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OT: Car suggestions
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I've got about 7 grand and need a second hand car along the lines of:
- low mileage because it's got to do 35k a year for the next 3 years
- air con
- able to get a fair bit in the boot (specifically psuhbikes), so a
hatch rather than a saloon
- diesel
- reasonably nippy but doesn't need to be fast
- comfortable on motorways
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I hate to say it, but a mondeo.
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As Dan has just suggested.
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7K should get you in a newish one, with all you ask and cruise control
too, plus they're well built these days.
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Yeah, I was quite impressed with my mate's company car he had a couple
of years back. Apart from the very odd bite point on the clutch made
it easy to stall.
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Had one last week in Jersey. There's absolutely no feel in the throttle
or clutch pedals, meaning you either rev the nuts off it or stall it
every time you pull away from a junction. The chassis also can't handle
the torque of the 130bhp TDCI lump, so if you do give it a boot full of
throttle whilst pulling away it all goes a bit mad with torque steer
whilst squeeling the front tyres.
As a car, they're OK-ish, but although they look quite nice on the
inside, the plastics are dirt cheap and don't look like they'll last too
long.
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I'm too young to own a Mondeo though.
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406 2.2 HDi Estate? 406s were without a doubt the most well made Pug ,
well, ever really. Also cavernous, handle well, the 2.2 HDi is a great
engine, and chips to 160bhp if that takes your fancy...
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The point behind the diesel is to cut down on running costs because my
company mileage rate is pretty poor. I imagine running a 2.2 litre
car, even a diesel, might not be the most cost effective.
This was why I was originally looking at the 1.8 diesel types.
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Over 2.0 litres diesel puts you on a higher per mile rate, if your
company uses the approved inland revenue figures.
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Sadly not. We're 25p per mile irrespective of what you're driving.
Which was good for me with a 1.3 Civic but not quite so good for a
colleague with a Porsche 911 Carrera 4S.
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Something like 11p/mile vs 8p for fuel only costs..
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Ah, they do a 1.9 HDi as well, but make sure you get the intercooled 110bhp
version, not the 90bhp version, as it's more efficient, and more economical.
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I'm thinking I wouldn't be going too far wrong with a 2 year old Focus
1.8 diesel but I'm after other ideas.
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Fuglipla, unquestionably.
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Probably not but I spotted this as an alternative
Last one on the list: Octavia in a decent spec. Should be able to get a
diesel version for similar money in a private sale. Room for bikes now and
future-proof: plenty of room for babies later.
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Not a hatchback though. Saloons, boots and muddy mountain bikes don't
mix. A Fabia in a decent spec might be a possibility.
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They're not great for long distance comfort and the boot is dreadful.
OK there's room for a bike with the seats down but for big mileages
you'd be far better off with a Mondeo as Ginge has suggested (or
Vectra).
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Disagree, the vectra is horrible and doesn't handle at all well.
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yeah, I had a Vectra as a company car at the previous job and I
wouldn't touch one with my own money ever.
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Mondeo, or... Mazda 6. make better choices.
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The Mazda 3 looks quite nice as well.
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Whatever. A car is a car is a car.
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I thought we were helping *you* to choose a car only a couple of months
ago? Did you go for the Vectra in the end?
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What influenced your choice - IIRC it was similar price but 3 or so
years old?
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Octavias are hatchbacks (or estates)
They never did a saloon and the boot is huge.
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You still appear to lose a fair bit of space as they've done a
hatchback that looks like a saloon. Still, I'd have to have a proper
poke around one to decide.
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Nope , the "boot lid" is quite high up so you get a decent depth at the back
of the boot and plenty of space further forward.
With the rear seats folded forwards you'll fit bikes in with no problems.
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The 110bhp TDI has a decent turn of speed and is nice and economical as well
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Comfortable, drives well, I really like the interior layout and it
looks a lot better than a Vectra.
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I an understand that perfectly - though it doesn't really tie in with
your earlier contribution of "A car is a car is a car."
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It would if you'd seen the new BMW advert recently.
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Must admit, I'm thinking of just buying something silly and not using
it for long distance commutes. The company will pay for any method of
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Now you're talking:-
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"OWNED ORIGIONALLY BY POURTSMOUTH BOUROUGH CITY COUNCIL USED TO
TRANSPORT O.A.P'S."
It'll smell of wee.
