Please help me choose a new car...

Philbert

Hi folks,

I would really like your input as I don’t know a hell of a lot about cars other than how to drive them. I have 25k to spend with a trade in worth about 3k and I want a new car. I have had awful experiences with second hand cars in the past so I have decided that my next car would be brand new. I don’t think I can be persuaded otherwise at this stage but I would welcome your opinion on that one.

I’m looking for a typical “executive saloon” / “family car” and reliability, safety and comfort is the key. (In that order too!). Looks, speed, how fast it will go from 0 to 60 etc are all way down the priority list. This is what getting older and gaining responsibilities does to you

I’d say I will be running up about 15k miles a year.

I have done some preliminary research and have made the following shortlist, purely because they fall somewhere in or around my price bracket and they seem to fit the bill for a mid sized executive saloon / family car.

Volkswagen Passat
Toyota Avensis
Hyundai Sonata
Chevrolet Epica
Skoda Octavia
Ford Mondeo
Mazda 6
Opel Vectra
Kia Magentis
Nissan Primera

I’m leaning towards the Passat or the Avensis myself but only because they seem to be the most popular of this class on the road at the moment. The Sonata looks nice too.

Please let me hear your opinions! I'm looking to purchase sometime post xmas.

Spit62500

There are mixed opinions on the reliability of the Passat - there seems to be consensus on the poor service that people receive from MSL garages. VW servicing is ridiculously expensive from main dealers. Hyundai depreciate a LOT. Primera is discontinued (and depreciated a lot). Can you wait until July? Buy a diesel Avensis then with lower VRT and road tax and enjoy the mid-range acceleration. Your trade in won't depreciate much in the meantime and your mileage is more suited to diesel. Other posters say good things about the Octavia - you'll get similar savings on VRT and road tax if you buy a diesel one after July 1st.

Philbert

Thanks, I actually changed the mileage from my original post as I was thinking in kilometers at the time sorry

The problem with waiting until July is that my current car (a 99 Passat) is really on its last legs and is costing me too much to maintain.

Spit62500

Corolla diesel? not too much of a compromise on interior space and safety. Reasonable compromise on road tax.... Not a good time to sink 28k into a car though. Depends how long you want to keep it but given the age of your current car I still think that waiting until July (and paying the bills in the meantime will pay dividends long term.

vengeance52

I would go with either the mondeo or the avensis. Found the passat to be sluggish an heavy for my liking but loads of room in it.

Rudolph Claus

Out of interest, is your passat a petrol or diesel and what miles are on it? Why do you say its on its last legs, what sort of problems has it got.

On the new car thing, an avensis might be good.

Philbert

Nuttzy wrote: »

Out of interest, is your passat a petrol or diesel and what miles are on it? Why do you say its on its last legs, what sort of problems has it got.

Its a petrol and about 106k miles. The electrics are very on and off. The wipers do crazy things. It consumes about 4 litres of oil a month (no joke). It has needed repair too many times since I bought it. And after a recent accident (not my fault) it hasnt felt the same since.

Spit I hadnt considered the corolla. Thanks for the info.

Safety wise, the newer car the better.

Your 28,000 should get you a brand new diesel ford modeo.
http://www.carzone.ie/newcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=Details&vehicle_id=51150520070823&strSpecs=SSCIRL2002

Good equipment, good residual values, low average repair costs and good reliability.

Thats what I would get in your position

Mr Lahey

Avensis is a nice drive but it would have to be the D4D. The 1.6 is too small an engine for a car that heavy.

Pure Cork

I'd go for a Corolla or an Avensis with your budget, whichever one suits you best. You should be able to get a very nice spec. They are built to last, and have good residuals.

Have a look at the Laguna too. Lovely car, very safe, unbelievably comfortable.

Biro

I find it very hard to see past the all new Mazda 6 out of that bunch. The Avensis would be good, bit dull and getting long in the tooth. Passat would probably be my 2nd choice, followed by Mondeo. The Octavia is in a class below, so I wouldn't bother with that. New Superb would be worth a look, but too far away yet for you. Current Superb I wouldn't consider at all.
Test drive the 6 first.

bazz26

I would add the Honda Civic saloon to the above list. They are pretty well speced for the money would definately tick all your boxes. Standard saloon is 1.8 litre, the hybrid is 1.4 but a bit pricy. There is/was a rebate on them by the Government which could mean they call within your budget, not sure if that is going to continue though.

