New car ideas...

[Bailes1992]

Right worked it all out...
I have £2000 plus my Focus (Worth about ~£1000) to buy a new car.
Will be getting it in the next 6 months or so.

Looking at the following...

Peugeot 406 SE or Executive HDi110
Example...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... ?logcode=p

Pro's...
Love 406's
Comfortable
Well specced
Lovely engine

Cons...
Dual mass Flywheel
Stupid crank pully
Expensive insurance
Com2000
Peugeot 'electrics'

Plan would be...
Solid flywheel
Solid crank pully
Lowering
Strut brace
Remap

Peugeot 307 DTurbo HDi110
Example...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... ?logcode=p

Pros...
Cheap insurance
Well Specced
Nice looking car
Nice engine

Cons...
Dual Mass Flywheel
DPF/FAP
General feeling that they are unreliable.
Crank pully

Plan would be...
Solid Flywheel & Crank pully
Defap
Lowering/Handling mods
Remap

MK3 Mondeo Ghia X 2.0TDDi/TDCi 115 or 130
Example...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... ?logcode=p

Pros...
Good looking car,
Pretty reliable,
Most powerfull,
Cheapish Insurance (115 model),
Well specced,

Cons...
Dual mass flywheel,
Common 'Injector' issues on TDCi's,
Not sure if it would have a 'special' feel to it?

Plan would be...
Full ST Bodykit & wheels
Airtec Intercooler
Full recaro leather interior
Lowering/handling mods
Remap
Focus ST225 front brakes.

Hellppp
Anything other cars to add to the list to add to my already confused confusion?

Bailes

[rwb]

Since you asked: I think you've taken a bit of a public sector attitude. You have a given budget and are finding ways to spend it all on stuff that you want but don't really need.

£2k is too much for a 406 -- these are ten year old cars with 15--20 year old technology.

All of those cons are issues that every other owner of the respective car lives with and, for the most part, has no trouble with.

Most of those plan would be is, again, stuff that doesn't need doing, but that you want to do.

You also need money left over to fix the inevitable stuff that goes wrong in the first few months.

That's what I think anyway

[lozz]

sam mate,
heres a tip,
find the car you like on a fourcourt,
and tell the seller you need a bigger car but you need to trade the focus in ,
ask them what they wouid allow on the focus against the car you want (Dont tell them how much money youve got to spend)
and barter with them
dont go with there price make your own up and if they say no walk away they will shout you back

[waue1978]

To be honest, I'd suggest going the late 306 HDi route rather than the 307. You've got unreliability on your list of cons, but you still plan to remap & mod it. You'd be better off keeping funds in reserve to fix it just in case it does go wrong rather than spend a fortune lowering etc. If you're that desperate to mod, just get the 306 & mod that. It may have all been done already, but you shouldn't be modding it to stand out. Not at your age & doing 120mph on the roads anyway. Doing things like that, the last thing you need is to stand out from the crowd in a small hatchback.

Mondeos aren't too bad, but if you go for a TDCi, you do run the risk of the injector expense. However, if you go for a TDDi you're getting an older car with potential rusty door issues. It'll feel about as "special" as any other car to be honest. It feels nice enough when I borrow my Mum's, but it's mainly where it's a newer design & inostalgia because it used to be mine. As far as the ST kit & interior goes though, take your head out of the clouds on that one. You can pick up the half leather for less than £300, but to get the ST kit you need:
Front Bumper
Rear Bumper
Undertrays
Side Skirts
Front Wings
Front Wheelarch Liners
& big expensive wheels.
Bumpers turn up from time to time, but wings & skirts are like rocking horse sh*t.
Check out the Mondeo forums & you'll find a couple of people that have done it, but they'll all tell you that it would have been cheaper to just buy the ST. If you still want to mod it, get the Zetec S kit, but you'll probably be waiting a while for it to turn up.

Another 406 sounds like your cheapest bet as you have less on your list of things to do to it, but bear in mind that you've already had one & you may get bored with something that feels familiar.

If you want a couple of extras to adc to your list, have a look at the sister cars in the PSA group. Don't know about insurance, but the Xsara is decent enough & can be bought with a high spec & 1.9TD if you still fancy veg oil running. Ditto for Xantias & either of these can still be mildly modded without you looking like a chav. If you want to go newer, I can vouch for the C5 & (if insurance allows) you'd have less trouble finding a 2.2 in that than you would a 406.

[puggy]

Sam cross the DMF off your list for 406's problems with em are over stated , ask
the members here how many have actually had a DMF failure

[Doggy]

...and bear in mind the purpose of these gadgets is to absorb the shock loads so you don't snap the crankshaft.

I've just finished changing my cambelt - the original crank pulley looks perfect and it's still on the original clutch / DMF at 154k.

What about a Xsara VTR / coupe - you can get them with the 110 HDi, which will be pretty bl00dy nippy to start wiv.

[OdinEidolon]

What0s wrong with 406s crank pulley?
Solid aluminium pulley aren't really good for reliability... the don't have any kind of armonic vibration dampener like normal pulleys do.

[FarmerPug]

as puggy said the dmf isnt really a problem, mine makes a noise in the cold weather its been gone now since december, even with the noise it never felt any different to drive.
The com2000 you replace it once for £120 that should be it sorted.
The electrics are just iffy because of bad connections, all easy to fix.

The 307 isnt a nice car to drive it always feels very top heavy and leans a lot in the corners.

[Bailes1992]

To answer all the questions

I'm not going to spend the whole £3k on a car, the above cars are just examples. I'm willing to hold out for what I want, but what do I want?

