Suggestions for an apt car?

Thirdfox

Hi all, not sure if this forum provides this suggestions for a suitable car but I'd welcome any suggestions/advice.

I'm looking to purchase a car come this December/November or maybe early January.

Here are some of my preferences:
1. Looking mostly at second hand cars from 2008 onwards
2. 4/5 doors preferable
3. must have at least 5 seatbelts (though the rear seats won't be used that often - it's mostly going to be couples driving)
4. preferably 1.6 or less engine size
5. budget of around 12k - can stretch to around 20k if the car is newer i.e. 2012/13
6. a relatively good marque preferably but a good "driving experience" can sway me towards more "common" brands too...

Some of the cars that have attracted my interest:
1. BMW 3 series
2. BMW 1 series
3. Audi A3
4. VW Golf
5. Honda Civic (just from reading this forum and seeing it mentioned instead of VW Golf)
6. Toyota Prius (definitely not a "marque" in my eyes but is it fun to drive? MadLad seems to enjoy it)
7. *moment of madness* Mercedes CLA - way out of my budget but can stretch to that if it's good enough...

Currently I drive a Polo and that's been serving me well. In fact if I don't see anything I particularly like I may just "upgrade" to a newer Polo. But I want to see what else is out there.

Of course I could always just get a cheap ford focus when I need to seat 5 and drive a two seater normally... in which case that opens up my options to get a:
1. Audi TT
2. BMW Z3/Z4
3. Mercedes SLK
any other suggestions?

I don't do a lot of driving (cycling/bus in to work) so when I drive I want to enjoy the experience (mostly weekend, shopping or travelling around the country). As I don't do a lot of driving normally mpg doesn't worry me that much.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Third

Karl Stein

Thirdfox wrote: »

Honda Civic

There you go.

The 1.8 saloon is 140BHP and returns 40MPG.

No naturally aspirated car combines reliability, power, and fuel consumption like it.

Jap car haters will despise those remarkable figures but there you go.

Thirdfox

Thanks for the reply, but I don't necessarily need good mpg.

The more I look at the CLA the more I'm starting to like it. Though of course there's not much in way of second hand cars right now...

Toyotafanboi

Thirdfox wrote: »

Thanks for the reply, but I don't necessarily need good mpg.

then why are you limiting yourself to 1.6 or lesser capacity engines?

rarely see the phrase "i want to enjoy the driving experience" followed by "i'm looking at 1.4 golfs and the BMW 316".

going to spend potentially 20k on the car but want to keep it under 1.6... not worried about mpg, so cheap tax must be your incentive, a bit of a flawed logic imo.

that said, i second the civic idea.

beazee

1. Looking mostly at second hand cars from 2008 onwards - check
2. 4/5 doors preferable - check
3. must have at least 5 seatbelts (though the rear seats won't be used that often - it's mostly going to be couples driving) - check
4. preferably 1.6 or less engine size - check
5. budget of around 12k - can stretch to around 20k if the car is newer i.e. 2012/13 - check
6. a relatively good marque preferably but a good "driving experience" can sway me towards more "common" brands too... - decent marque, improving quality over the last few years, 5y warranty, designed by ze germans

(...)Currently I drive a Polo(...) - in line with Polo size outside (easy to find a parking space) incredibly spacious inside, offering good view on the road as you're seated higher

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Hyundai/ix20/DIESEL-L/37313781959122890/advert?channel=CARS

Offered in 1.4 or 1.6 petrol or diesel, manual or automatic.

Tabnabs

It's madness to have a 1.6D engine in it, but it ticks all your boxes very efficiently.

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Volvo/S40/1.6-R-DE/32713592265994240/advert?channel=CARS

Thirdfox

Thanks for the suggestions guys.

The reason that I'm limiting myself to 1.6 or less (preferably) and I say <2.0 definitely is that I am in my mid twenties and car insurance companies don't seem to like to give insurance to "young" male drivers on engine sizes above 1.6.

But I am in the position to buy a "nice" car and I'd like to enjoy myself before kids etc enter the frame and I need to start worrying more about practicalities.

The Volvo S40 R design looks nice actually. I'll have to do a bit more research into that one.

And while I haven't researched this fully but is leasing a popular (or offered) option in Ireland? i.e. I lease a CLA from Mercedes for three years, servicing etc is covered... I say in three years time I'll need to move to a more family focused vehicle anyway. So I get to have my fun in a nice car but less need to worry about depreciation or future value. Is that a possibility in Ireland and are the costs prohibitively expensive to lease?

