MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
Looks like I may have to start commuting a longer distance sometime soon due to my current contract coming to an end.
I've had it easy for the past couple of years with just a short cycle into town, so it's time to face up to the possibility of a daily commute by car 🙁
If the next contract is any distance away I will need to buy a second car. The missus needs our current car - Octavia Estate - to ferry kids & related crap around during the day. I want to make a decision on what to buy now so that if/when the time comes I can act quickly without fannying around.
Requirements (in no particular order):
*Reliable
*Cheap to buy (up to maybe £3k I suppose?)
*Cheap to run
*Minimal depreciation (might sell it on at a future date not too far in the future)
*Not too tiring to drive long distances
*Plenty to choose from
*Can take 2 people & bikes & kit away for a weekend (the only other time I may use it)
*It won't make me weep too much
*Not French
Thinking of something around 5 years old - getting to the bottom of the depreciation curve - maybe a diesel Vauxhall Astra or a diesel Skoda Fabia?
Any advances?
Fabia/Polo/Ibiza diesel (get the one with the 6spd box which might restrict the Fabia option as only the vRS came with the 6spd box). Cheap (Polos and Ibizas under £3k) and 60+mpg.
I was going to buy one but then I changed jobs the other way - 120 mile round trip commute became 15 minutes on the train 🙂
Ford Mondeo TDCi 130 bhp
I use one for a 100 mile a day commute and cruises brilliantly. Plenty of choice about and you should be able to get 55 ish plate for that money. Comes with all the toys too Climte, Cruise etc + 50mpg and can swallow bikes.
They are not dull to drive either.
Used to own a 06 plate Focus 1.6 115bhp. Although reasonably well built, it doesn't handle as well as the Mondeo and not half as comfortable on long journeys, and is tiny inside compared to the Mondeo.
Focus or Mondeo? I just wanted to say them first.
Beaten by The Funk
Boring, reliable & cheap you say?
I give you the Toyota Corolla 🙂
+1 for the Ibiza etc. If it's long distances, get diesel. Also possibly Passat.
*Not French
I saw a sticker on the back of a VW polo last night
If its not a VAG, your a FAG
my my, what a ****.
I did my 120 miles a day in a Mondeo for a year. If you're doing that kinda mileage then a Mondeo is a pretty comfy (albeit boring) place to be.
Not a car buff but had plenty of hire cars over the last five years and from those experiences I'd seriously look at the diesel Astra's. The old shape is a seriously underrated car I feel, why anyone would buy the new one or Insignia is beyond me, both totally over weight and underpowered.
I would say Focus diesel
How many miles are you likely to be doing?
I'd do the sums to see if you really need a diesel:
>15k miles starts to make sense
<15k miles, probably not worth it
I do 120 miles/day commuting in my Ibiza 1.9 TDI. It's the 130 version and I average 55mpg normally. Since the fuel prices have jumped I've had my economical feet on and reckon the fuel consumption will have gone up by a few mpg.
The 100 bhp version is perfectly acceptable and will get you a few more mpg too.
As mentioned, Polo/Ibiza/Fabia are 'basically' the same car. In my opinion, the Polo is over-priced and under-equipped, the Fabia is better built than the Ibiza (dashboard etc.) and the Ibiza seems to lose the most money so may make the most sense. I was originally looking for a Fabia vRS, but they were £1k more than the equivalent Ibiza.
Bigger cars are also an option like the Octavia/Mondeo diesel.
I'd look at things like low-spec Astra's, Nissan Almera's, Toyota Corolla and Mazda 323 (the last shape of it they made before introducing the Mazda 3). They all seem to depreciate like mad and you can pick up some really good cars if 'image' isn't high up your agenda.
I'd do the sums to see if you really need a diesel:
>15k miles starts to make sense
<15k miles, probably not worth it
Not sure if such sums are relevant for a second-hand purchase?????
I would too. I paid 4k for my TDCi, form what I can remember a petrol one was about £200 cheaper for equivalent performance and worse economy.
Yeah. You're probably right.....
My dads got a 55 plate Astra estate thats done over 120k. Not bad to drive but interior is cheap and plasticky and I found the seats hard and uncomfortable. Hes gt the 1.7 TDi and its fine but being a common rail diesel its like a tractor in traffic and dosent like creeping along. Fine for his motorway commute as hes used to it but I wouldnt like it for long distances.
The previous shape seems more comfy in the interior and seats were much better.
rover 75, with or without the BMW diesel engine (the rover L'series diesel is surprisingly good and low tax).
dirt cheap, all bells and whistles, very comfy and pretty much bombproof.
I'm selling my dark blue 1.4 Vauxhall Meriva in March, c. 30,000, '06 and c. £3K. The back seats fold flat, making it big enough for me to have my bike in the back with both wheels on. Boring but very practical car.
Mondeo or Astra estate would be my shout... I like my Focus but you tend to pay a little over the odds for them. Then again they're in demand when it comes to resell.
Not sure if such sums are relevant for a second-hand purchase?????
More modern diesels don't like short runs and tend to be more expensive for maintenance.
The old shape 5 door Honda Civics are hugely capacious for their size, v boring looking but bulletproof, I will be sad when mine finally dies. Long wheelbase makes them very stable at motorway speeds. Only real weakpoint is turning circle, due to the wheelbase and human friendly packaging (engine bay is crammed in the 2.0). Type-S is pretty quick but sub 40mpg so not as cheap to run as the slower ones. Insurance is cheap because most non-Type-R owners are old.
I am lookig for an Audi A2 currently. Ticks all those boxes and as a fan of ugly cars I like it. Best thing is 60+MPG. 3k is pushing it though I reckon 4 gets a decent one.