New car time

In a rather worrying turn of events, I may have to buy a car for the first time in 5 years. I know nothing about cars, they hold no interest to me at all so I have no idea where to start on either the make/models to look at or even how to finance said purchase.

I have maybe £10k to throw at this problem, but am happy to pay this outright or put it as a deposit and add to it monthly. In the past I’ve tended to own cars until they fall apart (250k miles in a Renault Megane for instance) so I’m reluctant to lease anything. It’ll be used to do an 80 mile round trip (either motorway or A-roads) 2 or 3 times per week, a very occasional longer journey and maybe the odd bit of local work on the weekend to take the strain of Mrs Lunge’s rather old Mirca.

Requirements are:
Small, petrol engine I think, not sure why but I don’t want a hybrid and I definitely don’t want fully electric.
Reliable. This is priority number 1.
Not huge, but not small either. Focus size, maybe a bit bigger.
Comfortable for the odd longer journey. We generally holiday in the UK and in the past I’ve hired a car to make these journey’s as my 6’5″ frame doesn’t work in the Mirca for more than about an hour.
Not bangernomics, I have no interest in building a relationship with either my local mechanic or my local Motor Factors, well, certainly not in the short term, long term maybe, but I’d like a good few years trouble free running first.

And that’s it.
I know this is vague, but I have no idea where to start so hoped someone here would at least be able to give a few ideas.
Like, I don’t even know if £10k will get me what I want or if I’ll need to use it as a deposit to get the reliability I want.

Thanks all.

Honda Jazz, you’ll get a really good one for that.

Standard STW response would be an Octavia, and it wouldn’t be a bad starting point. Focus 1.0 Ecoboost would be another

If it were me I would go for a Mondeo every time. If needed for biking duties then an estate variant.

Yes, what are you load-carrying requirements? Do you want to put a bike in it? Or on it? Or two? Jazzes are surprisingly spacious but there are better cars for motorway driving. Octavia and Yeti – you’d get some nice, new-ish examples for that money.

If needed for biking duties then an estate variant.

An estate appeals, but in truth I can get 2 bikes in the back of the Micra so don’t really feel the need for more space just for the sake of bikes. It’s rare I put bikes in the car anyway, almost all of my riding is from the door. There’s only 2 of us so no need for kid carrying capacity either.

That’s also why I don’t want to go too big, seems pointless moving around a big car when I almost never have anyone in the back seats and the boot is mostly empty. In fact, maybe I should be looking at 2 seaters…!

Am I right in guessing that most modern cars come with what I’d consider “mod-cons”, air-con, satnav, bluetooth, etc.?

I know nothing about cars, they hold no interest to me at all

I have maybe £10k

Focus size

VW Golf. The newest you can afford. i.e. – I would take a high milage newer one, compared to a low milage old one for the same price.

I’d recommend a diesel for what you’ve described as mostly long motorway trips (and no, a few around town short trips wont kill it). The VAG diesels of the last decade are economical and *ahem* very low taxbracket.

Seat Leon. Estate if you need the room, hatchback if you don’t.

I had the diesel last time and have the Tsi petrol now. Equipment levels are pretty good throughout the range.

Loads of room for me inside at 6’4″.

My next car will be a seat.

VW Golf.

Or a Leon or Octavia to avoid paying the VW premium

~£10k will get you a very nice Leon estate with the 1.4 TSI petrol engine

£10k should get you a facelift Leon with the 1.5TSi engine.
A work colleague has recently got one and rates it. His other car is a 2 litre TDi Leon estate. He reckons performance-wise they are comparable although the diesel gets more mpg. But, the petrol is a nice engine & he gets mid 40mpg out of it.

I’ve got the diesel Leon Estate & it’s a nice car. Given the lockdown situation, I kinda wish I had gone for a petrol as my commute requirements will probably change once lockdown is over, but hey ho.

I would try to get the facelift as it comes with Android Auto (or Apple CarPlay) built-in, which is very handy.

It might be worth having a look at the estate version over the hatchback. It’s a bit longer, but no load lip to worry about with & the seats go flat with the pull of a lever in the boot, rather than wrestling with seat backs….
Estate has integrated roof rails too, which I don’t think the hatchback has. Might not matter, but something to bear in mind.

Reliable. This is priority number 1.

Kia/Hyundai/something Japanese.

There must be loads of 3yr old i30s, i40s, ceeds, auris’s, etc for no more than £10k out there that will be reliable and also have the backup of what’s left of their long warranties.

