10-09-2012, 05:16 PM
Hello
*Feel free to skip to the bold part*
Ok, I know most of you live for the 306 and possibly won't understand this thread at all and will come back with 'I'd rather have my top spec meridian/Top handling DTurbo over a new car anyday' as I would've said myself just a few weeks/days ago!
But now I can really see the benefit of a newer car. Basically my Nan has said she'll loan/give me some money towards a newer car instead of 'keep buying 10 year old heaps of crap' in her exact words lol. Now I'm not sure how much she's willing to part with yet, as I absolutely hate being indebted to people, family relation or not, I've avoided it so far, but I'm now coming round to the idea.
The thing is, until today I didn't realise just how much 'older' petrols cost to run, and the diesels cost a tonne to buy! Then you've got the reliability, yes any car can be shit with a bad history, but at 6 years old, its only had half the time to get a bad history compared with an old french hatch used as a cheap workhorse! And of course, newer car gives you a dealer warranty if anything were to go wrong, hardly ever even see 306s at dealers.
Most of you probably know by now my mum drives a top spec 12 plate suzuki swift, yes it cost a lot to buy (£7k after px i think!) but it averages 55mpg, even round town, and really isn't all that bad, its obviously no speed machine, but its a 1.2 non turbo, which has more power and does more mpg than a standard 306 HDi, not to mention the £30 a year tax and the much lower insurance cost!
Yes its all swings and roundabouts, and I'm certainly not looking at brand new cars like that. The costs and depreciation is phenominal.
So I'm looking for something inbetween with a main focus on mpg, reliabilty, space (bootspace and or towbar), comfort, cheap tax. Now I know this will come at the cost of power and probably handling, but if I don't f*ck everything up now then I can always get a powerful, good handling car ('6 hopefully!) for weekends once things are settled. I was surprised just how slow the 130bhp vectra was last week, and Ive tested a 1.8 mondeo today (125?), again unbeleivably slow! So I know Im not gonna get anything as quick or torquey as the Golf...but of course, I can see the power/torque broke everything. So I'd more than likely keep a new car totally standard, or just a stage 1 map if it's diesel (more mpg too then!).
Sorry for the long post, but hopefully I've explained stuff.....if not just read this paragraph. Basically, I'm looking for a car around 5/6 years old, not sure on budget yet, with a main focus on mpg, cheap tax, cheap insurance, reliabilty, space and comfort.
Any suggestions are welcome, I've never before looked at cars I can't afford so I really have no idea what I should even be looking at! Obviously something that looks half decent and isn't 'too' slow would be good but I'm open to sensible suggestions....or even suggestions of why you wouldn't have a particular car.
Cheers
Tom
*Feel free to skip to the bold part*
Ok, I know most of you live for the 306 and possibly won't understand this thread at all and will come back with 'I'd rather have my top spec meridian/Top handling DTurbo over a new car anyday' as I would've said myself just a few weeks/days ago!
But now I can really see the benefit of a newer car. Basically my Nan has said she'll loan/give me some money towards a newer car instead of 'keep buying 10 year old heaps of crap' in her exact words lol. Now I'm not sure how much she's willing to part with yet, as I absolutely hate being indebted to people, family relation or not, I've avoided it so far, but I'm now coming round to the idea.
The thing is, until today I didn't realise just how much 'older' petrols cost to run, and the diesels cost a tonne to buy! Then you've got the reliability, yes any car can be shit with a bad history, but at 6 years old, its only had half the time to get a bad history compared with an old french hatch used as a cheap workhorse! And of course, newer car gives you a dealer warranty if anything were to go wrong, hardly ever even see 306s at dealers.
Most of you probably know by now my mum drives a top spec 12 plate suzuki swift, yes it cost a lot to buy (£7k after px i think!) but it averages 55mpg, even round town, and really isn't all that bad, its obviously no speed machine, but its a 1.2 non turbo, which has more power and does more mpg than a standard 306 HDi, not to mention the £30 a year tax and the much lower insurance cost!
Yes its all swings and roundabouts, and I'm certainly not looking at brand new cars like that. The costs and depreciation is phenominal.
So I'm looking for something inbetween with a main focus on mpg, reliabilty, space (bootspace and or towbar), comfort, cheap tax. Now I know this will come at the cost of power and probably handling, but if I don't f*ck everything up now then I can always get a powerful, good handling car ('6 hopefully!) for weekends once things are settled. I was surprised just how slow the 130bhp vectra was last week, and Ive tested a 1.8 mondeo today (125?), again unbeleivably slow! So I know Im not gonna get anything as quick or torquey as the Golf...but of course, I can see the power/torque broke everything. So I'd more than likely keep a new car totally standard, or just a stage 1 map if it's diesel (more mpg too then!).
Sorry for the long post, but hopefully I've explained stuff.....if not just read this paragraph. Basically, I'm looking for a car around 5/6 years old, not sure on budget yet, with a main focus on mpg, cheap tax, cheap insurance, reliabilty, space and comfort.
Any suggestions are welcome, I've never before looked at cars I can't afford so I really have no idea what I should even be looking at! Obviously something that looks half decent and isn't 'too' slow would be good but I'm open to sensible suggestions....or even suggestions of why you wouldn't have a particular car.
Cheers
Tom