New Vauxhall Meriva on swappage scheme

LittleMoog

Hi All,
Just after a few opinions. Our current car is a Y reg Focus, 3 doors 1.8 petrol engine, which has been pretty expensive to maintain for the last few years (you name it, it's broken!). We also have an 05 Polo, 5 doors, 1.4 petrol engine. DH takes the Polo to work (70 mile round trip) while I have 2 carshares so only drive 1 week in 3, and my commute is only a 25 mile round trip. We're currently expecting our first baby in the autumn, and looking to replace the Focus with something more reliable and with 5 doors, as we don't think it will stand up to the longer commute if we have to swap cars!

I've been sent an email about Vauxhall's swappage scheme, where we'd get £4750 off the price of a new Meriva for trading in the Focus. DH thinks this would offset a lot of the depreciation, and we wouldn't get much for the Focus on a regular trade in, but neither of us know much about car prices etc. Road tax would go down significantly (£260 to £30!), and I think insurance would be about the same. Obviously servicing costs would hopefully be a lot lower than the focus, and we'd look to do the exchange before the next MOT is due end April.

The 1.3 diesel model would come in at £12860 with the swappage discount, and the 1.4 petrol model would be £12480 - is this really a good deal, and which would you go for?

Thanks in advance for any help!

Trebor16

If you look around you will find that you could probably get the Meriva in that spec without the swappage scheme. Vauxhalls are always available for big discounts and anyone buying a new Vauxhall at list price is going to suffer horrendously as the depreciation on them is massive.

If you haven't done so already see what prices you can get for the car. I would also suggest a test drive as the Meriva is a heavy car for a 1.3 diesel to haul around and you might do better with a normal hatchback such as a Focus, Golf, Astra or other similar cars.

worried_jim

Diesels will be a choice of the 1.3-litre GM/Fiat Multijet unit and a 1.7-litre turbodiesel in either 100bhp or 120bhp output. There will also be a tuned-up GSi petrol version next year.

THE FACTS
Price/availability: starting at about £14,500/on sale June 2010
Tested: Vauxhall Meriva with 1.4-litre, four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine and six-speed manual transmission. Front-wheel drive
Power/torque: 138bhp/148lb ft
Top speed: 120mph-plus
Acceleration: 0-62mph in 9.0sec
Fuel economy (Combined): 47.9mpg
CO2 emissions (estimated): 139g/km
VED band: E/£110
Verdict: Suicide doors lend a special quality to a hugely improved vehicle
On the stereo: Come On Baby Light My Fire by The Doors
Telegraph rating: Five out of five

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/car-manufacturers/vauxhall/7292659/Vauxhall-Meriva-review.html

THE RIVALS
Kia Venga 1 1.4 5dr £11,495
Highly conventional if good-looking supermini-based MPV. Its 89bhp petrol engine gives a top speed of 104mph, 0-60mph in 12.4sec and Urban/Combined economy of 37.7/45.6mpg. Seven-year warranty dictates the no-risks engineering, which some will find irresistible.
Skoda Roomster 1.4 SE £12,905
Can you see what it is yet? That's right, a plane attached to a house, or maybe just a strange car in which luggage is prioritised over people. A marmite sort of concept, but if you like it… The 85bhp petrol gives a top speed of 106mph, 0-60mph in 13sec and Urban/Combined economy of 31.7/41.5mpg.
Citroën C3 Picasso 1.4 VTi VT £12,445
Clever and spacious cabin and a zany exterior. Slightly disappointing to drive, particularly the ride quality which should be exemplary in this sector. Revvy 95bhp fou-cylinder petrol gives a top speed of 111mph, 0-60mph in 12.2sec and Urban/Combined economy of 30.7/40.9mpg.

LittleMoog

Thanks Trebor - we're going to go for a test drive to see if we like it this week.

I might be being dense, but as we'd want rid of the Focus in any case (and it has very little trade in value, maybe £500 if we're lucky), what's the benefit of looking for the car at similar price elsewhere?