Car recommendations

[LeMarchand]

So my car is almost certain to be written off after White Van Man rear-ended me (oo-er). It is/was an "R" reg 2l Ford Mondeo and I suspect that I'll be lucky to get much more than the £500 I recently shelled out on fixing an oil leak and the heating along with 3 new tyres, but I need a new car. Grrrr.

 

Anyway, I'm not overly interested in cars - I see them primarily as a convenient way to get from A to B - so I was hoping for some recommendations.

 

My priorities are:

 

Can I afford it? <£2k

Can I afford to run it? (The cheaper the better in terms of petrol/tax/insurance/parts/repairs)

Has it got 4 doors? (Mme LeMarchand insists)

Does it look nice? (I like the look of my Mondeo, saw a Rover 45 I liked recently, also like those Chrysler Cruisers and Landrover Defender G4s, but I don't think either of those fit in the above 2 categories)

Does it have a reasonable amount of luggage space? (Transporting daughters/luggage on frequent house moves)

Is it Hitler-chipped? (No BMWs/Mercs/Audis as I want to give all my concentration to driving rather than fighting the urge to drive like an idiot; with apologies to strong-willed Edugeekers who have managed to resist the call of the Fuhrer)

 

So can anyone recommend me a new car that will fit in with the above? Doesn't have to be particularly fast as I don't feel the need to exceed the speed limits, but did appreciate not having to struggle up hills in the Mondeo.

[aerospacemango]

Personally.....

 

You might want to go for a Saab 9-5 estate! Ok, so not particularly cheap to run (30-35mpg) and insurance may be quite high....but loads of luggage space, great for cruising around.

 

I have one (obviously) and I'm very happy with the look. Lots of gadgets too!

[Quackers]

Citroen C5 Diesel? Should tick all your boxes. Boot space on these is massive, and i mean massive, also being Citroen you get lots of Toys.

[mac_shinobi]

what engine size are you looking for if petrol or diesel, if it is 2001 or newer and depending on C02 emissions can be cheaper on tax, possibly cheaper on insurance depending on your no claims bonus / how long you have been driving for etc etc.

 

Nissan Almerras are cheap on insurance and if its 2001 or newer will be cheaper on tax as well. You can get a 1.6 petrol Nissan Almera. If you after luggage space then an estate, honda accord or someit ?

 

Although hondas might be a little more on insurance ( well at least for me it was ) but only been driving for nearly 3 years.

[LeMarchand]

Personally.....

 

You might want to go for a Saab 9-5 estate! Ok, so not particularly cheap to run (30-35mpg) and insurance may be quite high....but loads of luggage space, great for cruising around.

 

I'll take a better look @ home, but I think that may be a bit TOO big! We were trying to slightly downsize from the Mondeo, so I may look at the "non Estate" version.

 

Citroen C5 Diesel? Should tick all your boxes. Boot space on these is massive, and i mean massive, also being Citroen you get lots of Toys.

 

Never had a diesel. Any caveats? Though Mme LeMarchand has a downer on les autos francais and, as much as I love toys, I'm always wary of them in cars. When they inevitably go wrong, it always costs a fortune to sort out!

[LeMarchand]

what engine size are you looking for if petrol or diesel, if it is 2001 or newer and depending on C02 emissions can be cheaper on tax, possibly cheaper on insurance depending on your no claims bonus / how long you have been driving for etc etc.

 

Not really fussed about engine size, as long as it can comfortably do 70mph and get up a hill it's good enough for me! Don't know enough about the pros and cons of petrol v diesel either, and would prefer to get something post 2001 if possible.

[jinnantonnixx]

Mazda 2. Reliable and well made. You can get them 4 door, too.

 

I've been an old school diesel driver for many years, but I'd be wary of modern diesels with the particulate filter regeneration and all that jazz. Cars are far too compilcated these days.

Edited February 23, 2012 by jinnantonnixx

[mac_shinobi]

For myself at least Diesel seemed quite a bit more on insurance, they do a lot more miles per tank generally speaking ( Friend has had a few and gets aprox 600 or 650 to a tank which costs between the region of £70 or £80 a tank ).

 

I've got a 1.6 petrol honda civic executive II and costs me about £60 a tank and get about 400 miles out of a tank and have to fill it up twice a month so get about 800 miles.

