I need a car.....

[Jawloms]

I need a new car as mine just expensively failed it's MOT and is going. I only have about £400 with which to buy one. I've been looking on ebay and found that mid 90s Previa's (or their imported equivalents) are consistently selling for around this price with 6 months MOT. Has anyone owned one and car share their experience with it? I'd want the diesel; what's the fuel consumption like?

 

Thank you for any help.

 

Stuart

[markcuk]

Quality just hired one of these and drove round Scotland had 133k on the clock and still going. When I lived in New Zealand these were everywhere with over 200km on them.

 

Watch the diesel they blow gaskets! Classic Estima

[3s-gtech]

With £400, I wanted touch a Previa or Estima. With £4000, I also wouldn't touch either.

 

What sort/size of car are you actually looking for? With that budget I picked up a 306 diesel, it never let me down in three years and was a blast to drive. 45mpg.

[SYNACK]

Ahh, these they are everywhere here, ruin the roads for everyone with their MPVness. They do just keep going though, ostensibly because hell refuses them entry. Should be reliable and good if that is your sole measure of a car.

[Danp]

Pug 306 would be my call

[Jawloms]

The 306 Diesel was actually something else I was considering. I'm after cheap to buy and cheap to maintain. Thank you for all your responses.

[witch]

306 here too...

[rad]

Wouldn't touch a pug here with a barge pole. With that, I'd be looking at a small hatchback or vw for reliability

[sted]

Wouldn't touch a pug here with a barge pole. With that, I'd be looking at a small hatchback or vw for reliability

Some of its luck of the draw i know more unreliable vags than psa cars

[witch]

That's always the problem - it is the luck of the draw

mrwITch has had 2 pugs and they have never given any trouble at all.

My son is a VAG freak (https://www.facebook.com/groups/dasvag/) and he would always advocate the reliability of VWs

[Sirbendy]

Vauxhall? I'm on Astra #3 now, 2000 model. Also had a 1997, and a 1995. No problems, cheap parts, plentiful spares in scrapyards, handling's a hoot..

[Gibbo]

Pug 306 would be my call

Can't recommend these highly enough. I see some with 150,000 miles on the clock and they still look great - no rust and no wear to the seats (unless it's a D-turbo or late model Meridian with half leather, then the driver's seat edges do wear a little).

 

Parts are cheap and there's very little computer-wise under the bonnet to go wrong. PM me if you see one and I'll send you a checklist of things to look out for. I can even put you in touch with someone local to you who can give it a once over with the Peugeot diagnostics equipment if it's new enough (1998 onwards).

 

Wouldn't touch a pug here with a barge pole.

 

Any reason why? I tire of people moaning about Pug electrics when they've not even owned one, or the fault is due to poor maintenance by the current or previous owner.

Edited October 30, 2012 by Gibbo

[Oaktech]

or the citroen xsara (not the picasso) - pre hdi for for preference.

 

It's got a lot of the same bits as the pug but looks a bit better (?) I've got an X plate one that cost me £500 with 12 months mot. It's got 260,000 miles on it. I've spent money on it, but it's only been things i consider consumable, battery, brake discs/pads. I've done little jobs tidying it, but it's just done a 300 mile round trip to wales with 4 adults in and returned 48mpg. It also came out as being £75 cheaper to insure than the T reg 306 I was also looking at.

 

The only persistent niggles are a badly fitted exhaust that bangs against something when you turn the thing on and off and a dodgy connection on the passenger seat airbag that flags a light on the dash about every 5th start.

[Oaktech]

I tire of people moaning about Pug electrics when they've not even owned one, or the fault is due to poor maintenance by the current or previous owner.

 

The electrics on my parents 806 are dodgy - but that is ALL down to an accident that damaged the nearside sliding door and despite being repaired continues to upset the central locking.

 

If you find a pug with dodgy electrics walk away because there will be a reason they are dodgy. Left to their own devices they are rock solid.

 

I've owned 3 high(ish) mileage 405 estates (469,000; 240,000; 96,000) and had no trouble whatsoever with them. Yes, the highest mileage one was rattly as hell and all the controls were a bit slack but it passed 3 mot's before I passed it on with nothing more than bushes and suspension parts. The worst thing that happened to any of them was the middle one split a power steering hose, and I lost a drivers electric window on the lowest mileage. I sold all of them for exactly the same as I paid for them, having got 3 years, 1year and 1year out of them respectively, and every time I got another one it was so I could have more toys, the last one was a rapier with full leather, and all the toys.

[3s-gtech]

The 306s build is not akin to the 206 or 307 - they are a solid little car. There are bad ones (eg avoid any ~1997 dT models, chocolate conrods!) but they'll do mega miles for the most part. Mine was a funny mix of manual windows, mirrors etc but electric sunroof - it all worked fine.

[Gibbo]

The only persistent niggles are a badly fitted exhaust that bangs against something when you turn the thing on and off and a dodgy connection on the passenger seat airbag that flags a light on the dash about every 5th start.

 

Which model is it? I'll have a look on the service site to see if there are any recalls or modifications to the bracket.

 

And have you dismantled and re-wired the airbag connector under the seat? That's a common issue on Pugs - the connection gets kicked by the feet of rear passengers.

[Oaktech]

Which model is it? I'll have a look on the service site to see if there are any recalls or modifications to the bracket.

 

And have you dismantled and re-wired the airbag connector under the seat? That's a common issue on Pugs - the connection gets kicked by the feet of rear passengers.

 

This is the Citroen Xsara which is an x reg 2.0hdi

 

I think the problem with the zorst is that one of the rubbers is too thin on the rear box and is allowing the box to come across and the tail pipe to tap the bumper, i just need to deal with it.

 

I haven't rewired the air bags yet, which was something I had to do on my last 405, for the reasons you describe! I've just wiggled the connectors and the light goes out on the next start... I need to deal with it properly, but ultimately I'm a bit lazy.

[Sirbendy]

Believe me, it's a common one on Vauxhalls too...heh...but it knocked a significant chunk off the asking price of my Astra when I negotiated that..well, that and the EML lamp (EGR Valve value out of range - or "stuck until you belt it with a hammer").