First Car Purchase

cregser

I've been driving a company car/van for the last 2 years and will be switching to car allowance plus fuel card so I'm on the hunt for a new car.
The company car is a Focus 1.6 diesel with about 90BHP. I'd like something with a bit more oomph.

I currently drive about 35,000km or so a year. That won't change much, so I'm leaning towards diesel, despite the fuel card.
My budget is around €20,000 but I'd go up to €26,000 for a good reason.
I'm not sure if I want a 1st or 2nd hand car. I'm a bit wary. I'd only go 2nd hand off a good garage.

The cars I'm currently thinking about are Skoda Octavia, VW Golf, or Audi A3. I like the Octavia but I'm told they depretiate fast - if thats the case I may as well go 2nd hand. The Golf is supposed to be a good safe car. And my Dad drives an Audi A4 which he loves and everyone says good things about Audis.

I'd appreciate any help you can throw my way. Where to look, what to look at, any recommendations?

bazz26

How long do you plan to keep the car?

If you are driving 35,000km a year and plan on keeping the car for a few years then depreciation should not be a major factor in your decision as with that mileage the car will probably be worth very little.

BTW the Focus is also available from late 2006 in 1.8 litre TDCi with 115bhp.

cregser

Good point. I'm thinking 2/3+ years. Hopefully I get a car I'd like to keep for a good while. So that'd be about 70,00km/44,000miles plus.

The Ford Focus is decent enough. The 1.8l TDCi w/115bhp with options is €26k-27k according to the ford site. Maybe I will be looking at that price range.

I'm also looking at the Seat Leon. I'm a bit all over the place. I've a month to get organised. I'm in a position to pay off the car within a year, so it's been suggested that I buy a decent car and swap it every year for a new model.

Any good review sites without their own agendas?

bazz26

www.parkers.co.uk and www.honestjohn.co.uk have some good reviews.

Henry Ford III

bazz26 wrote:

BTW the Focus is also available from late 2006 in 1.8 litre TDCi with 115bhp.

That engine was available in Focus Mk1's also Bazz. I drove a Ghia version years ago.

Aidan Mc

How about a kia cee'd 1.6 crdi. 115bhp, 57mpg, 7 year warranty. €23,495. even if you sell in two years time it'll still have 5 years warranty left on it. I haven't driven one yet, but they look like a good coice and from what I read it's a good powerful engine. It might be worth a look anyway.

The Golf (and A4) is a safe but expensive choice. Second hands sell for way over the odds, don't know if it makes any difference when you go to trade them in though! The 1.9 TDI has been round for years, solid enough and very few major problem stories about them. My neighbour had a 02 passat tdi bought it second hand. It was a fabulous looking car, but everything that possibly could go wrong with it did. So he traded for a 05 passat tdi, no problems (yet anyway). Even after all the problems with the 02, he'd still buy another passat.

Good luck with whatever you do buy

cregser

Cheers for those links Baz. It's hard to know who to believe.
I'll give the Kia a look Aidan... as soon as their bloody site loads!

I'm thinking €26,000+ is maybe a bit more than I want to fork out right now. So I either sacrifice power or features. Also it seems in Ireland cars go from 1.6 to 2.2 with no in between.

The Mazda3 seems a nice compromise. The Touring model throws everything in (interior-wise) for €23,495 (or €22,495 at another garage!).

I test drove a 1.6 petrol on Saturday and I thought it was comfortable but didn't seem as sprightly as the Ford I drive now. I put it down to the reduced engine noise fooling me - but I'll need another drive to make up my mind. Diesels tend to let you know when you've pressed the gas, whether they actually accelerate or not.

The new Opel Astra is a lovely looking car. But the interior is very basic and the gearbox felt clunky.

bazz26

cregser wrote:

Cheers for those links Baz. It's hard to know who to believe.
I'll give the Kia a look Aidan... as soon as their bloody site loads!

I'm thinking €26,000+ is maybe a bit more than I want to fork out right now. So I either sacrifice power or features. Also it seems in Ireland cars go from 1.6 to 2.2 with no in between.

The Mazda3 seems a nice compromise. The Touring model throws everything in (interior-wise) for €23,495 (or €22,495 at another garage!).

I test drove a 1.6 petrol on Saturday and I thought it was comfortable but didn't seem as sprightly as the Ford I drive now. I put it down to the reduced engine noise fooling me - but I'll need another drive to make up my mind. Diesels tend to let you know when you've pressed the gas, whether they actually accelerate or not.

The new Opel Astra is a lovely looking car. But the interior is very basic and the gearbox felt clunky.

Mazda 3 is available with the same 1.6 diesel engine as the Focus except the Mazda still has the 110bhp version of the engine. The Mazda 3 also uses the same chassis as the Focus.

Moanin

I currrently drive a 2004 A4 1.9TDi SE 130bhp which I sourced myself from a main dealer in the UK.It's well worth going over not alone for savings, but you get a better specification of a car than what you get here.Fabulous car to drive with loads of power and very fuel efficient.There's a new A4 on the way.I think it's being launched in September this year in Germany so the current model will probably drop slightly in value

Best of luck with what ever you buy