# £1100 to spend on family car...



## Guitarjon (Jul 13, 2012)

Ok, so I just sold my e61 at a massive loss but it seems nobody wants immaculate high millage high capacity engines. Drove and looked like 30k but hey ho. 

So my mission, I need a largish 5 door car with ISO fix in that can hold 2 adults a baby in a baby seat and 3 suitcases ( they don't all have to be in the boot but think about safety of baby. Also needs to be good on tax (<£180) and relatively cheap to insure.

I almost had a deal with cash my way the other day on a megane. Was mechanically sound but looked like a dog and just wasn't a nice car. My issue is I've had a few newer cars followed by a top of the range jaguar and then then BMW which are both very well built. 

I like jap cars (had a string of mazdas) but rust worries me. In fact I found a cheap as chips mazda 3 saloon the other day but it was full of rust. Was only £450 and rust was cosmetic but something I don't think I could like with.


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## big ant (Mar 31, 2015)

Xsara picasso? bit crap to look at but ok to drive and fairly comfortable. I had one 5 year ago and it was ideal as a family car, so much so I bought one for my other half and she loves it.


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## Clancy (Jul 21, 2013)

Renault espace, not great looking but good motors 

Seat leon ? Old audi a4/a6 can be picked up with high miles 

Cars around a grand it's worth looking on Facebook for sale pages and just see what's about. Do have to put up with some muppets but always cheap cars going


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## digimac (Oct 31, 2005)

VW Passat, Audi A4 / A6 Avant, Saab 9-5, Volvo V70, Ford Mondeo.

I had an old shape Seat Leon Cupra - great car, good space in the back, 5 door and massive boot for a hatchback


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## Clancy (Jul 21, 2013)

Vw bora as well, not most amazing looking cars but rapid with the right engine and tidy up well


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

Saab 9-5 estate, you will get some change too.

Big petrol engined cars do sell and pretty quickly, if they don't sell then they are priced too high.


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## Christian6984 (Dec 20, 2007)

Ive driven my sisters megane not so much fun to drive. On the aspect of safety with having children in the car the megane stood up well when a Uninsured Porsche Cayenne changed lanes and hit the side of it, luckily enough my niece who was only 2 or 3 at the time was on the other side of the car. Ive used the Scenic as hire cars and there nice being a bit higher up. My uncle had the Xsara Picasso with the 2.0HDI and never gave a bit of bother. Ford C-Max?


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## Guitarjon (Jul 13, 2012)

I like the 9-5. Is this older than the 9-3 then? I was looking at 9-3 estates. Not sold on them but for cheap cars. I'm thinking if I went for a Saab I'd probably prefer the older ones. 

I had an old seat Leon 1.6.mwas very sensible and very boring but it was also very very wet. In fact it made me Ill. Common problem seat wanted to charge 385 pounds to sort. I'm guessing boras and the mk4 golf is very similar. 

Funnily, I test drove a Renault megane 1.6 thr other day and the engine was very lively compared to the boring vag engine. Shame e rest of the car wasn't up to much. 

I'm also stuck. I thout I wanted a turbo diesel (started looking at 407 Hdi) but thinking for the limited miles I do I might be better with a 1.4 petrol? I'm just in a mine field with allsorts now. 

I'll check out the 9-5. Anything I should look out for?


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## Guitarjon (Jul 13, 2012)

Can't look at the Picasso. Neighbour has one and it's hideous. He has a habit of buying horrible cars. Last one being a multipla.


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## Guitarjon (Jul 13, 2012)

I feel like I've written off all re adult based on the megane. I'm not particulary tall (5,10) but felt big in that car. Also the clutch, although ok, felt horrible.


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## ardandy (Aug 18, 2006)

Octavia


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## Andyg_TSi (Sep 6, 2013)

I think it was Alex225 on here that bought a SAAB 9-5 estate for about £1500 a couple of months ago.

That's a lot of car for the money & he got a very well looked after example too.

