New Car Choice - suggestions welcomed

Rdaly1

Struggling choosing a new car. Help required.

Do about 250 miles a week - mainly M50 driving.

Willing to spend upto €20k cash and want to buy from a dealer. but the cheaper I get a car I like the better.

Coming from a 10 year old 3 door Toyota Corrolla that never gave me a days trouble - but its time to move on.

Priorties -

good mpg
diesel
low tax
sportish
spacish
at least 4 doors.
reliabilty (no trouble)
car no more that 3 years old as need to keep for 5-6 years so needs to age well
Alloys
Aircon

Considering - mid sized saloons:
New skoda rapid - going to see on sat
New model focus saloon (2011-12 - used model) - I like the saloon - dont know why really and 65mpg claimed.

Is there any other makes/models I should consider? Pretty clueless about cars. Any suggestions appreciated?

bazz26

I wouldn't even consider a diesel car if only doing 250 miles a week.

djflawless

passat?

krissovo

Given your requirements if its a keeper a Hyundai ????? You would get a new i30/tourer for your €20k or a second hand i40 for about the same price.

Hyundai must have some of the most reliable cars on the road at the moment. I have hired both and the i30 is a lot more fun than a corolla. The i40 is a very reasonable drive.

Kia's have the 7 year warranty and the ceed is a ok drive but not as good as the hyundai.

Mossess

I had a Hyundai once, a great little car. had it for 2 years any only lost a grand on it when I traded it in. but if you have 20k to spend you could get a shiney new focus or golf. Or depending on your style choice one of those new fan-dangled Beetles..

Stallingrad

bazz26 wrote: »

I wouldn't even consider a diesel car if only doing 250 miles a week.

It's borderline alright, but but and down the M50 OP should be fine in relation to the DPF.

Stallingrad

Skoda Rapid will leave you cold if you want something a bit sporty. This is more like it.

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Mazda/Mazda6/2.2D-EXE/31313474550761110/advert?channel=CARS

Rdaly1

Bazz 26 - really dont consider a diesel???? Can you explain more please.
Difficult to know but cant imagine I got more that 35mpg on the m50 with daily trips from Blanchardstown to Cherrywood.


Mazda 6 looks ok - will the old model come down much seen as the new model is on the way?

Stallingrad

Rdaly1 wrote: »

Bazz 26 - really dont consider a diesel???? Can you explain more please.
Difficult to know but cant imagine I got more that 35mpg on the m50 with daily trips from Blanchardstown to Cherrywood.


Mazda 6 looks ok - will the old model come down much seen as the new model is on the way?

It's being discounted as we speak, €3000-€4000 off. If buying an outgoing model does not bother you a good deal is there for the taking.

Idbatterim

Op, take a look at the below...

http://www.carzone.ie/search/BMW/3-Series/318D-M-S/6913361429357960/advert?channel=CARS
http://www.carzone.ie/search/BMW/3-Series/318-E90-/32113510698741540/advert?channel=CARS
http://www.carzone.ie/search/BMW/3-Series/2.0D-SE-/32113500352842850/advert?channel=CARS

there are issue with the diesels timing chains on the 4 cylinder diesel n47, i believed this wasnt resolved until mid 2010...

Yawlboy

Not trying to hijack the thread but I am also looking to change my 05 Disco 3 to something cheaper to run. Doing 500kms a week commute plus another few hundred for personal use.

Was thinking of getting a 2010/2011 VW Golf but then I saw 2012 Renault Meganes/Fleunce from 16k to 18k with 0% finance and the remainder of the 5 year warranty. All cars are ex-hire with 10 to 20k kms on them. Most are 1.5 diesel with 90HP but some are 110HP.

Anyone got any experience with these? Are they any good? reviews I've read are mixed but most seem to say that the latest Megane is a much more reliable car than the old ones.

The 0% finance is really tempting......

blindside88

Yawlboy wrote: »

Not trying to hijack the thread but I am also looking to change my 05 Disco 3 to something cheaper to run. Doing 500kms a week commute plus another few hundred for personal use.

