

I'm not turning this into an argument thread - i'm trying to be helpful to the OP - a car with a chocolate gearbox, expensive DMF & turbo, not exactly the most reliable car out there - common sense provailing.


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## Alfieharley1 (Jun 8, 2014)

Honda type r would be a good shout and still fun


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## Shiny (Apr 23, 2007)

Whilst the Type R is fun and generally reliable, some do have issues now as they are getting on a bit.

The 7th Gen CL7 / CL9 Accord can be bought cheap as chips these days. The 2.4 is also quite nippy. Won't drive and handle like the ATR, but also won't be quite as delicate.


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## bradleymarky (Nov 29, 2013)

What about this, not too far from you.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HONDA-ACC...493?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item3f4739d6ad


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## CoOkIeMoNsTeR (Mar 6, 2011)

jay_bmw said:


> lol exactly, and this is from a Vauxhall technician himself!! / /
> 
> I'm not turning this into an argument thread - i'm trying to be helpful to the OP - a car with a chocolate gearbox, expensive DMF & turbo, not exactly the most reliable car out there - common sense provailing.


I would also avoid a Vectra like the plague and agree the 1.9 150 CDTi is a shockingly bad engine and if you have an Automatic gearbox you are in for a thoroughly entertaining ownership experience where Vauxhall themselves don't know how to fix the car!

By 148,000 miles mine had eaten 3 engines and 2 auto boxes and killed the second after just 13,000 miles!

Honda Accord all the way mate, just make sure if its the 2.2 CTDi engine you check the oil level regularly; they can drink up to a litre every 600 miles and Honda say that is normal so if buying private I wouldn't hand any cash over to anyone boasting they have never had to lift the bonnet between services. 2.0 VTEC estate exclusive with the electric tailgate is the one to have (awesome function and great for family life!) Other than that; Golf, Focus, Astra... none of the little luxuries you get with the Honda though and they are very well put together machines, they are just huge which puts people off and they aren't German so not desirable to many but great for the bargain hunters!


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## jay_bmw (Jan 28, 2010)

Having had over 50 cars now in my mid 20s I can honestly say it was the most unreliable.


Any jap car I've owned (Mazda mx5,323f - Toyota celica, Toyota mr2, paseo) not one has given me an ounce of trouble!


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## possul (Nov 14, 2008)

My dads t reg corolla hqs had brake pipes and a thermostat in over four years of ownership. I honestly csnnot fault it. Jap for reliability for me


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## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

I very often think that people get mixed up over perceived quality and reliability

The European brands generally have the edge over the Japanese in terms of soft feel plastics etc, the details that at first glance provide the impression of quality

Surely another, perhaps more important measure of quality is "Will it be reliable"

My sister refuses to buy anything but German brands - "They're the best quality" and yet every time I see her she is telling me about the latest problem on her Mercedes or Audi - despite this she continues to buy them, will never buy Japanese because they are not of the same quality - she's right - the Japanese equivalents are better quality


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## Shiny (Apr 23, 2007)

Chap i know owns a body shop and, despite popular belief, he doesn't think much of bmws, mercs etc unless they are the really expensive ones (i believe the top end Mercs used to be built at a different factory?). 

He speaks highly of the Jap stuff where build quality is concerned though.


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## jay_bmw (Jan 28, 2010)

andy665 said:


> I very often think that people get mixed up over perceived quality and reliability
> 
> The European brands generally have the edge over the Japanese in terms of soft feel plastics etc, the details that at first glance provide the impression of quality
> 
> ...


Agree with this completley. I love BMW's and i always will, i fall for the Brand snobbery, but they've let me down on numerous occasions, so would never reccomend one for reliability :lol: none of the jap stuff ive ever had has let me down.


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## Kerr (Mar 27, 2012)

Too many of the Japanese cars are just dull as dish water. Their designs are just so boring and bland. 

Most of their cars are just instantly forgettable looking. 

Over in the US Japanese cars are stealing huge amounts of the market and there is models over there we don't get. They look better over there than they do here. 

When the Japanese put their minds to it, they have made some lovely cars over the years that really stand out. 