Look at Autotrader.

Click £10k max, 5 years max and Hybrid (and add more filters if required).

Then see what’s near to you.

VW Golf.

Purely anecdotal and it may not be a common fault, bur next door neighbour had one (64 plate) and it had an issue with the fuel tank that was economically not worth doing (ie, it would cost significantly more to fix than the value of the car) so he had to scrap it.

If reliability is your number one concern then you should head towards your local Toyota garage. Maybe consider a brand new car if finances allow (PCP, LH etc but that subject will need a separate thread) as the warranty will give you extra piece of mind.

As piha mentioned, if you want a reliable petrol engine then Japanese brands are an obvious choice.

You can either go for the Toyota Corolla or Honda Civic if you want to go up a size from the Micra. But you may find a deal on the Toyota Avensis or Honda Accord if you want more room at about the same price as these larger models tend to depreciate more, which means you save on purchase and lose bugger all on selling if you are planning for long term ownership.

Nissan have gone big on the SUV style so a Qashqai may be good option – with the Toyota RAV-4 or Honda CR-V being equivalents from the other Japanese brands. These ones seem to be a bit marmite, so if you don’t like them just skip this option!

The other main Japanese brand is Mazda and they have similar models, so may be worth considering too

Cheeky ad alert.. We’re currently selling our 2015 320i M-Sport+ saloon if you’re interested ;o)

It hits a lot of your criteria but certainly not all. Very refined on long journeys, cruise control, bluetooth, nav, petrol engine, manual, reliable, etc. It also has a removable swan neck towbar and Thule wingbar edge roof bars plus a set of barely worn Pirelli RFT winters (in addition to the Bridgestone RFTs) so it’s all setup for bike lugging duties and getting about in the snow/ice. RWD not Xdrive but VERY capable on the Pirelli Sottozeros. Smidge under 37K on the clock. It’s just not getting used since I got an EV.

Bit more than £10k but not much. DM me if interested.

Cheers
Nick

No hassle? Reliable? Just does the job?

Kia Ceed. You could get a second hand one with at least three years and 50k warranty left.

I’m sorry to hijack this thread, but as someone else who is after a car, for similar usage to the OP, are diesels actually on the way out? As in, is there a genuine concern that there may be a city centre ban/charge for driving diesels places outside of London? Like Manchester, Birmingham, Sheffield etc? I currently drive a diesel and like it, but don’t want to shoot myself in the foot a few years down the line.

In answer to the OP’s question, based on my research, for £10k you can get a very low mileage Ford Focus or Vauxhall Astra, only a couple of years old. Both of which will take 2 bikes with the rear seats down. There are also loads of them for sale. I’ll probably go for one of these. But diesel or petrol?

Mazda MX5. Cheap, reliable, comfy on the motorway, easy to drive and you get to be outside while you’re in the car!

Golf Estate (recommend what you have and all that). But seriously, I am so impressed with mine. Decent spec for not a huge amount of money, drives like a hatch, parks like a hatch but has a bigger boot than a Mondeo Estate. Running costs are great and the 1.4 petrol (if you can find one) is an excellent engine although I’ve gone for the 1.6d.

2015 plate with 85k on the clock for £6900 with most of the toys you could want.

Want something a bit fun that is also very practical in terms of internal space etc. A good condition later plate Civic FN2 Type R (the wedged shaped one). Utterly brilliant – drive it sensibly and it will just drive like any other mid-sized hatch. Plant the right foot and you’ll be grinning the whole journey.

Edit – I’m 6′ 2″ and fit in both with bags of spare headroom and loads of adjustability left on the seat / steering wheel.

Right, update.
Spent far to much time looking at cars online this weekend, all seem to be a bit “meh”. I’m aware my requirements probably push things towards that, but stick with me.
So, and I say this with some degree of trepidation, if I could find an extra £5k taking the budget to £15k or close, what could I get that’s a bit more, well, “inspiring” or “interesting” but still fit the “comfortable for a reasonably long trip and very reliable” requirement I’d be interested in hearing about it.
The idea of a Civic Type-R quite appeals, although it does bring back memories of an old uni mate who owned one and was the very definition of a boy racer!

Are you an avid reader? If not why buy a car with a bookshelf on the back?

