New Car Help.

closeline

Hi lads, looking for a new car so would appreciate any bit of help. Spending 2500 max on it. I am looking at either Corolla, Golf or Ford Focus. Diesel car preferably with less than 100000 miles up on it. Have been looking around a lot. Not too many diesel golfs around for that price. And petrol golfs are meant to be very expensive arent they? Focus seem to be cheaper but is there any diesel in these?

Thanks.

andyseadog

was in your exact shoes around this time last year. 2500 euro on a small-ish diesel car.

ruled the golf out straight away, imo overpriced for what it is, usually they havn't many creature comforts inside either and reliability is questionable enough specially now it's hard to find one that hasn't been dogged by a young lad.

corolla diesels are hard enough found and then when you do find one, they are even harder found in good condition aka not clocked or owned by a farmer and destroyed etc. even if you do find a good one they are a little bit dull, but no doubt reliable.

i bought a focus in the end, a TDDi, apparently the TDCi engines are far more problematic. with the focus i found it came with a much larger spec than any of its competitors (electric windows and mirrors, air con etc) even in a 99 car, the car itself inside and outside is very easy on the eye too, and i think the 1.8 tax was marginally cheaper if your into that sirt of thing. the focus' always seem to be advertised much much cheaper than an equivelant golf or bag diesel. mine had 168k miles on it when i sold it and it was going very well still. biggest downsides i found were rust (bottlid, bottoms of doors and rear arches) was getting serious enough. also the clutch kit needed to be replaced during my ownership, and the parts alone were nearly €200.

Jimbob 83

Skoda Octavia petrols might be underpowered but my 2002 1.4 gets 45mpg most of the time and it's a comfortable place to be for a €1200 car

bazz26

On that budget you are going to be looking at cars that are around 10 years old. If you find one with less than 100k miles then chances are the mileage has been "altered" unless it comes with a full verifed service history. Diesel cars are designed to be driven and as such 10 year old ones will have alot more than 100k miles on them at this stage. Anyway cars especially diesel ones do not suddenly explode with they hit 100k miles but average joe tends to think they do.

Out of interest what sort of annual mileage do you do? While it is trendy to buy a diesel at the moment if you do small mileage your budget will go alot further buying a petrol car and fuel type should not be a deciding factor in your choice. The diesel versions of the cars you are looking at still fetch good money even if they are rough

closeline

Is the focus heavy on petrol?

Should I stay clear of petrol golfs?

Between September and May I would be travelling about 50 miles a day, 5 days a week. Varies at the weekend and during summer.

andyseadog

any 1.4 petrol in a focus/ golf sized car isn't going to set the world on fire with good economy. @ 50+ miles a day imo i'd be in a diesel, you'd save the dreaded extra tax premium back in no time.

Shane Fitz

andyseadog wrote: »

any 1.4 petrol in a focus/ golf sized car isn't going to set the world on fire with good economy. @ 50+ miles a day imo i'd be in a diesel, you'd save the dreaded extra tax premium back in no time.

50miles a day x 5 day week, for a 40week year = 10,000miles. Plus the bit extra at weekends and during the summer. Surely that still in petrol territory? Yes?

closeline

Shane I would be thinking the same. surely the petrol wouldn't be too bad. Anyone got any good links to focus' golfs etc.

djimi

On the mileage thing, while you are looking for a car which has less than 100k miles on it, its worth bearing in mind that there are parts in cars that reach the end of their life at around that time, and if you buy something which has 85-90k miles on it then you could be looking at some expensive repairs not too far down the line. If it was me I would be looking at what is likely to go on whatever car you are looking at, and then trying to find one where those parts have already been replaced. That to me is far more important than having a lower number on the dashboard.

Its also worth considering that cars with lower mileage in this country seem to command a premium when it comes to sale price, but if the car you are looking at has a good service history and there are no obvious problems around the corner then I wouldnt pay too much attention to the mileage (unless its obscenely huge). Cars nowadays are well able for much more than 100k.

andyseadog

Shane Fitz wrote: »

50miles a day x 5 day week, for a 40week year = 10,000miles. Plus the bit extra at weekends and during the summer. Surely that still in petrol territory? Yes?

what happened to the other 12? a year has 52 the last time i checked, don't know anybody fortunate enough to get 3 months a year off.

say 50 miles a day to work and back (not factoring visiting the shop or your friends in the evening) x 5, 250 miles a week, then throw on 50 more for weekend use = 300 miles per week.

300 x 52 = 15600. ish. is more close to a real years driving in my opinion.

anyway, sure i was only speaking from personal experience of having 2500 to spend on a car to do 60 odd miles a day in last year

first i bought a 1.6 petrol 01 corolla, done a solid 34-35mpg on the motorway. sold it and bought a 1.8 diesel 99 focus which done closer to 47-49mpg motorway. it was the difference between spending €18 a day on petrol or €12 per day on diesel. thats €6 a day saved. €30 a week and even by your imaginary 40 week year thats €1200 saved.

closeline

The thing is with Diesel is that it is very hard to get a good one for 2500 or less.

djimi

andyseadog wrote: »

what happened to the other 12? a year has 52 the last time i checked, don't know anybody fortunate enough to get 3 months a year off.

The OP specifically said that between September and May the car does 50 miles a day, 5 days a week. Im going to hazard a guess that it gets used for a school run

closeline

djimi wrote: »

The OP specifically said that between September and May the car does 50 miles a day, 5 days a week. Im going to hazard a guess that it gets used for a school run

College. Do a nice bit of driving at the weekend too though and in summer aswell.

MidlandsM

closeline wrote: »

The thing is with Diesel is that it is very hard to get a good one for 2500 or less.

upbthe budget and import one from the uk, get a good mondeo diesel for €2k stg, duty €400, ferry/diesel etc, all done for 33ooish. A good car, good history, in great shape, still cheap at the price.:)

closeline

MidlandsM wrote: »

upbthe budget and import one from the uk, get a good mondeo diesel for €2k stg, duty €400, ferry/diesel etc, all done for 33ooish. A good car, good history, in great shape, still cheap at the price.:)

I would love to up it to that price but unfortunately that wont be the case.

Shane Fitz

andyseadog wrote: »

Shane Fitz wrote: »

50miles a day x 5 day week, for a 40week year = 10,000miles. Plus the bit extra at weekends and during the summer. Surely that still in petrol territory? Yes?

what happened to the other 12? a year has 52 the last time i checked, don't know anybody fortunate enough to get 3 months a year off.

Well done you on being able to read a calendar. Now if you were as diligent about reading the thread then poking holes you'd have noticed the OP said specifically between Sept and May he did approximate 50mile x 5 days....

MidlandsM

closeline wrote: »

I would love to up it to that price but unfortunately that wont be the case.

getting a decent diesel under 2.5k can be hard, but upping the budget a shade, can really help!