Car Advice Please

[misssweden]

My little Italian tin can passed away last night. (No, I didn't crash it! Something blew up.) So I'm now in need of a new car and as I now have a job that pays money rather than peanuts I'm thinking about getting a car on finance. Trouble is, I don't know what I want, I'm pretty rubbish when it comes to cars and I really don't know a good deal from a bad one.

I dont want anything fancy, but I want it to be reliable, on the smaller side, 1.2-1.4 engine, 5 doors and fairly cheap to tax, insure and run. Any suggestions?

Had a few people telling me Eden Vauxhall does a good deal on used cars, anyone got any experiance of that? Any help much apprechiated, I'm pretty lost

 

[sprocketflup]

"If its got tits or tyres, itll cost you a bloomin fortune" was the car advice my oldman gave me.

So far, hes been bang on

 

[NozSpark]

:slap

 

[ProDave]

Personally I like to buy cars between 4 and 6 years old.  Old enough to be quite cheap, but young enough to still be okay.

Then I run then for years and years and years until they are fit for the scrap heap.

It works for me.

 

[Blue Duck]

Get a Honda they never break down

 

[apprentice87]

Anytime you buy a used car, you are taking one hell of a risk....... I personally, would get a new one and run it for years... Yes, you do take a big hit in the first few years with depreciation, but then, after that, all is well. At the moment i have got a 23 year old Renault 19. [Yes, all laugh!!]

But, then i tell you it has done 252,000 miles and is still perfect!! I go all over the country in it, longest run was 650 odd miles in one go. As to fuel consumption, at a steady 50, it does nearly 60MPG.....

What would i buy???? It is ok for you [ MissSweden] but with a bloke, it is well known that the size of his car, is inversely proportional to the size of his dick!!

Anyway, me? I am going to get a Skoda Citigo, when my Renault expires, [assuming they still make them then!!!!!

Anyway. final thought, VERY IMPORTANT INDEED............

At the moment, the halfwit green muppets, have forced us to have petrol that has 5% ethanol in it. Soon, we will be forced to have 10%. NOT MANY VEHICLES CAN USE THIS STUFF.

Whatever you buy, make sure the makers state it can run on "E10" fuel.........

john.....

 

[kerching]

Wife has an 04. Clio.......been v good. Had it for about 6 years. Just begining to cost a bit of money now, but nothing serious.

My VW golf estate ( work car) died in June at 240000 miles ...cheap poor quality German engineering. It had 170000 on it when i got it 5 years ago. Never missed a beat until,half shaft sheared! Only cost £350 when i bought it.

It is all in the luck of the draw. We have never had a bad secondhand vehicle...everyone my daughter buys is usually a disaster!

Just saying

 

[Evans Electric]

I'm in the Prodave league of "if they keep running , stick with it " .       Don't take much notice of cars TBH .

As the Duck said :   Honda have a good reputation for not going wrong .      (Never had one myself)

Mrs Deke has an automatic Focus , 12 yrs old  now , no big problems with it TBH .    The Fiesta looks OK for what you're looking for.

You might look at the Corsa Miss SSS ...I say that because my Combo van is based on the Corsa and it seems fine .   

I did hear theres a Renault that needs the whole front end dismantled & re-built to change a light bulb ( Apparently Main dealers charge £1000 to replace all front lamps )

VW  spare parts are expensive I believe Miss SSS .

I'm also told that if you do low  to average yearly mileage , its a better option to buy petrol (cheaper than diesel)  and diesel for doing longer distances .

 

[ProDave]

Ask me 10 years ago what VW are like, I would say great.  SWMBO's last car was a VW golf, 1993 or thereabouts. We sold it at 18 years old with 180K miles on the clock, still running and driving fine, still the original clutch. A few niggling things were playing up and it was starting to get a little tatty, but the most reliable car we have ever owned.

She replaced it with a 2004 VW Touran and based on that I would say don't touch a VW with a stinking barge pole.

I've been driving Subaru's for 20 years now. They are just reliable, though parts can be expensive when needed and not the best for fuel economy. Present one has 150K miles on it, just about run in. 

Don't buy a Berlingo (that's a van isn't it?)  I did some work for a local engineering shop who are making a tidy living rebuilding the front suspension units on those which wear out with boring regularity. They buy in the scrap suspension units, rebuild them and sell them.

 

[Blue Duck]

80's / 90's vw's were the best. Quality of the steel and the welding is 10x that of today but I'm sure recycling and emissions targets have helped make them a poorer product.

 

[SLIPSHOD & SLAPDASH]

How about a Vauxhall urinal, its ideal for p****** about in.

 

[Blue Duck]

Or a Toyota Anus, lots of room so you can fill it with ****.

:|

 

[misssweden]

"If its got tits or tyres, itll cost you a bloomin fortune" was the car advice my oldman gave me.

So far, hes been bang on

He was right. Imagine what it's like for me, I have both tits AND tyres!

 

[misssweden]

Good advice guys, thanks a lot. The plan is to hopefully work all night on monday so I can have tuesday off and go around to a few different dealerships. I'll definately keep your comments in mind, and I'm staying away from WV

I've only been without a car for 2 days and it's driving me nuts already. Had to go to college on friday which meant bus in to Reading and then the train to Bracknell. Worked out alright going there but going home was a fail. The train was delayed by 20 min so I missed my bus which only goes once a bloody hour. Grrrr. And I'm stranded at home tomorrow as there are no buses at all on a sunday.

Thankfully it's back to work as normal on monday so I'll have access to a van again to get to and from work.

 

[revjames]

Nephew just bought a brand spanker Suzuki Alto for £6K

Finance at £100/m and unlike most finance deals, the car is yours after 5 years, very economical, cheap to run, free tax and cheap insurance and its new.

Just my 5p worth. Personally I drive a 3 year old insignia with a lot of miles on the clock....

 

[M107]

You should have called im in Reading every day could have dropped you off and collected.........was at Bracknell fire station most of friday pm.

Gowerings are doing the new fiesta at £139 pm

 

[steptoe]

well,

I think the point that has been missed is,

how much do you want to pay every month,?

and for how long do you want to be paying it for?

 

[pewter]

I found companies like autoebid.com could get a new car the same price year old ones were for sale.

I approached a local dealer to match a similar price.

I like new if the repayments are affordable, its take away the worry of buying used.

I always go Jap or German.

 

[binky]

have a look at Honest John web pages, check out the garage you are buying from, especially for service when things go wrong.

There are some other odd places to buy vehicles, like ex-mobility cars - FSH and generally looked after. We bought a Nissan Qashqai through this route, not a bad little around town runabout which is what it is for. As for buying new, I understand why people do, but can't handle losing that much money over the first couple of years. Having said that, some of the depreciation is offset against zero bills for a few years and better fuel economy. Expect some pillock to scratch it within 12 weeks though!

 

[steptoe]

both the wifes last 2 cars have been ex-mobility,

no major service bills with either, she had one for 5years, and this one so far for just over 2,

she buys on HP [i know, but its her pays it] a 3yo mobility , drives it for 5 years then buys another, she reckons it pays itself with no big service or repair bills,

I tend to disagree somewhat, but what do i know.