Car Recommendations

gizmoleeds

If you're buying new check out the What Car target price beofre buying and use this as the basis for haggling with the dealer.

Whatever you buy bear in mind depreciation:

A 3 year old Focus will be worth 40% of what it cost new
A 3 year old Golf will be worth 60%

On a £12k car that a £2.5k difference.


If I were you I'd be looking for a new-ish Mazda 6 - they are really good cars.

wazza

If you do average or less mileage per annum then i would recommend you to go for petrol. Diesel fuel cost more and also diesel cars cost more.

Pop of to your local auctions and have a look at variety of cars on fleet. Not only are they vectra and mondeos you can also find mazda and hondas as well. They are normally serviced and well looked after.

True you can get a Fiat and other italian/french cars at hugh discount when buying new/used but remember you will lose out when you come to sell it.

If you want a VW then consider Skoda/Seat which uses VW engines and parts but are a lot cheaper.

Al_Mac

Diesel costs more, yes, but compare the wifes passat against my golf, it wins and is getting better all the time:D

Got a Ford M, earlier thread and a junction, TDCDI GHIA, or something, wouldn't trust it overtaking.

wazza

Al_Mac wrote:

Diesel costs more, yes, but compare the wifes passat against my golf, it wins and is getting better all the time:D

Got a Ford M, earlier thread and a junction, TDCDI GHIA, or something, wouldn't trust it overtaking.

true diesel car returns more mpg compared to petrol and sometimes are better to drive but if you have to pay an extra grand or so to buy a diesel could you recoup the costs if doing average mileage. i own a 96 mondeo diesel and would stick with diesels. boring car cos it has never let me down apart from a battery and alternator

what do u mean by junction and overtaking? driving a diesel you will get better overtaking performance if your revs are above 2500 rpm when the turbo kicks in

Donaldiesel

If you are looking for a diesel then Peugeot/Citroen & VW/Audi are the best. Also Mercedes if you can stretch to that.

The cheapest way to get a superb VW engine is to buy a Skoda. Sounds daft, but their image has certainly changed.

Regards,
Donaldiesel

blue_haddock

vansboy wrote:

The Honest John link is well worth a peek. Post in The Backroom - Discussion & EVERYONE there will point you to a Mondeo TDci - the second choice to Mazda 6.

Not quite every one will recommend a Mondeo VB!

gizmoleeds

Donaldiesel wrote:

The cheapest way to get a superb VW engine is to buy a Skoda. Sounds daft, but their image has certainly changed.

True, my dad has a rental Skoda at the moment and I can recognise half the interior fittings from a collegue's Golf. The interior is very good quality.

vansboy

blue_haddock wrote:

Not quite every one will recommend a Mondeo VB!

OOOPS!!

Thats 2 of us, then!!

VB

bylromarha

I have a Citroen Berlingo 2.0 diesel and love it. It has more than enough room for a pram, travel cot, dog + basket, luggage for 2 adults and 1 toddler (and all his array of stuff!)....all goes in the boot with room to spare.

You should be able to get one up to 2 years old for 10k.

Looks bad (I say quirky!), but it is really practical for a young and growing family.

Citroen HO could be a lot better at resolving queries, but so could any car manufacturer's I guess.

Gingham_Ribbon

I cannot recommend Skoda highly enough. We have a Fabia. Brand new it cost less than 7K. It is comfortable, roomy and a pleasure to drive. It ranks very highly for customer satisfaction, safety and reliability. It has Golf parts but carries the skoda logo which is why it's so cheap. The badge has somewhat of a 'cheap' reputation which does no justice to the excellent quality, as well as the service from the Skoda dealer.

Within your budget, I think you would be able to get an Octavia, which is bigger with some of the trimmings (mine has air conditioning but no electric windows or central locking because I wanted to keep the price down, but these are reasonably priced options.)

There was a recent promotion for a free days test drive in an Octavia, might be worth a try!