What’s the best car to go for if you are after a reliable old banger? Looking to spend £300-£400 on something to get me to work and back instead of cycling against the wind everyday.
Not bothered about looks, it just has to start and keep running for 15 minutes a day and be in the cheapest tax bracket 
Squiddy:
What’s the best car to go for if you are after a reliable old banger? Looking to spend £300-£400 on something to get me to work and back instead of cycling against the wind everyday.Not bothered about looks, it just has to start and keep running for 15 minutes a day and be in the cheapest tax bracket
pug 106 diesel cheap tax and brilliant on fuel im looking to find another only problem is cars like that are goin up in value seen m reg ones on ebay with 155k miles for £500 another option would be goin for a car c or d car thats got fresh ticket i not long bought a pug 306 w reg stolen recoverd cat c its now clean as a whistle it now owes me £270 i paid £180 for it due to it being catc yet a clean history one is nigh on £700-£1000
A mechanic friend of mine recons a Nissan Micra is good, it never convinced me to get one mind. but saying that my old man had 2 over the years, they never let him down and never failed an MOT.
Nissan Micra 
Do any ever last the three years to need an MOT 
My old mans did he only got the second one, because he never washed the first one and this one was cleaner. Not sure about the lasting long enough for an MOT I’m not talking about the ■■■■ they knock out today, these were the first ones.
Cavalier turbo diesel (isuzu), can run anything and go on for ever just the alignment is a ■■■■ on them if its not been looked at in a while
pete904ni:
Cavalier turbo diesel (isuzu), can run anything and go on for ever just the alignment is a [zb] on them if its not been looked at in a while
I had a Cavalier 2ltr. SRI went like hell never any trouble, a bit hot on fuel but it had done 180,000 miles when I got rid of it. Her in doors was going back and forth from SW France regular with it.
Anything german or jap…
With what you’re looking for it really going to have more to do with how it’s been treated by previous owners than any particualr make.
Small economical cars are popular so will hold thier value as will popular makes. But they are cheap to run insure and parts are cheap and easy to find. Plus every back street garage can keep one running.
I know a lot of people who buy things like Protons or Daihatsus, they get a newer car, with lower mileage and provided they do the basics maintainance they last a few years.
Basically I’d see what advertised round your area and go and have a look, if it’s tidish and looks like it’s had a bit of maintainance then it will probably be ok.
The best banger I got was a Vauxhall Cavalier I got it for £75 a mate did a bit of welding to get it through the MOT. I ran it for a couple of years and sold it to a mate who kept it going for a few more.
As previous posters have said, if you want a cheap runaround just keep looking in local papers or e-bay.
Make sure you put nearest first in search criteria on ebay. If you have to spend a couple of hundred going to fetch the car it adds up the cost, sounds obvious to say that but my lad bought a moped for £100 then realised it was on Orkney! (We live in Cheshire !)
I bought a Mondeo from a collegue without an MOT for £100 cost another £100 to put through MOT but that was it. Had it for 3 years with no major probs.Just got rid and currently running round in a £200 Fiat Punto.
Smaller £400 car with cheap tax is the same as a larger £200 car with dearer tax but with more comfort 
Cheap decent cars are out there but you gotta search for em.
Good Luck.
I had a pug 205 diesel on a K plate and it was in many ways the best car I ever had. I bought it in 2005 for £495 with 100k miles on it and nearly a year’s T+T (so only effectively paid about £300 for the car itself). Did nearly 24000 miles in it over 2.5 years and other than two oil changes, a set of discs and pads, a radiator, a wheel bearing and a pair of tyres did nothing else to it. Over that time it averaged 54.6mpg, and the only rust on it was where the paint had been cracked by a minor bump.
I only got rid of it when some clown in an MGF decided to have an accident while overtaking me and caught me up in it otherwise I would probably still have it now. Fantastic little car. On the plus side I got more back from his insurers than I paid for it…
I kept a spreadsheet of every cost and over the time I had it included everything (fuel, insurance, tax, repairs, mot, etc) it worked out at 15.2 pence per mile. I don’t think motoring comes much cheaper than that.
Paul
Korean cars are the best for anyone on a budget or who dont like spending cash on cars. Daewoo now chevrolet are great iv had three in a row never any problems. So good are they that i brought the last one an aveo new. Frugal motoring at its best.
Got a 1.0l Micra in the end 
Seems OK, but it’s the first time I have driven anything smaller than 18T in over a year and got to admit I feel very vunerable in it. ■■■■ things smaller than my cab! Timing chain instead of a belt helped with the final choice.
best cheap car i had was a pug 306 dturbo cost me 500 quid and they go forever they got a decent amount of poke in em to get going but can great mpg out em too like a few on here have said pug desiels are great engines but the xnd models are the best
i have just picked up a honda hrv on a 52 plate its the oposite to a cheap car its thirsty and £140 for 6 months tax only paid £200 for it