 

Goes up hills great but wish I had of gone with the Type R honda civic as acceleration could possibly be a bit better.

 

Not sure with regards to reliability etc but have heard a number of people I know always saying to go with petrol , but am guessing that is just a personal preference, and I want with a petrol one more so because the insurance was too high on a diesel car and I don't exactly travel 100 miles to and 100 miles back from work each day or anything daft like that.

 

If you want to try and get insurance estimates, I used http://www.confused.com and went on auto trader to find a bunch of cars in my price range with the relevant criteria ie 4 or 5 doors, max price £2000, min price £500 and did a quote on about 10 or 15 and that is how I found out the price diff on insurance.

 

Tax wise you would have to get the reg plate number from any photos if possible and check against DVLA website ref C02 emmissions ( as you stated 2001 or later ) and hopefully get an idea that way.

 

My 2001 honda costs about £91 for 6 months

[mac_shinobi]

Mazda 2. Reliable and well made. You can get them 4 door, too.

 

I've been an old school diesel driver for many years, but I'd be wary of modern diesels with the particulate filter regeneration and all that jazz. Cars are far too compilcated these days.

 

Japanese - I normally look at ( with the possible exclusion of Toyota )

 

Mazda, Toyota, Nissan and Honda

[bgarston]

Ford Focus?

Peugeot 306/7 SW? (Had a 306 SW which was really good, added 100,000 to it's millage and chopped that in for a 307 SW last year which is proving to be good.......it sailed through it's MOT today) :-)

Vauxhall Vectra?

 

Have a look here: Used Estate Car for Sale - Auto Trader UK

 

and look at used car reviews here: Used Car Reviews, UK Car Advice, Information & Auto Reviews | Parkers

 

I also find this site good too: Honest John

 

Hope this helps? Ben :-)

[JoeBloggs]

Vectra 04 1.8L for about £2k

Skoda octivia 02 for about £2k

[mac_shinobi]

Vectra 04 1.8L for about £2k

Skoda octivia 02 for about £2k

 

I had someone drive into the back of me and had a hire type car given to me for a week whilst they repaired my car and the 1.8L drank fuel like there was no tommorow.

 

Cost me about £70 quid just for one weeks worth of fuel nevermind £70 for 2 weeks worth of fuel. This was a 1.8L Vauxhall Astra 2010 or 2011 plate ( was only about 6 months old )

[plexer]

Personally.....

 

You might want to go for a Saab 9-5 estate! Ok, so not particularly cheap to run (30-35mpg) and insurance may be quite high....but loads of luggage space, great for cruising around.

 

I have one (obviously) and I'm very happy with the look. Lots of gadgets too!

 

Even with Saabs current status?

 

Ben

[sted]

Even with Saabs current status?

 

Ben

 

shouldnt be much of an issue its a vauxhall underneath

[aerospacemango]

Even with Saabs current status?

 

Ben

 

Car companies have come and gone over the last 30 years....that doesn't make the cars bad!

 

The saloon versions are very nice too. From how I read it the OP is looking for a used car? In which case, Saabs tend to run for a lot of miles (similar to Volvo in that way) and have a high spec.

 

In fact....there's another thought....A Volvo? Not the classiest cars around, and tend to be a bit boxy, but have loads of space. Swedish cars are built to withstand Swedish weather.....Figures that a few hills and some snow won't have you in trouble....

[jinnantonnixx]

..... Swedish cars are built to withstand Swedish weather.....Figures that a few hills and some snow won't have you in trouble....

 

Good point. Buy a car made in a country that has worse weather than you.

 

Back in the '70s a neighbour bought a Lancia and it was possible to watch it decompose before your eyes.

[jinnantonnixx]

So my car is almost certain to be written off after ...

 

Will it still be safe to drive? Someone bashed in the side of my old car a couple of years ago. They said it would be written off, but it was such a good reliable car I told them I'd rather keep it than get the paltry amount for write-off value. They paid me some money in lieu of repairs, I was happy with this deal, and drove it for a quite a while which a caved in side, only spent £20 on a new door mirror.

 

I sold the car (with 170,000 miles on the clock) for £200 ish later, I still see it around now and again, chugging along on what must be near 200,000 miles by now.