Was thinking of getting a 2010/2011 VW Golf but then I saw 2012 Renault Meganes/Fleunce from 16k to 18k with 0% finance and the remainder of the 5 year warranty. All cars are ex-hire with 10 to 20k kms on them. Most are 1.5 diesel with 90HP but some are 110HP.

Anyone got any experience with these? Are they any good? reviews I've read are mixed but most seem to say that the latest Megane is a much more reliable car than the old ones.

The 0% finance is really tempting......

I've heard bad stories of the fluence, they don't seem to hold their value either

166man

bazz26 wrote: »

I wouldn't even consider a diesel car if only doing 250 miles a week.

Circa 20k km a year I'd want a diesel I reckon. You'd get serious mpg out of any new ones on a motorway cruise and fuel is 10c a litre cheaper. The lower tax won't be low forever though...;)

MuppetCheck

Yawlboy wrote: »

Not trying to hijack the thread but I am also looking to change my 05 Disco 3 to something cheaper to run. Doing 500kms a week commute plus another few hundred for personal use.

Was thinking of getting a 2010/2011 VW Golf but then I saw 2012 Renault Meganes/Fleunce from 16k to 18k with 0% finance and the remainder of the 5 year warranty. All cars are ex-hire with 10 to 20k kms on them. Most are 1.5 diesel with 90HP but some are 110HP.

Anyone got any experience with these? Are they any good? reviews I've read are mixed but most seem to say that the latest Megane is a much more reliable car than the old ones.

The 0% finance is really tempting......

If they were doing the finance offer and if you can find one a colleague bagged a 2012 Laguna for not a lot more than that a few weeks ago.

Supergurrier

i30/Avensis D4D imo

MuppetCheck

166man wrote: »

Circa 20k km a year I'd want a diesel I reckon. You'd get serious mpg out of any new ones on a motorway cruise and fuel is 10c a litre cheaper. The lower tax won't be low forever though...;)

My worry is m50 driving would not get the dpf to complete a regeneration, especially at peak times.

166man

MuppetCheck wrote: »

My worry is m50 driving would not get the dpf to complete a regeneration, especially at peak times.

I'm sure it would be fine, doing the journey 20 times each way each month would at least find a few times to regenerate.

All this talk of DPF, Dad's 2010 Alfa 159 diesel presumably has one and never a days bother with is and that car can sit around town for weeks on end...

Topper Harley

OP - the Focus Zetec S is a lovely version of the car. Gives an already nice car a good but subtle sporty look while maintaining the frugal engine. But it might stretch your budget just a little and isn't available in the saloon AFAIK.

Supergurrier

Auld fella is on his 4th Diesel Avensis (keeps for 2 years then sells on) mainly short journeys and none of them have missed a beat in terms of dpf issues, people on here blow the chance of it happenning out of all proportion.

You would get a nice 2 litre D4D Aura or above Avensis 2010 or so for 20 grand if you had a good look around

166man

Supergurrier wrote: »

Auld fella is on his 4th Diesel Avensis (keeps for 2 years then sells on) mainly short journeys and none of them have missed a beat in terms of dpf issues, people on here blow the chance of it happenning out of all proportion.

You would get a nice 2 litre D4D Aura or above Avensis 2010 or so for 20 grand if you had a good look around

Yep the whole DPF thing seems to be really blown out of the water here, as in every single thread where low ish miles are being done. I think it's a bit of overkill but there you go..:pac:

bazz26

Well I replaced a DPF in my old 2006 Volvo S40 diesel with 80k miles 2 years ago thanks to the previous owner's driving style, my wallet was €1k lighter after it but hey what would I know? Also there is a lad over on another forum who makes a nice living from cleaning/removing them but maybe he is talking ****e too. DPFs were only mandatory since 2011, some cars didn't have them before that.

