5K for a 70 mile commute

chrismon

Hi all,

My Fiances car is dying and is in need of something new.
We have around 5K give or take to spend.
She commutes 35 miles each to work on a dodgy enough road.
Any ideas of what would be a decent car in our range?
I was thinking of possibly a 08+ 2.0 Passat or something similar but wanted to hear other ideas.
She after a saloon type car.

Thanks!

Bigus

chrismon wrote: »

Hi all,

My Fiances car is dying and is in need of something new.
We have around 5K give or take to spend.
She commutes 35 miles each to work on a dodgy enough road.
Any ideas of what would be a decent car in our range?
I was thinking of possibly a 08+ 2.0 Passat or something similar but wanted to hear other ideas.
She after a saloon type car.

Thanks!

There's value in saloons as their a bit un trendy , so you're on the right track , I'd be trying to get up to 2010 though as an 08 is 10 years old in a few days.

bazz26

I'd be looking at something like a Renault Laguna III, good value in them these days as they still have a stigma from the older model with people. Ideally a 2.0 litre would be worth getting but they are rare enough to find here in the Laguna III.

If the low mileage can be verified on this then it's worth a look:
https://www.carsireland.ie/detail.php?ad_id=1832713&r=s.php%3Fm%3D72%26o%3D618%26pp%3D50%26g%3D1

The Citroen C5 is also worth considering:
https://www.carsireland.ie/detail.php?ad_id=1771666&r=s.php%3Fm%3D16%26o%3D140%26r%3D2009%26pp%3D50%26g%3D0
https://www.carsireland.ie/detail.php?ad_id=1891024&r=s.php%3Fm%3D16%26o%3D140%26r%3D2009%26pp%3D50%26g%3D0

colm_mcm

Bigus wrote: »

There's value in saloons as their a bit un trendy , so you're on the right track , I'd be trying to get up to 2010 though as an 08 is 10 years old in a few days.

€5k for a good 2010 Passat might be a bit optimistic

bear1

Volvo s60 or s80 would be my choice

Cee-Jay-Cee

Get a 1.8 civic saloon, economical and reliable. Anything you could afford in diesel will have high miles on it already and will have approximately another 20k+ miles on it next year.

Something like this >> https://www.donedeal.ie/view/17494820

ofcork

An avensis 07 or 08 would suit and be reliable.

logie101

chrismon wrote: »

Hi all,

My Fiances car is dying and is in need of something new.
We have around 5K give or take to spend.
She commutes 35 miles each to work on a dodgy enough road.
Any ideas of what would be a decent car in our range?
I was thinking of possibly a 08+ 2.0 Passat or something similar but wanted to hear other ideas.
She after a saloon type car.

Thanks!

I've a great VW Passat Estate 08 2.0tdi Car for sale if you are interested for sub €5k.
PM for details.

James Bond Junior

bear1 wrote: »

Volvo s60 or s80 would be my choice

I do an identical commute and my S60 costs me 50% more than the mondeo it replaced.

OP go with a 1.8 tdci focus or mondeo. I ran one for nearly 2 years on the exact same mileage and it was the best for economics and comfort.

porsche boy

bazz26 wrote:

I'd be looking at something like a Renault Laguna III, good value in them these days as they still have a stigma from the older model with people. Ideally a 2.0 litre would be worth getting but they are rare enough to find here in the Laguna III.

bazz26 wrote:

The Citroen C5 is also worth considering:

My god man, thats not great advice at all IMO. The C5's are alright to a point but really suffer with build quality as they get older, similar with Renault except worse.

martyc5674

James Bond Junior wrote: »

I do an identical commute and my S60 costs me 50% more than the mondeo it replaced.

OP go with a 1.8 tdci focus or mondeo. I ran one for nearly 2 years on the exact same mileage and it was the best for economics and comfort.

I’d agree with above. 1.8tdci engine is pretty bulletproof.
Big ticket items on the 1.8tdci setup is to make sure the wet belt has been changed relatively recently. There are 2 timing belts in them (from 08 on) and the lower one is a big enough job so often gets omitted/forgotten in the hope it won’t give up ... but it does, it should be changed at 125k miles. Also clutch and dmf are costly to replace but that advice goes for any other diesel car you may be looking at.
Marty.

chrismon

James Bond Junior wrote: »

I do an identical commute and my S60 costs me 50% more than the mondeo it replaced.

OP go with a 1.8 tdci focus or mondeo. I ran one for nearly 2 years on the exact same mileage and it was the best for economics and comfort.

Thanks all.
I'm thinking the focus or Mondeo alright.
Seem to be a good all rounder.

James Bond Junior

chrismon wrote: »

Thanks all.
I'm thinking the focus or Mondeo alright.
Seem to be a good all rounder.

Try and get a titanium x spec if you can. I know it nice to have those few extras such as leather and heated seats especially when you are spending the guts of 2 hours a day just getting to and from work.

bazz26

porsche boy wrote: »

My god man, thats not great advice at all IMO. The C5's are alright to a point but really suffer with build quality as they get older, similar with Renault except worse.

Well I'd disagree with that opinion especially on the Renault. The Laguna III was a new era for Renault in that it was a reliable and well built car, the polar opposite of the previous model. At the end of the day 9 or 10 year old 5k cars are not going to be perfect and can all come down to individual condition as I've seen similar aged German and Japanese cars that have been tatty and not looked after also so for me a Laguna III has no disadvantage in that sense.

