New v Second Hand - Advice pls!

fifi2

Hi all, Im really hoping someone could give me advice please! I have a MAX budget of 10k and i need to upgrade my car as its giving me lots of trouble.

My options are to buy a new Renault Clio (theyre giving a good deal at the moment). I nearly had it ordered but came on here and read lots of anti Renault posts so now im very confused.

I also like the Toyota Auris but they are quite expensive. Basically i want something super reliable as I have had lots of car trouble in the past.
It may seem obvious to go for new but am worried about reliability and Renault warranty.

So my questions are: is there a reason to worry about the reliability of the new clio?
Or should i go for a second hand low mileage Auris for the same money?

As you can tell am clueless about cars, just want something thats wont give trouble so any advice from people who know would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Mr Benevolent

The new Clio should be fine and Renault are much more reliable nowadays then a few other car manufacturers. I wouldn't be worried at all. Some good deals floating around too.

Leonard Hofstadter

The Auris is not a nice car at all, it was fairly manky even when new.

You can (or at least could) have a five year warranty if you buy a new Clio, so I wouldn't be getting that fussed over reliability. There probably won't be much difference between the two for reliability (in fact I would say there won't be any difference really), especially as the Clio is reliable, not just reliable for a Renault but reliable full stop.

In saying that I think the Clio is outclassed these days by the likes of the Fiesta and Polo and a new model is due next year but it's a fine car, however an Auris or similar would naturally be better if you do a lot of longer journeys.

miller50841

Hi I deal with lots of cars and for that money you would pick up avery good reliable second hand car.

It all depends on how much you would use the car eg. Distance/ Miles

How much does comfort mean also.

I would recommend a Diesel if you plan on doing long distance or big miles.

A small petrol below 1.4 if mainly just town driving.

If you buy anything 2008 upwards you benefit from cheap road tax.
Best car for price would say is a Skoda Octavia Diesel or the smaller Fabia. These are all VW parts Engine etc...

Any other question just ask Al

166man

miller50841 wrote: »

Hi I deal with lots of cars and for that money you would pick up avery good reliable second hand car.

It all depends on how much you would use the car eg. Distance/ Miles

How much does comfort mean also.

I would recommend a Diesel if you plan on doing long distance or big miles.

A small petrol below 1.4 if mainly just town driving.

If you buy anything 2008 upwards you benefit from cheap road tax.
Best car for price would say is a Skoda Octavia Diesel or the smaller Fabia. These are all VW parts Engine etc...

Any other question just ask Al

All good advice, something like a corolla would be reliable. I won't suggest an Alfa this time..

fifi2

Thanks so much for those messages. I do on average 200km/week. Would that warrant a diesel or a bigger engine do you think?

The clio for that price is 1.2 petrol i think!

Im looking for something thats not too big, i think the octavia would be too big. Its mainly just me on my own in the car. I would like something comfortable but reliability is my main thing, as i said ive had major hassles with past cars so when im spending that kind of money i really want hassle free driving for the next few years a least!
Im so confused. I know people dont think the auris but i have to say i think they're kind of nice

166man

fifi2 wrote: »

Thanks so much for those messages. I do on average 200km/week. Would that warrant a diesel or a bigger engine do you think?

The clio for that price is 1.2 petrol i think!

Im looking for something thats not too big, i think the octavia would be too big. Its mainly just me on my own in the car. I would like something comfortable but reliability is my main thing, as i said ive had major hassles with past cars so when im spending that kind of money i really want hassle free driving for the next few years a least!
Im so confused. I know people dont think the auris but i have to say i think they're kind of nice

Only 10k km a year is petrol territory and doesn't warrant the risk of a diesel. I would go for a Toyota Corolla saloon maybe if I was you. Should be comfortable and reliable anyway.

barura

fifi2 wrote: »

Thanks so much for those messages. I do on average 200km/week. Would that warrant a diesel or a bigger engine do you think?

