New Car Time It Seems

nozzferrahhtoo

So looks like I might be requiring a new car after some happy feckor sailed into the back passenger side of my 318D Touring BMW. Car was a 2007 model which I purchased in 2009 for €17500 give or take on finance.

Insurance Company decided the cost of repairs came to €11,000 and current market value of the car is €8300. So to them it is a "write off".

Loved the car, great drive, built in navi and computer system, very diesel efficient, never had trouble with it of note (except I suffered from the "known issue" of the turbo in that model, but when it died they replaced the entire turbo module for free on "good will" which translates as "Yea, our fault, sorry".)

Only down size was internal space. Looked like a monster from the outside, but inside two Child Seats rendered the middle seat too small to use and I have recently had second child. And a single Child Buggy in the Boot rendered it pretty much full and unusable too.

So where to go from here? Looking at around the same budget again perhaps.... €17500-20000. Want pretty much everything I had enjoyed with the BMW, but with more space inside. Happy to drop down from a 1.8 if it makes sense. No desire to go upwards.

Last time I was in Dublin I rented the new Skoda Octavia and I was over joyed with it. Wonderful drive, wonderfully spacious in seating and boot space. So that would be the KIND of thing I am looking at. Being a German Resident VW and Skoda seem the way to go.

I never liked mercedes, see little reason to fork out on an Audi, and due to the internal space restrictions of BMW I do not think I would go BMW again. So over here VW and Skoda seem to make the most sense.

Usage: 90% just going to work and shops and back (maximum 20km round trips). Occasional holiday trips to London by car (Say twice a year). And then monthly I spend about 20 hours in the car driving around my locality playing Ingress.

Family: Girlfriend, 2 kids aged nearly 5 and nearly 1.

Target: Barring crashes, I would aim to buy for longevity. That is, my intention is usually to buy a car and drive it into the ground until it gives up on me, not me on it.

Suggestions?

Moneymaker

What about a 520d?

Failing that, an Octavia or Superb sound like your best options.

You could look at a Volvo S60 D4 as well. My family is on its 3rd and it's a brilliant car.

nozzferrahhtoo

Thanks. As I said I might avoid BMW again, but yeah I do intend to at least test drive one of the larger Range BMWs before I write them off entirely. But my expectation at this time is I wont go near BMW again this time.

Octavia, Superb, Passat are three cars I fully intend to test drive too. Did not think of the Volvo so will add that to the list, but they are not as common over here so purchase prices tend to be higher, as does maintenance costs and parts. Skoda have that advantage of being essentially VW under the bonnet so repairs and maintenance tend to be much cheaper.

So I guess thats 5 cars on my test drive list so far. Anything else I should be considering to add to it? Stay away from Ford?

Why is the family on the third Volvo S60 D4 What happened to the previous two?

Moneymaker

nozzferrahhtoo wrote: »

Thanks. As I said I might avoid BMW again, but yeah I do intend to at least test drive one of the larger Range BMWs before I write them off entirely. But my expectation at this time is I wont go near BMW again this time.

You have the infamous timing chain issues too so maybe it's for the best. An F10 is probably out of budget so tread carefully if you look at one.

nozzferrahhtoo wrote: »

So I guess thats 5 cars on my test drive list so far. Anything else I should be considering to add to it? Stay away from Ford?

Not tried a Mondeo but they are step down in a lot of people's eyes in terms of build quality, resale value etc.

nozzferrahhtoo wrote: »

Why is the family on the third Volvo S60 D4 What happened to the previous two?

Company cars. The two previous models were around for 4 years, did about 300,000km each and never gave a days trouble. Serviced regularly and ran beautifully. They are a very safe car, decent boot size so it's a perfect family car imo. They are also far more comfortable then any VW or Skoda in your budget imo.

nozzferrahhtoo

Budget is just general, can raise it if sufficiently compelled to do so. I am basing it on my income from 2009 when I got the last car. But that income has risen a bit. So too can my budget. But I will be sensible too.

Ok I will certainly try out the Volvo then, sounds promising.

I was very surprised at just how much I liked the Skoda Octavia I rented while I was last home in Ireland in 2014 though. It stayed with me just how nice a car that was to drive and how massive it was in terms of seat and boot space. It is certainly the template I am using to judge other car experiences by during my upcoming purchase.

Any idea on how the Volvo boot size compares to the Octavia I drove? Around the same probably?

Viper_JB

Maybe a Skoda Yeti would be a good option, lots of space inside and decent boot space so you wouldn't be missing it from the touring (bit more of a utility vehicle so depends on your needs really) but the interior is really hard wearing and great if you have kids, that or an estate superb - love the superb in an estate they look great and have huge space in them, I'd probably avoid most of the BMW's if space is an issue, unless you're looking at one the X series, but I really dislike all of them.

nozzferrahhtoo

Yeah I have only seen the X from the outside but my impression is that the space increase is not significant and certainly does not scale with the price increase. The model seems to add height more than anything else, which is not a concern for me at all really. Maybe I will return to BMW, as I do like them, when the kids are grown up and moved out. But for now I think I am writing them off. But as above, I will at least test drive a 5 series and maybe an X before I close the book. I just do not expect to be swayed by it.

