I think it's finally time to get a new car... But I literally have no idea what! Or where to start looking... Budget is around £3k, could potentially stretch to £4k. Any advice? I'm not too "in to" cars on the whole, not really fussed about what I get... Anyone on here do them "just add fuel" things? Are they recommended?
Fords are pretty reliable in my experience, have a Focus at the moment, but will prob upgrade to a Mondeo if i can magic some money out of the air.
I used to have a Ford Escort, I quite liked that. Have a Vauxhall Vectra at the moment, it has got a few extra fancy features, but it seems every couple of months something small goes wrong with it, setting me back £200 a time! It's annoying, because if one major thing went wrong with it, I'd just ditch it and get another, but they repairs are too small individually... Why a Mondeo, Wizard? And thanks for the link Barwell, will check it out!
Can't go wrong with a Golf. They can be expensive as they hold their value but well worth it in my totally unbiased view.
Totally agree with this, I've just had to hand back my Golf Estate (It was a Company Car) which was a 10 plate and had 140,000 miles on the clock and still drove really well, admittedly the clutch needed replacing but the fact that it did 140k on the original clutch I think is good going. It was a 1.6 Diesel Bluemotion and fuel economy was outstanding, an example, I drove to my daughters place in Sennelager in Germany from Calne, which is 547 miles, I averaged 62mpg and I used the cruise control set to 75mph whilst on the motorways in UK and Europe and I used just over 1/2 tank of diesel, can't get much better than that, oh and I had me, the missus, and 2 grown up kids + luggage. Very much recommended, unfortunately my Company have taken VW's off the car list otherwise I'd have had another one.
I have a 2006 toyota aygo, and obviously is a small car which is perfect for me (maybe not for you, depends what your after) but have had 2 now with very few problems and is exceptionally efficient, hardly costs anything in fuel (did leicester to bristol and back with fuel to spare). Would recommend it highly.
Jack, seriously. Im big into cars mate for my tuppence worth here goes. personally i drive a S4 Station Wagon fully loaded but 3k aint gonna get you one of those, Stay away from ford unless you like repair bills and golfs are the most over priced cars on the market. thier reliability has come under scrutiny and the Mk 4 is widely regarded as the worst Golf engine ever built. if you want reliability, then look at the stats. Jap/Asian cars always win the reliability tests regardless of who carries them out...(ie top gear, what car etc) the hyundai's are a good reliable motor but not sure of pricing in the UK. Avoid VW as you'll pay a premium for the make. Personally, for 3k I'd be looking at a mid range Beemer or similar. i picked my last 525 up for just over 2 grand. Saab were always a bargain and VERY good cars if you like the shape. You havent said if you want a 2 door, SUV family job or what so i cant really point you in any direction. i have a couple of freiends that own car lots so if you fancy a drive back into civilisation then...... Obviously, the usual idiots will have some comments, but i hope thats of some help. bit more info and i'd be happ to recommend something that fits your needs? i suppose there always SEAT thats basically AUDI with a shell change?
Cheers Queens I'm quite a tall lad, so none of that 2-door nonsense, I need the leg room I did consider a BMW actually, you can seem to pick them up for a pretty good price, but I wasn't sure on the repair costs after that... I think I may look at a few Japanese cars, just to keep the repair costs down rather than anything else! Thanks for your input Queens, much appreciated!
It's unlikely I'll repeat this sentence but, some valid points from Queenie there A bit more info would be useful, it's hard to say anything specific, requirements are relative. I changed my car not long ago as I needed something bigger & more practical, I bought a 2+2 coupe! No use if your a family of 5 but its fine for me. The Asian marks often have more toys as standard so you'd probably get a newer one & which would be well equipped, VW/BMW charge extra for everything when new but do hold their value so for £3k you'd be getting an older car. Personally I'd be avoiding a Ford or Vauxhall. If anyone tries to sell you an Alpha, walk away. You'll be walking a lot if you buy one, they break more than 'Arry twitches! Other half has had a couple of Saabs in the past, never any issues with reliability & they did a lot of miles. Volvo probably fit that mold too. Audi/Merc always a winner. Skoda have massively improved their reputation but personally I just couldn't buy one. Additionally it depends if MPG, Ins & tax bands are important. Do you do a lot of miles & need to fit 2.4 kids & a labrador in or just you & the mrs pottering around? As with football we're all likely to have different opinions & experiences, but personal lifestyle & preferences are a massive factor. I did a quick Autotrader search out of interest and there are a few nice ones but it depends what takes your fancy or is suitable. http://www.autotrader.co.uk/search/.../default/price-from/3000/price-to/3500/page/4
As to your first sentence, I thought the same! No kids yet, and none planned to be on the way either! Just me and the other half, rarely have a car-full, but I'm over 6ft tall, so that throws all smaller cars and 2-doors out the window! Doesn't have to be a big car as such, have had a Ford Escot and currently have a Vectra, which are both big enough. MPG and tax band aren't so important, I'd say I only drive 10,000 miles a year. Also considered getting a diesel car, does anyone else on here drive a diesel? My old man reckons he saves about £800 a year on fuel...!!
I have a BMW 3 series. Is a brilliant drive - 10x better compared to my previous Astra so if you want one, I'd say save £5K+ and get a minimum 07 plate as that is when BMW changed the engine and made it more efficient. I would reccomend getting a diesel - you would save around £20 a month and personally find diesels better to drive as I'm no longer a boy racer and drive on the motorway daily to work. I'd recommend looking at motors.co.uk - they are the same company that do the classifieds in the Mercury - or autotrader. Don't bother with eBay unless you have someone that knows a lot about cars with you.
