Hi all, I'm looking for a second car to replace the missus Ford Ka in September as it's actually her Dads car. The Ka will be going to her little sister IF she passes her test etc.

Our main car will still be the Golf, and I will only be looking for a similar sized car, but with a small petrol engine (up to a 1.6) or maybe even another diesel if possible (I think I would prefer derv but we shall see...)

It doesn't need to be particularly clean, just in good mechanical condition with some tax and ticket. I'm not interested in how fast the car is either (I have the Golfy and its 190bhp for that ) , as long as it gets me to work and back relatively cheaply then I will be happy :)

I have a budget of about £800 to spend (which seems to put most other Golfs out of the equation). I would prefer something a bit oldschool so its easier to work on myself as well.

Not bothered if its VAG/Ford/Vauxhall/maybe even something french (shock horror!) anything Golf sized would be good!

So... fire away... what cars would you guys and gals be looking at in my position?

And before anyone asks, the breadvan is out of the running cos its currently in bits on the workshop floor

Just because I'm driving one at the minute.... Skoda Felicia? Dirt cheap to buy cause no one wants to be seen driving one, a piece of piss to work on (the most complex engine they have is the 1.6 out of the 6n), and parts are dirt cheap, and generally available 3 times over in any scrap yard.

micra, dirt cheap and the amount of people you can see squished in them they may as well be advertised as golf sized :)

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/search/used/ca...-6l/sort/locasc

Boat loads of stuff to choose from. I wonder if you could pick up a mechanically sound 6n2 for £800 yet?

You can get a mechanicaly sound 6n2 for £800

If you have a spare gearbox to put in

6n's are cheap though can pick up nice ones for under £800

Mate of mine sold his Pulsar GTi-R for a Scooby, but it was no better for commuting so he decided on a second car. He needed something proper cheap and cheerful which used no fuel. He regularly visits Liverpool to see family, and living in Bucks, this was also a stinger.

Naturally he asked me, and naturally i gave him the best sdvice i could - buy a 1.0 12v 3-pot Corsa-B.

After taking the piss for a while, he agreed to go look at a few. I liked a red one, W-registered, it was a good'un. I think he paid just under £900 for it.

This was about five years ago, and he still has it. The Scooby is long gone, as is his long history of owning fast cars. He absolutely loves the bloody thing, it's never let him down, costs him nothing to run, and he finds it fun to drive in the common real world traffic.

Times have moved on and you'd probably be looking at a Corsa-D version now. But they fall apart, so..

Mate of mine sold his Pulsar GTi-R for a Scooby, but it was no better for commuting so he decided on a second car. He needed something proper cheap and cheerful which used no fuel. He regularly visits Liverpool to see family, and living in Bucks, this was also a stinger.

Naturally he asked me, and naturally i gave him the best sdvice i could - buy a 1.0 12v 3-pot Corsa-B.

After taking the piss for a while, he agreed to go look at a few. I liked a red one, W-registered, it was a good'un. I think he paid just under £900 for it.

This was about five years ago, and he still has it. The Scooby is long gone, as is his long history of owning fast cars. He absolutely loves the bloody thing, it's never let him down, costs him nothing to run, and he finds it fun to drive in the common real world traffic.

Times have moved on and you'd probably be looking at a Corsa-D version now. But they fall apart, so..

The D's are just shite. Couldn't fault my diesel C though. Yes, it died, big time, but only after many tens of thousands of miles of abuse in a single year. I had a Highways Officer watching with his jaw on the floor as I pulled a broken down fully loaded Despatch van and trailer up a slip road and off a roundabout with it.