Suggestions on a replacement car please

dhokes

I’m currently driving a VW Golf TDI ’03 plate however it’s starting it pick up issues regularly so I’m looking at replacing it with a second hand car.

Average daily commute: 10 city miles

Average weekly daily commute: 40 motorway/A road miles

Average fortnightly work commute: 45 motorway/A road miles

Not sure whether to opt for a diesel or petrol! I’m thinking towards petrol due to possible future taxes.

My budget is around £8000 and ideally I’d like to purchase from a garage/used dealership. Hopefully I might be able to get a few hundred pounds for parts in my current car!

Ideally I’m looking for something that’s small, reliable, cheap to run and to service/maintain. Also, this might sound stupid but I want to avoid hearing the wind when driving on the motorway and if the stereo doesn’t support bluetooth, I’d want to replace it. I’d be happy to pay slightly more upfront for a longer lasting car.

What make/model/engine size/year would you recommend?

Grumpy_chap

For that use profile, especially if you can charge at home, a Leaf (or similar) might be a consideration.  Similar space to the Golf and will definitely tick the boxes for economy in operation.

If you can't go EV, then petrol rather than diesel and the choice is wide - Golf (again), Focus, Astra, Octavia.  Or consider a "class" below as they have grown in size, so Polo, Fiesta etc.

Ebe_Scrooge

What issues does your current car have?  As a first port of call, it's always worth considering whether repairing the current car would give you several more years of motoring.  Even if the repairs cost several hundred pounds, that's a lot better than spending thousands on another used car that may be harbouring many more hidden troubles just waiting to surface.

That aside, for the usage pattern you've described I'd definitely recommend a petrol rather than a diesel.  Many folk would advocate an EV (Gah, can't believe I've actually even uttered those words!), but actually for that sort of mileage it may be a consideration.

Apart from that, the usual suspects for "small & reliable" are most Japanese cars, maybe a small Ford, VW Golf/Polo or similar, Skoda.  Does luggage/passenger capacity come into the equation for you?

dhokes

Ebe_Scrooge said:

What issues does your current car have?  As a first port of call, it's always worth considering whether repairing the current car would give you several more years of motoring.  Even if the repairs cost several hundred pounds, that's a lot better than spending thousands on another used car that may be harbouring many more hidden troubles just waiting to surface.

That aside, for the usage pattern you've described I'd definitely recommend a petrol rather than a diesel.  Many folk would advocate an EV (Gah, can't believe I've actually even uttered those words!), but actually for that sort of mileage it may be a consideration.

Apart from that, the usual suspects for "small & reliable" are most Japanese cars, maybe a small Ford, VW Golf/Polo or similar, Skoda.  Does luggage/passenger capacity come into the equation for you?

Yes, I understand keeping my current car if I can would be the most cost efficient. Currently there's an oil leak somewhere. I plan to continue to use my for this year/until it breaks but I want to know what alternatives to consider so that I can keep an eye out if *fingers crossed* I find a suitable replacement.

The luggage/passenger capacity isn't a huge issue however some luggage space would be nice. A slight, odd concern - do most small cars generally keep out the sound of wind when driving at speed on the motoway?

Flight3287462

dhokes said: A slight, odd concern - do most small cars generally keep out the sound of wind when driving at speed on the motoway?

So a Bentley it is!  

Ebe_Scrooge

You'll always get some wind noise - unless you go for a super-dooper high-end luxury car with double-glazing.  But I've never had a car where it's become an issue.  If it becomes intrusive, my instinct would be that there's a fault somewhere - a window that's not quite fully closed by just a fraction of a smidgeon, faulty door seal, something like that.  Very often, tyre noise can be louder than wind noise.

I'm sure some cars are better than others in terms of sound insulation, but I've had a number of small/medium cars in my time and never noticed it to be a huge problem.

dhokes

Ebe_Scrooge said:

You'll always get some wind noise - unless you go for a super-dooper high-end luxury car with double-glazing.  But I've never had a car where it's become an issue.  If it becomes intrusive, my instinct would be that there's a fault somewhere - a window that's not quite fully closed by just a fraction of a smidgeon, faulty door seal, something like that.  Very often, tyre noise can be louder than wind noise.

I'm sure some cars are better than others in terms of sound insulation, but I've had a number of small/medium cars in my time and never noticed it to be a huge problem.

Maybe the sealing on my car is just worn out.

rigolith

Wouldn't get another fossil fuel car for that. Get an EV, charge at home, save a fortune. Leafs are good, Zoe is good, VW eUP, Hyundai Ioniq, maybe even a BWM i3...

dhokes

rigolith said:

Wouldn't get another fossil fuel car for that. Get an EV, charge at home, save a fortune. Leafs are good, Zoe is good, VW eUP, Hyundai Ioniq, maybe even a BWM i3...

I can't afford the upfront cost and I don't want to buy on finance.

Grumpy_chap

dhokes said:

rigolith said:

Wouldn't get another fossil fuel car for that. Get an EV, charge at home, save a fortune. Leafs are good, Zoe is good, VW eUP, Hyundai Ioniq, maybe even a BWM i3...

I can't afford the upfront cost and I don't want to buy on finance.

I agree with the sentiment about finance, but you indicated that you had an £8k budget.  That would get you into a Leaf or Zoe quite reasonably.  Just take care to avoid the "battery lease" versions.

dhokes

Grumpy_chap said:

dhokes said:

rigolith said:

Wouldn't get another fossil fuel car for that. Get an EV, charge at home, save a fortune. Leafs are good, Zoe is good, VW eUP, Hyundai Ioniq, maybe even a BWM i3...

I can't afford the upfront cost and I don't want to buy on finance.

I agree with the sentiment about finance, but you indicated that you had an £8k budget.  That would get you into a Leaf or Zoe quite reasonably.  Just take care to avoid the "battery lease" versions.

Really? Do you have any links?