Car for approx 10K

d31b0y

Hi, looking to buy a car for approximately 10K. Looking for;
Low mileage.
Newish (2008 onwards)
Low tax.
Good MPG.
Reliable for at least +5 years more.
Nice interior a must.
Not a hatchback.
Hybrid / Diesel (or straight petrol, if the MPG is good I suppose)

I'll be driving;
100km per week of country roads
500km per week of motorway
Very little city driving.

I've had a look at a few different motors like;
Civic hybrid
Renault Fluence
Citroen C5
Ford Mondeo
and more but I just can't decide what would be the best for me and my situation.

Any recommendations?

d31b0y

Anybody? I keep coming back to the Fluence as there are a lot of them around and the 2012's are just about in my price range. But I also love how different the Civic hybrid interior is.

Casey78

People will try and warn you off the Renault but I've had a Fluence since 2012 and haven't had one ounce of trouble with it.
Goodlooking car outside and nice interior imo, nice to drive, comfortable,and cheap to tax and run.
I'd have no problem recommending it.

Noccy_Mondy

The Fluence is very bland and isn't very well equipped as standard. Think along the lines of passats, mondeos, insignias, accords. Could get a post 08 3 series for under 10k quite easily. All of the above are a major step above the 1.5 fluence.

d31b0y

I have an 02 3 series at the moment and love it but it's the fuel economy that's killing me.

d31b0y

Ok, I am just going to throw a few cars out there. I am looking for fuel efficiency and low(ish) tax.

09 Ford Mondeo Zetec
50k miles. 1.8 diesel. Lovely interior.

09 Opel Insignia
42.5k miles. 2.0 diesel. Lovely car externally. I don't think the pics do the interior justice.

09 Ford Mondeo
67k miles. 2.0 diesel. Smashing interior again. Maybe I need a Mondeo.

10 Renault Fluence
25k miles. 1.5 diesel. Nice interior compared to some other fluences about. Great mileage.


Is it possible to work out road tax easily these days?

Edit, I was able to find out the road tax for the two mondeos. The first was 280. The second was 750! Why the massive jump?

Noccy_Mondy

That first mondeo is far overpriced for what it is, regardless of the low mileage, which has my eyebrows raised. You can check the tax rates of any car by popping the reg in here

https://www.motortax.ie/OMT/motortaxinforeg.do

billy few mates

Seat Leon 1.9 Tdi...?
Nice car, very like a VW Golf but a lot cheaper to buy.

bazz26

d31b0y wrote: »

Ok, I am just going to throw a few cars out there. I am looking for fuel efficiency and low(ish) tax.

09 Ford Mondeo Zetec
50k miles. 1.8 diesel. Lovely interior.

09 Opel Insignia
42.5k miles. 2.0 diesel. Lovely car externally. I don't think the pics do the interior justice.

09 Ford Mondeo
67k miles. 2.0 diesel. Smashing interior again. Maybe I need a Mondeo.

10 Renault Fluence
25k miles. 1.5 diesel. Nice interior compared to some other fluences about. Great mileage.


Is it possible to work out road tax easily these days?

Edit, I was able to find out the road tax for the two mondeos. The first was 280. The second was 750! Why the massive jump?

Both Mondeos have different emissions which motor tax is now based on. The first has the old 1.8 litre and is manual, the second one is 2.0 litre and automatic. The early automatics had higher emissions hence higher motor tax.

But just the add, motor tax is not the end all and be all of running a car, people tend to focus too much on it when buying. Cars that cost more to tax tend to cost less to buy and vice versa.

d31b0y

billy few mates wrote: »

Seat Leon 1.9 Tdi...?
Nice car, very like a VW Golf but a lot cheaper to buy.

Don't really want a hatch but that car looks pretty well. Might look into it further.

bazz26 wrote: »

Both Mondeos have different emissions which motor tax is now based on. The first has the old 1.8 litre and is manual, the second one is 2.0 litre and automatic. The early automatics had higher emissions hence higher motor tax.

But just the add, motor tax is not the end all and be all of running a car, people tend to focus too much on it when buying. Cars that cost more to tax tend to cost less to buy and vice versa.

I guess I knew the reason (emissions), I was just shocked at the difference. Thanks for the info re auto / manual. Definitely something to keep an eye on.

Idbatterim

I have an 02 3 series at the moment and love it but it's the fuel economy that's killing me.

which engine, if its is any of the petrols, unless you have the 330 they are only 5 speed, 6 would be better for you as you do quite a bit of motorway driving...

d31b0y

Yeah, it's a 5 speed. Nearly pulled the trigger on that 1.8 deisel mondeo but it was snatched from under me at the last second.