Advice on getting another car.

mikee31

Having recently been made redundant and therefore having to lose the company car (which I have had since 2003), I would welcome some advice on what cars would be good to get given my circumstances.

I have had a diesel VW Passat for the last 3 years but am willing to get something smaller now that the 2 kids are older and we don't seem to need as much boot space, etc. Therefore, a VW Golf or similar would probably be ok size wise.

Not knowing my job circumstances makes things somewhat difficult as some jobs I am applying for would require driving to and from work whilst other jobs I would be travelling by train into London and therefore would only need a car at weekends.

Therefore my priorities/concerns are;

Cost of vehicle
My budget would be around £2k-£3k to buy something second-hand or alternatively to look at some form of car finance (although this concerns me given stories elsewhere.

Reliability
Need something that isn't going to need constant maintenance and garage repair costs!

Cost of Insurance, Road Tax, etc
Insurance and road tax on the company car was paid by my employer. Although in my early thirties i.e. over 25, not having any no claims under my belt for the last 6 years means that getting a good insurance deal could be tricky.

Any advice on this would be useful. Have a month or so to decide but thought it best to plan ahead.

Cheers.

emmell

I think some insurance companies do deals for ex company car drivers. Ford Focus could be a good choice as there are plenty around as for reliability, I think you would need a crystal ball because what can be reliable for some people, others will have had nightmares with.
ML.

AdrianHi

Under the circumstances I would get mobile for as little money as possible with a view to changing the vehicle again once income is restored, hopefully by Spring next year.

I have a lot of contact with recruitment agents who are seeing it quiet but getting busy in February next year when they expect things to get going again.

How about £500-£700 spent on a Skoda Felicia?
Not exciting but will serve a purpose for a while.

anewman

AdrianHi wrote: »

How about £500-£700 spent on a Skoda Felicia?
Not exciting but will serve a purpose for a while.

I think that's probably the better option having no NCD too. I would look for the 1.3mpi model. Estate is handy if you need the boot space.

BillScarab

Surely you should be able to get a statement from your company saying you haven't claimed int he alst six years (assuming you haven't)? I know our Fleet Management do that if anyone leaves the company and has been a company car driver.