by minigirl on Wed Jan 23, 2008 8:40 am
if you're going to be driving regularly in hilly districts, you don't want a car with too small an engine - probably something between 1500cc and 2 litres (or thereabouts) would be suitable. someone who drives a diesel would be able to comment on the diesel v petrol question better than i could, but as far as i understand it, the main advantage with a diesel is more to do with better fuel economy and cheaper fuel than performance or pulling power. for some reason diesel fuel is more expensive in australia, and you don't get too many diesel cars out here.
i suppose i should have asked if the dogs are big or small (i mean, you would need a bigger car to transport great danes than you would for pekinese) but, assuming the dogs are average size, here goes:
my first advice would be don't buy anything korean. once they've reached the price range you're talking about their reliability would be very suspect.
i'm not sure about car prices in england, but i think the following cars would be worth considering:
skoda octavia (or skoda felicia if your dogs are small!) - i don't have any experience with these as skoda have only just started selling cars here a few months ago after a break of around 30 years but from all reports the quality of these cars since volkswagen bought the company in 1991 is very good. i was on holiday in scotland in 2006 and couldn't help noticing the number of skodas that were being used as taxis - when you think about it, taxis need to be both cheap to buy and maintain and be reliable, so that might be a recommendation of sorts.
ford focus - i've never driven one and i don't know anyone who has one, but this could be a good choice.
vauxhall astra - this would be one on my list. pretty solidly built too, compared to some others in its class. i hired one for a week when i was in scotland and liked it.
toyota corolla - personally i can't stand toyotas but that's just my reaction to their styling (or lack of it). i know a couple of people who have corollas and they're very happy with them. from what i've heard toyotas are well built and reliable and hold their value well.
peugeot - i like peugeots but i've never driven one and i don't know anyone who has one. the only thing i've heard said against them is that their cooling systems aren't quite up to coping with the hottest summer days out here, but that wouldn't be a problem for you, as i can't imagine temperatures in the peak district would climb up to around 40 degrees centigrade and beyond....
renault - as for peugeot.
citroen - citroens can be rather quirky and appealing, but i think the ones in your price range would be less so, as the company went through a stage of building fairly ordinary cars about ten years or so ago. otherwise as for peugeot.
honda civic/accord - as for peugeot.
maybe someone else might come up with some other suggestions, but those are mine.
and what would i get if it were me? just to be different i think i'd go looking for a well maintained rover 45. yes, i know the manufacturer has gone out of business, but this in turn means that their value has dropped and you can get more for your money. if you go for one of the more upmarket variants, you'll find they have a bit more class than some of the alternatives. and there are enough of them around to ensure that spare parts should be available for some time yet. can't go looking for a rover 45 here though, as they only sold the bigger 75 in australia.
i would strongly suggest that when you find a car you want to buy that you have a mechanic (or at very least someone who knows a fair bit about cars) have a look at it before you part with your money. You can save a lot of money buying a used car, but alternatively you could end up buying someone elses problem. you don't want to be put off by things that can be fixed easily (say, if the car needs new tyres for example) and you might even be able to haggle a bit if there is something that needs to be fixed, but you don't want to buy a car that has structural rust or major mechanical problems.
happy hunting!
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