New car time - new/used/PCP/loan?

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

If you are getting married and want to keep the car for around 5 years why are you getting such a small one?

Least with a medium size car you can easily fit a kid, their stuff and your stuff.

We managed with my Ibiza, but I'm considering a Focus for just this reason.

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

So, test drive was good but as much as the OH wants a new car, the more I think about it the more I just can't stomach spending that much money on a new car.

Currently looking at 3 year old Fiesta's instead. Still seem to be in the £7-9k range but at least a chunk of the depreciation has gone. Some low-ish mileage cars out there in that range.

I checked out the Cat D car and whilst it looked immaculate and I had no reason not to trust the guy selling it, it was the person who owned it before him that had had the bumper stolen so who knows. Also, lost service manual so no written service history. The guy seemed to have a genuine reason to sell it and would take £6k for it but I've decided to pass on it.

[sasguru]

You seem to want durability and reliability in a car and you don't care about image.
So why buy a Ford?
Get a Honda or Toyota (or indeed almost any Jap car) and they'll last you years with low repair bills.

[northernladuk]

You seem to want durability and reliability in car and you don't care about image.
So why buy a Ford?
Get a Honda or Toyota (or indeed almost any Jap car) and they'll last you years with low repair bills.

Agreed and the Civic is a lot more funky than the Fords.

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

You seem to want durability and reliability in a car and you don't care about image.
So why buy a Ford?
Get a Honda or Toyota (or indeed almost any Jap car) and they'll last you years with low repair bills.

I'm open minded, but there doesn't seem to be much in it price-wise. AFAIK, Fiestas and Focuses are fairly reliable although Focuses tend to have higher mileage and depreciate more.

TBH, I'm leaning towards the 1 year old Ford Focus Titanium for £11299 (there are some £300 cheaper but not at the MotorPoint near me). It's still more than I'd really like to pay, but its bigger than a Fiesta, has 2 years manufacturer warranty left on it and TBH, if I got it I'd be quite happy to hold on to it for up to 10 years, which would mean my annual motoring cost isn't largely different from what it is now.

If my ropey old Seat Ibiza lasted 11 years and 70k miles (and I may have just been unlucky), I'm sure I can make a Focus last 10 years at approx. 5k miles a year. Any decent modern car, if looked after and serviced correctly, should surely be able to do 100k miles without many problems?

[sasguru]

I'm open minded, but there doesn't seem to be much in it price-wise. AFAIK, Fiestas and Focuses are fairly reliable although Focuses tend to have higher mileage and depreciate more.

TBH, I'm leaning towards the 1 year old Ford Focus Titanium for £11299 (there are some £300 cheaper but not at the MotorPoint near me). It's still more than I'd really like to pay, but its bigger than a Fiesta, has 2 years manufacturer warranty left on it and TBH, if I got it I'd be quite happy to hold on to it for up to 10 years, which would mean my annual motoring cost isn't largely different from what it is now.

If my ropey old Seat Ibiza lasted 11 years and 70k miles (and I may have just been unlucky), I'm sure I can make a Focus last 10 years at approx. 5k miles a year. Any decent modern car, if looked after and serviced correctly, should surely be able to do 100k miles without many problems?

Jeez! You want to pay £11.3K for a fooking Focus? You seem to be fixated on Foci. For that sort of cash you could get a half-decent Octavia VRS or a Mazda 6 2.2, cars that have some oomph and are still fun to drive.
I don't know, some people :face palm: Sheesh.

here's a question you should ask yourself. What do mini-cabbies drive? It's almost always a Jap saloon. There's a reason for that.

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

OK, seeing as you think I'm crazy (and I might agree...I keep going back and forth and maybe that should be telling me something).

On the slightly lower end of the spectrum, 1.4L 5dr Corsa, 2 years old with 5K on the clock, going for just under £6k. That's a little bit more comfortable...going by reviews Corsas seem to rank below Polos and Fiestas but still seem well rated.

[sasguru]

OK, seeing as you think I'm crazy (and I might agree...I keep going back and forth and maybe that should be telling me something).

On the slightly lower end of the spectrum, 1.4L 5dr Corsa, 2 years old with 5K on the clock, going for just under £6k. That's a little bit more comfortable...going by reviews Corsas seem to rank below Polos and Fiestas but still seem well rated.

No, no no....you're doing this all wrong.
It seems you want to get a small/medium-sized reliable car to keep for a long time with small bills? Correct?
Then get a Honda Civic or a Toyota Auris.
Easy peasy. A good one will easily last for 10 years with minimal maintenance.

[northernladuk]

No, no no....you're doing this all wrong.
It seems you want to get a small/medium-sized reliable car to keep for a long time with small bills? Correct?
Then get a Honda Civic or a Toyota Auris.
Easy peasy. A good one will easily last for 10 years with minimal maintenance.

And did I mention the Civics are dead funky.

[sasguru]

And did I mention the Civics are dead funky.

I don't think he cares about looks. But he should be swayed by durability, reliability and reasonable costs.