VW Jetta or something 'nicer' <€5000

sleepyholland

I need to upgrade my trusty Fabia to a suitable family car. Only do about 9000 miles per year. I'd just get an Octavia, but would prefer something a little smaller. Mostly short city trips and then once a month long motorway trip. Requirements:

Budget circa 5000
Petrol
Lots of boot space, but ideally not a huge car.
1.8 max
And then i'd love a couple of nice extras or something that makes it less dull.

The Jetta seems to fit the bill, and i like the look of some of them, but I don't know much about them. But it's blandness means i'm still tempted by 'nicer' cars. I'm thinking of checking out this lot:

http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4264255
http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4418583
http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4397594

All advice welcome

bazz26

The Jetta is just a Golf with a saloon boot. They were always in limbo because the bigger Passat wasn't that much more expensive new and alot of people opted for the Passat instead. The first Jetta looks like it may have been felt speced with chrome door mirrors and aftermarket alloy wheels which means it may have been driven hard. Personally I could not live with the red interior bits on the second Jetta and imo the A4 is overpriced given the age, mileage and basic spec.

You would get a nice Mazda 6 for that sort of money:

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4408177

sleepyholland

Thanks for the advice.
I kinda like the red - for now.
That's a lovely mazda, my brother had a similar vintage diesel and the turbo blew and he had to replace half he engine, besides that it was a lovely car - I'll bump the A4 off my list and be wary of the pimped Jetta.

sleepyholland

Ha - fair point about the Octavia. So maybe I have to stretch to this size of car for the bootspace I require as hatchbacks like golfs, corollas, mazda 3s are just a bit small. Not an Octavia though as I live on one of the busiest taxi streets in Dublin and don't want to join their ranks.

MrDerp

Have you considered a Volvo s40?

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Volvo/S40/S40-FULL/613258394429810/advert?channel=CARS

I'm very happy with mine after 50,000km.

Not a premium car, but it's a bit more interesting than a Jetta or Focus saloon and carries a lot more in terms of standard toys (SE is good, SE Lux is very good) with a better interior.

sleepyholland

Thanks MrDerp.
For ages I had decided on an S40 as I love them, but then I panicked about the boot size being a pain for ferrying all the things that come with a newborn.

Boot capacity is 325 litres compared to a Jettas 510. Am i being silly?

bazz26

sleepyholland wrote: »

Thanks for the advice.
I kinda like the red - for now.
That's a lovely mazda, my brother had a similar vintage diesel and the turbo blew and he ad to replace half he engine, besides that it was a lovely car - I'll bump the A4 off my list and be wary of thebpimped Jetta.

The diesel in the model 6 was a disaster but the petrols very rarely give trouble. The Ford Focus saloon is worth a look at too, Ghia model has pretty decent specification.

MrDerp

sleepyholland wrote: »

Thanks MrDerp.
For ages I had decided on an S40 as I love them, but then I panicked about the boot size being a pain for ferrying all the things that come with a newborn.

Boot capacity is 325 litres compared to a Jettas 510. Am i being silly?

The boot isn't that bad in and of itself, I've put 3 sets of golf clubs and a couple of weekend bags in it before.

It's the boot opening that's annoying, requiring some tetris skills. It's narrow, short and shallow. Looking at the shape of the car, and the distance between the bottom of the back window and the back of the car, there's no good reason this wasn't a hatchback - I guess Volvo really wanted to push mini compact executive.

I've no buggy, but my gut says this might not do you as a primary car in the house. If and when buggies are bought, herself is up first for a new car and that'll probably be a crossover for the extra height to the rear seat, and the hatchback for hauling crap.

It would probably be manageable, but you'd need a suite of smaller luggage to organize the boot better if you were bringing the buggy away with you to visit relatives.

sleepyholland

OSI, the V50 is a beauty alright. Tough to find a nice one for my budget, and at the upper end of my size-limit, but I am a fan.

The Jetta boot is certainly big enough for me, I suppose I'll just have to go see one to check what the access to it is like.

sleepyholland

So my scattergun search continues. I've realised that I do such low mileage at the moment that the less I spend on a car the better, providing I get a reliable, well serviced one. That's why I've included things like the Mondeo on this list.

Considering this lot:

07 Octavia
http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4092372
02 Audi A4
http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4399233
03 Passat
http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4429314
01 Mondeo
http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4433518