From the list above I would have to choose from the Mondeo and Mazda 6. Best thing to do is test drive all of them and see which one you like the most.

Hanson

My dad had a Mondeo, which was a very spaceous and comfortable car. He now has a Honda Accord, although it is a performance car, it is a very comfortable car which has nice ride comfort and it is a smooth car to drive. Very big aswell, so plenty of room for the family! It look like this-


This exact car is at http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=764400.

Why not even get a car like a Mazda 6 or something similar for about 25k and take the family on a holiday?

Philbert

Thanks Hanson, the Honda Accord looks like a lovely car but new it is outside my price bracket unfortunately.

I hadnt looked too hard at the New Mazda 6 Biro, but after checking the website I am moving it up the list!

As you said, I really need to start test driving..

Henry Ford III

Mondeo. Best car in that class.

L-M

The Qashqui is a nice little jeep... Number one choice for me would be the Passat. As for all/any reasons mentoined above... There's a new 1.4 Tsi engine coming out for 08, which would lower ur tax etc..

Philbert

Thanks again for all your replies people.

After taking your comments into account and giving it some thought I narrowed it down to the Passat, Avensis & the Mazda 6 and the Mazda 6 for me is the winner! For the following reasons:

As Spit62500 rightly said, Volkswagen servicing is really expensive; I have experienced it first hand over the last few years. Also, I was unaware of the reliability issues with the Passat and I am not prepared to take the chance.

The Avensis is great, but old at this stage, and if I’m going to buy a new car I might as well buy a “new” one!

Mazda is 2nd on the UK reliabilityindex.co.uk which is a big bonus for me as the reliability of the car is number one. Also, the car looks and feels great, (I had my test drive yesterday).

So, before I take the plunge and handover my life savings, have you any comments that might throw my plans asunder and land me back at square one?

Furthermore, for those of you who are used to this “buying new cars” business, could you tell me what kind of bargaining power I have? The car is ~€28,300 new, which includes delivery & “related charges”. I will be coming to the party having financed elsewhere, so basically I will have cash.

Thanks again, and I look forward to your comments.

colm_mcm

If you can sell the Passat yourself you'll more than likely get a discount on the Mazda.

cantdecide

My 2c is that if you mind a car ie maintain it and drive it sensibly and you are sure from the off that it's genuine- once you have at least a year of manufacturers warranty (ie time enough to suss it intimately) you shouldn't have a problem.

I would find it very hard to justify paying the kind of prices we are expected to pay for cars like the ones listed.

Mazda 6 sounds like a winner (please get a speccy one if you car- do it for me:)) but personally I wouldn't buy a car less than 2 years old (assuming it has a 3 year warranty). I would be afraid of definitely paying a fortune up front out of fear of maybe spending a bit on maintenance.

What about this? http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=867756

Spit62500

Given that your trade-in is worth so little, it won't be 'retailable' - the dealer wil l offload it to the trade at trade price. This'll be reflected in your trade in allowance. If the dealer is trying to be competitive, they may raise the trade in allowance by allowing you some of the discount that you'd get if you were buying 'for cash' ie with no trade-in. The question at this point is will you get a better deal by offloading your car yourself and getting a full cash discount from the dealer or would be be better off haggling hard for the best trade-in price. You'd probably need to find out the best cash discount you can get and then see if its worth the hassle of disposing of your existing car elsewhere.

One more question re servicing: a lot of mazda dealers are also VW dealers - do they have the same service tariffs for both brands or do Mazda customers get a substantial discount?

edit: what Colm said while I was typing...

groupb

Limerickman , I have a Qashqai and its not a jeep. Its a focus competitor and way better than the heap it replaced which was ......... a 2007 2.0tdi passat.

L-M

groupb wrote: »

Limerickman , I have a Qashqai and its not a jeep. Its a focus competitor and way better than the heap it replaced which was ......... a 2007 2.0tdi passat.

Hence little,
"The Qashqai (pronounced Cash-Kye) is just one of 3 vehicles Nissan is using to replace the slow-selling Almera. Its SUV/hatchback crossover bodywork looks ..."