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

[sasguru]

For local trips there is no point in diesel. Get a nice petrol car and you will be far better off.

Not only that on some diesel cars, short trips where the engine doesn't warm up properly result in DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) problems.
If you do short trips in an urban environment get a petrol car for sure.
The 1.4 Hyundai i30 petrol is a fine town car - tried and tested, does what it says on the tin. Better than a Focus for everything apart from the driving dynamics, but you won't notice that in town anyway.

HTH

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

Go to:

Home - Car Reliability Index | Reliability Index | How reliable is your car?

see where Ford cars lie in the top 100. If you have your heart set on a ford then go buy one! Otherwise if you are looking for good value then you are barking up the wrong street IMO. Go to Toyota/Honda and see what they have on offer.

My heart isn't set on Ford and TBH, I'm almost sold on the i30. Still going to drive both tomorrow but if I forget the fancy Sony DAB radio on the Focus, I'm not sure there is much more going for it to justify the extra grand (its supposedly a more fun drive but that's not a deal breaker).

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

Not only that on some diesel cars, short trips where the engine doesn't warm up properly result in DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) problems.
If you do short trips in an urban environment get a petrol car for sure.
The 1.4 Hyundai i30 petrol is a fine town car - tried and tested, does what it says on the tin. Better than a Focus for everything apart from the driving dynamics, but you won't notice that in town anyway.

HTH

Thanks - that's exactly what I've been reading re: the DPF. I maybe do one medium distance drive a week (from East to North London which isn't really far) and everything else will be relatively local. Seems like the 1.4l petrol will do the job.

[BoredBloke]

Go to:

Home - Car Reliability Index | Reliability Index | How reliable is your car?

see where Ford cars lie in the top 100. If you have your heart set on a ford then go buy one! Otherwise if you are looking for good value then you are barking up the wrong street IMO. Go to Toyota/Honda and see what they have on offer.

VW Passat scores worse than the Mondeo. I'm on my third mondeo, the current one is on a 55 plate. I got it on 49k and its on 116k now. I've had 7 years but over the last 4 years its not done a huge amount of work as I've been working overseas and in London - just the odd long blast up and down the motorways, but in the 66k its done for me, all I have ever had to replace are tyres, brakes and the normal stuff that goes with wear and tear. I'm looking to replace it now though as its pumping out tons of black tulip at low revs and because I fancy a change......the change being a new Mondeo!

[Antman]

VW Passat scores worse than the Mondeo. I'm on my third mondeo, the current one is on a 55 plate. I got it on 49k and its on 116k now. I've had 7 years but over the last 4 years its not done a huge amount of work as I've been working overseas and in London - just the odd long blast up and down the motorways, but in the 66k its done for me, all I have ever had to replace are tyres, brakes and the normal stuff that goes with wear and tear. I'm looking to replace it now though as its pumping out tons of black tulip at low revs and because I fancy a change......the change being a new Mondeo!

Someone who works at a ford dealership told me that they haven't prepared a mondeo in ages all they are doing now are foci.

[Platypus]

the 1.4 petrol engine isn't going to be as eco-friendly as the Ford EcoBoost engine

Quite right! Choose an eco-friendly engine and delay the global warming / climate change crisis by a nanosecond if that.

To do anything less would be a wanton act of eco vandalism.




I'm enjoying this thread! Shall I say something constructive too? Thank goodness you've abandoned the Fiesta idea!

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

Sorry, when I said "Eco friendly" I really meant cheaper to run. Saving the planet by driving a slightly less polluting car wasn't what I had in mind!

Anyway, off to test drive the i30 today. Having reviewed the extra features on the Active model we have decided that none of them are worth paying another grand, so we are looking at the entry level trim which can be had for £8798, 1 year old. £2k saving over the Focus. I'm not sure I should even bother test driving the Focus now.

[lukemg]

First, forget cheaper to run, your mileage means the engine choice is irrelevant to the costs, you could buy a 4 litre and it won’t make much difference.
So – you are starting with a car and fitting requirements around it, wrong way round.
You need:
- Small to Medium hatchback.
- 1-3 years old.
- Run of the mill – you don’t care about cars.
- Reliable – they mostly are these days.
- Keeping long term, so depreciation an issue but will level out over 10 years.
- About 10k tops
So:
Don’t get a diesel, get a 1.6 or 2 litre petrol (short journeys and low miles)
You are on the right track – Focus, Civic, Astra etc.
Hyundai’s would do the job, but expect nothing when you want to get rid.
Don’t worry about current mileage so much, your low miles will pull it back to average over time.
So – it’s simple – which VW Golf do you like ?

[NorthWestPerm2Contr]

First, forget cheaper to run, your mileage means the engine choice is irrelevant to the costs, you could buy a 4 litre and it won’t make much difference.
So – you are starting with a car and fitting requirements around it, wrong way round.
You need:
- Small to Medium hatchback.
- 1-3 years old.
- Run of the mill – you don’t care about cars.
- Reliable – they mostly are these days.
- Keeping long term, so depreciation an issue but will level out over 10 years.
- About 10k tops
So:
Don’t get a diesel, get a 1.6 or 2 litre petrol (short journeys and low miles)
You are on the right track – Focus, Civic, Astra etc.
Hyundai’s would do the job, but expect nothing when you want to get rid.
Don’t worry about current mileage so much, your low miles will pull it back to average over time.
So – it’s simple – which VW Golf do you like ?

Well that or a Jap car. You want to be able to sell it on without too much headache after x years. Golf depreciation is the best in it's class. I bought mine for 6700 almost 4 years ago and it is still worth over 3.5k. You won't get much back for a Ford or Hyundai.

[lilelvis2000]

There are some manufacturers out there with 7 year warranties. So if you pick up a 3y/o car you've still got 4 years warranty left.

My wife is brill at picking up well worn (read: knackered) cars and driving them for a couple of years before getting another. We are talking cars here that sell for £500 with a dodgy MOT. Given a new car loses more than that in the first year, she's saving money. Still get ripped off on the insurance though.