My 97 R reg polo is slowly falling appart so i've been looking at getting rid while i could still get some money for it. I've got about £3000 to spend on a new motor but cant really decide what to go for. (when i say new - i obv mean 2nd hand hand ). I've been looking at skoda fabias, seem to be decent cars beside their crap reputation. I like diesel cars, something 1.9 D TDI esque would be nice. Anyone got a fabia? Any thoughts to stop me getting a skoda?
The skoda's are pretty nice, for something slightly bigger I reckon you could get an Audi A3 1.9TDi from a couple of generations back. Have you considered the scrappage scheme? Some pretty tasty offers out there on new cars. They're more than your budget, but if you can afford to finance you can get something shiny new and £2000+ for your polo rather than sending it to the scrap farm.
My girlfriend has the skoda fabia vrs. A decent enough one can be had at the upper end of that. Its a PD130 turbo diesel engine, and it gives a golf gti trouble off the line Other than that, you could get a decent Golf GT TDI130 or PD130 mark IV for that money too. Both of them are 1.9 turbo diesels with 130 bhp, and will get you high 40/s low 50/s in terms of mpg, along with around 400mile range on a tank.
You could probably pick up an alright-ish Audi A4 (2000/1/2) diesel, they're built like tanks! otherwise, Zoon's suggestion seems about right! a VW Golf GT TDI130 MkIV
You could get a decent VW Bora for that much. I looked at Fabia's recently, but they seem fairly expensive for what they are (second hand). They're really not much cheaper than the equivalent Polo.
Thats what i drive and i ****ing hate it. Stupid diesel POS and bits of the interior randomly break or fall off too. I traded my Type-R in for it, as due to a change in circumstances i needed a cheaper car to run and it was a reasonably powerful alternative. Apart from the decent fuel economy i would very little to recommend it and i'm looking forward to the day i run it into the ground and it dies. rant over.
I looked at Audis and Golfs but both are out of my insurance range. The audi A3 1.9 TDI is ins group 12 iirc, the fabia 1.9TD is 6. oasked - was thinking that myself actually. Might go back to the drawing board
really?! you probably got sold a lemon then!lol. Generally the Golf's are pretty solid cars, but as i've personally found out, generally require little maintenance, but if something does go wrong, your in for a hefty bill! I would personally reccomend: VW Golf, Audi A3 Seat Leon (Basically a golf) Audi A4 if your budget can stretch it and insurance allows after that, theres a whole host of other european cars you can get for that kinda money, (peugots sp?!, renault's, Fiats) I would personally stick to the German marques!
Just poor build quality as all the things that have broken are well documented on the various VW forums. I think my old Clio had a better made interior than the golf tbh. We bought it for the 'superior' German build quality but i must admit mechanically its been very reliable which is the main thing. Just remember the TDI's are aimed at old people and families so they are very dull to drive.
Get an old second hand Golf for £1000(MK3 or older), and spend the rest on a holiday That's what I'd do - mind you I'm a bit of a cheapskate, and happy with a car as long as it moves and doesn't break down
Looking into this, I'm finding used prices are pretty weird... For £3000 you can get: - 1.2 2002 Polo (3dr) with AC, 60,000 miles, alloy wheels etc.... - 2.3 V5 2000 5dr Golf with AC, alloys, 80,000 miles etc. - 2001 - 2003 VW Bora 1.9TD SE, AC, alloys, 70,000 miles... How can they possibly be the same price?!?! And those aren't exceptions, those are decent cars at the market rate. Seems to me you could get a much larger and faster car if you wanted for your £3000 (providing the insurance is ok).
Indeedy - I was saving up for a Mk4 myself, but having had people on here share views and having looked at multiple reviews I've decided I'll get a Mk2 or Mk3 - depending on what's available at the time. Mk3 appears to be bulletproof for reliability (as proven by my Dad's one - 189,000 miles on a petrol and still going strong), and the Mk2 just looks the secks
In the end it depends what kind of car your after? A small hatch? Something with more room? Also do you do enough miles to justify the purchase of a diesel? Skoda's are fine though they acctually have the best build quality out of all the VAG group including Audi, why you think so many taxi drivers use em? Over priced pieces of crap Don't get me started on mk2's either
as far as cheap motoring goes, there is not a lot wrong with a mk2 gti. The looks are a bit of an acquired taste, but I love them
There expensive same as MK3 Golf GTI, my Almera GTI was newer than most MK3 Golfs and still sat at £500 cheaper than golfs on 100k miles without history when mine was 69k with.
The use of the phrase "piece of crap" suggests that you are saying they're bad cars, all I'm pointing out is that they're very good cars indeed.
The ford fiesta's seem to be pretty good and in your price range, I personally drive an older W reg Almera 1.5E i 'inherited' from my brother, so as a biased driver, would probably reccomend a nissan almera! not exactly much of a looker but if you want reliability, low insurance and decentish performance they're not a bad choice. I would personally go for the 2.2 Di 136 SXE, 136bhp, and the SXE means fully loaded!
