Nope! I spoke to them all over the phone and made a point of asking if they where in vgc with a major service. When I got there, none of them could prove if the belts had actually been done, the paintwork left alot to be desired and all drove a bit 'odd'.
Maybe Im being naive as these they were 5-7 year old cars, but why lie over the phone? I would rather them just say, its not great, but doesnt need a lot spending on it.

The search continues!

Ive changed my mind, especially with petrol prices expected to be at 1.30 by the end of the year :(

Looks like Im going the TF cams route :smart:

Shocking price isn't it! Good job I have got my Disco back and the ZS is an occassional car now.

If you take the time to work out what the extra cost actually is of the petrol compared to the mileage you'd get out of the 180 - I bet you it wouldn't be as much as the cams etc and everything else you'd want to do to your 120 !

I don't know - say 250 (fun filled smiling) miles per tank (£50) for a 180 and 350 per tank for a 120.

The fuel is the same cost, so it depends on your mileage.

Say it's 6K - that would cost you - (24x50) -
£1200 in fuel in a 180.
£857 in fuel in a 120

So - very simply- you would save a whapping £343 in petrol over the year. Break that down to every month and you'd save £28.50.

Do more miles and the difference gets bigger. If you do less miles - the savings will not be as much.

Personally - I'd say get a 180.....but I would I suppose.

If the petrol is your reason for not getting one - I'd say - get one. If it's a combination of all of the running costs and the petrol has tipped the scale - fair enough.

Ofcourse - you could get a bike !

I know this is old news but if the 3 cars you looked at were close to your price of £1600 but a long way off in quality doesn't that make you think you need to budget more or accept less.

Your right mate, I had increased my budget, only for hours to get cut at work. Im a warehouse manager and was on 40 hours, its now 30 :( It was that or leave. So thats £300 less a month, that would of done nicely for petrol.

I really dont know what to do, im so undecisive!
The cam conversion will cost around £450 inc labour or around £700 with a remap.

Dan, good way of looking at it. Ive got a bike though ;)

Then use it more and get a 180 !

ZS180 = 250 miles to a tank, I guess that is if you are reasonably heavy footed ;)

I averaged 320 to a tank and that was mixed driving on a weekly commute. If I drove sensibly and kept it under 65 mph ;) and below 3k then it would increase beyond 350.

Don't forget, a car weighing approximately the same with an under powered engine fitted will consume more fuel when pushed compared with the same car fitted with a bigger capacity engine with more power. You do not need to use all the power all of the time in this instance but it is there when needed :D

TB 180 saloon with belts, clutch and slave cylinder done (unfortunately not a sheddist) recent cv joints for MOT and N/S front bearing, and full geometry setup, if your interested PM.