Supergurrier

80k miles and what is a consumable part seems reasonable enough tbh

166man

bazz26 wrote: »

Well I replaced a DPF in my old 2006 Volvo S40 diesel with 80k miles 2 years ago thanks to the previous owner's driving style, my wallet was €1k lighter after it but hey what would I know? Also there is a lad over on another forum who makes a nice living from cleaning/removing them but maybe he is talking ****e too. DPFs were only mandatory since 2011, some cars didn't have them before that.

How do you know the previous owners driving style? Also 130k km in a 4 year old diesel car parts are going to need to be replaced. I'm sure city driving doesn't help things, but 40k km a year couldn't have been all done in the city could it?

You had a car with the DPF replaced, we have a car that hasn't had it replaced. I know far more people with cars that haven't had it go bang than people who have had it replaced too.

MuppetCheck

bazz26 wrote: »

Well I replaced a DPF in my old 2006 Volvo S40 diesel with 80k miles 2 years ago thanks to the previous owner's driving style, my wallet was €1k lighter after it but hey what would I know? Also there is a lad over on another forum who makes a nice living from cleaning/removing them but maybe he is talking ****e too. DPFs were only mandatory since 2011, some cars didn't have them before that.

The people that say it's a misnomer have no first hand experience on this matter and it shows. I have also suffered from a failure of a dpf not once but twice! Thank God for having a warranty is all I'll say. And that was a car used for the motorway!

@166man I am speaking specifically about the exhaust temperatures reaching the constant required temperature to allow regeneration. Long term cruising between say 90-110 may not be sufficiently high depending on the car. I'd like to hear your views on the life of a dpf used in such conditions.

@supergurrier, two years is not a long time. The effects may be felt from such use in the not too distant future by the next owner which is often the case.

Not all dpfs will fail, but to say it isn't a problem is showing a complete lack of insight on the subject.

MuppetCheck

166man wrote: »

How do you know the previous owners driving style? Also 130k km in a 4 year old diesel car parts are going to need to be replaced. I'm sure city driving doesn't help things, but 40k km a year couldn't have been all done in the city could it?

You had a car with the DPF replaced, we have a car that hasn't had it replaced. I know far more people with cars that haven't had it go bang than people who have had it replaced too.

What is the mileage on the car? I'm assuming it never gets runs allowing the dpf to regenerate given your opinion?

bazz26

Supergurrier wrote: »

80k miles and what is a consumable part seems reasonable enough tbh

You would think so but I know someone who had theirs replaced at alot lower mileage than that. There are plenty with +100k miles with their original DPFs intact too so it's down to the driving style.

It will be interesting to see how all these DPFs fair over the next few years now that diesels are all the fashion.

Supergurrier

Then again saying it's a ticking timebomb that manufacturers put on the car for the laugh isn't exactly true now either.

MuppetCheck

Supergurrier wrote: »

80k miles and what is a consumable part seems reasonable enough tbh

A 1k plus consumable?

MuppetCheck

Supergurrier wrote: »

Then again saying it's a ticking timebomb that manufacturers put on the car for the laugh isn't exactly true now either.

But it's not put on the cars for a laugh is it? It's put on to meet emission regulations. It's an ill conceived solution to a problem to allow diesels to meet euro 5+ regs.

Supergurrier

MuppetCheck wrote: »

A 1k plus consumable?

Yup, it's comparable to a clutch kit (solid or duel) on some cars.

Also the way you describe it and it's liability towards failure what else could it be described as ?

MuppetCheck

Supergurrier wrote: »

Yup, it's comparable to a clutch kit (solid or duel) on some cars.

Also the way you describe it and it's liability towards failure what else could it be described as ?

An ill conceived solution that creates significant additional expense to the owner that they should be aware of. It wasn't originally conceived as a consumable but time has made it seen as one.

166man

MuppetCheck wrote: »

The people that say it's a misnomer have no first hand experience on this matter and it shows. I have also suffered from a failure of a dpf not once but twice! Thank God for having a warranty is all I'll say. And that was a car used for the motorway!