I only listed common faults in the Cons bit, things that could go wrong. But for instance the 307 needs that fluid for the DPF to work or the car has a mental breakdown

My plans are plans, they will be gradually done, may never even get done. Just gives me an idea of what I may end up driving about in.

As for going to a forcourt, any car I buy will be from a trader. I don't want the hassle of selling the Focus, it will be part ex'ed.

I love the 306 but my experience is compared to the Focus/406 is they're like driving around in a carboard box. Also don't like the sound or thought of torsion beams, they don't have a stock FMIC and I'd rather a Focus for driving about in to be honest. A 306 would be a downgrade in my opinion.

The ST Kit is expensive, your right but it would be gradual. Bumper and sideskirts and then the front end. But then again I never thought about the ZS kit!

I don't think I'd be bored with the 406, but it's £200 more a year to insure than the Mondeo, I don't know if it's £200 better of a car?

Oh and I have a hatred of DMF's, I won't replace ti instantly but on the first sign that it's dead it will be replaced with an SMF. As for it snapping crankshafts, the 306 guys with the same engine running solid flywheels are running 150+bhp fine?

Also the DW10 crank pully is known to disintigrate and take out the timing belt. I'd get a solid one fitted for good measure.

And I never knew com2000 was only £120, is that brand new price?

Also just walking home from work and looking about at a few other cars...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... ?logcode=p
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... ?logcode=p

Views?

[waue1978]

To answer all the questions

I'm not going to spend the whole £3k on a car, the above cars are just examples. I'm willing to hold out for what I want, but what do I want?

I only listed common faults in the Cons bit, things that could go wrong. But for instance the 307 needs that fluid for the DPF to work or the car has a mental breakdown

My plans are plans, they will be gradually done, may never even get done. Just gives me an idea of what I may end up driving about in.

As for going to a forcourt, any car I buy will be from a trader. I don't want the hassle of selling the Focus, it will be part ex'ed.

I love the 306 but my experience is compared to the Focus/406 is they're like driving around in a carboard box. Also don't like the sound or thought of torsion beams, they don't have a stock FMIC and I'd rather a Focus for driving about in to be honest. A 306 would be a downgrade in my opinion.

The ST Kit is expensive, your right but it would be gradual. Bumper and sideskirts and then the front end. But then again I never thought about the ZS kit!

I don't think I'd be bored with the 406, but it's £200 more a year to insure than the Mondeo, I don't know if it's £200 better of a car?

Oh and I have a hatred of DMF's, I won't replace ti instantly but on the first sign that it's dead it will be replaced with an SMF. As for it snapping crankshafts, the 306 guys with the same engine running solid flywheels are running 150+bhp fine?

Also the DW10 crank pully is known to disintigrate and take out the timing belt. I'd get a solid one fitted for good measure.

And I never knew com2000 was only £120, is that brand new price?

Also just walking home from work and looking about at a few other cars...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... ?logcode=p
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... ?logcode=p

Views?

A Saab is nice, but the 9-3 is basically a posh Vectra with some extra expensive parts added. Moot point as insurance for you will probably be a joke.
Mazda 6 is a decent car, but again, insurance will probably be silly as Japanese parts are expensive, making it costlier to repair in an accident.
Although I like my 406, the only majorly redeeming feature mine has over most other options that I had is that it is a well equipped economical 7 seater. If I didn't need the extra seats there are probably heaps of other cars that I would have gone for & a Mondeo would have been on the shortlist. Some people would call it £200 worth of better, others wouldn't, but it's your money, not ours. My opinion is that if you're asking that type of question, then you already know the answer really.

One of your major deciding factors is going to be insurance. It looks like you're hung up on a diesel, so here's the best suggestion I can come up with:

Go on to Auto Trader website & do a search for diesel vehicles under £3000 within a 40-60 mile radius. Write down anything you see that looks nice. Then go on to www.confused.com & do insurance quotes on all of them. Once you've put the details in once, you can just click the back button 2 or 3 times to change the car. On the main summary page of Confused.com, it'll list all of the cars & their best insurance quotes. This will then give you a list of cars that you can buy AND insure.

Once you've wiped out the ones that'll be too expensive, you can then go in to http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/ & check out each car for any major problems & either work out if you can afford to fix them or just write them off of your list.

& if you are looking to px the Focus, go here: http://www.networkq.co.uk/buying/value-your-car/
to get the actual price that you are likely to get in px. Your car may be worth £1000 in a private sale, but dealers want something for nothing & if they can hide behind their little books & offer you bugger all they will, so you need to be ready for it.

[Bailes1992]

The £1000 is what I expect to get for it part ex.
I think I'm going to stick with the first 3, I really like the 307 but the reliability issues put me off.
I like the Mondeo but I don't know if I'd connect with it?
And I'd really love a 406 but insurance is silly

[FarmerPug]

the mazda 6 i dont it theres something about it, it just doenst feel right to drive.
another problem with the 406 is the stupid fecking doorcard seals useless fecks dont stay on and you need tigerseal to put them on and even at that it you cant take the seals off again if you need in behind the door without ripping them, that annoys me more than anything else on the 406.

[sirwiggum]

Saabs always liked though the newer 9-3 has some reliability issues.

What about maybe a Volvo, the newer S40 or the S60 or S80?

Or a Honda Accord?

[FarmerPug]

Saab didnt do well with GM coming along, although i know someone with a 97 900 2.0 but its a convertable and the insurance is high, but hes had it 6 years now and no problems.

[Bailes1992]

Found out you can't replace the headunit on the 9-3, so thats out the question

Going to have a gander at some Volvos now

Basically I want a very well specced, comftorble, diesel sallon thats good on fuel and can be a little fun when you put the hammer down