The normal cars seem to do all you need from a car, but not actually what people want from a car. 

On the whole the best word to describe their cars in general is clinical.


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## jay_bmw (Jan 28, 2010)

/\ But from a thread title point of view, they're ideal wouldn't ya say


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

someone here needs a new transfer box in there RX330 Lexus, its a Lexus only part and is the best part of £4500 supplied and fitted ......


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## Kerr (Mar 27, 2012)

jay_bmw said:


> / But from a thread title point of view, they're ideal wouldn't ya say


That's why I recommended an Accord.

You can actually get a lot of car for that money too. I see clean cars with lowish mileage, leather and sat nav for not far off the budget.

So not paying for a desirable brand name gets you more car for your money, whilst also meeting the criteria of most reliable too.


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## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

Kerr said:


> The normal cars seem to do all you need from a car, but not actually what people want from a car.
> 
> On the whole the best word to describe their cars in general is clinical.


Sales figures, profits and customer satisfaction would suggest otherwise

Most people do want "reliable transport" - white goods in fact - Japanese brands understand that and deliver it in spades

I see very few cars from any manufacturer, whether they be German, Japanese or anything else that are anything other than clinical

My mother and her husband are typical - owned Nissans for the last 20+ years - nothing ever gone wrong on any of them apart from normal wear and tear they have cost nothing to run - they have just bought a 2 year old Nissan Note on my recommendation - not my kind of car but they want good value, good equipment, low running costs and the car fits their needs to perfection

The Japanese know what they are good at, know what the majority of customers want and deliver it - seems like sound business logic

You only have to look at % of customers retained - the Koreans and Japanese massively outperform the Europeans when it comes to seeing customers come back for another vehicle


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## transtek (Mar 2, 2007)

How about a Volvo S80? Your budget will get a 2003/4, diesel if you want it, leather, etc. Seem to be pretty reliable cars as well!


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## Kerr (Mar 27, 2012)

andy665 said:


> Sales figures, profits and customer satisfaction would suggest otherwise
> 
> Most people do want "reliable transport" - white goods in fact - Japanese brands understand that and deliver it in spades
> 
> ...


The Japanese only have one car in the top 10 selling cars. A few lists say one car, anothers say two.

A quick search from 2013 still only had 2 Japanese cars and then more Audis, BMW and Mercs.

The list is made up of cars people desire. Golfs, Polos, Audi A3, Fiat 500 plus the ever popular cars from Ford and Vauxhall.

The two cars that are Japanese and the Qashqui and the Juke(on some lists).

The Qashqui is actually one of the best looking, possible the best looking, car in its class. It has a very good image. The little Juke is also funky and cheap. It's not your typical Japanese car.

Fiat aren't that popular a brand, but bring something stylish out like the 500 and image sell. Most of the list is made up of desirable cars with a good image.

The best selling cars are either cheap, or have a desirability factor.

I've never really looked at profits of these companies, but the Japanese car makers are renowned for how efficient they are in their production techniques. Many of their factories are used as the benchmark for a production environment.

How much of their profit is made from the UK market? I don't think they've got anywhere near the market share here as they do in the USA.


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## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

I was talking worldwide which is surely more representative than our little nation

Lets not forget that in the UK nearly 50% of new sales are to fleets, it seriously skews sales figures - from 20+ years experience in the industry there is one over-riding consideration - purchase price / monthly cost

The Japanese have never attacked the fleet market in the UK - they play around the edges and even with retail customers its only in the last 5 years they have woken up to the fact that "consumer offers" helps to shift metal

I do think the Japanese should err more on the design side - no reason why good design AND reliability can't sit alongside each other but the Japanese are notoriously conservative

You are also 100% right in that the UK is a minnow compared to the US in terms of sales / profit - the best selling car (not vehicle) in the US still switches between the Accord and the Camry


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## Ben1413 (Jul 1, 2009)

As andy665 mentioned, a Saab 9-3 or 9-5 is a good shout. Based on a vectra chassis with some very good, powerful engines.

