Car Advice Needed

[captaincharisma]

I just got a 1.2 Clio, nice to drive but not too expensive. It is brand new but I like knowing it (touch wood) wont break down!

[Fatmas]

For my car at the mo 1.6 mk4 golf it costs me £1200 insurance (i am 21) first year cost me close to 2k Tax is £215 for the year.. cant see why the mk4 GTI above is only £130. I can get 500+ miles from a full tank too.

Ohh friend just said about a 1.5 Renualt Megane supposely the MPG can be HUGE towards the 60-70+ range... dunno how true that is tho.

That's crazy. My parents had an Alfa 147 1.9 JTD and for me to be the main driver it's about £700 a year. I'll tell you what though, if you want a quick car thats comfortable, economical and great fun/very quick to drive, the 147 JTD's are the way forward. Can't remember what the tax is on them though.

[DJ-Jonesy]

That's crazy. My parents had an Alfa 147 1.9 JTD and for me to be the main driver it's about £700 a year. I'll tell you what though, if you want a quick car thats comfortable, economical and great fun/very quick to drive, the 147 JTD's are the way forward. Can't remember what the tax is on them though.

Woudlnt mind an Alfa but i would mind the repair bills :P and there not reliable for me as i do treks from cheshire down to kent about twice a month. Maybe one day for a weekend jobby

[Fatmas]

I just got a 1.2 Clio, nice to drive but not too expensive. It is brand new but I like knowing it (touch wood) wont break down!

I do like the Clio's so that's always a possibility. By the way, is your username a WWE reference by any chance? *Guilty Pleasure*

[StillCrazyAfterAll]

Right I could use some advice/sounding board.

Me and the other half currently own (well she owns) a Peugeot 107 1.0L jobby (59 plate, 10,000 miles. still worth £5-6k cash/part ex).

In my new job I'm doing around 300 miles a week. The 107 can handle this no problem as I only have to refuel it every week and a half. However I'm finding it a bit gutless and on the 45 minute each way journey, it's a bit rattley and noisy (Maybe that's just the A420).

I've been thinking about changing it for something else so here is the thing. My other half currently owns it outright, she bought it for her commute to Oxford, but since I've started this new job (near Abingdon) I just drop her off at her lift share in Swindon (where we live) and drive the rest of the way myself so she doesn't use the car at all. She hates driving anyway.

I feel guilty that she paid for the car out right yet I'm the one using it. I put forward something where by we part ex the 107 and then we go in 50/50 on something else.

Now the background is out of the way, here is the point: What should we look at?

Conditions: Economical - It has to be able to do about 350 miles a tank (average about 48mpg ish)

Has to be fun/comfortable to drive for a 45 minute each way commute.
Preferably less than 2/3 years old.

I REALLY like the new Fiat 500 twin airs. They are quick, comfortable and fun. My other half however hates the look of them (pfft). - Also, I don't like the idea of buying a brand new car, seems like a waste of money.

Something like a 207? Fiesta? Mazda 2? etc..

Any ideas?

Have you considered getting an LPG dual fuel car for this? We love ours - the cost is only just over half the cost of petrol.

[sippo]

Where's the new job fatmas? Is it on Oxon? The a420 is a nightmare road!

Car wise, diesel's are the obvious choice. Just shop around, and don't go to the car shop!

[Fatmas]

Woudlnt mind an Alfa but i would mind the repair bills :P and there not reliable for me as i do treks from cheshire down to kent about twice a month. Maybe one day for a weekend jobby

My parents had it for 7 years (from new) and it did 72,000 miles. The only things that went wrong with it were:

Trip Computer needed resetting.
A clip in the clutch mechanism needed turning around (It was installed wrong - sorted within the first week)
Handbrake cable needed replacing in the 7th year.

Apart from that, nothing worth mentioning to be honest. It always did 40-50mpg as well.

[Fatmas]

Where's the new job fatmas? Is it on Oxon? The a420 is a nightmare road!

Car wise, diesel's are the obvious choice. Just shop around, and don't go to the car shop!

Yeah it's in a small village called Southmoor, near Kingston Bagpuize. Straight up the A420 and turn right after the first dual carriageway.

To be honest the commute hasn't been that bad, it takes almost dead on 45 minutes each way. The 420 is just a conveyor belt.

I did hear that the car shop was crap. They try and get your card details as soon as you walk in!

[pcstru]

It's difficult because I'll clock up close to 30,000 miles in 2 years with this commute + social use. And with the 107, I feel the value will drop off considerably once the mileage goes up. As it's only done 10000 miles and is only just over a year old, it's still worth 5-6k. In two years I will probably get under half that.