@166man I am speaking specifically about the exhaust temperatures reaching the constant required temperature to allow regeneration. Long term cruising between say 90-110 may not be sufficiently high depending on the car. I'd like to hear your views on the life of a dpf used in such conditions.

@supergurrier, two years is not a long time. The effects may be felt from such use in the not too distant future by the next owner which is often the case.

Not all dpfs will fail, but to say it isn't a problem is showing a complete lack of insight on the subject.

I'm sure it is a problem, nobody said it wasn't, just a problem that in my experience isn't as big a deal as is made out to be on this forum.

MuppetCheck wrote: »

What is the mileage on the car? I'm assuming it never gets runs allowing the dpf to regenerate given your opinion?

I think it ticked over 70k km there the other day, could be more. It could be around town for a few weeks and then be up and down to Galway three times a week if you get me. I don't drive it any more so I'm not as sure. Still I drove it for over a year and never a thing went wrong with it.

scout353

Yawlboy wrote: »

Not trying to hijack the thread but I am also looking to change my 05 Disco 3 to something cheaper to run. Doing 500kms a week commute plus another few hundred for personal use.

Was thinking of getting a 2010/2011 VW Golf but then I saw 2012 Renault Meganes/Fleunce from 16k to 18k with 0% finance and the remainder of the 5 year warranty. All cars are ex-hire with 10 to 20k kms on them. Most are 1.5 diesel with 90HP but some are 110HP.

Anyone got any experience with these? Are they any good? reviews I've read are mixed but most seem to say that the latest Megane is a much more reliable car than the old ones.

The 0% finance is really tempting......

Got the megane coupe for Mrs Scout in 2010. Wonderful machine, plenty of power, diesel, lots of extras and drives really well even over long distances!

She is looking to change early next year and wants another!!!!

MuppetCheck

166man wrote: »

I'm sure it is a problem, nobody said it wasn't, just a problem that in my experience isn't as big a deal as is made out to be on this forum.



I think it ticked over 70k km there the other day, could be more. It could be around town for a few weeks and then be up and down to Galway three times a week if you get me. I don't drive it any more so I'm not as sure. Still I drove it for over a year and never a thing went wrong with it.

With the use you describe its getting what it needs. A few weeks around town isn't going to kill one ffs. It may have a detrimental effect on longevity to some extent but not on a 2 year old low mileage car. Look on owners forums for any make and you will see the issues. The OP here is looking at keeping the car for 4-5 years so it is a viable concern imo.

bazz26

166man wrote: »

How do you know the previous owners driving style? Also 130k km in a 4 year old diesel car parts are going to need to be replaced. I'm sure city driving doesn't help things, but 40k km a year couldn't have been all done in the city could it?

You had a car with the DPF replaced, we have a car that hasn't had it replaced. I know far more people with cars that haven't had it go bang than people who have had it replaced too.

The car was 2 years old with around 30k miles on it when I bought it, I racked up around another 50k miles in the two years I owned it. When they removed the old DPF the entire system was blocked up which they said would take alot of short trips over time to get blocked like that. They had cars with +100k miles still running on their original DPF. Short trips will shorten the life your DPF.

Anyway DPFs aside if I was only doing 250 miles a week I would be spending my money on a petrol car, they are dirt cheap these days and way smoother than a clattery diesel. Considering going back to petrol myself next time, happily give up a few mpg for one.

166man

bazz26 wrote: »

The car was 2 years old with around 30k miles on it when I bought it, I racked up around another 50k miles in the two years I owned it. When they removed the old DPF the entire system was blocked up which they said would take alot of short trips over time to get blocked like that. They had cars with +100k miles still running on their original DPF. Short trips will shorten the life your DPF.

I'm not saying that they don't, I'm sure they do, but the DPF issue IMO is blown out of proportion on here.

Anyway DPFs aside if I was only doing 250 miles a week I would be spending my money on a petrol car, they are dirt cheap these days and way smoother than a clattery diesel. Considering going back to petrol myself next time, happily give up a few mpg for one.