A couple of examples:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2004-SAAB...552?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item3f4742a4d0

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SAAB-9-5-...875?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item20f6a030db

Ben


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## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

Ben1413 said:


> As andy665 mentioned, a Saab 9-3 or 9-5 is a good shout. Based on a vectra chassis with some very good, powerful engines.
> 
> Ben


Saab 9-3 is Vectra based, 9-5 was all Saabs own work and all the better for it - good thing about Saabs is that even the GM era cars were built well with minimal cost cutting

The slant four petrol engines can trace their ancestry back to the Triumph Dolomite of all things and apart from oil sludge build up (caused by semi-synthetic as opposed to fully synthetic) oil being specifed from new they are pretty bulletproof. (Aero models left the factory with fully synthetic and as long as maintained there is a much smaller risk of oil sludge build up


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## Guitarjon (Jul 13, 2012)

bradleymarky said:


> What about this, not too far from you.
> 
> http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HONDA-ACC...493?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item3f4739d6ad


I spotted that one thinking it looked like a decent buy. Like the grey too! I'm not ready to buy right away. I'll keep my fun cars until I really need to get rid lol. It will be in the near future though.


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## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

Hows the S Type running?


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## Guitarjon (Jul 13, 2012)

Its in the garage at the moment for a gearbox service. Hoping thats all it wants Andy. Gearbox fault came up along with engine management light. Bloke at the specialist seems to think its all linked to low gear box oil. It's still drivable but an expensive fix!


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## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

Guitarjon said:


> Its in the garage at the moment for a gearbox service. Hoping thats all it wants Andy. Gearbox fault came up along with engine management light. Bloke at the specialist seems to think its all linked to low gear box oil. It's still drivable but an expensive fix!


The gearbox is supposed to be a sealed for life unit but lots of people change the oil, apparently thee oil is about £200 buts its a relatively straightforward job to do. I watched the YouTube video on how to do it but as mine seems perfectly ok I'm leaving it for the time being


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## Rayaan (Jun 1, 2014)

£2.5k huh?

Id be getting this - http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif.../wf177rs/usedcars/page/1/make/lexus?logcode=p

Probably the most reliable car on the face of this planet.

Want proof? Here you go - http://www.thesmokingtire.com/2014/matt-just-bought-a-900000-mile-lexus-ls400/


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## J55TTC (Apr 11, 2008)

Sold my old Passat 2.0 tdi 170 company car with just shy of 200k miles for £2.5k. That thing just went and went


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## rf860 (Jul 24, 2011)

A lot of taxi drivers from where i come from use mk3 mondeo 1.8 petrols. Cheap parts, not too heavy on fuel, no turbo to go wrong. You'd easily pick one up for your budget.


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

Parts for saabs are pretty easy to find, I wouldn't say they are cheap to run and that 9-5 aero would have stupidly high road tax.


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## rf860 (Jul 24, 2011)

SteveTDCi said:


> Parts for saabs are pretty easy to find, I wouldn't say they are cheap to run and that 9-5 aero would have stupidly high road tax.


You can pick up loads of older big engined cars cheap these days. Usually because they come with a £500 per year tax bill and high running costs.


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

You can, my 9-5 was £600, that included tax & test for 5 months. It probably owes me another £400 in service items, new brakes all round and 2 uniroyal tyres.


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## Guitarjon (Jul 13, 2012)

andy665 said:


> The gearbox is supposed to be a sealed for life unit but lots of people change the oil, apparently thee oil is about £200 buts its a relatively straightforward job to do. I watched the YouTube video on how to do it but as mine seems perfectly ok I'm leaving it for the time being


Yeah, sealed for life but there is still a gasket that seals the sump to box. That's what's leaked. The guy I'm garage is a specialist and said the oil they use isn't regular transmition oil and does last around 100k where as normal is reccomended to be changed around 30k. I can't imagine any sort of oil is any good after 100k. A lot is blamed on bad gearbox oil on these cars. Although I think your rit, if there isn't anything wrong then leave it be. I did intend on getting it done earlier anyway.


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## sm81 (May 14, 2011)

Honda civic 1.6 VTEC 2005. Any good?


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