Need a new(ish) car - "advice" please

[moneypit23]

Ok, really struggling with this one. I've currently got a BMW 323i coupe which has to go as I now have a 3 month old baby - it's just not practical. My budget is 8-10k and it needs to have good boot space, child friendly and be good on a run as we plan to drive down to the south of France later in the year and also make a trip or two to Ireland every year to see the in-laws.

Ok, so what do I buy and why? The floor is now open....

 

[Ricey]

Ford Mondeo! Its a Ford so if it goes wrong it will cheap to repair and parts are cheap.

Vauxhall Vectra

Audi A4

Have a look at a few of them on ebay or autotrader.

 

[Matt the Shrimp]

Renault Megane Scenic Diesel. Mate of mine picked one up pretty cheaply, fairly new and loves it... lots of space, great for getting the kids in and out, decent engines (the French know a bit about diesels) which are pretty economic... it'll be cheaper to drive in France, for instance, given diesel prices.

Few here on Autotrader - Megane

There's the 1.9 DCI there (go for those, not the lower powere DTI ones) for £10,600... surely you could haggle him down to £10K flat?

Others to consider are the Citroen Xsara Picasso, which the car mags seem to like. It doesn't hold its value well (being French), but that means you can pick up some real bargains. Go for the 2 litre Diesel - there's one in Liverpool here for only £8K with fewer than 4,000 miles on the clock!

Autotrader - Picasso

Final candidate is the Vauxhall Zafira - again, a solid option, but it should be noted that the earlier Zafira's only got the 3* rating in the EuroNCAP safety ratings (the Megane had 5*), so you'll want to go for a later model, and that means it'll be pricier - the cheapest I've found was at £10,999 - which you might knock down to £10,500...

Autotrader - Zafira

 

[Xàbia Shrimper]

I have a Renault Scenic (although petrol) and it's the best motor I've ever had. Enormous amounts of room, very spacious interior, huge boot space. It's done the journey between Jávea and Limoges three times and one trip to the UK and back and it's been very economical and comfortable to drive.

(Fuel prices in France are horrific! I filled up in Limoges for 50€ and then filled up again just south of Figueres for just under 40€!)

 

[Interpol Shrimper]

How about a Peugeot 207 or 307 SW?
Nippy with a lot of boot room, good for carrying all the kids paraphinalia.
We had a 207SW before I was forced to flog my beloved Mini Cooper and upgrade to a 407SW!

Definitely get a 55 with low mileage (maybe even ex-demo for your budget), plus that obviously gives you 18 or so months of no MOT!

 

[Matt the Shrimp]

Aha... interesting one - as Mike has pointed out, some call them "Scenic" without the Megane prefix. Here's a 2006 Scenic for £9,399 at Car Giant in West London with fewer than 4,000 miles on the clock...

http://www.cargiant.co.uk/cars/detail.asp?Id=323034

 

[Pubey]

my uncle is into his cars but for his family car he has a zafira, and swears by it!

 

[Interpol Shrimper]

my uncle is into his cars but for his family car he has a zafira, and swears by it!

I bet he does.
I bet he says "why the f**king hell did I buy this sh*ty Vauxhall?"

:hilarious:

 

[Pubey]

I bet he does.
I bet he says "why the f**king hell did I buy this sh*ty Vauxhall?"

:hilarious:

hahaha, in all seriousness though he reckons it's a top car, and when i've been in it i seems pretty nice!

for 8-10k you should be able to pick up something pretty good for a couple of years old

 

[moneypit23]

Interesting advice so far chaps. Surprised at how pro French people are. Thought they had poor reliability records and Jap cars were the best?...will check What Car for more details. The missus keeps on about getting a small 4x4 - not convinced myself.

 

[Interpol Shrimper]

Interesting advice so far chaps. Surprised at how pro French people are. Thought they had poor reliability records and Jap cars were the best?...will check What Car for more details. The missus keeps on about getting a small 4x4 - not convinced myself.

Not with the way they are hiking the road tax. Plus the smaller 4x4s have very little luggage space!

I never wanted a French motor but having now had 2 (at the Mrs' discretion) I don't see why they get such a bad rep. Wouldn't buy a Citroen though!

 

[Xàbia Shrimper]

The only problem I've had with my Renault Scenic was that heavy rain ran off the windscreen and into the HT coils; the sill at the bottom of the windscreen wasn't capable enough to disperse the water either side of the engine bay. The engine subsequently misfired and further investigation discovered rust on the coils and plugs; I had to replace two coils at reasonable expense. We discovered that it is/was a general design fault which simply couldn't cope with the sort of heavy monsoon-like downpours we get two or three times each year. We solved it by running a line of Mastik around the top of the coils. Result: no problem since.

My parents - who live in France - have had a Peugeot 607 for the past 18 months and have reported no major problems with it. It's an excellent motor for a long haul; they get down to Jávea on far less fuel than I do!

BTW ~ I've just had my factura for vehicle tax for 2007: €42.

 

[Matt the Shrimp]

Small 4x4s... hmm, will be less fuel economic, so more expensive to run... but you might want to consider:

Honda CR-V

Or a bit funkier / smaller, but still fairly big - a Honda HRV. Like the look of the one being sold privately here on Autotrader, bound to be still under warranty and only 4,000 on the clock - all for under £10K. Will be cheaper to run than the CR-V.

Autotrader - Honda HRV

 

[Jaydeaa]

One Car for the Job

VW GOLF, TDi, MK 4, 5 DOOR

Huge Boot Space, Deisel (Cheap to run), Rapid, Look good, and very comfortable!

 

[Matt the Shrimp]

As for other Japanese MPVs, the Mazda5 gets a good write up, but they're a bit new to fit within your price-range - cheapest decent diesel I've found (the 2.0D TS is the one to go for) is coming in cheapest at £12,995 ('06 model, 9,000 on the clock - but even that may have already sold).

Can't really find a Nissan that fits your bill and budget...

Matt

 

[Matt the Shrimp]

VWs haven't been scoring brilliantly on reliability scores, and their resale value is high - good news if you're buying new, bad news if you're buying second hand.

That said, if you're after a family car and love VWs, you could look at the Touran... 2004 model, 31K on the clock for £10K here - it's the bright blue one...

Matt

 

[shrimpled]

Toyota avensis' are very goo d cars for family life, my brother who has recently had baby number 2 thinks the world of his. Mondeo is a good car but depends whether you want style, comfort, speed, image etc/ How new does it have to be?

 

[Birri]

Small 4x4s... hmm, will be less fuel economic, so more expensive to run... but you might want to consider:

I got an 04 Rav 4 last year and I am more than happy with it would recommend toyota everything has been really good from toyota unlike the Golf GTI I had where VW were a complete bunch of C**TS and I would not recoment VW to anyone.

 

[MrB]

I hear you can pick these up quite cheap...

 

[moneypit23]

How new does it have to be?

Within the last 4 years or so will do. My current BMW is an R reg (1998).