400km+ a week is diesel territory for me anyway. Comparing 35mpg petrol to 50mpg diesel over 21k km a year with current fuel prices as they are, I think the savings would be circa €1k. That's big money...

Also the petrol would probably do better than the 35mpg but so would the diesel.

bazz26

There was only 3c a litre difference between petrol and diesel down here today.

166man

bazz26 wrote: »

There was only 3c a litre difference between petrol and diesel down here today.

It's 10c here most places I go all around Dublin anyway. So yeah at fuel prices today I'd be putting my money in a comfortable diesel and suck up the extra noise knowing I'd be saving near a four figure sum each year.

bazz26

Maybe a hybrid is a safer option for the OP given that the M50 is a car park most days. €20k will get a current generation Smug:

http://www.driving.ie/used-cars/Toyota/Prius/1.8-LUXURY/30813503133820930/

MuppetCheck

166man wrote: »

It's 10c here most places I go all around Dublin anyway. So yeah at fuel prices today I'd be putting my money in a comfortable diesel and suck up the extra noise knowing I'd be saving near a four figure sum each year.

I haven't seen such a large difference in about 6 months. It's half that at best in anywhere I have seen around the country in recent times.

166man

MuppetCheck wrote: »

I haven't seen such a large difference in about 6 months. It's half that at best in anywhere I have seen around the country in recent times.

I'm around South Dublin all week and in general the difference is about 10c. Usually anywhere between 155.9-165.9 and 158.9-168.9.

Actually a Prius is a very decent suggestion....:cool:

unkel

Supergurrier wrote: »

Auld fella is on his 4th Diesel Avensis (keeps for 2 years then sells on) mainly short journeys and none of them have missed a beat in terms of dpf issues

Your father is a smart man offloading them after only 2 years. The second owners are the ones gonna do a lot of crying

166man

unkel wrote: »

Your father is a smart man offloading them after only 2 years. The second owners are the ones gonna do a lot of crying

Depending on his fathers mileage though. He could be doing 10k or 100k km in the 2 years which obviously would affect the DPF.

unkel

166man wrote: »

Depending on his fathers mileage though. He could be doing 10k or 100k km in the 2 years which obviously would affect the DPF.

"Mainly on short journeys"

166man

unkel wrote: »

"Mainly on short journeys"

Ah sh1te... Your point is perfectly valid then...:D

I think that's a sign, I'm off to bed so! :pac:

MuppetCheck

With all this talk of diesel vs petrol its getting increasingly harder to find a recent model petrol these days, particularly in a good spec.

Rdaly1

Back on here now.

Prius - I find it an ugly car. Sorta want to move away from Toyota also.

So Diesel options

Mazda 6 (like 2012 white - sport version - but just may be outta my reach finacially)
Opel Insignia (unsure about)
Opel Astra saloon (new)
Ford Focus (new model - like but diesel v petrol question)
Mondeo (old model - hard to get in decent nick ive been told by dealers)
H i40 ( not too convinced on the exterior).
Optima (love the look of it - but out of my price range for now)

Is there any good petrol options out there?

Cheapish Tax (currently paying €330 on a 10 year old corrola)
Good MPG
and not as ugly as sin.
not 3 door
Enough space for golf clubs or wifes buggy in a few years?
4/5 door (not a quasqui or corrolla/auris/avensis)

Another stupid question buy now or wait for more choice of cars in new year? Can you expect prices dropping much?

Garages are offering me €1500 approx on trade in with 10 year 3 door petrol 1.4 corrola 70k miles on the clock. Im guessing I should sell it private.

Stallingrad

I just turned my back on diesel and got one of these. Very pleased with it. One of the best low cc petrol engines out there at the moment.

Over budget though...

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Volkswagen/Passat/CL-1.4-T/5813312123844410/advert?channel=CARS

MuppetCheck

Surely a deal to be had on that. That's more expensive than some diesel versions.

Rdaly1

seams expensive - would it also not be way underpowered with a 1.3 petrol engine?

MuppetCheck

It's a 1.4 turbo in it.