EDIT: found his thread.....what a bargain!!

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=370830


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## Car Key (Mar 20, 2007)

Corolla D4D


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## PugIain (Jun 28, 2006)

406 I had one for 5 years. Brilliant.
still going at about 140k.


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## Guitarjon (Jul 13, 2012)

Ahhhh, my mind hasn't been out at ease yet.

Brief checkup on Saab 9-5s showing that The 1.9 cheaper tax band version is rare! No problem if I wanted a 2.2 tid but I'm looking for cheap running costs. 


Any idea why signums seem very cheap to buy? I've sat in one and they feel ok, cheap carpets but everything else seems well put together. Are the engines/ gearboxes bad? I've never seen a rusty fairly new vauxhall.


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## Guitarjon (Jul 13, 2012)

PugIain said:


> 406 I had one for 5 years. Brilliant.
> still going at about 140k.


Ian, 406 looking a little dated for me. Do you know much about 407s? All the locally ones seem to have hits missing off or silly priced. I'd travel a few miles to get a good one but as I'm not paying much for the car I don't wanna go mad.

seen some lovely panoramic 407 estates for around my budget. Seem well equipped with an engine I'm fond of. I just don't like the suspension and steering elements of pugs.


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## PugIain (Jun 28, 2006)

I had 2 407saloons and my Dad had 1 SW. All 2.0 hdi. Not much problem. My last one was a gt multimedia - red leather, sat nav, front & rear park assist. Everything.
Not long since traded it for my 508 GT.


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## David_W (Jan 13, 2016)

Guitarjon said:


> Any idea why signums seem very cheap to buy? I've sat in one and they feel ok, cheap carpets but everything else seems well put together. Are the engines/ gearboxes bad? I've never seen a rusty fairly new vauxhall.


I don't think there's anything particularly wrong with the Signum - it's really just a stretched Vectra with a back seat that has some MPV type flexibility. Before going for a Signum it would be worth checking that you can't get an early Insignia within your budget, which is the next generation on from the last iteration of the Vectra / Signum. I'm guessing any decent Insignia is going to be some way over your budget considering that the earliest examples will be 2008 vintage, but it's worth being sure.

I like Vauxhalls, though I am somewhat biased towards the brand as I can get new Vauxhalls at Partners pricing (my father is a GM Europe pensioner), we have an excellent Vauxhall main dealer locally and a former neighbour runs a fantastic local independent Vauxhall specialist. After having had a Nova, a Corsa, a Vectra and a Zafira, I'm reluctantly about to switch away from Vauxhall for the first time since I got my driving licence in 1993 because there is nothing in the current Vauxhall range that meets my increasingly specialist needs. If it was large enough, I would have happily bought a Zafira Tourer.


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## rf860 (Jul 24, 2011)

At £1100, whichever car locally has the longest MOT and fits all the family.

I'm confused, why did you sell your 5 series for a massive loss? Surely you'd have been better just keeping it a bit longer and minimizing your loss. Or just running it into the ground. 5 series is a perfect family car.


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## Cookies (Dec 10, 2008)

I've had loads of Peugeots over the years and they were all incredibly reliable. The 407 I had, however had a flywheel issue. In 6th gear it would slip the clutch between 1800 to about 2300 rpm. My car had 4 clutches fitted under warranty, each demonstrating the same fault after about 8k miles. I explained that it was the flywheel which was at fault, but they refused to replace it. So when the car hit 3 and the warranty ran out, I sold it. 

I had 2 406s both 2.0 Hdi, and they were faultless.

I think of all the cars mentioned above, purely from a value perspective, I'd be looking at a Saab 9-3 1.9 or indeed the Vauxhall signum 1.9. Both are great value at the minute and seem to be reliable too. 

Cooks


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## fozzy (Oct 22, 2009)

Octavia, friends just bought a vrs for £1300 so they are out there. He got a right minter with 80k on the clock


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## uruk hai (Apr 5, 2009)

Guitarjon said:


> Can't look at the Picasso. Neighbour has one and it's hideous. He has a habit of buying horrible cars. Last one being a multipla.