James Bond Junior

bazz26 wrote: »

Well I'd disagree with that opinion especially on the Renault. The Laguna III was a new era for Renault in that it was a reliable and well built car, the polar opposite of the previous model. At the end of the day 9 or 10 year old 5k cars are not going to be perfect and can all come down to individual condition as I've seen similar aged German and Japanese cars that have been tatty and not looked after also so for me a Laguna III has no disadvantage in that sense.

A colleague who was doing the same mileage as the OP and bought a laguna for very small money and he couldn't kill it. Best car he ever had. I had one a loan car a few years ago and i thought it was superb for comfort and toys. My volvo looked like it could have been scrapped lately and an 08/09 laguna or a mondeo was my first choice to replace.

shaunr68

I did some research recently looking at which makes and models of vehicle are likely to cope with the terrible roads around here. I live a mile down a heavily potholed B road out in the sticks. In the past year I've spent hundreds on suspension, track rod ends, bushes, links and so on. Had enough and decided to change vehicle and hopefully pick up something more robust.

The website potholes.co.uk analysed the data on thousands of warranty claims. Their findings show that Honda, Toyota, Hyundai and Nissan are the least susceptible to claims relating to pothole damage. It explains why many of the locals here in west Clare drive Jap cars...I ended up importing a 2014 Toyota Auris from the UK last week.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/news/8971283/Best-cars-for-dealing-with-potholes.html

Top 10 most resilient manufacturers
1. Honda
2. Toyota
3. Hyundai
4. Nissan
5. Kia
6. Mitsubishi
7. Mini
8. Suzuki
9. Ford
10. Mazda

Top 10 least resilient manufacturers
1. Chrysler
2. Smart
3. Mercedes-Benz
4. Land Rover
5. Jaguar
6. Saab
7. Fiat
8. BMW
9. Seat
10. Vauxhall

bear1

But sure that review is near on 6 years old.

martyc5674

James Bond Junior wrote: »

Try and get a titanium x spec if you can. I know it nice to have those few extras such as leather and heated seats especially when you are spending the guts of 2 hours a day just getting to and from work.

Titanium AFAIK could only be bought new in UK. Better spec for sure but how do they fair out corrosion wise when they come over here?

James Bond Junior

martyc5674 wrote: »

Titanium AFAIK could only be bought new in UK. Better spec for sure but how do they fair out corrosion wise when they come over here?

My buddy got one last year and it seems fine. The corrosion idea on UK cars aren't as bad as they are made out to be.

martyc5674

James Bond Junior wrote: »

My buddy got one last year and it seems fine. The corrosion idea on UK cars aren't as bad as they are made out to be.

Cheers... I’d a different experience albeit with an older fiat that was ex UK.
Rear subframe started corroding badly... took it down treated it myself and it’s been fine, roll on a few years front subframe the same, swapped it out... then this year the NCT put 5 holes in my chassis rails.... I haven’t seen this level of corrosion on original Irish cars same year/model so there is some truth in it.

shaunr68

bear1 wrote: »

But sure that review is near on 6 years old.

Of course, and I didn't buy a Jap car solely on the basis of a 6 year old league table, but everything I read pointed to Honda, Toyota etc having a great reputation for not falling apart on rough roads.

Isn't the Toyota pickup the ride of choice for every self-respecting Jihadi as a platform to show off his RPG on the rutted dirt tracks of the middle east. I wouldn't have mentioned it but the OP mentioned dodgy roads. Certainly worth considering what makes of vehicle people living in these countries drive. My Renault Trafic van wouldn't last five minutes crossing the Khyber Pass

irishgrover

not sure if I'm allowed to do this, if not admins, please delete and accept my apologies. OP I'm buying a new (electric) car in Jan. I've got a 2011 Renault Laguna Initiale (their top model) 2.0 diesel which I'll be putting up for sale in the next couple of weeks. Leather, heated seats, sat nav etc, very well spec'ed. Have had it for almost 2 years (I do high motorway mileage and like to change car every couple of years. , bought 2nd hand from Renault dealer that originally sold it.
PM me if interested.
Either way, I did a lot of research, originally expected to by a skoda superb or 5 series, but after doing a lot of research on reliability went for the Renault - it was a good choice.
Previous car before that was a saab 93 and I would also highly recommend those. Both cars very comfortable.
best of luck

colm_mcm

How much do you want for the Laguna irishgrover?

irishgrover

colm_mcm wrote: »

How much do you want for the Laguna irishgrover?

Hi Colm, sorry for delayed response...christmas traveling etc. I won't be greedy as I don't intend to have it sitting on my driveway for weeks or months. Normally I take the average price for a similar car (which is around 7K), then knock off a few hundred to reflect that it's private sale not dealer, then knock off another few hundred to reflect the asking price and reality are not the same thing. So I'm guessing it will end up around 6.5 K.... but I've not done much research to be honest as yet on setting the price...

colm_mcm

I'm not looking at buying it, I'm just curious!
Laguna 2.0 is on my shortlist alright, but not changing straight away.

irishgrover

colm_mcm wrote:

I'm not looking at buying it, I'm just curious! Laguna 2.0 is on my shortlist alright, but not changing straight away.

I'd genuinely recommend for consideration in the future... They are very comfortable, although I do 90% of driving on motorway so it would have to be a poor 2 liter car that was not comfortable.... It's very well spec'ed and has a really great stereo (if you go for the initial)...I tend to have an eclectic mix of cars... Previously owned Saab 93 (good handling and incredibly comfortable seats), sonnata 2lt petrol (solid and we'll spec'ed).... Alfa 166 3lt petrol (****ing loved everything about it, including all the bits that fell off), and current family car is 3lt petrol v6 Subaru Tribeca (7 seater people carrier, high spec fun for all the family)....