Weighing up car choices

fiish

Thanks for all the advice so far, especially the tip to take time.

The deals I have under consideration are so far:

A 56 Jazz 1.4 SE from the local Honda dealer at 6000
A 55 Mazda2 1.4 Antares from an independent at 5000
A 07 Corsa 1.3 CDTI from Vauxhall dealer at 6500 (subject to haggling it under 6000)

Still in no hurry though, would be happy to walk away from all three - can afford to be fussy

fiish

As has been suggested I have now also had a look at the Hyundai i10 - the local Hyundai dealer has a special offering at £6850 for the Classic 1.2 manual, brand new. It's available only in red but I'm not fussed about colour, as long as it's not black :P Going to take a test drive tomorrow.

It seems the official fuel economy figures are very optimistic, based on what I've read off the Internet about the i10. This gives me some reservations about buying that car .I'll give it a buzz on the road anyway - I figure the more different models tried, the better the picture of requirements gets.

optimus_primera

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My criteria were mainly that it be practical, and cheap(ish) to maintain, insure and tax (I'm in mid-twenties so insurance shouldn't be too insane) - it's intended for weekend use (shopping, going out with friends) and the occasional road trip on holiday so I don't think fuel will be as big a contributor to costs. A nice to have feature would be a boot big enough to hold my folding bicycle.
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so would the aforementioned cars fullfil the above wish list ?

Personally i would get the biggest car i could afford, (but then being over 6 ft,and 21 stone i don't get much choice!) lol

Lum

The key point there is "folding bicycle". I'm also going to go out on a limb and assume no kids given the age and no mention of any. All of those cars will easily fit a folding bicycle and I imagine most of them would fit a normal one if you put the back seats down.

I'm not sure I'd want to do a long road trip in any of them. They're all "city" cars and are likely to get a bit unpleasant on long journeys.

Of the above list I've only taken two of them out on the motorway, the Corsa which was bloody awful in every way, and the Fiesta (the Mazda 2 is based on the Fiesta) which made me feel ill due to being so narrow but had you sit very high up so all bumps and body roll got exaggerated.

Have you considered a Ford Focus?

fiish

optimus_primera wrote: »

so would the aforementioned cars fullfil the above wish list ?

Personally i would get the biggest car i could afford, (but then being over 6 ft,and 21 stone i don't get much choice!) lol

For the ones I have looked at so far, yes. The costliest to buy and run is the Polo, and aside from the fact that it looks nice and will probably make a good trade 3-4 years down the road, there isn't much going for it. The others are for me less than £1K to insure.

Lum wrote: »

The key point there is "folding bicycle". I'm also going to go out on a limb and assume no kids given the age and no mention of any. All of those cars will easily fit a folding bicycle and I imagine most of them would fit a normal one if you put the back seats down.

I'm not sure I'd want to do a long road trip in any of them. They're all "city" cars and are likely to get a bit unpleasant on long journeys.

Of the above list I've only taken two of them out on the motorway, the Corsa which was bloody awful in every way, and the Fiesta (the Mazda 2 is based on the Fiesta) which made me feel ill due to being so narrow but had you sit very high up so all bumps and body roll got exaggerated.

Have you considered a Ford Focus?

My folding bike is a Dahon, not a Brompton - it has 20" wheels and does not fold as compactly. It has the approximate bulk of a large suitcase.

The Ford Focus does pop up in my mind as a consideration, however I have read that they're not that reliable after 5-6 years, which is the age of Focus I can afford. The 2 year warranty on approved used Fords is appealing though, but I think I would not be willing to pay as much for a Ford as a Honda, for instance.

Kilty_2

fiish wrote: »

A 07 Corsa 1.3 CDTI from Vauxhall dealer at 6500 (subject to haggling it under 6000)

Still in no hurry though, would be happy to walk away from all three - can afford to be fussy

Best in that list - the 1.3 CDTI is a punchy little diesel lump and outshines most in the Corsa range.

wallbash

not that reliable after 5-6 years, which is the age of Focus I can afford

Mine are still ( yes the family has two) good . And if they have a problem , cheap to fix.

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers!

All extremely boring cars, however. Also in the £6,000 price range:

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1997752.htm

aurongrande_2

I would just like to add a few things into this conversation. To start with, there is something to keep in mind. Buying a car swings 2 ways. Cheap older cars are also expensive in running costs, ie. fuel, repairs, tax etc. Buying a newer car which is under 10 years old, or put simply, has the new number plates, 01 to 60 reg, then it would cost you more for the car, but cheaper on the running costs. To find out roughly what insurance group a wide variety of cars come under, you can look at the Parkers website, www.parkers.co.uk/insurance/ and simply select which insurance group. Also to make note, for example, a Citroen C1 is free on road tax.

Even if I haven't covered everything, some of this info can be useful.

Inactive

aurongrande wrote: »

I would just like to add a few things into this conversation. To start with, there is something to keep in mind. Buying a car swings 2 ways. Cheap older cars are also expensive in running costs, ie. fuel, repairs, tax etc. Buying a newer car which is under 10 years old, or put simply, has the new number plates, 01 to 60 reg, then it would cost you more for the car, but cheaper on the running costs. To find out roughly what insurance group a wide variety of cars come under, you can look at the Parkers website, www.parkers.co.uk/insurance/ and simply select which insurance group. Also to make note, for example, a Citroen C1 is free on road tax.

Even if I haven't covered everything, some of this info can be useful.

Not always.;)