New Clio, £5995, good deal? But 3 door not 5

swizzlebabe

I was looking at spending £4k on a car, but have seen this deal for a brand new Clio for £5995, plus £125 road tax and £38 first reg.

The only downside is, I was looking for a 5 door car and I could only get a 3 door in this deal.

I wanted a 5 door as I have 2 children, 1 is 6 and is in a boaster seat, he can fastern his own belt, the other is 3 1/2 so will be in a boaster in another say 6 months. The list price on these cars is approx £8200, so it would cost me £8800 for a 5 door. Can I live with a 3 door for a saving of £2800?

What do you think? will a 3 door be a nightmare?

aliasojo

I have a 3 door Clio. Not renowned for space I have to say. Having said that I manage to cram in a 22 yo and a 16 yo who are tall and broad along with their 6 yo sister.

It is a pain though.

It really comes down to how much you think the hassle of getting a youngster in and out of the back seat wil bother you. Personal thing I guess.

For a difference of nearly 3K....I would put up with it, especially since yours are little. (At least they can't fiddle with the door handles in the back .)

cc25

We've had both 3 door and 5 door cars, and have 3 kids. For me, it's no contest, 5 doors wins on versatility and convenience. You can certainly make do with 3, but you will be reminded it's not a 5 door every day.

Instead of a base model new 3 door car, how about a nearly new, higher specification, 5 door car? For example, you could have a 53 2003 model Nissan Almera, 12,976 miles, for £4,999 from a car supermarket like Car Giant. Reliable, safe, Which? best buy, Air-conditioning, Radio with CD-Player, Electric Windows (front), Central Locking, Power-Steering, Airbags (driver & passenger). For £5000, you will have a wide choice of makes and models. You can read Honest John for independent advice on car buying.

rizla01

Phone local dealer and tell them that you are prepared to pay X and you want a 5 door clio. Tell them to take your number and ask them to see what they can do.
You have nowt to lose and potentially, a lot to gain.

try it.

coolio_2

is this the new shape? they may be trying to flog off the old shape ones

trickdick

Heres an alternative for you if youre after a brand new car with five doors.

I know its not everyones cup of tea but we bought a brand new Vauxhall Agila 1.0 a couple of months ago and paid £4495.(List price £6250) - From Hartwell - a main Vauxhall Dealer.

Ok - its not going to break many speed limits but it does have 5 doors - very high inside - I'm 6ft 1 and i have about 6 inches of head clearance ! Fold the back seats down and you have a big boot space - Group One insurance -

Not a lot of choice of colours but if you're not doing lots of motorway miles and you want a cheap little runabout it ain't bad !

As I said , not everyones cup of tea so please dont criticise my wifes choice of vehicle !!!

jjames_3

Yeah the Vauxhall Agila -- Suzuki Wagon R with a different badge if I recall correctly.

5995 isn't a bad price for a Clio but as has been said these little cars are very cramped inside. Oh, and avoid the 1.5 diesel -- it's a dog. Very unreliable.

polarbearit

Similar dilema for my other half last year - £6k ish to spend on a newish smallish car. In the end we went for a Vauxhall Meriva - miniture people carrier, got one in Metallic with Air Con for £6300 that was 6 months old, new they were over £11k.

Our other car has only 2 doors (<--), though 4 full seats is more hassle for carrying the kids than the meriva!

swizzlebabe

Took both kids and went to lokk at cars, decided that I need to 5 door. The Clio`s at £5995 are the old shape ie not the new Clio, but they are still doing the `old` shape for atleaset another 2-3 years, plus the `New Clio` is only 3 door.
Looked at the Meriva at bit back as liked the idea of being high up, but found it hard to see to the side due to the large pillar, also looked at the Agila but the reviews were not that good.

Decided to wait until the spring, so I can get winter over plus save up so I can afford more, my car is a 93 L, so can`t see that it can depreciate much more.

Will then ring round and tell the dealers what I want and what my max price is. Thought I wait until number plate change time, is that March?

Would before of after be better?