Car advice - £8K to spend

peterg1965

Hi All,

I am in the market for a new car, with a budget of around £8K ish. Would stretch a little more for the right car. It will be used for a weekly commute, mostly motorways and dual carraigeways, it must be a diesel and be economical (45mpg+), low VED band C/D, four or five doors and fairly newish (remaining manufacturers warranty would be a bonus). A few 'toys' would be good too (leather etc), and I must have cruise control. I also want cheap/moderate maintenance costs, I will do £20K miles per year so mileage needs to be less than 60K at purchase. I have considered the following so far:

- Volvo S60 D5/2.4D SE Manuals 04/54/05/55/06 vintage
- Skoda Superb elegance/octavia elegance 1.9 TDi or 2.0 TDi
- Vauxhall vectra 1.9 CDTi 150 (SRi or Elite)
- Peugeot 407 2.0 HDi 136 SE (not massively keen on French cars though)
- SAAB 9-3 Vector Sport 1.9 (150)
- Honda Accord 2.2 CDTi Exec/Sport

Any other ideas? and what are peoples views on the above? I never thought I would look at a Skoda but......

stupideejay_2

Lo Peter,
Have you thought about a Ford Focus.Have a look on 'Honest John's' website.I've got an '05 2.0 Diesel and had no trouble.Built better than I expected.

peterg1965

stupideejay wrote: »

Lo Peter,
Have you thought about a Ford Focus.Have a look on 'Honest John's' website.I've got an '05 2.0 Diesel and had no trouble.Built better than I expected.

Thanks. Focus is a little on the small side for my requirements, plus not many of them have cruise control which is a necessity for me.

bargepole

peterg1965 wrote: »

- Honda Accord 2.2 CDTi Exec/Sport ... and what are peoples views on the above?....

I've driven a few of these when I used to work for a leasing company, definitely get the Exec model, with leather and full screen satnav, it's a superb engine which just eats up the motorway miles effortlessly.

I've never known one to go wrong, they just start every time and go on forever. An excellent choice.

balsingh

Hve you considered depreciation? Most of the cars you have listed lose value quickly. The ones that woudl hold their value is the Honda and probably the Volvo and I'd pick one of those for that reason entirely.

peterg1965

balsingh wrote: »

Hve you considered depreciation? Most of the cars you have listed lose value quickly. The ones that woudl hold their value is the Honda and probably the Volvo and I'd pick one of those for that reason entirely.

Definately considered depreciation, most of the cars there, if not all, will have lost a huge chunk of their initial value. All will drop further over the years, some more than others, but it is more important to get a good price in my view.

03022242

you havnt considered a passat? it will depreciate less then some of the others

lincroft1710

2.0tdi Octavia - on Golf floorpan, but larger, has hatch, fairly reliable and OK to drive, also good value.

harveybobbles

Out of your list I'd have the S60 D5 SE. Tho they have a very small boot ans a shoddy turning circle

Vectra 150 diesels are full of nasty problems with the manifold, so go for the 120.
Saab 9-3's are the same as they all share engines.
Hocus Pocus Focus is a good all rounder and the 1.6 110 diesel is lively enough and runs on fresh air.
Accord diesel's are good too. Tho not quite as refined as you'd expect and make sure you keep an eye on the oil level as they get thru it betwwn services.

for 20,000 miles a year why not concider petrol...? As all of the car's you suggested are about 1000 cheaper as petrol...

maniac886

harveybobbles wrote: »

Out of your list I'd have the S60 D5 SE. Tho they have a very small boot ans a shoddy turning circle

Vectra 150 diesels are full of nasty problems with the manifold, so go for the 120.
Saab 9-3's are the same as they all share engines.
Hocus Pocus Focus is a good all rounder and the 1.6 110 diesel is lively enough and runs on fresh air.
Accord diesel's are good too. Tho not quite as refined as you'd expect and make sure you keep an eye on the oil level as they get thru it betwwn services.

for 20,000 miles a year why not concider petrol...? As all of the car's you suggested are about 1000 cheaper as petrol...

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

markelock

honda accord.