Thirdfox

So does anyone have any comments about the cars I listed? I take the point that the cars in a 1.6 engine won't be the quickest off the mark but surely they will feel quicker than a 55bhp Polo? Or is that negated by the increased weight?

Scortho

Thirdfox wrote: »

Thanks for the suggestions guys.

The reason that I'm limiting myself to 1.6 or less (preferably) and I say <2.0 definitely is that I am in my mid twenties and car insurance companies don't seem to like to give insurance to "young" male drivers on engine sizes above 1.6.

But I am in the position to buy a "nice" car and I'd like to enjoy myself before kids etc enter the frame and I need to start worrying more about practicalities.

The Volvo S40 R design looks nice actually. I'll have to do a bit more research into that one.

And while I haven't researched this fully but is leasing a popular (or offered) option in Ireland? i.e. I lease a CLA from Mercedes for three years, servicing etc is covered... I say in three years time I'll need to move to a more family focused vehicle anyway. So I get to have my fun in a nice car but less need to worry about depreciation or future value. Is that a possibility in Ireland and are the costs prohibitively expensive to lease?

You can get a fun car at a young age.

I'm 21 and insurance for the year on a 2.5 v6 is 1100, 200 more than what I'd pay on a 1.2 polo.
Don't let your age scare you from getting a fun car and getting a car insurance quote.

If your over 25, I'd be buying a cheap runabout/keeping the polo and a 15 year old m5 and insure it as a classic.

Yeah the tax would be a pain but life's worth living especially when your willing to potentially drop 20k on a boring car.
When the kids come along in a few years you can then decide whether to keep it or not.
At least when you're 40 and look back at your mid 20s, you can think of that brilliant v8 beast you once had with a smile.

djimi

Thirdfox wrote: »

Thanks for the suggestions guys.

The reason that I'm limiting myself to 1.6 or less (preferably) and I say <2.0 definitely is that I am in my mid twenties and car insurance companies don't seem to like to give insurance to "young" male drivers on engine sizes above 1.6.

But I am in the position to buy a "nice" car and I'd like to enjoy myself before kids etc enter the frame and I need to start worrying more about practicalities.

It depends on the car obviously but size alone does not limit insurance options. I was driving a 1.8 Accord at 25. I paid a bit more for it perhaps, but I had no problems in getting a quote.

You seem to have a very wild stretch in your budget and no real clue of what you are looking for (so far you have mentioned cars from a Prius/Polo to a Civic to an Audi/BMW/Merc!); Id suggest that you sit down and narrow your search a bit first, then you can work out your budget and how much you have to spend on things like tax and insurance.

Also, if you are looking for a fun driver then I have no idea why you are limiting yourself to cars from 2008 an newer. Have you any idea the kind of car you can pick up for peanuts if age is not an issue, especially if you have that sort of a budget and running costs really arent going to be a problem?

Chippy01

Take your preference list, and go try them. Try them all, and a few more besides.
No matter what anyone else recommends, it's gonna be your backside sitting in the seat and your eyes looking at the dash/interior. Beauty/practicality is in the eye of the beholder remember.

YbFocus

Yeah nonsense about car insurance companies not insuring you, I'm 24 and drive a 3 litre bmw.
Enjoy your driving as toy don't do much, get something fun. Don't be the generic irish person, buys a grand car that's cooked up with a tiny engine

And a 1.6 saloon car will feel dead, maybe not to you but you'll get sick of it once you're used to it, go a little crazy and you won't regret it

Golf GTI would fit the bill perfectly, 2008 ones would be at the lower end of your budget now but you could go newer if you wanted to spend more. They aren't hard to insure either I'm 28 and my premium this year was 470 euro fully comp.

Thirdfox

Any particular insurance company recommended for younger drivers or are they much of a muchness?

YbFocus

Much of a muchness as you say. See what they're offering for the money they're asking for.

Scortho

Thirdfox wrote: »

Any particular insurance company recommended for younger drivers or are they much of a muchness?

Ring all of them.
I wouldn't bother with the online ones. Generally if it's anything big they'll say ring us.
When you ring them though they generally quote.
I'm with liberty at 1100 for the year. However I got quotes ranging from 1100 upto 4000 +. The highest quote was from first ireland who'd regularly be recommended for their cheap quotes.
So ring all of them. Find registrations of cars your thinking off online and ask them.

djimi

Thirdfox wrote: »

Any particular insurance company recommended for younger drivers or are they much of a muchness?

Again it depends on the car, and also on your definition of mid 20s. If we are talking over 25 then you should find that insuring even higher performance cars becomes less of an issue.