Weighing up car choices

fiish

benham3160 wrote: »

My mum dealt with a guy called Dave Cooper at Marshall Used, and he was a geniunely nice guy, not your typical car dealer, very quiet and polite, I understand what you mean abnut some of the guys there, I was shocked by the number of brash, overweight "Arthur Daleys" walking around when I went with her.

Always buy a high mile, newer car. Leave the low-mile versions to those who don't know what they're talking about, and walk out with a better deal....

Cars LIKE to be driven, pottering them around town does them untold damage.......

Wasn't a Yaris D4D you looked at was it?! :cool:

Regards,
Andy

I dealt with one of those jolly, big fellows. :-) Test drove a VW Polo. Not bad, but I couldn't afford it and I have found the Corsa a nicer car anyway.

As for the Yaris D4D, I did see it sitting there; it is the Yaris I referred to in my opening post :cool: I think it'll be sitting there for a long time.

bigjl

Had a web surf and seen this http://www.cargiant.co.uk/Vauxhall/Corsa/details-471936-Vauxhall-Corsa.asp, we have these at work, in three door, much better than the earlier one, engine is a revvy little sod, comfy seats, I am 6'1" and 16 stone.

One thing that irritates is that the doors on the three door are huge, but a 5 door is a lot more practical, look at the half leather sexiness.
Or this if you want a petrol engine http://www.cargiant.co.uk/Vauxhall/Corsa/details-471936-Vauxhall-Corsa.asp.

I would also recommend the Clio on a 56/57 plate as at your price you will get a decent spec, though the interior won't wear as well as the Corsa, my wifes has all kinds of stains from the kids mucking about, though I did tell her not to go for the one with beige seats, lol.

fiish

Is the Clio reliable to own?

I drove a rental Clio once, it was an 08 plate one. It was not bad (took it on a road trip to Newcastle and back) but I thought its turning circle was a bit big for a supermini.

bigjl

We have had our Clio for a year, no problems as yet, and the wife has done almost 20k in it.

I don't personally like the steering feel in the Clio, but it is a nice and easy car to drive.

A little hard on the front tyres, alignment not out, but it gets drven round town all the time, so some wear on the shoulders is to be expected.

I would suspect that a Corsa would be a better bet, but around where I live most of the driving school cars are new shape Corsas and the newer Clios, 2006 onwards.

Make sure you get the 86bhp, the wife has a 68bhp and it could do with a bit more poke, though roadtax is only £30 a year.

jeferey

We've had our Jazz S for over 5 years with no problems. If you are not bothered about central locking, air con and alloys you should be able to pick an 06 one up for about 4k.
I've driven both and couldn't tell the difference in engine size! Road tax is cheaper than 1.4 too at £90 instead of £120. We've always paid less than £200 for a service and a MOT at local dealer and get free breakdown cover thrown in too.
Fine on a long run and very spacious. Boot is bigger than a Focus.

AlexisV

If you're considering the Polo, have a look at the Seat Ibiza.

Same car but in a much nicer body.

fiish

AlexisV wrote: »

If you're considering the Polo, have a look at the Seat Ibiza.

Same car but in a much nicer body.

I'm not so sure about the Polo - it doesn't seem to drive any better than the Corsa or Fiesta, doesn't score that well in reliability rankings (I looked at reliabilityindex.com) and costs much more to buy and maintain (based on dealer quotes) than either of those two.

I suppose the benefit of a nice badge like VW is slightly slower depreciation which could work out to cheaper running costs, but every car I've looked at is 3-4 years old anyway, so the majority of the depreciation seems to already have been suffered.

optimus_primera

just go and buy an old series landie .........

fiish

optimus_primera wrote: »

just go and buy an old series landie .........

The more I read about the Ford Focus the more this model seems to make sense. Had to look fairly hard to find a bad review, and it seems, on paper anyway, to be a better value proposition than a supermini. Another positive is that the Focus does not appear to be in short supply :cool: On the negative side, insurance hits a bit harder, and I have to hope no claims will knock this back over a few years. Test drive planned for this weekend. If I don't like the Focus then I would probably spring for a Corsa or perhaps a Clio.

Another consideration I have found as research continues is the diesels vs petrols debate. It seems an oil-burner is cheaper to run over time, provided none of the engine's vitals fail (at which point the bill is rather nasty if it has D-something-F in it). Honestjohn's FAQ on diesels vs petrols was quite useful here, and it has got me thinking some more In my case with fairly low mileage planned, a petrol vs diesel choice seems a lot less clear cut, whichever model the car I choose may be.

Anyone got thoughts they could share on the 2004-2007 model Focus?

CFC

There is a premium when buying diesel - but if you don't do much milage just pick the car you like best. How did you get on with the i10? I have one, in fact I have had two new ones in 12 months due to their great offers. An average for mixed cycle driving of 40 mpg is a very realistic expectation though some folk do get a lot more.