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I wouldn't buy this particular van because it doesn't have the original
camper interior, but one which does, like mine, is way better than a VW
camper because they have room for a fridge, hot water heater and cooker
(all gas powered), a shower and loo AND you can stand up inside. Also
they are much cheaper than similar condition VWs but spares, especially
body parts, are becoming rare.
Does this mean I can join the eccentric lover of old vehicles club? ELV#
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btw, my advice to not buy a golf on the grounds you can't get a bike in
it changes when I read you're prepared to remove both wheels.
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I like the fact that buying and rebuilding my Bindit cost me £100 less
than the price of a Maxton shock absorber for the Gixer.
Heh, that'd work for me too.
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heh, nice idea.
I'm think more like a Jeep Cherokee that I mentioned a little while
back.
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transport so I don't really have to use the car.
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Vectra or Mondeo then innit? Not the most exciting cars, but the Mondeo will
swallow a small African nation and run forever. The Vectra's not as roomy,
but they're comfortable, quite and don't mind racking up the miles.
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Sounds daft, but a Rover 75 or MG-ZT - you can pick one up brand new for
around 10k, there was a 2.5l MG-ZT estate in a local garage for 5k
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One of my neighbours bought a brand new one recently.
I can only assume, by looking at the panel gaps, that Blind Pugh must
have bolted it together.
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It's *that* good?
I just fitted *the* worst strewth kit to one of those and it rejected the
car.
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Passat TDi estate. No sodding about with roofbars/racks etc then.
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Why pay for a VW badge.
Skoda Octavia TDi Estate. The new 2.0 PD140 will not be in ytour price
range but you could get a nice 1.9 and take it to the Derv Doctor or
Jabbasport.
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(Also www.honestjohn.co.uk)
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For comfort, you can't beat them.
I have a V70 T5, all leather / electric everything etc. Being petrol,
not as economical, but as the man says, *loads* of space!
and fast.
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Don't get a Mk 3 Golf as it's really difficult to get a bike inside. I
leave a roofrack and bike carrier on mine most of the time.
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I'll bring the first volume, and you can see what you think.
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Utterly fantastic diarist. I read the lot avidly and was rather
disappointed when I got to the end.
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Probably get a tidy Mondeo TDCi estate for that. If budget allows, the 6
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She's firmly in the 307 range then:-)
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She isn't buying it. And she doesn't want a car that big. Whereas my
car needs to do high mileages for work, her's is simply to enable her
to get more driving experience without the risk of her breaking me
sole means of work transport. So a cheap old high mileage 206 will do
fine.
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speed 130 TDCi isn't actually that bad (it's still a diesel obviously so
;-) ), but the boot is cavernous.
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Good thought, a mate used to have one of those as a company car and we
easily got bikes and camping gear in it.
A dunno if I'll get one with a low enough mileage for my money, I'll
have a mooch around Autotrader.
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Blimey, I'm wrong, there's a fair selection. That's definitely one
for the shortlist.
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What's the big issue with mileage? - you're only going to be putting
105k miles on it in the next few years, so even something with 50k miles
on it, if bought sensibly (Passat, Golf Estate, Octavia) will still feel
pretty much as fresh as a new car at 150k miles.
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This arguement has been had already.
Suffice to say, I don't share your view.
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Neither do I. Sure, modern cars wear their mileage very well, and, if
you're the driver, you probably don't think they've aged much, cos you
sit it in every day. But, get in a new/nearly new car, and I think
the differences are obvious.
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... is the correct answer.
"Wearing well" or "great for the mileage" is NOT the same as "as fresh
as a new car".
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And there you go again with the (your?) assertion that cars with (IMO)
mega miles on them are like new.
You seem to be the only person who (admits to) think this - anyone else
want to raise their hand while we're here?
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Spot on. It is the cars from back then that would need a clutch every
25k, a gearbox and suspension rebuild at 50 and 100k on an engine was
reason to have an article in a magazine. Things have move on
considerably and are still moving.
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My Volvo's pretty much like new, yes. Now I've had the scratches and
battered bits painted over. Just coming up to 7 yrs/100k miles. The
only clues to its age are things like well-worn steering wheel and
pedals. It still drives better than a brand new new-shape XC70.
Not sure a Skoda, however good they are now, would last quite so well.
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I reckon a car with 50K on could feel just like a car with 150K on, as
they'd both be past their prime if the first 50K was a hard 50K.
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