Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To hope that I can get a reliable good car for £3000

86 replies

wheelycote · 01/02/2016 22:05

Need a car for new job....they don't supply a car. Its a fantastic opportunity...start in March. I need a car and have been turned down for car loan...previously had a debt management plan 5 years ago...all resolved and paid up now however its still affecting my credit...which is fair enough. Past years have not missed any payments with anything and been excrutiatingly good were money is concenred.

I have 3grand saved (painstakingly saved for towards a house deposit over the past couple of years) (Two jobs one full time and one satueday/sunday job). I was hoping for the loan but now that is not possible unless I want a high APR 35 per cent ish apr.

I might beable to stretch to 4 grand at an absolute push, but would be skinting not only the savings account but the birthday account. I rent and worried if the landlord wants the house back I will have to find the deposit and moving costs for another place with higher rent :()

Is it possible to get a good reliable car for 3000 ish that would be used for about 15000 to 20000 miles a year or am I delusional and need to grovel to my employer that im serving notice with and apologise to the new one saying I cant get a car.

So fed up...I've a few Gnt's on my todd (my kids are dtweens, they are safe) and fed up as I don't know what. Am I car snob and are there good cars out there for 3grand that wont have to pour money into

Thank you for listening to my drunkard worriying ramble

OP posts:
NightLark · 01/02/2016 22:43

Toyota. Dull as anything, but last forever... RAC man advised me to get one when rescuing my broken Peugeot: said he never saw them for anything except tyres and batteries. Mine lasted 8 years, and I only changed it because I could, it was still going fine (and was 13 years old by then).

PirateSmile · 01/02/2016 22:43

That surprises me PrimalLass

peaz1 · 01/02/2016 22:43

We bought our car from a dealer who sells low mileage motobility cars. If you are in Essex pm me and I'll send you his details X

StillMedusa · 01/02/2016 22:45

I recently bought an 08 Toyota for 3,000... it's fab.

Previous car cost 1,500 and did us 5 years without a hitch. It was a Renault scenic... great load lugger as the seats came out when needed. Until its final month it flew through MOTs.

WhimsicalWinnifred · 01/02/2016 22:47

Where are you based op?

Original poster
wheelycote · 01/02/2016 22:49

www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201601290512180?page=2&postcode=LE19%201SA&model=a_class&price-to=3000&onesearchad=used%2Cnearlynew%2Cnew&price-from=500&search-target=usedcars&make=mercedes-benz&radius=1500&sort=pricedesc&logcode=p

this looks nice...worried though on home visits that a Mercedes might not be thought of well even if an old one....or am I being paranoid do you think?

My current job comes with car and when it was new someone had spat on each of the windows. Two other girls had had the cars keyed right down the full length and they were run of the mill cars.

OP posts:
Quickchangeup · 01/02/2016 22:51

I bought a Citroen c4, it was 5 years old, done 50k, everything worked as it should do for £3,000. It's now 11 years old and never broken down, cost absolutely the bare minimum in servicing or repairs-couple of small bits for mot and everything still works as it should approaching 80000 miles. It's the most reliable car I've ever owned. Some brands depreciation is worse than others-bu buying a less prestigious brand we were able to stick to our budget, and buy a reliable car with reasonably low miles.

Original poster
wheelycote · 01/02/2016 22:52

Am Im going to drink a couple of pints of orange juice so no hangover tomorrow and look at this car business a bit more realistically tomorrow

thank you so much for your replies!!! I feel much better!!! Tommorrow will be car hunting and working hopefully without a hangover

OP posts:
WhimsicalWinnifred · 01/02/2016 22:54

Those a-classes are nice. Not high end still but head and shoulders above the previous model. However, I'd budget 2 as an absolute max so you have something left over for insurance, maintenance, repairs and other things in life that pop up.

PrimalLass · 01/02/2016 22:59

Whimsical we tried to buy a newer CMax but they are so small. It's like they have been boil-washed and shrunk by 20%.

PrimalLass · 01/02/2016 23:00

Apparently it is really, really tricky to fit a new turbo and there are very specific steps that most garages don't know about. This is why we didn't bother.

WhimsicalWinnifred · 01/02/2016 23:02

How frustrating!!! I love the new fords but I'm not sure what's going on with the b-max, c-max and eco sport. What did you get instead?

PrimalLass · 01/02/2016 23:03

A Qashqai. The seating position is great but it lacks the oomph and fuel economy of the CMax.

WhimsicalWinnifred · 01/02/2016 23:08

Love them and due to their popularity they went up in price a while back. Now everyone does a version so they're back to normal but everyone's favourite Smile

Junosmum · 01/02/2016 23:08

Totally possible 08reg Honda jazz- very reliable (tend to be old lady cars, regularly serviced and low miles). Alternatively a 05 reg golf diesel would be good with the miles you'll be doing. Just look out for a good service history.

magicstar1 · 01/02/2016 23:09

We have a 99 Toyota Corolla which we bought 7 years ago for €1600. They're pretty much bulletproof, and there's a guy around with 500,000 miles on his, which still runs perfectly. My dad still has his 96 Toyota Carina from new, and it's perfect. They're boring cars, but they run forever.

JaceLancs · 01/02/2016 23:55

Volkswagen diesel either golf or Passat go on for ever!

TannhauserGate · 02/02/2016 00:13

A skoda fabia will be reliable, and economical on fuel.
I had mine for seven years, never spent a penny on repairs.

ginghamcricketbox · 02/02/2016 00:15

Or a Skoda same engines and drivetrain as VW, usualy better spec for less money.

WhimsicalWinnifred · 02/02/2016 02:15

Dp had a 2.0 gti mk4 golf. With your budget you could get mk5. That was petrol and had 140k on it. It'd not long passed an mot with no advisories. They are fantastic cars and you get a lot of options fitted as standard. I'd stick with German or Japanese. Koreans like Kia are getting really good too

JT05 · 02/02/2016 05:18

Driving a 13 year old VW. Never failed an MOT, yet. Only ever bought tyres and new brake discs.

My previous K reg VW Passat is still being driven around the area. I see it in local car parks.

BlackeyedShepherdsbringsheep · 02/02/2016 07:33

I had a very reliable mazda 6. ten years old. only had to replace battery, headlights and tyres.

was still going strong when I had to get rid. I miss it. it would have gone on for many more years if it did not have a peugeot shaped dent in the boot.

flanjabelle · 02/02/2016 07:38

Well I just sold my car. It was a 2005 fiesta, 1.25L 3dr, 50000 miles. The dealer gave me £2000 for it and is selling it for £2995. That car is in fab condition, was very well looked after and is really reliable. Full service history and had never had an advisory on mot. I don't think you will struggle to find a decent car for £3000!

londonrach · 02/02/2016 07:39

Skoda fabia best car in the world and certainly do able with £3000. If you decide to not get the best car Grin make sure you research faults with other models.

flanjabelle · 02/02/2016 07:41

The one thing I would advise is steering clear of the luxury car brands (Mercedes, bmw, Audi etc). Even if the car is reasonably priced, the maintainence will be crippling as the parts are so much more expensive. The insurance will be higher in most cases too.

I would stick with a Ford, Vauxhall or similar.