Given the budget you mention I would try to get past the way the cars look, my brother had a Picasso for about 10 years. He never looked after it properly, he never had it serviced when it needed it and it never, ever let him down. In short it was a fantastic car and I wouldn't be restricted by looks when value for money is what matters.


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

I would quite happily crash a Saab 9-5 knowing I would walk away from it. The 2.2 will be more common, I think the 1.9 was introduced in the facelift (dam Edna version) what you might save in road tax might cost a bit more in service and repairs on the 1.9. I had the 2.3 lpt estate, I changed some bulbs, did a sump drop and fixed part of the heating system - you can buy individual parts !! We put 12,000 on the clock at an average of 27mpg, it was quick, quite and I miss it.


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## pooma (Apr 12, 2008)

Mondeo, comfy, nice to drive, big, not that expensive to run...Great family barge. We've had a few, also had a Vectra for over 4 years, also a great family car but the Mondeo was far better to drive.


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## Guitarjon (Jul 13, 2012)

rf860 said:


> At £1100, whichever car locally has the longest MOT and fits all the family.
> 
> I'm confused, why did you sell your 5 series for a massive loss? Surely you'd have been better just keeping it a bit longer and minimizing your loss. Or just running it into the ground. 5 series is a perfect family car.


A change in personal circumstance going from a 30k a year job to a 6k part time job a year means I can no longer afford to pay almost £300 road tax, 2.5l petrol consumption and strangely expensive insurance for a mediocre car (paid far less for a supercharged jag). Selling it meant I didn't have the monthly expenditure and a bit of cash in the pocket. I'll reevaluate things in a few years time when I go back to working full time.

Been talking to a friend tonight who said I can have his Saab 9-3. 1.9tid estate. I've driven it quite a bit in the past. It's no BMW and doesn't feel half as nice to drive but it's a good buy. Only issue is millage. It's appropriately priced though and had a lot of new stuff- tyres, discs pads, suspension, cambelt and water pumps etc all done. He's a mechanic and wanting a van. He bought the estate to carry his tools and Jack around but said it's still not really fit for purpose so wants a van. Millage is a killer though at 190k.... Wants £900 with pioneer dab stereo left in. Good body work and I'm sure it will polish up like new with just a few rds and a bit of swirling. He also got the egr cleaned and dpf or what ever it is took ou/ blanked when he bought the car.


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## Reddaddy67 (Jul 1, 2011)

This sounds ideal for the budget. If you have any recent service history to add to the new mechanical parts then I would certainly consider this. Don't get too concerned over the milleage on these motors so long as basic oil and filters have been changed frequently, even at that asking price you could offer a cheeky £800 and the difference £100 would see you a basic oil change service at a local garage plus an MOT, obviously that would give you some indication of what may need looking at in the future but better to know? And still for the asking price.....


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

£900 sounds a bargain.


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## rf860 (Jul 24, 2011)

Wouldn't touch a car with 190k on it with a barge pole. Pretty much everything will be heavily worn a that stage. You say you want to save money but buying a car with that sort of mileage is always going to need work done to it. You'd be forking out for repairs every other month - then you'd need to ask, would have it been cheaper to just keep the BMW?

You can get a 03-05 mondeo 1.8 zetec for around £1000 with less than 100k on the clock and a full year mot. Loads of taxi drivers use the 1.8 petrol because there's no egr/dpf/dmf issues. Ok, it's not going to be very quick, but still a reasonably good drive since its a ford. Ford parts are typically cheap should anything go wrong.


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## PugIain (Jun 28, 2006)

Personally I wouldn't buy a car with 190k on it.


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## Ben108 (Jul 26, 2014)

Rubbish. Nothing wrong with high mileage cars as long as they've been serviced and looked after albeit to the bare minimum.