The clio for that price is 1.2 petrol i think!

Im looking for something thats not too big, i think the octavia would be too big. Its mainly just me on my own in the car. I would like something comfortable but reliability is my main thing, as i said ive had major hassles with past cars so when im spending that kind of money i really want hassle free driving for the next few years a least!
Im so confused. I know people dont think the auris but i have to say i think they're kind of nice

If you want hassle free driving for the next few years I recommend the following:

-Service the car at regular intervals.
-When the a warning light comes on, you better believe it.
-Change your tyres when they're due.
-Same goes for the timing belt.

A car with a full service history, that you continued to maintain, would do you fine.

Like this if it all checks out, would go for another 50k easily: http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2925378

In your position, I would go with the Renault Clio from new if you don't want to chance anything. Get it serviced in the garage it was purchased in (is it thrown in for the first few years on reanaults?) and it should do you fine for the next 100k miles no problem, assuming you have an okay driving style, ie. No bad habits like riding the clutch on hills/in traffic.

fifi2

I know, i read lots of good things about the corolla, i just think they look a bit big or something. I know i sound very fussy .

miller50841

You should not go wrong with a toyota its up to you either new or second hand but the price of the new and the loss the minute it leaves the show room is a lot.

A small petrol would be ideal and seen as you dont do big miles that is the best choice I would go onto the likes of carzone or donedeal and see what prices cars are going for.

Also dont rush into buying have a look at the likes of Polo, Fiesta, Mazda, Fabia, Hatchback Focus, Golf and others along that line.

Have to honestly say I not mad about the renault

pred racer

fifi2 wrote: »

I know, i read lots of good things about the corolla, i just think they look a bit big or something. I know i sound very fussy .

Be as fussy as you like. Its your money, and you are going to have to sit in it for the next number of years.

I drive a clio in work 1.5d its a grand little car. We have 6 of them and no trouble yet. And if you can go new and get the warranty great!

Have you thought about the fabia. Not my favourite but my parents have had several of them, the sport is nice enough looking, economical and no trouble.....ever

miller50841

fifi2 wrote: »

I know, i read lots of good things about the corolla, i just think they look a bit big or something. I know i sound very fussy .

You only are fuzzy when comes to chosing the right colour :D

Leonard Hofstadter

The Corolla is an Auris with a boot, so it is every bit as bad as the Auris.

Honestly I cannot understand what people see in the Corolla.

If it wasn't for the "badge" no-one would ever buy such an outdated and outclassed car. Only a Nissan Tiida is worse!

They're not any more reliable than anything else out there either, perhaps the "reliability" thing had some weight when they were built by the Japs but the ones over the past few years are built in Turkey!

If you want maximum reliability but want a nice car as opposed to wanting reliability and boring old turd of a car then buy a Mazda 3.

The Corolla is actually quite big, it's close enough in size to the Avensis (it's actually bigger than the original Avensis) and is bigger than an Octavia.

colm_mcm

The main criticism I have with the Auris are these

It's bloody heavy
It drinks petrol in 1.4 VVT-i guise
The interior is unbelievably shoddy
It looks all wrong
The gearchange is mank
The exhaust on the petrols is very noisy


The Corolla has a much better built interior, it looks a bit better proportioned, the gearchange is better and it doesnt have the noisy exhaust. however:

They are bloody tiny inside, if you're any way tall, you'll need the seat all the way back, which leaves no rear space.

The Corolla may be based on the Auris, but the use of space is completely different, while the Auris has an airy, high up interior (very similar concept to a Pug 308 actually) the Corolla has a long, low boot, a very long low bonnet (there's acres of wasted space in front of the engine) and a very small passenger compartment in between.

Both cars are flawed, the 2010 facelift with the 1.33 Dual VVT-i engine and 6 speed box address a lot of the interior flakyness, the rubbish gearchange and the fuel consumption.

