Recommend a good car.

Phil_rich

Evening all,

I am currently in the process of trying to sell my beloved 206 GTi as my situation has changed and it is a luxury i cant realy afford. My girlfriend is pregnant now so when i sell my car i will need to buy something which is practical and economical, aswell as being a decent drive as i do 200+ miles each week.

So do you have a car you would recommend? i was thinking maybe a 2 door focus but they are quite rare, also a fiat bravo but im not sure if they are big enough??

So any ideas would be goo, oh and my budget would be £4000 max.

Cheers Phil

SnowyOwl_2

Hi can't recommend a car...just know from friends who have become parents that they insist on four/five door vehicles. It's apparently a nightmare getting munchkin and all the stuff that goes with him/her into the back specially if said munchkin is throwing a tantrum at the time.

You must feel really grown up now. Never mind...

Tony_H_3

If you want GTI performance without the rather large insurance bill that goes with it get a Turbo Diesel (1.9 or bigger).

vansboy

Think this needs to go into our new Motoring forum!!

Anyway - you'll get a newer Fiat than you would Focus, for £4k.

Which? mag had no good things to say regarding Bravo/Brava, I wouldn't agree with a lot of their comments though, in this case.

Check nto http://honestjohn.co.uk click into The Backroom forum - ask in there - also check in Car By Car Breakdown on his site - you'll be surprised at just how many cars have soooooooo many known problems!!

& my suggestion would be to consider an Astra. But make sure you're OK with the seats, as I find them painful in the centre of my back. & I mean PAIN, not just discomfort!!

You'll need to consider 1.6 engines really, here, though - no need to go 16valve. A 1.6 Club spec has air conditioning, power steering & is a very flexible motor.

Expect to find Y reg in auction 30k for your budget. Or V/W 50k in a dealer.

VB

peterbaker

I would recommend something like a VW/Audi with a 1.9TDI. They have fantastic fuel economy (my A6 gives not less than 45mpg no matter how hard I drive it) and VW/Audi seem to run forever.

I have heard that the "run forever" bit is not as true for VW Golfs generally as it used to be, but I know no more than I read it recently.

My wife had a Ford Galaxy lookalike VW Sharan S reg from new 1.9 TDI 110bhp. Again, fantastic fuel economy on the motorway that was over half as much again better than the Citroen Xantia 1.9TDI she had before it. Around 45mpg (its the same engine as in my A6 more or less).

I had a Petrol A6 three years ago ... that reaffirmed Audi as an excellent piece of engineering.

I paid just over £5k for my current Audi but it had done an awful lot of miles (130,000). With most cars you wouldn't go near one with that many on the clock, but lots of people told me, and you can read on the internet, that Audi diesels especially will run and run. Not just the engines. The suspension and gearboxes and clutch go forever if it has been a motorway car. Thats what I am hoping anyway! Mine still has the original clutch and it feels just fine.

I have had my latest Audi about four months now I think. I've already put another 6000 on it. Seriously, it drives like new (I have had several new cars bought by companies over the years).

I have noticed you can see some Audi high mileage diesels go for not much more than £4K on eBay.

I would only recommend buying such if you inspect the car first and know what you are doing, but I have bought two cars now that I originally spotted on eBay and am not disappointed. You might even consider Skoda Octavia, VW Passat, VW Bora which are not most peoples idea of style but share a lot of the same engineering as on my Audi. The Seat Alhambra also has VW engine if you fancy a people carrier.

You MUST of course make sure that the car has a good service history including the all important cam-belt change at 60,000, 120,000 etc. And look for signs of accidents and thrashing (oil leaks around the turbo and "wet patches" under the engine - these are complete no-nos.). Personally I hate buying a car that has had ANY sort of prang however unlikely it may be on high mileage cars. I have pranged a few myself but I don't like buying from someone who has prangs or who drives quite as fast as me! Don't be tempted to overlook gaps in service history or full receipts for same without negotiating a substantial discount. Remember servicing, tyres and tax are expensive regular costs, so if they are all due before you buy, then thats £500 gone immediately.

I have a theory that there are many private sellers on eBay that see it as an easy way to prove their dealer wrong when they inevitably get told that the PX value of their pride and joy is peanuts. I believe EBay is where lots of them go now to test the water. It seems easier than Exchange & Mart and Autotrader and you can often "read" into the sellers mind by how they present on eBay.

There are no doubt dealers and scammers using ebay also but if you are worldly-wise on such, why not risk a look? You don't have to bid on the first one you see. Indeed you may not even have to bid through eBay at all. You might even fancy one that doesn't make the reserve two weeks in a row. That's always worth a "Question to Seller" to arrange a meet if it isn't too far away!

burbs_2

Phil_rich wrote:

Evening all,

I am currently in the process of trying to sell my beloved 206 GTi as my situation has changed and it is a luxury i cant realy afford. My girlfriend is pregnant now so when i sell my car i will need to buy something which is practical and economical, aswell as being a decent drive as i do 200+ miles each week.

So do you have a car you would recommend? i was thinking maybe a 2 door focus but they are quite rare, also a fiat bravo but im not sure if they are big enough??

So any ideas would be goo, oh and my budget would be £4000 max.

Cheers Phil

I would strongly suggest you look at a Vauxhall Vectra. I deal cars (not trying to sell you one!!) and if you want a nice family car but still have the ability and performance then a Vectra is where you should be looking for.

For 4 grand you could get yourself a nice 2 litre SRI, perhaps even a GSI if you are lucky. They are durable, good MPG return and they can fly.

Good luck

gk172

What was said about the 4 doors is so true, your carseat is a nightmare to try and get in back seat if using a 3 door, i used to find it hard enough fitting into a 4 door never mind 2, my cousin who has a toddler/carseat has a golf 4 door which she finds really economical on fuel and the boot is deceptive, also to be considered is the boot size if ever the need to put the pram in the boot hence we opted for a mondeo the boot is huge but it is pretty thirsty on fuel but very roomie for all 3 kids and not bad for 2 and a carseat.

moggins

I can recommend the Vauxhall Vectra too, we bought an S reg one a year ago, it was immaculate, drives like a dream and almost flew through the MOT which is a miracle considering the way my husband drives and maintains his cars.

Although I would never give up my banger of a Tipo, it has four doors, a huge boot and never lets me down. I love it to bits and if I had to change it I would head for the Punto.

Daniel_B

Hiya,
are you defo after a 3 dr car then?

If so, and you don't want a diesel, then something like a Citroen Xsara VTS presents STUNNING VFM - ie a late 2001 model can be had for less than or around 4K, and these were around the 17K mark as new, and have done 90% of the depreciation they are going to do.

Same engine as the 306 Gti6 also.

Or, if your looking for economy and space, and don;t actually want a 2 door, I would recommend a Citroen Xantia 2.0 HDi estate, again late V/W/X/Y players can be had from as little as 2K, going up to 5K for a late plated, low mileage minter.

The estates are cavernous, and have self levelling suspension.

Cheers

Dan

Phil_rich

thanks for all of your input, there have been a few suggestions thrown about here that i would never have thought of so many thanks.

I am now off to give ebay and autotrader a good looking over to see if i can unearth a bargain, but i will have to sell my 206gti first

vansboy

Crikey -if you're considering Autotrader (joke book, in my opinion) or e-bay - last place to look - you should always check out the SELLER, before the vehicle!!

Get onto http://www.honestjohn.co.uk then clck on AuctionView - it gives ALL the cars enered in EVERY BCA auction in UK. A few pennies for each search, is well spent, in relation to the cost of the car.

Look in the Motability section for Astras & you'll get good deal!!

VB