[Closed] New car to buy and keep for many years?

VW - golf or passat

Abit long in the tooth now though aren't they? I think the OP is looking for newer/new.

The 05-07ish Passats had DSG, electronic brake and issues with the 2.0TDI engine.

My bro in laws 09 Golf TDI mk6 had its turbo replaced and EGR(?) replaced.

Those 2.0 tdi issues should all be fixed now. The big difference between ford and others is the different dpf technologies. I think Ford's is less durable.

Wow..! Some sudden activity overnight.

Bar one minor warranty thing on the Mazda, it's been great. But even with three of us, a 2 week holiday in France involves loading it to the gunwales (yes, we could take less). If we manage to add child mk2, there'll be more stuff again.

Plus I have domestic gubbins to transport about and, much as I'd like a little trailer, an estate with some room in it would be nicer.

I don't especially want to lose piles of money on depreciation, so will always shop around, but ideas of what people are driving and enjoying are good.

I won't be doing any servicing myself. Too little time.

[i]I don't especially want to lose piles of money on depreciation[/i]

Only real solution is to spend less, my last Beemer was bought for £2k - it cost £42k new

Current car cost £1k, and that was £28k new.

While I wouldn't suggest buy this old/used if I was doing 20k pa; if you plan to spend £30k, also plan to lose £28-29k...

I don't especially want to lose piles of money on depreciation, so will always shop around, but ideas of what people are driving and enjoying are good.

If you're buying a nearly new car, putting 20K on it a year, and planning on keeping it for a considerable time, I doubt it will be worth much by the time you're finished with it.

Round town in traffic jams?

The OP stated mainly motorway driving

never tried taking it into town but 50mpg is what I *can* get out of it.
I never drive the thing anyway, I cycle virtually all the time.

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5 series touring - up to two years old - let someone else take the biggest hit on depreciation

Pick a spec / engine to suit driving style and budget.

Bob's your aunties live in lover

+1 i never really like beemers, but had a go in a mates 5 series 525d and the engine is lovely.

[b]*stupid quesiton, do beemers havd DPF/EGR thingies?[/b]

as said above get a 2/3 year old, let someone else take the hit.

All diesels now have DPFs and EGRs. Or almost all, in the case of DPFs. Some (many?) petrol cars now also have EGRs.

Almost all issues with these are caused by tootling around down and not driving it hard often enough. I took the EGR off my 180k miles 1994 Passat TD because everyone told me it'd be blocked. It had a thin dusting of soot, no issues at all.

There's a few issues with diesels that are coming to light these days. The DPF is a big problem for cars that are just doing school runs as the clog up.

Turbos need to be treated carefully.....you must never boot it and then stop and switch off. It should be allowed to cool down before switching off.

Dual mass flywheels are another issue that can cause you financial woe.

You pay more for diesels, more tends to go wrong with them, so its not always a straightforward mpg comparison.

DMFs take a hammering from certain driving styles, so you can look after it if you know what you are doing. Likewise turbos, DPFs and EGRs.

Diesels don't NECESSARILY go wrong more, but will do if you are unaware of the issues above.

Have a look at the What Car reliability table - you may be suprised.

If you're buying a nearly new car, putting 20K on it a year, and planning on keeping it for a considerable time, I doubt it will be worth much by the time you're finished with it.

Very true. There aren't many cars which are appreciating assets.... By "depreciation" I mean the instant hit, but then over a lengthy period of time, it's all academic anyway as it'll be paid for, run for much longer then worth f-all at the end. And that's whatever price I buy at.

Have a look at the What Car reliability table - you may be suprised

My usual prejudice is: japanese cars = reliable; VWs = over-rated

Something that wont lead you to the garage for repairs much in all those years: Honda

Prius get great marks for reliability too.. just sayin.

honda accord: my mate had one from new, 54 plate 2.2ictdi.
lovely car to drive, fantastic place to sit, plenty power and 45mpg plus.
but at the last mot it cost him £1200 to get through, which is why hes now driving a subaru forrester.
my money would be on getting a mondeo sized diesel estate for £10k with a 3 year warranty and changing every 3 years.

ourmaninthenorth - Member

[i]Have a look at the What Car reliability table - you may be suprised
[/i]

My usual prejudice is: japanese cars = reliable; VWs = over-rated

*stupid quesiton, do beemers havd DPF/EGR thingies?

Since 2004 I believe, at least on the 5 series.

However lots of places now able to remove DPFs and re-programme the ECU to take account of the removal. Plus by all accounts this gives a small performance/economy boost.

Seat Exad estate (Cheap A4) Toyota Avensis or a Honda Accord.
That would probably be my estate want list and I'd be looking for something up to a year old, many bargains compared to new.

BMW 5 series touring. Had it for 2 years now and done about 35k in that time. 520d averages about 40 mpg in cross country and rural driving that I mostly do but can easily get over 50 mpg on long motorway runs. Tried A4/A6 and the Beemer drives better on the country roads. As you used to have a MX5 that may matter.

I would ideally have got a 525 or 530d as the engine is smoother and obviously a bit more oomph. Servicing is expensive with BMW but we have great local specialists who are very reasonable (wife's 3 series goes there ).

I would go for a 2-3 yr old 530d msport if doing the same.

Prius get great marks for reliability too.. just sayin.

But fails miserably in the

Our Mazda 3 will be paid for early next year. I wish to replace it with an estate as that suits our lifestyle much better.

and

Big enough for a family to holiday in Europe

stakes, especially if a Mazda 3 isn't big enough for the OP. Just sayin'....