 

If it doesn't bother you too much, you can get money in lieu of repairs, and take your time looking for a new car, then sell yours for whatever you can get. Sometimes it's worth more as scrap.

 

Don't forget to get a refund on the tax disc.

Edited February 24, 2012 by jinnantonnixx

[Sirbendy]

Word of advice, avoid the PT Cruiser..my ex landlord had one. Diesel. Drank the fuel, to the extent that a 3.something litre Gen3 Disco was actually more economical to run.

 

SAAB, yep..GM underneath the skin pretty much.

 

Zafira? Lots about.

[Flakes]

Focus (1.6 diesel)

Fiesta

Mondeo

307

C3

Astra

 

something like that, wouldnt go over a 1.6 petrol if you want cheap running costs my 2005 Focus 1.6 petrol gives me 34 MPG(winter) 36 MPG (Summer).

[LeMarchand]

Will it still be safe to drive? Someone bashed in the side of my old car a couple of years ago. They said it would be written off, but it was such a good reliable car I told them I'd rather keep it than get the paltry amount for write-off value. They paid me some money in lieu of repairs, I was happy with this deal, and drove it for a quite a while which a caved in side, only spent £20 on a new door mirror.

 

I was thinking that this might be the best option. Will need a car by end of March (going on honeymoon and will need to use the boot), but at least it gives us a chance to find a replacement.

 

Word of advice, avoid the PT Cruiser..my ex landlord had one.

 

I spoke to the site manager where I am this morning, he confirmed this. Loves the car, hates the costs.

 

Vauxhalls are out as the mother-in-law has one, so the OH has declared them "old fogey" mobiles. I agree that Volvos should be a good choice, but they tend to be driven by "road owners" for some reason. (You can tell that this decision isn't going to be entirely rational!).

[Sirbendy]

Ha, I drive an "old fogey" mobile..hehe. MK4 Astra. To be fair, our Dept head just asked me if I took the car mountaineering, as he followed me home last night, and was quite surprised when I booted the throttle and took off up a near vertical winding back road that is a "local" route to my house. Now I think on, I had noticed a MK5 behind..oops!

[aerospacemango]

I agree that Volvos should be a good choice, but they tend to be driven by "road owners" for some reason. (You can tell that this decision isn't going to be entirely rational!).

 

I've had a couple of Volvos, and always felt more like I was middle-aged than a road owner!!!

 

The S40 is a decent car....and I think cars are more about how YOU drive them, than how other people do! Not ALL BMW drivers are road hogs, and not all Porsche drivers are bankers......Oooopps! Slip of the finger in that last sentence....I'll leave you to decide what I mean!

 

I've always felt that if I drive a car that is seen in a certain light (i.e. Ford Capri.... Boy-Racer....Idiot! Saab....old fogey....staid...Unexciting!) I try to drive to improve the impression! Let people out....don't overtake in silly places....Leave plenty of room!

[OB1]

Not really fussed about engine size, as long as it can comfortably do 70mph and get up a hill it's good enough for me! Don't know enough about the pros and cons of petrol v diesel either, and would prefer to get something post 2001 if possible.

 

Diesel's tend to be better long distance cruisers and generally more economical.

They also tend to be happier at higher mileage than petrol equivalents, since they're simpler internally.

And they're cheaper to tax than their petrol equivalent.

Downsides are servicing and insurance can be more expensive, since most diesels have turbochargers (they're a bit gutless without them).

 

In my (limited) experience, german diesels are pretty much bomb proof, especially the VW/Audi group ones (includes SEAT and Skoda).

FYI, the Audi A4, VW Passat and Skoda Superb from around 2000-2001 are exactly the same car, each one's just wearing a different suit.

[LeMarchand]

UPDATE: This is the second claim I've made from this lot. The first time (over 4 years agao), I got back to my car to find the driver's side window bricked. Apparently this was my fault as they had no one to claim against and it took them days (of rainy weather) to sort out. While this time they have been quite speedy sorting things out, I've just received an offer of £750 (no room for negotiation), they want the car Monday, and as it's a write-off won't provide a courtesy car. Managed to defer collection a week, but I have to say they need to change their slogan to: Swift-no clucking help at all.

 

Had a letter from the other guy's firm offering help; wondering what the ramifications of contacting them would be, but suspect that as I (seemingly foolishly) claimed via Swift I'm USCWAP...