family car

bountyhunter87

Hi,

So im looking for a family car for me my wife and one baby.
6k budget.
im 28 and have been driving vans for the last 10 years. vw caddy mainly
now i need a car.
what do ye suggest for a small family like this.
2 round trips of 100 miles a week and just pottering around town or parked up the other days.
im not sure of petrol or diesel. have always driven diesel 1.9 tdi mainly.year does not bother me. would want roughly 100bhp. have looked at vw golf 1.9tdi and focus 1.6tdci but am clueless when it comes to petrol.

any suggestions?
Thanks

bazz26

If you can find a clean and tidy Golf TDi for €6k then I'd take it over a Focus 1.6 TDCi as it will probably be the more reliable. You may have to drop back a year for a Golf though on your budget. Skoda Octavia is also worth looking at, same engine as the Golf and also shares alot of other bits with it. Corolla hatchback is worth looking at too but like Golfs the good ones tend to fetch good money.

If going petrol then the Corolla would be alot nipper than both similar Focus or Golf. You have more chance of finding a cleaner petrol example than diesel on your budget.

Soarer

Surely this'd be got for near the €6k mark.

She's the T-Spirit an' all.

Golfgorfield

Prius has got plenty of hidden demon costs if anything goes wrong, plus space is an issue.

Focus 1.6tdci would be a good route, very reliable and efficient, easy to re sell.

VW Jetta is another that might fit into your range, strong spacious and reliable, tax would be big enough tho as your budget wont get you a 08 Jetta.

Soarer

Golfgorfield wrote: »

Prius has got plenty of hidden demon costs if anything goes wrong, plus space is an issue.

Focus 1.6tdci would be a good route, very reliable and efficient, easy to re sell.

VW Jetta is another that might fit into your range, strong spacious and reliable, tax would be big enough tho as your budget wont get you a 08 Jetta.

Like what?

And a modern 1.6 diesel doing short journeys won't throw up any issues?

Golfgorfield

Soarer wrote: »

Like what?

And a modern 1.6 diesel doing short journeys won't throw up any issues?

I've owned all 3 of the cars i gave my opinion on, just giving my opinion, as opposed to your good self looking for a confrontation.

Battery issues with the prius are common, replacements are €2500, they are appalling on fuel despite the image, and the eco tyres are both expensive and downright dangerous in the wet. Thats just my experience.

Soarer

I'm not looking for a confrontation. Just looking for you to clarify your statement. We've had 2 since 2008, and have had nothing but trouble free motoring.

And what you've posted above is scaremongering of the highest order.

- Battery issues are not common, far from it in fact. Toyota sold 3 million 2nd gen. Prius' (like the one I linked to) worldwide. Woudl they have sold that many if "battery failures are common"? Obviously these things happen every so often. But the same can be said for any car. I'd wager there have been far fewer battery issues than, say, injector faults in a Megane diesel.
- They are not appalling on fuel. My wife doesn't know how to drive it properly, and she regularly get high 40s mpg. When I drive it, I get mid 50s.
- I agree with you on eco tyres. They're tripe. But just buy normal tyres when they need to be replaced.

So maybe a bit more education, and a bit less agenda is called for?

EDIT: Here's a report from last year about battery failure rate for the Prius. The headline figures are, based on the 2013 Consumer Reports Annual Autos Survey....

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% failure
2005

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2
2006

---

3
2007

---

1
2008

---

0.5
2009

---

0.3
2010

---

0.1

Hardly "common".

Linky

bazz26

I find it a bit bizarre claiming a Prius will have expensive hidden costs while a Focus 1.6 TDCi wouldn't.