I'm hoping that the more experienced on this group can kindly offer me some advice.
I've been self-employed since 1988, my first vehicle was a mark two Astra petrol estate, it did almost 180,000 miles with virtually no mechanical problems whatsoever, apart from a single timing belt and a (£30) second hand distributor, however due to bodywork failure I was forced to dispose of it about four years ago.
I then replaced it with a tidy almost identical 1990 H-reg Mark two diesel estate, which has since completed over 25,000 trouble-free miles without the engine missing a beat.
I've recently had to close my business, and my wife is now adamant that she doesn't want us to drive around in an 'old banger' anymore, we have a one-off maximum of £3,500 to spend on a replacement.
So this is where I need some advice (as from now on we will have to start counting the pennies) having followed this newsgroup for several years, I couldn't help noticing a lot of complaints about some major and very expensive problems associated with many vehicles manufactured within the last few years (including Vauxhalls) this doesn't exactly leave me oozing with confidence about being able to choose the right make and model for the kind of economic and reliable motoring which we have hitherto enjoyed (I remember one mechanic on this group actually commenting that he, 'wouldn't buy anything made after 1998'!
Basically what we require is a medium-sized (preferably diesel) which like my old Astras will perform reliably, and if it does give trouble I won't have to remortgage the house to get it fixed, so what would be the general consensus on what would fit my needs, TIA...
Ivan