[Closed] New car time.

Dacia Sandero?

In STW tradition (on two fronts) - Skoda Octavia (hatchback / estate) - or Seat Exeo for the really smart money.

[Update - that'll be Seat Leon / Toledo now... ]

if buying new and keeping long term, why not go for something with a long warranty, like a Kia, with 7 yrs. Depreciation wont be much of a factor either after 10 yrs.

Golf TDI,- probably the one I want the most but more expensive and I can't help worrying that it'll become a money-pit.

I don't think that's more or less likely than any other tbh. A lot of the scare stories are from a few years ago when they had a couple of specific but high profile issues.

"Dacia Sandero?"

spoken by someone whos never sat in one. im a french car fan - i have 2 and im used to spartan - im a landrover fan at heart, - but the dash on dacias seems to have been modeled on those blow moulds that easter eggs come in - and they aint cheap once you get a spec that you want to drive.

coupled by the sales folk really pushing those 1.2TCE- edit apparently it was a 900cc TCE engines they have - gave it a leg stretch on the dualer near the dealership - OMG the engine and the road noise were horrendous - fine for tootling around town. might have 90 bhp but at what revs........

it was a sandero stepway i test drove - i wanted a 1.6 diesel duster but she was trying to push this on me. after the test drive i didnt bother going back to look at the duster they eventually got in for a demo - i didnt think it would be a very good long term investment - maybe one ill look at used in 7 years when i should be able to pick them up for buttons as the depreciation will be silly.

i would struggle to look past another civic although current model focus have proved successful in the office here in reliability stakes- think the only unexpected bill was a passengers CV joint -there are 6 or 7 of them of varying ages and look quite nice imo.

kia as above have come along way quickly and i wouldnt be too quick to look past them IF you have a good dealer near by. bruneep will be along shortly to tell you all about arnold shark.

VAG of some sort.

Kia or Hyundai - 7yr warranty for peace of mind

7 year warranty sounds right up my street. Going continue browsing the .www

Do Vauxhall still do the lifetime warranty. If you can live with one try the Insignia Estate. (but for gods sake, don't get the petrol!)

How is a Golf going to be a money pit, it almost certainly will require only basic servicing for the first 5 years ?

Honda will be very reliable, as will a Toyota (look at Yaris or Auris or a Verso). I have heard mixed things about Nissan, older Alemria's seem to die with electrical problems. GF has a Micra which runs like clockwork.

We've had new/nearly new Mitsubishi, VW, Audi, Toyota run them all for 5-8 years over cumulatively 300,000 miles with virtually nothing except normal servicing and consumables.

Honda Jazz is another sensible option

Beware Vauxhalls " lifetime warranty" is 100000 mile limited!

The 2014 civic 1.6 idtec's a peach
Plus doing 0% finance & 5 yrs care

I've got a 14 plate CRV after an accord and civic previously
both were 2.2 and the CRV's 1.6 is a joy

Good mix of power / drive ability
Plus in the civic it's a better power / weight ratio

I'd be happy with the civic as a long term option
Swallows bikes very easily too !!

Auris do an estate.. also a hybrid one, ideal for short trips.

KIA Cee'd...?

The in-laws have got one and it's pretty decent, looks good, has decent kit levels, 7year warranty I think.

Very much doubt that the Golf will become a money pit... Why should it? We've found all our VAG cars to be excellent and very reliable.

Just been eyeing up the new Passat.. that's molgrips automotive heaven, that is... 🙂

I recommend Japs made so any of them will do but choose one that is less ugly ... 😆 I am Toyota person so naturally Toyota is my first choice.

The next choice is German made but it got to be Skoda ... 😆

Toyota Yaris would be my choice 5year warranty regularly comes top in reliability surveys

Just be mindful that the 7yr warranty "wear & tear" thing can often be used as a get out clause. Things like bushes/bearings/exhausts for Kia etc, can be eye wateringly expensive to put right at a dealers. I know of 3yr old Kia's needing £400 worth of new suspension arms at the first MOT because the bushes cant be changed on their own & are deemed "wear & tear" items. 🙁

Loving my new Yeti at the moment. Some great deals at all car leasing st the moment. Retains about 70% of value after 3 yrs.

I'd shy away from the Nissan.... the older models were well build and went on and on then they merged with Renault and things wetn bad the previous model Note was dire...... worst thing was the awful dealer network (used 3 different ones and they were all useless at best...)

Seconded re. the Kia "7 year" warranty. A lot of things aren't covered, have a google.

Less than 15,000 miles a year? Buy a petrol engined car. Diesels might have better mpg figures but this will be offset if the DPF or dual mass flywheel let go. Not so much of a problem on a lease, but if you own it you won't want to be hit by the bill.

Rich.

