Which car option -help my head is pickled!

squirrelchops

Hi all

I could do with some unbiased help.

I have a 04 plate VW polo 1.4- 135k on the clock but had an virtual engine rebuild at 95k due to cam belt going (not my fault as had been done to time but faulty belt)

I drive approx 10000miles now max but used to do a lot more.

I have had car for 7 years and fancy a change now to something with a bigger engine and a bigger in general - i do like something with a bit more grunt and love the power of my OHs 1.9tdi.

I am stuck as to which way to go. Cars I am looking at are Audi a3, i have written off BMW as are rear wheel drive and scares me driving in icy weather, mazda m3 look good, I have had a VW golf gti before but had a of problems. Fancy an Alfa Romeo Guilietta too. That is the size of car i am looking at.

Budget - well this is where I am stuck. I could go up to £10k and get a newish car, or would I be better paying say £5-6k and get something a bit older but try to get something with less miles? I do want a car that lasts as am not one to swap and change.

I have a look at new but just seem a waste of money and to be frank, nothing makes me think 'wow' enough to pay full whack.

Any advice on cars to consider would be gratefully received.

Strider590

Unless you know what you want, then don't change.

I drive an old Vectra, there's no car out there that I consider worth me spending money on, so i'm keeping this. The Vectra gets me to work and back, my kit car blows my socks off eveytime I get in it, anything else is a compromise.

I'm under constant pressure from family to buy a new car, they get new one's every 2-3 years, it's a bit too "keeping up appearances" for my liking.

Truth is nobody gives a flying f**k what you drive, at least nobody worth knowing, so don't buy something just because you feel it will elevate your social status, because it won't.

Unless you see a car and think "I WANT THAT", then why waste your money on something you don't really love?

squirrelchops

Thanks Strider. I suppose I keep thinking that my little polo is starting to get a bit less reliable now and costing more money. Also gets a sporadic leak so smells of wet dog!

Strider590

squirrelchops wrote: »

Thanks Strider. I suppose I keep thinking that my little polo is starting to get a bit less reliable now and costing more money. Also gets a sporadic leak so smells of wet dog!

Well it's worth what it would cost to replace, so if you look to spend 10k, then your little Polo is worth 10k.

Sporadic leak sounds like blocked pollen filter or aircon drainage hose and should be a simple fix. If it's a door seal, then it's still not the end of the world. I appreciate it can be difficult though, the less you know about cars, the more expensive it gets.

Iceweasel

squirrelchops wrote: »

i have written off BMW as are rear wheel drive and scares me driving in icy weather

Any advice on cars to consider would be gratefully received.

Don't be so sure that front wheel drive cars are safer.

Go on a skid-pan driving course and understand how rear wheel drive cars can be driven in slippy conditions.

I have gone the other way and am unhappy with front-wheel drive as they can go completely out of control in the ice and snow.

A rear-wheel drive will slide first - but is easy to control, but a front wheel-drive when it does slide usually goes straight on into the ditch.

squirrelchops

Thanks iceweasel

I suppose my view on BMW on ice is from friends who have them - 'nightmares' i believe they have said and also online there are numerous threads on how bad they are.

Iceweasel

squirrelchops wrote: »

Thanks iceweasel

I suppose my view on BMW on ice is from friends who have them - 'nightmares' i believe they have said and also online there are numerous threads on how bad they are.

Tyres play a big role in this too.

After trying my BMW with a set of proper winter tyres I sold my 4X4 as I no longer needed it to get to work in rural Aberdeenshire in the depths of winter.

squirrelchops

We dont get a lot of snow here in the 'depths' of the Cotswolds - certainly none where I live last winter.
Is there a mid season type of tyre you can put on to get through the colder months?

Iceweasel

Don't confuse winter tyres with snow tyres.

Winter tyres are better than anything else when the temperatures get down to 7degrees C - as well as in snow.

So called all-season tyres are a compromise and don't give the best results in summer or winter.

If you have room to store them, get a 2nd set of wheels and tyres.

Strider590

Iceweasel wrote: »

Tyres play a big role in this too.

.

I'd agree with that, a lot of people fit the cheapest ditch finders going, usually because the likes of CrapFit/Kwikscam, tell people that all tyres are the same, because selling the cheap rubbish nets them more profit than selling top brand tyres.

F1F93

Iceweasel wrote: »

Tyres play a big role in this too.

After trying my BMW with a set of proper winter tyres I sold my 4X4 as I no longer needed it to get to work in rural Aberdeenshire in the depths of winter.

This. A BMW with winter tyres will beat just about any other car on the market with summer tyres on.

To show just how much of a difference winter tyres make, auto express did a test with a Ford Kuga.

A 4 wheel drive Kuga with summer tyres tried to drive up a snowy slope. It got 13 metres up, then slid back down 9 metres, ending up just 4 metres up the slope.

A standard 2 wheel drive Kuga fitted with winter tyres made it 110 metres up a slope.

Yes, this was front wheel drive, but the point remains valid with RWD too - fit winter tyres and you'll have no problem.