Second-hand sense: Unfortunately, we can't really deal with individual queries in this column, but a recent inquiry about a good-value car for a buyer needing space and comfort, but with a budget of about €10,000 was a challenge worth taking up.
There are, of course, lots of cars that cost €10,000 or less, but finding one that represented a worthwhile investment was a bit of a task. Many had very high mileage, had been imported or had a poor reliability record. What we needed to find was a car that was underrated but reliable, offered good value for money and would give a good return of the reasonable investment of €10,000.
Eventually we were reminded of the Mazda 626, which an acquaintance owns and swears by. The 626 was the forerunner to the very impressive Mazda 6 and was on sale here until 2002, when the 6 made its debut. Can't think of what it looks like? You would struggle, in fairness. The 626 was a car that exemplified the neglect that characterised Mazdas of the time. It was simply boxy, had few redeeming design features and looked like a sort of flattened bread van.
Yet it was a car that established quite a reputation for itself with people who take the pragmatic approach to car buying. Taxi drivers, for instance, were even prepared to tear themselves away from looking at Toyota Carinas at dealerships to consider the 626. Why? Because what the 626 lacked in style it made up for in terms of practicality, reliability, comfort and space. It was also good value.
For instance, the car that caught my attention was a 2002 model with a 1.8 petrol engine and 36,000 miles on the clock. It has electric front windows, twin airbags, air conditioning and remote locking and sounds in very good condition. It is on offer at €8,950. If the deal is as good as it looks, then you won't find a much better package than that.
The car was sold here with 1.8 and 2.0 litre petrol engines and with a 2.0 litre diesel option. The engines are good and dependable but noisy by today's standards. The manual gearbox was dependable but the automatic gearbox gave trouble in many cases. The ride is smooth and handling is adequate without being refined. Interior and boot space is good but the interior is something that always let the car down. It is typical of some Japanese cars at the time - grey and lifeless.
The 626 does not have a EuroNCAP crash test record, but it has always been regarded as reasonably solid. There have been several recalls of the 626 but they have involved small number of cars, the biggest being some 5,000 cars with engine failure because of a problem with the timing belt tensioner.
Apart from the model mentioned above, there are lots of 626s on the second-hand market and the one mentioned does tend to set the bar for what you should expect to get and at what price. Beware of very high mileage diesel versions, however. A 2001 diesel model with a respectable 82,000 miles up has an asking price of €10,950. And you can have a 2000 model with a 1.8 petrol engine with the same equipment as that first car mentioned above.
FOR: Totally underrated and well priced on the second hand market
AGAINST: Totally anonymous styling and a poor interior finish.