[DoMiNo]

Originally Posted by 2o6

WOW. For only $1000 USD!? Any problems with the car?

Try $750. Nice buy indeed.

[Nath]

Not even that at current rates is it?

Was very lucky as I live a little out of the way and the dealer (car was taken part ex) admitted eBay hasn't been great for them the last month. Though think the UK car market is so saturated that used cars can be very very good. Again this is a little out of the ordinary I admit.

As for problems, there are a couple of scrapes and scuffs but nothing major, a slight knock to the nearside rear but again shouldn't pose a huge problem to remove. Only other thing is one of the rear bass speakers seems to be blowing, really not major stuff for a sub £500 vehicle of any kind.
It's also MOTd until end of January 2013 (annual road safety test and one to test the nerves of any owner of an older car).

As for the car itself, compared to my old W202 from a few years ago it's far more luxurious with lots of kit, but being FWD feels a little less stable during changes of direction over bumpy surfaces.
It's more of a cruiser than anything sporty but does tighten up nicely at speed and is good on fast flowing corners (will head up to the mountain roads later I'm thinking).
Aside from that the width is noticable (where I live the roads are very narrow even by UK standards, especially when you head to the coast) as it's a full 10cm wider than the Merc and also has pretty much no rearward visability.
Even so think I'm going to enjoy this one.

[Nath]

and $733

[ricerammer]

conrgats on the buy I've noticed that car values in the UK in general seem to be far lower than anywhere else. Is there a high tax on cars once you own them?

[Nath]

It's all based on CO2 emmisions now, but mine is a bit older so is taxed on engine size (previously it was a flat rate). Will probably be £160-£180 a year, I've not checked yet. Insuranceis still high for me, live in middle of a city known to have high car crime, i'm in my 20s and only have a couple of years no claims. So sitting at about £900/yr. The pricy bit is fuel, has been too high for over a decade and only getting worse (facing more fuel strikes again as I write).
Though saying that in past 36 hours I've driven 150 miles around town, up and down hills near the beach, at high speed around the mountain roads and a high speed blast along the motorway to get back. So far it's averaged about 30mpg (UK gallons) which is better than I expected for the kind of driving.

[ROBonCARS]

Well sadly I do not have the kind of money to be buying really flash cars like other on here (that's why I loan cars for my blog!)

I recently bought a really tidy Mondeo estate for £1500 which was an amazing car, absolutely loved, what a well engineered, comfortable, refined car for the money...sadly the engine packed up so I had to scrap it



Without a car over Christmas we had to look for something quickly found a pretty mint Xsara Picasso 2.0 HDi for £1700. I have to say, I hate it.....alot....I have never owned a car with such cheap trim, I mean everything rattles and even putting the stereo on make it worse as the speakers rattle!! When it comes to the drive, wow....I have never experienced so much body roll, and the ride is really bad even though its widely praised. Well at least its reliable and really good on fuel....happy motoring i guess

[Nastka]

A good friend of mine wants to buy his first car; he needs something that can be banged around and isn't expensive to fix, fill up at the gas station or to insure. At the moment he has his sights on a 2001 - 2004 Skoda Fabia 1.4 petrol. He's willing to give up to £2000 for the car; the insurance is going to cost him anywhere between £1500 - £1700 for this sort of vehicle. What do you guys think? Are there any other good, inexpensive alternatives? Any suggestions are welcome.

[joeyo]

Traded in my 2010 Audi A4 for a 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited last Monday. Loved my A4, but it just wasn't practical for us anymore. Ever since we had our daughter 7 months ago, I literally was only driving the A4 to commute to and from work, and everywhere we went as a family, we would take my wife's 2011 Highlander. I missed having an SUV for myself, and the new Grand Cherokee fit my needs. I am really loving everything about it so far!

[ElementW]

Originally Posted by DEVILax

Without a car over Christmas we had to look for something quickly found a pretty mint Xsara Picasso 2.0 HDi for £1700. I have to say, I hate it.....alot....I have never owned a car with such cheap trim, I mean everything rattles and even putting the stereo on make it worse as the speakers rattle!! When it comes to the drive, wow....I have never experienced so much body roll, and the ride is really bad even though its widely praised. Well at least its reliable and really good on fuel....happy motoring i guess

Wow. Here State side I would always read on how neat those Citroens' were. This reminds me of a late 90's model Renault Scenic some car sales man had brought from Mexico. The interior was a complete plastic fest. And the upholstery was so thin. Just awful. So I'm guessing this was a French trend back in the day?

[Naga Royal Guard]

I saw a late 90s 740i in great cosmetic condition for only 3,600USD