Wisdom needed for new car please

OddballJamie

As you seem to like the VAG group from mentioning Polo and Ibiza.
What about a Skoda Fabia? Got 5 doors as standard and the same size.

vickin

Thank you for suggestions, will look at the fabia and the Prius. Can anyone advise what a reasonable mileage is for a used car for my budget?

worried_jim

vickin wrote: »

Thank you for suggestions, will look at the fabia and the Prius. Can anyone advise what a reasonable mileage is for a used car for my budget?

Don't worry too much about mileage it can be a red herring- concentrate on condition and history.

harz99

vickin wrote: »

Thank you for suggestions, will look at the fabia and the Prius. Can anyone advise what a reasonable mileage is for a used car for my budget?

8-12000 miles per year of use. Too little mileage can be as bad or worse than high mileage - it all depends on how the car has been looked after and serviced.

If you are set on going the used route, the Prius will normally be more expensive for parts and servicing/repairs than a Skoda Fabia. The Fabia 1.2 12v 3 cylinder is slow and the engine can be problematic, so look for a 1.4 16v or if in budget the later 1.2 TSi.

Still don't see why you want secondhand cars when you can get new, unabused with a decent warranty for the same money though.

harrys_dad

£6500 seems an awful lot of money to pay for a car that is going to do "30 miles daily in a town". At that price and usage depreciation is going to be your biggest cost. I would spend at most £2000 getting a reliable older car and bank the rest for future spending, mostly on pleasure.

Horizon81

Although this is a moneysaving site, a lot of people have money to spend on a car and if someone has a £6500 budget why do people suggest spending just £200 or £2000 on an old banger?!

OP - have a look on Autotrader, searching 5 doors, up to X years old (your choice), max price £7000 and see what comes up. Once you've got more of an idea what your money can buy, do some research on what models are best, common faults etc. I tend to recommend Japanese cars - so Mazda2, Honda Jazz, Toyota Yaris, Suzuki Swift - in my eyes, all better than anything VW or Fiesta/Corsa.

NeededToChooseAUsername

First post here. Not sure where you are located, but how about these (sorry, can't post links yet):

2012 VAUXHALL ASTRA SRI 2.0 CDTI
eBay item number:181252108642

2010 VOLKSWAGEN POLO 1.6 TDI SE 5dr
eBay item number:281188682551

(Not sure about the "0 miles")

eBay isn't the best place for cars but gives you some idea of what is available. Have you tried the RAC Cars site? I find it better than AutoTrader in some cases (and no, i'm not affiliated with it!).

harz99

NeededToChooseAUsername wrote: »

First post here. Not sure where you are located, but how about these (sorry, can't post links yet):

2012 VAUXHALL ASTRA SRI 2.0 CDTI
2010 VOLKSWAGEN POLO 1.6 TDI SE 5dr

They don't quite fit with the OP's stated 30 miles a day town driving or 1.2/1.4 engines though do they.

vickin

Reason I say 30 miles a day in a town is because I commute to a single place of work 14 miles each way. May do a couple of other short journeys but very little motorway driving.

Thank you for pointers on mileage

NeededToChooseAUsername

harz99 wrote: »

They don't quite fit with the OP's stated 30 miles a day town driving or 1.2/1.4 engines though do they.

True. Will have another look later. Have to pick you up on the "30 miles a day town driving" though. How many 1.2/1.4 taxi's are there in your area?

Depends on speed/ambient temp but I would expect the car to be fairly warm within a couple of miles anyway.