A friend of mine needs to buy a new car to replace her Rover 200 (or is it a 25).

She has about

Could probably pick up quite a decent Vauxhall Astra for that sort of money...

Rob.

Thats something I'd not considered.

Ford Focuses for that price all seem to have been round the planet six times so they are out of the question as are 306s for the same reason

Citroen Xsaras seem to be quite an attractive option with a decent 50k mile diesel being affordable although there is the usual french car reliability worries.

Focuses seem to have held their value well - an Astra will have relatively high miles, but probably be from fleet so maintenance will have been decent.

The Xsara is supposed to be a bit of a dog in all respects, but coming from a Rover 200/25... :rubchin:

Rob.

The Xsara I drove a while back was nice enough to drive (if a bit boring) and had a decent number of toys as standard. The friend who had one didn't report any major problems over 3 years , although he might have been lucky , and as you say anything will seem better than the rover.

Main advantage is that citroen values free fall from new so a 3 or 4 year old car is quite affordable

The Rover 200 is quite a small car interior wise so I would have though the Fiesta and Micro would have been on par.

SWMBO use to have a Toyota Yaris and with the rear seat fully back had more space than an Octy in the rear.

We sold the Yaris for

you metion a 206 and yet you dont want anything as small as a fiesta or a micra.. id say a 206 is the same size as both so if your considering a 206 then look at the fiesta and micra range..

or how about from the reulat range like clio, megane, picasso,

a mark two punto might squeeze in to that price range.. as well

how about another rover ?

Joel

The 206 was intended more as a comparison to see what a slightly smaller car in the same price range would get.

I've got to give her a ring in a bit so I'll see if she has had any more thoughts.

"negotiate" and buy my Octavia?

Failing that, you can't go wrong (realistically) with the Vauxhall idea. I'd worry a bit about the Citroen, they are flaky on build, and dealer treatement.......well I'm sure we can find true horror stories.

What about a Seat?

I'd stay away from the 206 - it's very plasticky and cramped. ok, I'm a big bloke, but sitting on the lap of the person in the back isn't that much fun (cue Rob :naughty:)

She likes my Octy , but she wouldn't get on well with anything that large (she dented the Rover trying to park more than once).

An Ibiza might be an idea as the one I test drove did feel a bit larger than festers and the like. Wonder how much a reasonable TDI would cost?

Could get a very smart white octavia TDI estate...

Could get a very smart white octavia TDI estate...

:hilarius:

:P (but I was being serious :( a lot of octy for the dosh)

I'm sure it is , but I doubt she'd go for it.

audi A3, some very reasonable ones for the money and not massive

whats wrong with the classic furby! nowt wrong with mine!

Toyota Corrolla for reliability p'raps? Don't know too much about their diesels though.

Honda Civic? Something Hyundai with the balance of the 5 yr warranty?

I'd go with what Adrian said.

the Toyota Yaris is quite often voted one of the most reliable cars on the road, and if you can get one for your money then i'd snap it up. Never owned one myself but had a few in as used cars before now, very competantlittle motor car indeed, funky dash aswell

Fiat Puntos and Bravos are extremely cheap second-hand: should be able to get one of those. If they're used to Rovers, then the reliability will probably seem OK. You do get a lot of car for your money, although it won't have been put together very well. But they're cheap to run, insure and service/repair.

Well , in the end she went for a ............

Furby 1.4 classic

Don't know all the details , but obviously my enthusing about Skodas had paid off.

All I have to do now is fit the sony stereo that was salvaged from the dead rover.

Good lass and we hope to see her on the forum as well at some point

I'll point her in the right direction.

Well ' date=' in the end she went for a ............

Furby 1.4 classic

Don't know all the details , but obviously my enthusing about Skodas had paid off.

All I have to do now is fit the sony stereo that was salvaged from the dead rover.[/quote']

strange i changed from a rover 200 to a fabia too.

is the rover dead following a car crash? if so that story sounds strangely familiar: http://www.pclincs.co.uk/Forums/attachment.php?s=&postid=61841

strange i changed from a rover 200 to a fabia too.

is the rover dead following a car crash? if so that story sounds strangely familiar: http://www.pclincs.co.uk/Forums/attachment.php?s=&postid=61841

Yep , that looks just like hers but green instead of blue

Must be something in the water... I had my purple Rover 200 written off for me, loved that car!... and now, I've stolen my wife's vRS Fabia while I wait until Feb for the vRS Octavia!