Reply to: Super boring "what hatchback" thread

[LondonManc]

Saw a gorgeous A-Class AMG the other day. Sounded great. Possibly a bit OTT for a weekly trip to Sainsburys.

Now less than £27k on autotrader too.

[SueEllen]

Saw a gorgeous A-Class AMG the other day. Sounded great. Possibly a bit OTT for a weekly trip to Sainsburys.

Especially as scrotes will scratch it.

[ladymuck]

Saw a gorgeous A-Class AMG the other day. Sounded great. Possibly a bit OTT for a weekly trip to Sainsburys.

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

If brand kudos are not important I'd get a Hyundai. Get a 1 year old on their Approved scheme and you have 4 years unlimited mileage warranty and roadside assistance. Essentially no more expenses (apart from petrol and tax) for those 4 years.
And Hyundais are typically fully loaded with all the gizmos, comfortable, safe and reliable.

Of the small Hyundais, the i10 is by far the best - feels like a much bigger car when driving it.

And no VED for the first 2 years of ownership either. Just remember the roadside assistance might be a downgrade if you've already got cover for driving any car as the assistance plan doesn't cover that (but I think it covers anyone who is driving your car).

I have driven the i10 as a loaner car when mine was being serviced, must admit I didn't like it much. It being an automatic didn't help the feeling that I was driving a dodgem.

The Met police use Hyundai i30s too.

[sasguru]

If brand kudos are not important I'd get a Hyundai. Get a 1 year old on their Approved scheme and you have 4 years unlimited mileage warranty and roadside assistance. Essentially no more expenses (apart from petrol and tax) for those 4 years.
And Hyundais are typically fully loaded with all the gizmos, comfortable, safe and reliable.

Of the small Hyundais, the i10 is by far the best - feels like a much bigger car when driving it.

[vwdan]

Audi a1

Rented an A1 in Ibiza - lovely little car. I'm not a small car person at all, but I'd probably make an exception for that - really enjoyed driving it.

[lukemg]

The standard answer to what car should I get is - which Golf do you like ?
You can't go wrong and will always be able to get money for it later (need to consider TCO, don't get distracted by initial price).

[LondonManc]

My dad's got a Fiesta - same age as you're after - and it looks like a very nice car. Decent boot size too. The enemy currently has a Clio, which she's very happy with. We went looking at her potential next car (already knowing the Fiesta and Clio) and took a look at the Audi A1 and the Merc A-Class. The boot on the A1 is crap - you couldn't store a cat in it let alone swing one. Overall, the Merc A-Class is the winner - decent boot, nice car and seems ideal for what she wants. Obviously depends on your priorities and how high price features in the considerations.

[sal]

Except when they start frying ignition coils/coil packs and you end up treating them like consumables and getting them replaced on a regular basis.

My Ibiza had 3 ignition coils and I think I must have replaced them all at least twice at around £85/each. Its gearbox also started slipping and I ended up having to have it reconditioned (cheaper than a new gearbox). Also had an issue with the car constantly stalling in first gear and had to have some sensor on the clutch replaced. It eventually gave up the ghost when the timing chain started slipping which was effectively terminal. I got rid of it for £150 scrap.

You must have had bad luck with a heap. Engine and Gearbox are 100% VW, same that go into Polo and Golf. The wheelbase is 90% Polo.

I have had 2000 Ibiza, 2003 Ibiza and 2007 Cordoba (Ibiza sedan). My Father is still happily driving the 2003 Ibiza. Zero issues with any of them, outside the normal wear and tear / servicing.

All in all Seat are a better option than Skoda, as they share the same VW parts, but the interior is of a much better quality in the Seats.

I have heard good things about Hyundai, but never owned or driven one. Not sure how they are on price nowadays. Like other Korean brands they started taking up market share by being cheap and crap and started improving the quality but also the prices.

[ladymuck]

Except when they start frying ignition coils/coil packs and you end up treating them like consumables and getting them replaced on a regular basis.

My Ibiza had 3 ignition coils and I think I must have replaced them all at least twice at around £85/each. Its gearbox also started slipping and I ended up having to have it reconditioned (cheaper than a new gearbox). Also had an issue with the car constantly stalling in first gear and had to have some sensor on the clutch replaced. It eventually gave up the ghost when the timing chain started slipping which was effectively terminal. I got rid of it for £150 scrap.

You must have been unlucky? Never had a problem with the two I had. A friend of mine has had one for donkey's years and they're trying to run it into the ground, with the plan that it will be scrapped when it fails its MOT on something serious. Damn thing sails through every MOT.

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

Ditto that. Seat's are good cars.

Except when they start frying ignition coils/coil packs and you end up treating them like consumables and getting them replaced on a regular basis.

My Ibiza had 3 ignition coils and I think I must have replaced them all at least twice at around £85/each. Its gearbox also started slipping and I ended up having to have it reconditioned (cheaper than a new gearbox). Also had an issue with the car constantly stalling in first gear and had to have some sensor on the clutch replaced. It eventually gave up the ghost when the timing chain started slipping which was effectively terminal. I got rid of it for £150 scrap.

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

I hadn't considered Hyundai but spotted a local dealer. They seem really attractive on price alone and it's amazing how many features you get as standard or for little extra.

Current contenders are Golf, Fiesta, i30 I think. We need to be able to get a guitar case in the boot which means it's 50:50 whether we go for the Fiesta class or next size up. Modern cars are so much larger than they used to be that a Focus or Auris or Civic is a pretty big car for two people. Unsure if the i20 would suit boot-wise, the i30 looks a lot of car for the money.

IIRC, the i30 has the biggest boot space of cars in that size range (Leon, Golf, Focus etc.). I thought the i30 offered the best value for money too - we bought a 1 year old i30, 2013 plate, for approx. £8k from Motorpoint. It was one of the more basic trims, but it has Bluetooth and half-decent speakers and I don't really care about much else. It was an ex-hire car with 11k miles on the clock and in great condition. It also came with the balance remaining of a 5 year warranty and breakdown cover (for the car only, not the driver) so my AA membership is currently on pause. Not sure what warranty deals they come with now.

I've not had a single problem with the car since we had it* - the local dealer picked up some minor issue with a part during its service and it was replaced under warranty and I was given a loan car while it was repaired.

* except some **** who put a scratch and 50p sized dent in the passenger door only a few months after we bought it, so I had to have the panel repaired and resprayed!

[d000hg]

Ta

[ladymuck]

If going for the Golf the Seat equivalent is the Leon. that has hefty discounts if buying new via drivethedeal or broadspeed.

Ditto that. Seat's are good cars.

[eek]

I hadn't considered Hyundai but spotted a local dealer. They seem really attractive on price alone and it's amazing how many features you get as standard or for little extra.

Current contenders are Golf, Fiesta, i30 I think. We need to be able to get a guitar case in the boot which means it's 50:50 whether we go for the Fiesta class or next size up. Modern cars are so much larger than they used to be that a Focus or Auris or Civic is a pretty big car for two people. Unsure if the i20 would suit boot-wise, the i30 looks a lot of car for the money.

So far quite tempted by a Golf as they have adaptive cruise-control which I reckon is far more useful on English roads. All the others we looked at seemed to have the bog standard kind.
Although Ford have heated front windscreen which from past experience is a real boon.

So bored of looking at cars and speaking to salesmen now

If going for the Golf the Seat equivalent is the Leon. that has hefty discounts if buying new via drivethedeal or broadspeed.