A 500 Twin air (more economical and quicker than a 107), is only about £60 more a year to insure, but tax is free compared to the £20 with the 107. It's slightly cheaper to run too.

Anything on that yearly mileage is going to take a big hit on depreciation. Newer cars depreciate faster than older cars so unless you are happy chucking a chunk of cash at depreciation every few years, it invariably makes sense to keep a car for as long as possible - no matter how many miles you are putting on it. Course, there's no particular reason why you might not be happy with that - lot's of people are. My personal philosophy involves running cars into the ground - it's the Scottish side of me :-).

The 500's hold their value better than average, but a twin cylinder on that mileage is asking a lot. The economy is good with the economy mode engaged but in that mode it's gutless. The 500's as a whole do seem to be quite stiffly sprung which can make for a wearisome ride on anything but the best roads.

The thing is, my other half bought the 107 outright (she used to use it for her commute) for £6500. I'm the one using it yet she paid for it. This is where the debate comes in. I have about £6000 saved so I'm thinking if we exchange the 107 for something else, I can put in my fair share. She wants to own the next car 50/50 and I know we can easily get about £5.5k for a car she paid £6.5k for a year ago. If we leave it until it's out of warranty and has another 15,000 miles on it, we won't get anywhere near that.

Why not offer to pay her for a half share. Your warranty and depreciation issues will be the same whatever car you buy (and if you buy new, depreciation out of the showroom is ... loony). You may of course just hate the 107 and desperately want to change it no matter what.

[pcstru]

Additionally @pcstru , I've been banned from getting a bike. My other half and my own mother would kill me before the bike did.

I'd report them for a violation of your human rights!

[Fatmas]

Anything on that yearly mileage is going to take a big hit on depreciation. Newer cars depreciate faster than older cars so unless you are happy chucking a chunk of cash at depreciation every few years, it invariably makes sense to keep a car for as long as possible - no matter how many miles you are putting on it. Course, there's no particular reason why you might not be happy with that - lot's of people are. My personal philosophy involves running cars into the ground - it's the Scottish side of me :-).

The 500's hold their value better than average, but a twin cylinder on that mileage is asking a lot. The economy is good with the economy mode engaged but in that mode it's gutless. The 500's as a whole do seem to be quite stiffly sprung which can make for a wearisome ride on anything but the best roads.


Why not offer to pay her for a half share. Your warranty and depreciation issues will be the same whatever car you buy (and if you buy new, depreciation out of the showroom is ... loony). You may of course just hate the 107 and desperately want to change it no matter what.

I really don't want to buy new just because of the depreciation. And I don't hate the 107, I'm having a look around to see if there was anything that is the next step up from it. I know what you mean about the mileage, from driving something like the 107, I can imagine mileage does affect smaller cars a lot more.

[DAZZD88]

I'd recommend a new Fiesta. Comfortable drive and they're pretty well spec'd. I have a 1.25 (82ps) Zetec and my only issue with it is that it's a bit gutless sometimes. For town driving it's fine. If you're looking at regularly doing dual carriageway/motorway driving I'd recommend either the 1.6TDCI or 1.6 Ti-VCT models as they get good mileage and have plenty of poke.

Plus, I'm pretty sure the Zetec models (and upwards) now come with bluetooth as standard so you can connect your phone and be listening to your music as you drive. Check your local Ford dealer's website for any special offers etc. My Fiesta is the first brand new car I've bought and I knew I had to have it when I test drove it. I don't think I can recommend one highly enough.

EDIT: Also, the 107 is a good little car. Very fun to drive. I had an Aygo on loan from Jennings Ford while I waited for my Fiesta to arrive and I loved the little thing.

[HaleStorm]

My offering towards the discussion is either a hyundai i30 1.6 diesel, gets 50ish mpg or the new shape Fiat Bravo multijet, again a deisel but its a tuned engine that puts out 150bhp and gets 40+ mpg, my other half has the 1.4 turbocharged petrol version of the bravo, its the 120bhp version but it goes like frozen s**t off a shiney shovel, the insurance on either is not bad either and both have £35 a year road tax as far as im aware

[Netman]

Have you thought about an Aygo? Same car but without the rattles! We test drove 107's C1's and Aygo's and found the Toyota finish better than the other two. £20 a year road tax and 55mpg and top quality dealer service = win for me!
Or one size up is the Yaris - had a loan car and it was lovely to drive...

[Fatmas]

Ok I've found one that might be a good bet. How about a: Peugeot 207 1.6HDI 110 Sport. Insurance is only £60 more than I'm paying now, the tax is about the same but it's quicker and has better mpg. a '10 plate is about £10k. Not bad?