There are so many more interesting cars in that class to choose.

captainspeed wrote: »

The Corolla is actually quite big, it's close enough in size to the Avensis (it's actually bigger than the original Avensis) and is bigger than an Octavia.

The Corolla is longer ON THE OUTSIDE than an Avensis, but on the inside it's smaller than the 02-07 model Corolla, and still miles behind the 97-03 Avensis which isn't a big car.

Carstuck

Corolla is not a bad car at all and the Auris just replaced the corolla hatchback. Father had one a few years back and couldn't fault it, reliable and good on fuel. They also are relatively big too! I never drove a Renault so I don't know how they are to drive etc.

colm_mcm

Carstuck wrote: »

Corolla is not a bad car at all and the Auris just replaced the corolla hatchback. Father had one a few years back and couldn't fault it, reliable and good on fuel. They also are relatively big too! I never drove a Renault so I don't know how they are to drive etc.

What year was the Corolla in question?

Carstuck

colm_mcm wrote: »

What year was the Corolla in question?

2000, quite a change since though

rcdk1

I think a Fiat 500 would suit the OP. Great car, nice to drive, stylish, frugal, low tax, easy to park. A new one is out of her(?) budget but there are plenty of good second hand low mileage 500s for sale.

mad muffin

What about the SEAT Leon sports plus?

Just one example:

http://www.autotrader.ie/search/SEAT/Leon/1.4-SPOR/413268157072070/advert?channel=CARS

They come fully loaded, with the lovely 125 BHP 1.4 TSI engine too.

fifi2

Thanks so much everyone for the ideas and advice, much appreciated!! Just wondering what would be considered 'good mileage' on a 2009 car for example? Im constantly being told that mileage is the most important thing when buying second hand.
I had seen a 2007 car with 66k km on the clock, pretty good for the year but im thinking if i want to get a good few years out of it, will i be running into trouble like ive had ie clutch trouble, window regulator going etc etc!!
I think perhaps its a bicycle i should be looking for
Thanks again everyone

ARGINITE

fifi2 wrote: »

Im constantly being told that mileage is the most important thing when buying second hand.

Not true condition and how well it has been maintained would be higher up my list of important things when buying a car.

Leonard Hofstadter

Do NOT buy a car just because it has low mileage, buy a car based on condition, whether you like it, has decent spec, etc.

A car doing 20,000 miles a year can potentially be a better buy than something that did only 5,000 miles a year. Chances are that a high mileage car did most of its miles on main roads and motorways, and a low mileage car did most of its miles in town. Driving around town means the clutch and engine will wear out faster, engines need to be driven at a decent speed to keep them happy, while on a motorway you're going to be doing far fewer gearchanges so the clutch has far less work to do.

Make sure the car has service history, that might be a bit of a difficult task in Ireland, but try to get something with a reasonably complete one anyway. Especially on something fairly new it should have been serviced on time.

fifi2

Ya thats true, i never thought of it that way! Thanks

bazz26

My old man bought a 09 Auris 1.33 VVTi a few months ago. It is a UK import TR model with the newer engine and is higher spec than the Luna sold here, Irish models also continued to be sold here with the old 1.4 VVTi engine until the facelift model arrived in 2010.

He switched from a 03 Toyota Avensis and interior room in the Auris is nearly the same. Not gone on it myself but it seems to be less plasticy than lesser spec models and is good on fuel, motor tax is only €225 and not complex like a modern day diesel engine.

It's no classleader that's for sure, it sits too tall for my liking, the feedback from the steering is numb and the interior is a drab design but if reliability is your main concern then it probably fits the bill.

If you are buying brand new then I would not look at a Clio simply because they are outclassed by their rivals these days as the current model has been onsale since 2006. Renault is discounting them now heavily as there is a brand new model on sale before the year is out. The new Kia Rio is worth a look at, a good allround package and it comes with a 7 year warranty for peace of mind.

fifi2

Thanks a mill for the advice!