Mate of mine bought a cheap car about 4/5 months ago, 230k on the clock, absolute dog on the outside, not great inside but he's since done another 30k in it with absolutely zero issues and it still goes on now. Saabs are built like tanks, so it sounds like a cheap buy.

Not all of us have the cash to go buying real low mileage cars, snobbery maybe?


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## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

rf860 said:


> Wouldn't touch a car with 190k on it with a barge pole. Pretty much everything will be heavily worn a that stage.


Look below - looks like a lot of wear / tear stuff has been addressed



Guitarjon said:


> It's appropriately priced though and had a lot of new stuff- tyres, discs pads, suspension, cambelt and water pumps etc all done.


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## salow3 (Mar 8, 2015)

I'd go for a Bora Pd130, the Pd 130 lump is reasonably robust and economical.


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## Kiashuma (May 4, 2011)

Rover 75 Diesel. Love mine its great.


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## ibiza55 (Feb 22, 2008)

Citroen C4 diesel vtr+, pretty well equipped and not too expensive if you can find a low mileage decent one, I'm sure it will have baby seat capabilities.


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## 11alan111 (Dec 29, 2011)

i had an 05 saab 9-5 2litre petrol estate and even when driven sensibly it would only do 27mpg


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## robertdon777 (Nov 3, 2005)

Rover 75 good shout. BMW underneath, built well out of good parts.


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## should_do_more (Apr 30, 2008)

Ben108 said:


> Rubbish. Nothing wrong with high mileage cars as long as they've been serviced and looked after albeit to the bare minimum.
> 
> Mate of mine bought a cheap car about 4/5 months ago, 230k on the clock, absolute dog on the outside, not great inside but he's since done another 30k in it with absolutely zero issues and it still goes on now. Saabs are built like tanks, so it sounds like a cheap buy.
> 
> Not all of us have the cash to go buying real low mileage cars, snobbery maybe?


Remember Saabs weren't cheap cars new, I had one once and parts aren't cheap and neither were specialists. I think at 230k any car is on its last legs. Whatever it is, a car will eventually run out no matter how it's been looked after and things just more disposable these days. Just not designed to last.

I have to agree that as OP is moving from a car he like to 'transport', unless the car is really offensive to him then I'd be looking at anything. The Picasso sounds like a good shout. Premium cars cost a lot to run.

I also have to agree with the fact nobody wants big engines cars right now. Yes they sell for what they are worth but that can be quite a lot less to what you paid and a lot less than a few months ago. For example start of 2015 my mint 650, 25k on the clock valued at 15/16k. Today it's apparently 8k. Hmm. No thanks.

OP good luck, I hope the change in circumstances isn't due to anything too serious and good luck getting back on track to where you want to be.


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

Saab parts ain't cheap ..... I think you will find there are lots of specialists out there and parts are very reasonable. You can still buy new parts from Saab as well and there is a good supply of used spares, don't forget there are also some vectors parts in there.


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## Kiashuma (May 4, 2011)

Here is a nice 75.
http://www.kk-carsales.co.uk/used-cars/rover-75-2-0-cdt-classic-se-4dr-manchester-201512079285042
Not to far away and mot history reads well just normal things on it.
The MK1 are said to be better built as well. Mines a facelift and i have been very very happy with it. Any questions just let me know, there are a few things to look out for.


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## PugIain (Jun 28, 2006)

I like a 75


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## Kiashuma (May 4, 2011)

PugIain said:


> I like a 75


Me too. Mines been great, other than a couple of wee niggles its all good.


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## Andyg_TSi (Sep 6, 2013)

Rover 75 is a good shout!. May as well include the MG-ZT & ZT-T with the same engine.
Think it's a de-tuned version of the diesel in the BMW 320D of the same era?


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## dillinja999 (Aug 26, 2013)

Get a volvo


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## Alex_225 (Feb 7, 2008)

Andyg_TSi said:


> I think it was Alex225 on here that bought a SAAB 9-5 estate for about £1500 a couple of months ago.
> 
> That's a lot of car for the money & he got a very well looked after example too.
> 
> ...


