I'm looking to buy a car (for under £800) to get me to work and back in Rotherham everyday.

I've been looking at Cavalier's and Mondeo's. I'm not looking for anything sporty (cos of insurance) or anything too small (cos I want to be confortable). You can get an M-reg that looks in good condition for about this price and insurance is about £700 for 1 year. Insurance has got to be a consideration so no stupid ideas please.

Any advice on these cars pros/cons or other similar cars.

For 100% reliability, you can't beat a VW Beetle!! No, not the new one, but 1974 or earlier. I have owned several, and NEVER been stranded, except for running out of gas! (My fault, it was the older Beetle that had a switch for the reserve tank. Forgot to turn it back to main tank after I filled it up.) Check the oil, check the battery, and awa-a-a-a-a-y we go!!

I feel really mad about wasting a good £500 on what I've got now (box-standard astra) :x coz my mate from Manchester bought an N-reg Punto for the same about 6 months ago...the problem with sheff is that the 2nd hand market's not got very good deals as it's not nearly half as flooded as the markets elsewhere...if you've any mates in Manchester/Leeds you could ask them to keep an eye out for you just so you get something for your money's worth!

I'd go for the cavalier over the mondeo - with careful buying, a good average mileage cavalier can be a good deal (workmate sold a G-reg, near-immaculate 85K cav for £500 last year - whoever bought that got good car for next to nothing).

But for reliability, and cheapness to buy and insure, you can't beat a Skoda Favorit IMO. - honestly!- I've had mine off the road for 6 months, recently got it back on the road now I've got rid of the modern hi-tech money pit that I was running - and 2 days later it was towing a broken VW.

Statistics:
My Favorit: never ever been towed
Broken Cars towed within the last 2 years by my Favorit:
Ford Sierra
Citroen AX
BMW 3 ser.
Daewoo Espero
VW Golf

yeah and I know the only thing more embarrasing than climbing out of the back of a sheep is climbing out of the back of a skoda - so that's that out of the way :lol:

Cavalier > Mondeo

A friend of mine had a 2 liter 8v and that thing was bullet proof,180k on the clock and it had never broken down on him,it was in pretty much showroom condition as well. Sold it for £300.

I would go for one of two cars

A Maestro: - very cheap to buy, reliable, economical and very cheap to fix if anything did actually go wrong. Also alot more space inside than their appears to be on the outside.

A Rover 214 - Again roomy, cheap to buy, economical ( the 1.4 MPI version). The bodywork for this car also seems resistant to the dreaded tin worm.

Originally posted by Skatiechik
I would go for one of two cars

A Maestro: - very cheap to buy, reliable, economical and very cheap to fix if anything did actually go wrong. Also alot more space inside than their appears to be on the outside.

A Rover 214 - Again roomy, cheap to buy, economical ( the 1.4 MPI version). The bodywork for this car also seems resistant to the dreaded tin worm.

Ok - youre obviously a mentalist! :D Was he not wanting advice on which cars to buy, rather that avoid! Apologies for the gentle ribbing but those are two terrible cars.

Fords and vauxhalls may be a good bet - if not 100% reliable, they are cheap and easy to fix, maybe look at VW also - I've had a few of them recently and they have all been bombproof.

Get on Ebay - just look for long MOT and go see the car if you can, or take someone 'in the know' with you, I guarantee you will get a good deal if you look hard enough.

Originally posted by floyd77
Ok - youre obviously a mentalist! :D Was he not wanting advice on which cars to buy, rather that avoid! Apologies for the gentle ribbing but those are two terrible cars.

Have you ever owned one, let along drive one? Or you just taking jeremy clarkson 'hatred of rover' words for it? Or do you have your own reason for saying they are terrible?

If the Maestro was such a bad car, how come it was in production for 12 years ?

Also if the Rover 214 is such a bad car, how come there are literally hundreds of them on the roads with practically pristine bodies. Reason being they are reliable, fairly economical and don't rust.

Also I would go with Squiggs comment on the Skoda. The first skodas to be built under the volkswagon badge are cheap, cheerful and best of all reliable.

I have to agree with Skatiechik about Maestros, having bought mine 2 years ago for £200 and had no serious problems with it since! It has some rust on it, but at least it is reliable and cheap to run, and its like a Tardis inside!

I would suggest looking for some dealers' phone numbers on www.fish4cars.co.uk and ring round a few dealers to ask what PX cars they have in.

I would go for an old toyota or VW - maybe not the worlds most inspiring motors but cheap and far more reliable fords / vauxhalls!

Originally posted by floyd77
Ok - youre obviously a mentalist! :D Was he not wanting advice on which cars to buy, rather that avoid! Apologies for the gentle ribbing but those are two terrible cars.

I think Skatiechik has a bit of a passion for British cars.

And when you have a passion for a particular marque, you will defend them till your last breath. Whether they deserve such high praise or not.

I know as i'm a Land Rover freak.
And I will die rather than admit that they are overpriced, unreliable, badly built rust buckets...

I just love them. They are wonderful and I wont hear a bad word said against them. So there is no point arguing :)

For reliability, for something Jap. Nissan Primeras are getting stupidly cheap now - £800 will get you an M-reg with reasonable miles. These machines will last forever, they're as dull as ditchwater but functional. Toyotas and VWs tend to hold their price far too well, so they're crap value for money. And Toyota parts in particular are extortionately expensive.

watch out with Primeras and other similar-size japanese cars.

Look for high miles, upholstery wear, and the other "ex-taxi" tell-tale signs of small holes in the dash where the taxi meter was mounted..

Originally posted by JonnyBoy
Toyotas and VWs tend to hold their price far too well, so they're crap value for money.

