Car Advice Please!

oligopoly

My current car - a 2002 VW Golf is on its last legs and I've been advised by a local garage to get rid/scrap as there's a hefty bill on the horizon.

I have a limit (not necessarily target!) of £8,000 to spend. I do 1,500 miles per month, which is mostly motorway/A road driving, so I think it has to be a Diesel. It also needs 4 or 5 doors as a little one is on the way and my wife drives a very small but cute mini.

My heart tells me to buy a 2006 BMW 3 series but has anyone got a better idea? A colleague suggested to focus on something generally reliable (VW/BMW/Audi etc) with low mileage but another colleague suggests to look at cars with 75k-100k mileage as it would be well run in and in keeping with a car that's 6 years old. This replacement car is also partly a reward for stopping smoking 6 months ago, so I would like a car that's a bit of a treat as well.

Very confused

forgotmyname

If you do less than 10,000 a year then a high mileage car makes a lot of sense.

I but around 100,000 - 130,000 miles. But generally i do about 6000 miles a year. Due to family issues i have done a bit more in this car around 10,000 a year.

Bought a 5 year old car for just over £2000. Because of the mileage when something with 70,000 - 80,000 can be double what i paid.

3.5 years later its just passed another MOT without major expense. With 160,000 miles it still runs sweetly.

Go on get a Mondeo you know you want one.

TradePro

oligopoly wrote: »

My current car - a 2002 VW Golf is on its last legs and I've been advised by a local garage to get rid/scrap as there's a hefty bill on the horizon.

............

My heart tells me to buy a 2006 BMW 3 series but has anyone got a better idea? A colleague suggested to focus on something generally reliable (VW/BMW/Audi etc)

Okay, why do people need this pointing out to them time and time again?

Your not particularly old Golf needs scrapping, and I am confident (although you will no doubt deny it) that it hasn't been a perfect ownership experience either.

So, WHY oh WHY are we looking at the same again??

Japanese cars (and indeed Fords and certainly later Hyundai/Kia models) are infinitely more reliable and much better value for money than the brands you mention.

How much trouble do these German cars have to give in order to put people off buying another? It truly astonishes me.

Iceweasel

Good idea!

Have a look at a BMW e90 318d or 320d.

That has the very reliable and economic M47 engine - not the later N47 which has timing chain issues.

Lots of folks running them with 150K plus on the clock.

Joy to drive.

Go for it.

If you buy another VW or a Mondeo you will be sad at every BMW you see.

arcon5

Mk4 mondeo - can be bought cheapest, stylish and somewhat reliable

jkpd

If you ignore the jd power surveys which are complete rubbish due to the small sample of cars involved ie 19000 in the last what car survey, and look at the 2011 FN50 survey which involve 1.2 millon lease cars,
1 bmw
2 audi
3 honda
4 vw
5 toyota
6 nissan
7 merc
8 ford
9 lexus
10 skoda

mark5

Totally agree with what TradePro says. German cars always look the part though.

Maestro.

TradePro wrote: »

Okay, why do people need this pointing out to them time and time again?

Your not particularly old Golf needs scrapping, and I am confident (although you will no doubt deny it) that it hasn't been a perfect ownership experience either.

So, WHY oh WHY are we looking at the same again??

Japanese cars (and indeed Fords and certainly later Hyundai/Kia models) are infinitely more reliable and much better value for money than the brands you mention.

How much trouble do these German cars have to give in order to put people off buying another? It truly astonishes me.

German auto manufacturers are remarkably good at marketing propaganda. Advertisements by BMW claiming that they have invented "a new type of space" don't help.

funkycoldribena

How about a Skoda Octavia Vrs?, its a halfway house-not BMW or a Mondeo.

Weird_Nev

Do you enjoy enthusiastic driving?
Or do leather seats, nice gadgets and style mean more to you?
With a child on the way, you can't ignore practicality. An estate will be an ideal counterpoint to your wifes mini, as once you have travel cot, buggy, nappy bags, plus your own stuff, you'll only ever want more boot space.
What is your definition of a "treat" when it comes to cars?

With that in mind, I've taken the liberty of searching autotrader to get an indication of things you might like (or hate! It helps to know what you DON'T want as much as do!)

General points:
Cars are getting safer all the time, so a newer car is likely to be safer than an older model.
Milage is nothing but a number, buy on condition and history. You have to accept, however that cars lose value with milage, and fall off a cliff at 100k miles. Use that information how you will: save money on a higher milage car, or factor it in to your costings over time.
Any modern car will be much of a muchness in terms of reliability. Whilst a manual petrol car may work out cheaper, I think you do enough miles to justify some higher costs in servicing/repairs Vs the savings in fuel.

With those factors in mind, I used these settings on Autotrader:
<7 years old, estate, manual, diesel, <80k miles, 2-2.5L engine (motorway cruising), £5k-£6 (may as well keep some in the bank)

And I got results like: (please note, these are examples of type, not specific recommendations)

2007 Toyota Avesis 2.2 One owner, 84k miles Service history, lots of toys, leather (wipe clean for baby!)
2006 Volvo V50 2.0 56k miles These are really good cars, I have driven one extensively at work and would happily own one. Safe, good to drive, you could probably stretch yourself and get one with more toys.

2006 VW Passat 2.0 Tdi Slick looking car, I think.

Mondeo ST 2.2 Diesel A bit of get up and go, I have also driven this age of Mondeos extensively and they are good cars with refined ride and good handling.

There are also people carrier options (too soon?) such as the FRV, and a few things I've not mentioned like Honda Accord Estates with the 2.2 iCDTi engine.

Any of those float your boat?

(I've included what I think represent great value for money cars. BMW and Audi's etc - yes, can be good cars. I've run a 160k mile BMW so I know what they're all about. I just feel that with a child on the way, you may find your priorities shifting unexpectedly. Hence my focus on practicality and safety with a dash of additional style and performance in some cases and leaving a couple of grand in the bank. Not the Toyota obviously, that's a style vacuum. BMW's and Audis you have to accept that you'll be spending more or else getting an older and more worn car for your money)

benson1980

Tradepro speaketh the truth- go Japanese. Incidentally whats wrong with the Golf that makes it scrapworthy at such a low age?