There does seem to be few decent cars that are not rendered silly by two child seats though. Mostly the seats appear to encroach into the middle seat space. Anyone here running a car with two child seats where someone can still comfortably travel in the back? If so, what are you driving?

Moneymaker

nozzferrahhtoo wrote: »

Any idea on how the Volvo boot size compares to the Octavia I drove? Around the same probably?

Honestly, the S60 while it has a good sized boot, it's not the bottomless pit you'd expect from a Volvo. Sufficient for a family, definitely though. It does mean you have more leg room and the S60 is one of the most comfortable cars i've ever sat in. The Octavia is well known for having a giant boot and it's also available in a hatchback which has its advantages.

Honestly the best way to know is to test drive both models and make a visual comparison based on your own needs.

The S60 would be a step up in comfort and refinement over the Octavia imo. We went for a trip down to family in Tipp from Dublin last weekend and it returned 56mpg which is very respectable.

bazz26

Skoda Superb Combi, has pretty much all the gadgets and space you could need.

http://www.driving.ie/used-cars/Skoda/Superb/ELEGANT-2.0/134114223795777280/

nozzferrahhtoo

Thanks all. Yes it all comes down to test driving in the end. And I might even try and reduce it to two or three choices after that and try to rent or borrow some of them for a week to really get a feel for them. As a test drive never gives a full feel for a car like driving it for a week in your normal use does. I am nothing if not thorough

Right now I am just compiling a list of WHAT to test drive, so all the above has been a help thanks.

nozzferrahhtoo

Argh back to the drawing board it seems. We have had a few "family discussions" and decided to change tack entirely and start looking at 7 seaters.

Here in Germany the Zafira and Touran appear to be generally the car of choice in that class. I see very few of the Quas or Citron alternatives going around.

What should I be looking for in 2010-2014 second hand cars of these types? We have "Scheckheftgepflegt" in Germany which means your second hand car had all the correct services at the correct times in the correct garages. So I will only look at those. But in general what should I be looking for?

I know crap all about cars, so what parts like the drive belt need to be replaced reoutinely and how many KM should I be wary of on such parts? If the belt has not been replaced in 10k, 20k, 50k, 100k, where should I most be concerned? And what other parts like that should I be checking these service histories for?

Idbatterim

I believe a new a new vw touran out in november...

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/volkswagen/touran/90557/new-vw-touran-mpv-is-larger-and-more-efficient the current one is from E23,250 according to vw.de

http://www.volkswagen.de/de/volkswagen-aktuell/News.suffix.html/2015~2Fder-neue-touran-allem-gewachsen.html

http://www.volkswagen.de/de/models/touran/gallery.html

nozzferrahhtoo

Thanks. Trying to stick to second hand cars and keeping the price under 17500 where possible. Was looking at a 2010 Espace today for about 13500 for example. Might go test drive that one later.

bazz26

The question you have to ask is do you need to use the 7 seats for just transporting people around or do you need luggage space too. Alot of the smaller 7 seaters like the Zafira have very little boot space as the 3rd row of seats eat into it. In this case a full size 7 seater like a Ford Galaxy or VW Sharan would be a better choice.

nozzferrahhtoo

I think ideally I would go for a model that easily switches between the two options. I do not envision much need to require 7 seats and extra space at the SAME time. And on the very rare occasions where I do, here in Germany they have a very good rental scheme for roof boxes, so you do not need to buy and store your own.

This one has entirely removable seats, leather seats, and TElevisions in the seats too. Probably over kill for me but tempting. ADAC rates the model very highly except for its relatively high fuel consumption. But it marks it very well for everything else.

http://ww3.autoscout24.de/classified/265702352?asrc=st%7Cs

Putting the seats somewhere when removing them however might be a pain in the ass. I guess with the Touran and Zafira, the 6th and 7th seat fold down into the car.

bazz26

Those Espaces can be more trouble than they are worth. Electrics can give no end of trouble in them. Maybe they sorted them out by 2010 but they stopped selling them here in Ireland well before that.

nozzferrahhtoo

Ive heard that from a few sources but as you say the 2010 models and later seem to have sorted it out.

I test drove it this evening though and it was niiiice. Felt like a smooth leather throne and remarkably quiet for a Diesel.

AND not just the 2 back seats but the 3 middle seats are removable. Giving a CRAP load of transport space should it be required for anything. nice selling point, where the tourans and zafiras only allow folding down of the back two seats.

The slightly high price and Diesel consumption are giving me pause but so far the only faults I can find with the car! Comes with a good warranty and garantie too.

http://ww3.autoscout24.de/classified/265702352?asrc=st|as

The same dealer however has a Sharan 11.5kEuro for a 2008 model. 118500km, TUV/HU is up to 01/12/2016 which is the national car test. Quite tempted by this, but need to test drive it on Tuesday before I think more on it.

Same dealer also tried to tempt me with a Mazda 5 Van Sendo. Display model so its 2014 but totally unused. Has 1000km on the clock. Selling for EUR-19250. Its essentially a 6 seater though. The middle "seat" that would make it a 7 seater is a joke. You wouldnt sit a hobbit on it. So essentially just a 6 seater really.

Loads to consider anyway! But I got very into the Espace, so need to step back and make sure I do not vote with my heart over my head