Not neccesarily - a Mark 1 golf, Toyota Carina, or an old model VW Passat should be well under £800 and serve you very well. I would also look at a Mazda 626, mitsubishi galant, nissan bluebird, primara or sunny. Oh and possibly bizzarely enough any skoda or lada - they my be cheap but they are OLD technology with very little to go wrong on them - you should be able to pick up a VW engineered Skoda Favorit for your price range with little problem!

heres an idea. check out

http://www.carsurvey.org for independant reviews posted by car owners, not motoring journalists - might help with your final choice

and, re: the above - agreed on the skoda favorit (see my post earlier - towed my mate's car with my trusty skoda AGAIN today!). But stay away from lada - heavy, thirsty, electrical problems and scarce parts - plus they're horrible horrible cars to drive.

skoda favorit drives pretty much the same as mk IV escort, but with less rattles - handles well enough and good fuel consumption - plus it's quite nippy for a 1300cc - cheap and plentiful spares too on the rare occasions you need them

KIA PRIDE is also a good budget but reliable car, but parts can be expensive

Check out http://www.parkers.co.uk for car reviews and http://www.autotrader.co.uk for thousands of used cars on sale.

Consider: Vauxhall Cavaliers, Peugeot 405s, Ford Escorts, Ford Mondeos, Vauxhall Astras, Citreon Xantias, etc.

Originally posted by Skatiechik
Have you ever owned one, let along drive one? Or you just taking jeremy clarkson 'hatred of rover' words for it? Or do you have your own reason for saying they are terrible?

If the Maestro was such a bad car, how come it was in production for [b]12 years ?

Also if the Rover 214 is such a bad car, how come there are literally hundreds of them on the roads with practically pristine bodies. Reason being they are reliable, fairly economical and don't rust.


Yes, i have driven a few of both - but been fortunate enough only to have friends and family own them. True Maestros have been around a while, but in my humble opinion they are death traps and quite possibly the ugliest cars in the world. One ive driven the wheel came off going round a corner, and i mean sheared off - not unscrewed, and another ive seen that has been in a crash had the engine in the drivers footwell, with only a medium sized crash.
Rovers are too expensive, rover parts are hard to come by and way overpriced - yes they can be good cars, but even the tinyest thing can lead to huge problems. eg, battery going flat on the remote central locking can lead to reprogramming the computer.

Just because there are hundreds of a particular type of car on the road doesnt make it good - just means the public are daft! Each to their own though - ive know people passionate about both cars mentioned, but you either love them or hate them.

Originally posted by floyd77
Yes, i have driven a few of both - but been fortunate enough only to have friends and family own them. True Maestros have been around a while, but in my humble opinion they are death traps and quite possibly the ugliest cars in the world. One ive driven the wheel came off going round a corner, and i mean sheared off - not unscrewed, and another ive seen that has been in a crash had the engine in the drivers footwell, with only a medium sized crash.

Hmmm, they are your experiences not mine, or others that I have spoken too. You must have just had some bad luck, disagree about the crash tho'. I know some people who have been in truly horrific crashes in a Maestro and walked away from them unscathed. For their age Maestros are safe in comparison to other cars of the same era.

Originally posted by floyd77
Rovers are too expensive, rover parts are hard to come by and way overpriced - yes they can be good cars, but even the tinyest thing can lead to huge problems. eg, battery going flat on the remote central locking can lead to reprogramming the computer.

Beg to differ on parts. Maestro parts must have been the cheapest ones I have come across. What other car can you buy a brand new (YES Brand New) engine for a £100. Never found any parts hard to come by, If I need a part its off to the scrappy or into the motorfactors. In the case of the motorfactors it is normally straight of the shelf no ordering to be had.

Not sure where you get the expensive to buy part from either? :confused:

Low mileage Maestro/Montegos can be got from around £100-£400 in pristine condition.

Low Mileage, Pristine Rover 200/400 Mk 2 can be had for about £400-£900. An example of which is one I own, it has done 35k since I bought it with nothing done to it.

I am afraid I can't comment on the reliability of electrics in newer models, or parts costs have I haven't had any experience of that. But seeing as this topic was for a cheap car I don't think it is necessary to comment on them.

Originally posted by floyd77 Each to their own though - ive know people passionate about both cars mentioned, but you either love them or hate them.

Very true, I am just commenting on the experiences I have had which have been good. For minimal cost I have had reliable trouble free motoring which I wouldn't be so confident in finding in another brand. So I guess we will have to agree to disagree here.

Jackthedog I like Landrovers too :thumbsup: Great fun! :D

Originally posted by Skatiechik
Jackthedog I like Landrovers too :thumbsup: Great fun! :D

:thumbsup:

I didnt say anything about cost or price of parts about the maestro - just that it was plain ugly and unsafe! Maybe I just saw the very worst examples they had to offer? Still ugly though:D

The parts comment was directed at rovers - an ex-housmate of mine had an 'N' reg rover and had nothing but trouble from it - he was always shelling out hundreds and hundreds for relativley minor repairs (and it was a rust bucket - but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt there, as most are pretty good) My grandad also got rid of his rover as the running costs were so high, but he liked the car.

Sorry if it sounded like I was picking a fight - you seem to be blinded by love for these cars - I was just providing the flip side as I'm blinded by hatred for them! :D

Just a minor point late Maestros are Rovers ;):P:D

I bet your ex-housemate had a metro :) Oops! I meant Rover 100 :)

The metro is deffinately one to avoid - apparently they had to invent a new crash code low enough for them! Though actually it may be worth while you looking at classics - if you are only running back and forth between Sheffield and Rotherham how about something like a moggy minor with no tax and classic insurance :)