You’re not interested in cars but want to spend 15k on one and might want a type-r 🤔

Golf Estate (recommend what you have and all that). But seriously, I am so impressed with mine. Decent spec for not a huge amount of money, drives like a hatch, parks like a hatch but has a bigger boot than a Mondeo Estate…

Shirley that can’t be true? Hyperbole gottabe…🤔

OP wants a BMW? Doesn’t want to admit to wanting a BMW on STW? Wants someone to suggest BMW

15K should buy a decent BMW ;)

Honda Civic. £10k will easily get you a well specced previous model which I also think is the best looking model. Not huge, comfy, reliable.

@boblo – which bit? Re boot size it has a 605l one (seats up) against a mere 525l for the Mondeo.

And honestly to drive it just does not feel that big of a car.

if you want something a little nicer than a boggo car, what about a lexus CT? basically a prius in drag (you shouldn’t be put off with the hybridness, unless you have a good reason) – but should be reliable (look at your local taxi rank), nice inside, comfy and cheap to run. £10k gets you a ~5 year old one with ~25k miles

Re boot size it has a 605l one (seats up) against a mere 525l for the Mondeo.

the manufacturer stats don’t tell the whole story – the vw group has suspiciously high figures.

the mondeo boot is 5cm/16cm longer (seats up/seats down), 3cm wider at its narrowest point and a smidge taller. it should measure as ~10% bigger not 15% smaller.

https://www.ridc.org.uk/features-reviews/out-and-about/choosing-car/car/golf-variant-15-tsi-5dr-estate-2017

https://www.ridc.org.uk/features-reviews/out-and-about/choosing-car/car/mondeo-turnier-20-tdci-titanium-5dr-estate-2016

I had an FN2 Type-R. Loved it – it was fun when you wanted but still very practical (the boot is enormous). The ride is stupidly firm though – unpleasant at low speeds and kind of impractical for the UK. Very comfy on motorways though. They’re not as subtle as, say, a Golf GTi if that’s important for you. My wife didn’t like it.

I’d have another, although they’re all getting a bit old now.

If you’re not that fussed on cars generally, just get something mainstream that’s reliable and nice to drive.

Better to spend the mid-life crisis cash on a freeride bike or e-bike than a hot hatch, IMO.

Though you could get a very nice van and do a bit of a stealth camper conversion for £15k.

Nissan fan here. Bloody reliable. How about a 1.6 Pulsar N-Tec or Tekna. Looks like granny’s car but has all the toys and 190 bhp. The 1.2 looks the same and is less powerful.

We have a 19 year old Primera and a 8 year old Qashqai – both been utterly reliable (petrol).

Mazda MX5. Cheap, reliable, comfy on the motorway, easy to drive and you get to be outside while you’re in the car!

YES 👍😃 (The Roadster with retractable hardtop) (oh, and Powershift if you like autos. Auto, tiptronic, flappy. Like mine, yum).

dannybgoode
Full Member

@boblo – which bit? Re boot size it has a 605l one (seats up) against a mere 525l for the Mondeo.

And honestly to drive it just does not feel that big of a car.

Fair enough if those numbers are real. They’re a bit counter intuitive though as the Mondog is the next segment up – more aligned with the Passat.

Buy this, so it stops me looking at it.

Pros: Appears to be a great example, bottom of depreciation curve (possibly) and run it for a few years without racking miles on it (who is right now?) and you could probably turn a profit upon sale.

Cons, and which is why I’ve not made a call: Sodding red leather, potentially crippling maintenance, home invasions to alleviate you of it, still in ‘chav’ phase (hence bottom of depreciation curve before cult status) and never getting let out of a junction ever again. But **** it, it’s an M3! I’m actually mildly confused why it’s still for sale at that price.

https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/11180467

You’re not interested in cars but want to spend 15k on one and might want a type-r 🤔

Interesting and fair question.
So the amount to spend is a figure that I can afford and one that I guessed would get me something pretty damn reliable.
But, if I’m going to spend that much money I guess I want to be excited about the purchase and a Focus for instance just doesn’t do that.

80 miles a day you say. 2.0l diesel estate all day long. VW group or BMW. Stay clear of any Mazda diesels. I would hate doing 80 miles a day in a small petrol. There is no comparison in terms of comfort and drive ability for a long commute. Diesel is far from dead for a commute of your distance.

1.0T fiesta trend, you will get one on 38 month interest free pcp, keep your money in the bank.

£10k will get an 18/19 Kia ceed diesel with warranty till 25/26. We had them as company pool cars and they were fine as transport, comfy and economical 👍

BMW 3 Series or Subaru something is probably the answer. Or an Infinity, or Lexus, or ……