Time for a new car

egyptiancotton

I've had my trusty Fiesta Mk6 Style Climate 1.25 petrol for 5 years and now it's time for a change.

I travel 12k maybe 13k miles a year. I travel to the office 3 times a week which is a 50-mile round trip via mostly on the motorway and A roads. I work from home for the other 2 weekdays and then on the weekend it's the usual social driving.

I have a few possible choices of new car in mind:

• Audi A3 1.6 TDI
• Ford Fiesta 1 litre EcoBoost
• VW Golf 1.6 TDI

My budget is £10k cash. I'll be selling my Fiesta on Gumtree.

I'd really appreciate some advice as to whether I should opt for a petrol or diesel. I'm after a hatchback or saloon that is relatively cheap to service. I did consider perhaps a BMW 1 series diesel but the servicing costs of a BMW and perhaps the Audi put me off (apparently the servicing is expensive).

ratrace

Hi, there is a thread on here about the vw golf 1.6 tdi engine's and the issues that the owners are facing with the egr valve (may be the same engine in the audi but not sure)

I know the bmw 1 series had timing chain issues on some of the engine's with the chain snapping/stretching i think it was some of the diesels again not to sure (google it)

If it was me i would stick to a small petrol turbo engine, it seems like the manufacturers have started to build small eco turbo engines as modern diesels seem to have a lot of problems such as dpf, egr, injector, fuel pump etc.. issues

im not a big fan of the fiesta had one a while ago id go for a focus its a nice size and you get a lot for your money, parts and service's are fair

If you do go for a vw, audi etc... stick to the petrol ones, like i said it seems like the diesel craze will calm down in a few years time

agrinnall

Buy the Fiesta, I had a 1.25 and now have a 1.0 Ecoboost (125 bhp version) and it's a great car. And it will cost you considerably less than either of the VAG models.

freegamer

I would advise you to buy Ford Fiesta 1 litre EcoBoost

bengalknights

I would also second the fiesta mainly due to diesel premium not being worth it

egyptiancotton

Thanks for advice, everyone. I suppose my estimated mileage is just on the margins between the two fuel types. 12-13K is about the point where diesel would work in my favour. At 12K miles per year I'd be probably better off with petrol; I'd need to be consistently nearer the 13K annually to make diesel the better choice.

The issues with the 1.6 TDI engine in Audis/BMWs/VWs has put me off. I don't fancy being hit with a huge repair bill.

Edit: I plan to buy my new car and then sell my Fiesta on Gumtree. I've checked the prices of insurance for a basic policy just to cover the car for someone to test drive and the first instalment is £40 and then the monthly instalments are £38. It seems sensible to SORN the car but then it would mean a potential buyer couldn't test drive it.

Edit 2: I changed the oil on the car last Monday and noted the mileage. I've travelled 239 miles since then. That works out as 12,428 miles a year. My average mileage calculation a few days ago was about 12k miles a year.

egyptiancotton

I started to have second thoughts this morning about whether the novelty of having a new Fiesta will wear off :rotfl:

ratrace

lloydyyy wrote: »

I started to have second thoughts this morning about whether the novelty of having a new Fiesta will wear off :rotfl:

It comes down to how you see a car really, for example there is a huge difference between me and my brother and how we see cars

Me: I love my cars, always have done did a 3 year course at college and just love to know how things work and how the engineers/manufactures came up with certain designs over the years and perfer well engineered cars.

Brother: He sees cars purely as a mode of transport, to get him to work and back hence the reason he always goes for jap cars due to them being reliable, he sees advances in technology in a negative light as he puts it "more things to go wrong" each to their own I suppose

What im trying to say is what does having a car mean to you, and make your choice accordingly, yes just like anything in life the novelty does wear off after a while

You dont have to spend a lot of money to buy a car 5k will get you a good decent motor.

egyptiancotton

I've been keeping an eye on my better half's old Fiesta which is currently up for sale. She had it on a Ford Options plan and handed it back in July this year and walked away. Since then, it's remained unsold. The settlement figure was £7300 - I could've paid that and walked away with the car.

I went down to Day's in Plasmarl last weekend and had a chat about a deal for cash. The salesman said there was no discount and 4 other families have expressed an interest in the car. I wasn't buying his tactic of saying other families were interested for a second. My counterargument was that the car has remained unsold since July and they had already dropped the price from £9300 to £8900 because they can't shift the car. The salesman had none of it, so I walked away.

Any advice on how to haggle for the best deal? I can always approach my local Day's branch and discuss a finance deal in order to get a discount on the car, and then pay the balance off after a month.

Iceweasel

I smell spam! - from Sam!

BJV

Iceweasel wrote: »

I smell spam! - from Sam!

On Toast!!! ha ha I hear that market leading prices ???? ha ha

I am just getting rid of my golf. Strange I have always loved Vw ( i know ) and had lots of golfs but this one. It was not the same, never felt as good , almost not as well built not as solid and well I can not wait until i get my new one. W Woo 21st of October !!!

I would go for the Focus. You get a lot for your money and there are some real bargains out there.

One of our guys had the eco boost engine's and gosh, nippy and cheap on fuel. The quick clear windscreen is also amazing.