Advice needed: Buying two cars

Páid

I'm looking for two cars, one for the wife and one for myself. I'm not sure what the total budget is yet. We are based in Dublin but hope to move to the West in a year or two.

I've been driving a 1998 A4 trouble free for the last decade that I bought from John Hayes in Rathmines and the wife has been driving a 2000 Nissan Almera also trouble free. Neither are worth anything now so we don't have anything worth talking about to trade in but we would like to upgrade.

The wife does short trips mostly sitting in traffic for about 15 mins everyday to work and back so I was thinking of a mid-sized petrol hatchback (or maybe a saloon) like a 2008+ petrol Focus or an Octavia for about 8k.

I'm in two minds whether to buy a second car for myself as I mainly bike it to work every day (40k round trip) unless the weather is absolutely horrendous. I would probably go for a 2.0D Mondeo or Insignia if I could get a low mileage one on CO2 tax for about 12k. I could wait until we move to the country before buying the second car.

Which Focus and Mondeos/Insignias are the most reliable? Or should I be looking at alternatives?
Am I wrong thinking that I could get decent 2008+ Focus & Mondeo for 20k that are not imported from the UK/Norn Iron?

Any advice or recommendations?

biko

If the cars still run (and particularly since you use yours rarely) I'd keep driving until it breaks down or move West.

For a general reliability index you can have a look here and compare
http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-reviews/64280/most-reliable-cars
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/picturegalleries/9564601/Europes-most-reliable-used-cars.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/10203036/Top-10-most-reliable-used-car-brands.html

dgt

Keep driving till one gives up, then consider a new car

Páid

The A4 isn't running. It developed ECU problems before Christmas and I doubt it will be worth repairing.

The wife would like to replace her car with something newer and more comfortable but hers is still running.

Theanswers

If your living anywhere rural I'd buy the wife a diesel aswell. You don't be long clocking up milage. It's different to the cities. I live 8 miles from Town.

In out 16 miles - around town about 4. That's 20 miles and only on trip to town per day. It all adds up.

Páid

I would love to buy the wife a diesel but we could be still living in Dublin in two years time. From what I've read and what people have told me is that there could be dpf and/or dmf issues with a modern diesel with lots of city driving.

Theanswers

Buy the wife an older diesel. Use that until you move on to the country, then upgrade.

Older Diesel's are not as fussy as newer ones and you should have no bother.

Also this should save you money as less/ no depreciation for two years or so.

Nothing Worse than being stuck with a petrol car no one wants to buy which is costing you a fortune driving about in the country.

JohnBoy26

Páid wrote: »

I would love to buy the wife a diesel but we could be still living in Dublin in two years time. From what I've read and what people have told me is that there could be dpf and/or dmf issues with a modern diesel with lots of city driving.

Get another petrol car to replace the Almera. Those Almeras are about as reliable as cars get so finding something modern with the same reliability won't be so easy. My reccomendation would be to look out for something like a petrol Hyundai i30, KIA cee'd or if you can go a little older a hatchback 05/06 corolla. All three are very reliable and are decent cars.

Bigus

Drop in to john Hayes for starters.

Theanswers

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

Get another petrol car to replace the Almera. Those Almeras are about as reliable as cars get so finding something modern with the same reliability won't be so easy. My reccomendation would be to look out for something like a petrol Hyundai i30, KIA cee'd or if you can go a little older a hatchback 05/06 corolla. All three are very reliable and are decent cars.

Sorry - Short Term Gain at the the expense of long term.

Petrol cars do not work in the countryside. They will cost you a-lot in fuel, nearly every trip anywhere is long.

JohnBoy26

Theanswers wrote: »

Sorry - Short Term Gain at the the expense of long term.

Petrol cars do not work in the countryside. They will cost you a-lot in fuel, nearly every trip anywhere is long.

The op and his wife will be another year or two in Dublin and for all we know maybe even longer. The op's wife from what I gather does short trips and city driving. A diesel is not very good for this type of driving and could end up costing a lot in maintenance as a result, even in the short term. A diesel also won't get a chance to warm up properly in city driving which means the mpg advantage will be pretty much negated. that coupled with a higher purchase price makes diesel a bad option for the op's wife IMO.

Saying petrols "don't" work in the countryside is rubbish. Of course they work in the countryside. Cars( be they petrol or diesel) are more efficient doing 50mph on a rural road compared to being stuck in city traffic.

A petrol mightn't be as efficient as a diesel in the same rural situation but most smaller petrols work fine in the countryside. The three cars I mentioned are pretty efficient on fuel aswel and they are easy to maintain.

Seweryn

Theanswers wrote: »

Petrol cars do not work in the countryside. They will cost you a-lot in fuel, nearly every trip anywhere is long.

That is a complete rubbish TBH.

Secondly, fuel is not the only cost of car ownership.

Páid

Thanks everyone for your replies. We've decided to try to find a 1.6 petrol Focus or Octavia saloon for 8k or less that will give us the best of both worlds.

I understand why modern diesels aren't suited to city driving. I'll admit that the cheaper tax was a big incentive for me considering one.

Can someone explain the following to me - on carzone there are 323 Mondeos that are 2009 or newer and on CO2 based tax. 319 are diesel and 4 are petrol. Are all those diesel Mondeo drivers I see driving around Dublin going to have problems with their dmf's and dpf's and higher maintenance costs?

Noccy_Mondy

The vast majority of Mondeos are diesel, the petrol engines were discontinued in late 2010/2011, so there was no option but diesel.
As for needing diesel in the country, tbh it makes no difference, I had a petrol car before this one and I find very little in the difference in running costs.