I did indeed by a Saab wagon. This is a 9-3 1.9tdi so has the 150bhp (I found out after) engine and cost me £1,200. It's got 136k on the clock but it feels far from worn that's for certain.

I paid out a little more having it properly serviced and recently had the glow plugs replaced which has made a big difference. Had a bit of rust on the boot lid sorted as well more as a preventative measure than cosmetic.










Probably cost me £1,600 all in but most of the extra cost was for my own peace of mind.

Thing is for sub £2k I get this interior...










And most importantly this....










There is one fault on the car which is that the steering rack is seeping a tiny bit of power steering fluid. Something to keep an eye on more than rush to get it fixed.

Otherwise though I totally believe you can get a great car, albeit with a fair few miles on it for not a lot of money. Just don't expect a show car but some cars wear better than others and Saab seems to be pretty tough.

By the way OP, the 9-3 has ISOFIX in the back as I needed that for my little girl too!


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## should_do_more (Apr 30, 2008)

SteveTDCi said:


> Saab parts ain't cheap ..... I think you will find there are lots of specialists out there and parts are very reasonable. You can still buy new parts from Saab as well and there is a good supply of used spares, don't forget there are also some vectors parts in there.


It's all relative.

If I had 1,100 to spend on a car I wouldn't be buying one. The OP suggests he won't have disposable income for maintenance so a premium brand car wouldn't make a lot of sense.

I had 2 x 9000. The turbo was fun and the V6 was good on the motorway. I don't remember the ages but when I had them they had 25/30k on the clock and weren't very old. They cost around 1,500 a year in 2004/5 to run. Insurance, servicing only.


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## Harry_p (Mar 18, 2015)

My Mrs bought her e46 320i se touring for a grand this time last year. Hasn't been totally without fault, I've changed a waterpump, front droplinks and rocker cover gasket, and it has a typical e46 crusty front wing, but it's a lovely smooth and refined drive, feels rock solid and sounds lovely.

Not the quickest thing in the world, but goes ok with 170bhp. Driving around at sensible speeds it sounds better than my m3 too!


















Wheels didn't come with it, they were a spare set I had in stock!


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

should_do_more said:


> It's all relative.
> 
> If I had 1,100 to spend on a car I wouldn't be buying one. The OP suggests he won't have disposable income for maintenance so a premium brand car wouldn't make a lot of sense.
> 
> I had 2 x 9000. The turbo was fun and the V6 was good on the motorway. I don't remember the ages but when I had them they had 25/30k on the clock and weren't very old. They cost around 1,500 a year in 2004/5 to run. Insurance, servicing only.


My 9-5 cost less than £200 to insure, tyres I don't count, brakes I replaced so I knew they were good quality but less than £200 all round. I did the sump drop and changed the breather as preventative and the oil service cost £100. Parts that failed were 1 drop link, a heater shaft and some dash bulbs so around £45 in parts. The only expensive item was tax at £290 per year.


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## should_do_more (Apr 30, 2008)

You were lucky!

I sold my last 9000 when the gearbox failed at 40k miles and I was quoted 2k to fix.

Anyway let's not hog his thread, many better buys for the money.


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## vulf1986 (Jan 17, 2016)

Honestly dont think you can go wrong with a vectra. Bought an 04 2.0dti hatch 4 years ago for £640 with 90k on the clock and eml light on. Drove it home, went to the scrappers, egr for £15, 2 years of hassle free driving. 
It was never the quickest or easiest to tune, but back then as a family we were in a predicament where I worked 140 miles round trip a day away, and the misses maternity leave saw her drop £500 a month. One of the best cars I ever owned, hence now having a face-lift


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## Guitarjon (Jul 13, 2012)

Well, I almost jacked the family car thing in and went back to a mk1 mx5. Went to visit a mate who had a fairly tatty one but rust free and mechanically sound. I almost went for it but would have wanted to spend spend spend. My wife said I could get one as she knows I love mx5s and I was fed up of looking at run of the mill cars.... Boring. 