Kia's are excellent, build quality is on a par with anything from VAG. Driven the entire range (wife works for them) and would happily spend my own money on one. Wife currently has a Ce'ed SW and I have a Picanto as a town run around (both company cars). FIL has a Ce'ed as well (also company car). You get a lot of company cars if you work for a manufacturer...

Less than 15,000 miles a year? Buy a petrol engined car.

I wouldn't suggest petrol based on total annual mileage personally, but the OP's brief does suggest petrol based on length of trips.

what kias dont do is hold their value well like the VAG cars that fan bois that will pay over the odds for a reputation that went south years ago.

trail_rat - Member
what kias dont do is hold their value well like the VAG cars that fan bois that will pay over the odds for a reputation that went south years ago.

The OP mentioned keeping the car for 10 years or so, so depreciation/future value probably not a massive issue?

TBH the Kia Ceed (latest) is a nice looking car. Yes wear and tear can be used on alot of items to get them out of a warranty claim however for big pieces- engine, gearbox etc - if you've serviced it within the timescales- thats piece of mind for me.

I wouldn't buy a Golf. They aren't as high quality as you'd like to believe.

just pointing it out.

Selling -

got 600 quid for a 10 year old 1 family owned hyundai with 60k on the clock and FSH

got 1500 for a 10 y/o mk4 golf with 4 owners,100k FSH and a replacement (used) engine (we did engine swap and got shot of it)

Id walk past the golf to buy the hyundai again no questions.

id buy a kia over a golf.

Thanks to everyone for their advice, it's been really helpful.

I'm now onto the Prius C, it's a Toyota, obviously, so reliable - a decent amount of cargo space, and extremely efficient, I've calculated I could recoup the extra price over 5 years of fuel savings.

So it's that, and still the Golf, I keep coming back to it - took an S for a test drive and it was lovely, so nice inside and such a solid, responsive ride. It just seems to make sense as a do-it-all car.

The Kia Rio is also on my radar, could be a wildcard choice, cheaper than the others and seemingly very reliable.

I've got to make a decision this week really, as I'm not sure how long it'll take to order....

Oh yeah, I nearly pulled the trigger on a 1973 Super Beetle the other night - it was in great condition, 11000 on the original motor. Don't think the wife would have been impressed, no airbags!

Dacia Sandero?

if your looking at a mk7 golf try an SE with the Adaptive Cruise Control its excellent (with a Manual gearbox if your driving on lots of A roads and motorways its superb, with a DSG its great everywhere)

My company car Golf is coming to an end soon and I am planning to move on to a Nissan Quashqai 1.5Dci Acenta.

It is a great car and matches or beats the Golf in every way especially boot space.

"Dacia Sandero?

The car for the man who does not feel joy."

err does a car need to give joy....if i was in the market for a purely utilitarian city vehicle i would look at them again. its just that once you get them to a useful spec as an all round car they have crept into the "no so cheap" catagory.

meanwhile my agri diesel utilitarian french load luggers are not giving me any joy from the driving them aspect....how ever they suit my needs in every respect better than the lotus elise id rather be driving - 4 times a year - the rest of the year im happy.

The car for the man who does not feel joy

I've never driven one so can't comment on its steering etc however cars with no soul tend to be over-damped, overly-electric power-assisted steering. Honda Civics tend to have dead feeling steering. Thats what I'd describe as no soul/joy.

Cars that DO have feeling tend to be very very basic cars. They can offer loads of fun. An Aygo for instance is ace when you rev and floor it. Well IMO.

Personally, if it's going to have 'dull' handling and performance, then it needs to be quiet, comfy and a pleasant place to sit. Otherwise, well it's just a crap car 🙂

OP- I had similar requirenments and went for a Skoda Fabia 1.4tdi its low cost to buy and economical to run but well made and comfortable. Just does the job no fuss etc and so far would recommend one.

"then it needs to be quiet, comfy and a pleasant place to sit"

for you.... .for me it just needs to drive from A - B and be cheap to run. the fact mines is good for bulky aukward loads is a bonus.

for 5995 you wont do any better for a NEW mid size motor if you accept it will be noisy on the motorway.

if it's going to have 'dull' handling and performance, then it needs to be quiet, comfy and a pleasant place to sit

TBH- an overly quiet car thats comfy it'll also be slightly removed from the driving experience due to damping/soundproofing/comfy seats 😀

If you could guarantee me a car for 5k that'd last me 5yrs with only oil, pads and tyres but it'd have to look like a boiled sweet/ugly I'd JUMP at it.

it'll also be slightly removed from the driving experience

I'm fine with that. Not every day is a track day.

If you could guarantee me a car for 5k that'd last me 5yrs with only oil, pads and tyres but it'd have to look like a boiled sweet/ugly I'd JUMP at it.

Prius - You probably won't even need pads 🙂