New car advice and recs please

HH62

I'm having to downshift from a very nice, fast, luxury convertible (yes one of the German ones) to a more economical new car due to a divorce. It's going to be a massive wrench, b/c I really love my car, but absolutely cant afford to keep it.

I need:
1) Auto transmission
2) Safe - will be doing a few m/way trips but mostly around town
3) Small- I'm a single female with no kids- dont need a ppl carrier!!
4) Economical on parts/service etc

Have been considering VW Polo, Toyota Aygo etc

Budget MAX £9K but preferably under £8k

I want a new car, any dealers got good deals on right now? Or is this a bad time to buy new (want it before the end of July). Would not rule out demonstrators etc.

Really appreciate any help, I've never bought a car before, hubby always did that, and I dont know where to start!
Thanks!

wdyw

This weekend is probably the best weekend to buy a new car in quite a few years. Last weekend of the month, the world cup keeping everybody away from the dealers - buyers paradise.

As for what to buy......

golly99

Hi

I would check https://www.honestjohn.co.uk and have a look at the deals section on the right hand side. They list all the current new car deals at the moment.

The Aygo is a very cheap and reliable runaround, but make sure you check out the boot space! Would also recommend the Mazda 2, very good deals available on them, e.g. a new pre registered 1.4 Antares model with air con and cd player can be picked up for £7k. I'm sure there will be an automatic option.

I believe the end of the month is a good time to buy a car, particulary with the World Cup on at the moment, so you might be able to get a good deal with a dealership if you're after a particular model. First problem is probably to decide which model to go for!

Good luck in your search!

golly99

what about this?

http://www.motorpoint.co.uk/search_results.aspx?deriv=true&make=Mazda&model=Mazda2+Hatchback&trim=1.4+Capella+5dr+Auto

55 Reg, 1.4 Capella model (top of the range)
Automatic
Silver
1,804 Miles
£7999

Don't know if motorpoint is near you? They have locations I think.

HH62

Thanks golly, I've had a look at the link you gave me and just got more info from the mazda website. It looks pretty good to me.

Some questions though if anyone can help: (Mazda specific)

1) Hope to keep the car for 3 years. How's the depreciation on Mazda's?
2) Will parts and servicing be easy and fairly economical?

More general Q's

1) I cant get out looking at cars on Sunday, but can on Monday. So if this weekend is quite as suggested above, does that mean they'll be desperate to sell cars early next week?

2) Is it really possible to negotiate good deals with a dealership? I'm not sure I can get to any Motorpoints. There are 3 Mazda dealers within 40 miles of where I live. Any point in getting quotes from each and asking the others if they can improve on it?

Thanks !

ArsenalFC

Sometime after september would be a good time to buy a new car as the new set of registerations comes out. I would certainly look into the Toyota Yaris, one of the best small cars made.

tomstickland

Why buy new? You could buy an older German car of the BM variety, for example, for a few K, really reliable and still great to drive. Does it absolutely have to be auto? Auto really is a bit of wrench when comapred to cheap as chips and reliable manual transmission.

Viz_2

How about this ? :j


Seat Ibiza 1.4 Sport 3 Dr Hatch
£ 7,499 Year:2006 '55' Mileage:5 mlsColour:Met BlueFuel:PetrolGearbox:ManualSpecification:ABS brakes, Airbags (driver & passenger)
Air-conditioning, 16" Alloy wheels
CD-Player, Central Locking
Electric Windows (front), Power-Steering
Radio, Rear Head-Rests

Viz_2

Also have you considered a Smart Roadster ?

My other halfs boss has one as well as a BMW Z3 M !

Smart Roadster 0.7 Cabriolet / Convertible £ 7,999 Year:2004 '54' Mileage:4,096 mlsColour:Blue SilverFuel:PetrolGearbox:AutomaticSpecification:ABS brakes with Traction Control, Airbags (driver & passenger)
Air-conditioning, 15" Alloy wheels
CD-Player, Central Locking
Electric Windows (front), Power Hood
Power-Steering, Radio

xycom1

^^ Now that is a fun car!

In small-hatch category, I would go for a VW Polo (latest shape). Nice cars, and depreciation isn't as bad as Corsa/Fiesta models.

golly99

To answer your questions...

Depreciation is not bad as far as I know, especially if you get one which is at least 1 yr old. I used to have a Mazda 3 Sport which hardly lost anything during the time I had it.

Mazda servicing is one of the cheapest and I was very impressed with the dealers unlike Audi!

Also can recommend a Yaris, other half has got one and had it for 3 years, regular 50mpg and very reliable! I would go on Autotrader.co.uk and do a search to get some sort of idea of prices etc.