I'd have only been using it around town but I always had in the back of my mind what if... (Crash) and my son was in the car. Problem with mx5s is they are small, low and being built in 1989 means they didn't have many safety features. Finding a rust free mk2 was becoming an impossible task also.

I continued to look for a well priced family car. Found that Mazda 3 or 6 fitted the bill but they were all rusty. Went all the way to Birmingham after a long discussion with the seller about the rust and condition and he assured me it was immaculate and no rust. I could have killed him when I got there, lovely car. Mazda 6 sport in grey (colour I wanted) but Inliterally pulled the arch metal away in my hand and asked him what he thought rust was. Waste of a day and a trip with a fairly grouchy 7 month old (Ill). Not to mention the wife wasn't happy we drove all that way for nothing. 

I nearly gave up on Mazda 6s because of the rust, I'd seen a few adverts but it was evident they were all rust buckets until one popped up advertised 1 hour before I looked locally. 

I went to look, it was advertised for £995. I had a very good look around it before the dealer came out and was shocked to see no rust and the potential rusty arch areas had been sealed up and waterproofed already. 

It was fairly tatty but nothing I couldn't sort out in a couple of days an an hour on eBay. Drove wonderfully except for a knocking sound from under the car. It wasn't the dual mass flywheel sort of sound and definately didn't come from the engine so I made him a low ball offer which he called his boss and after an umm and ahh took it. He appreciated it had a knock and said it was probably a drop link (I'm thinking more like a gearbox mount rubber or something though). 

In the end paid £800, 2.0 turbo diesel which really shifts. And seems to be giving me great mpg. It's a come down from the previous BMW and jag before it but it cost far less and gave me some money to play with. 

So far I've spent £6.99 on wiper blades (got 2 front and a rear one from eBay for that- shocked! Even if they last 6 month I'm happy at that price- the aero ones too. 

I spent another £2.99 on covers for the roof rails which were missing. 

£3.50 on an interior light cover which wasn't there.

Half a day wet vaccing the interior and g101 the cheap sillicone dash spray from the interior plastics.

Bangernomics at its best. I started looking at boot liners thinking the pram usually gets dirty and marks the carpet but at the price the car is worth I'd only be preserving it for somebody else is it worth it? Il still Hoover it out and clean it but not going to get too precious about it like I would normally. 

I also spent £50 on posh diesel from she'll (the premium one). I spent a while in halfords looking at diesel additives as I've heard so many horror stories about egrs, dpfs etc on diesels and the guy in there was honest and told me to just go and trash it and see what the book says to regenerate your dpf (clean it out). He also reccomended the better diesel for its cleaning properties. After that I took it on a decent motorway drive. Not sure if it's cleaned out the dpf but I'll do it ever pay so often. 

Next is to get the knocking sorted, sort a small oil leak out (could be linked to the knock- cv? Gearbox oil?) and then change over the boot lid catch as it decided it would stop working the other day. Then I'll service it with some nice fresh oil and air filter.


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## Cookies (Dec 10, 2008)

vulf1986 said:


> One of the best cars I ever owned, hence now having a face-lift


You're having a face lift? Lol

Anyhoo OP, the Mazda sounds like a great find. Any pics?

Cooks


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## vulf1986 (Jan 17, 2016)

Cookies said:


> You're having a face lift? Lol
> 
> Anyhoo OP, the Mazda sounds like a great find. Any pics?
> 
> Cooks


The car not me lol


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## Guitarjon (Jul 13, 2012)

Unfortunatly not at the moment. I wish I'd taken some befores and afters as I've already started cleaning it up. I'll try and get some pictures when it's back from the garage.


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## should_do_more (Apr 30, 2008)

Sounds like you've done alright. Good luck with the fettling!


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