Advice on replacing car. 10k +/- 3k budget

ElWalrus

Hi all,
Just looking for some advice on purchasing a second hand car. Its time to send the old one to the great scrap heap in the sky! (about 460k km on the clock, 06 astra h hatchback 1.4 petrol).

I tend to do high milage (40k a year), mostly motorway, but whatever car I get, Im planning on keeping for a good while. Wont be worth much when Im finished with it. In terms of what Im looking for , its reliability, economy, safety, comfort, drive, looks in that order.

I was thinking mid range diesels, a couple of years old, before I started looking. Things like a focus, octavia, c'eed and the like.

So far I've come across a 151 focus style saloon 1.5d with 121k km on the clock for 12,900. Also going looking at a 2012 passat 1.5 diesel with 120 k km on the clock too for 9500.

Just looking for advice, opinions, and maybe other cars i may be over looking. Thanks.

Philb76

Wow that's incredible the astra going to that mileage out of ur list my choice wud be Octavia for comfort and space the ceed for looks

kerten

I would have something with comfortable seats at that mileage Volvo s60\s80 ?

Nuw

I'd be lurking at something like this in that kind of budget and given your driving. It's been designed to do exactly that, munching m-way miles.

bear1

I couldn't handle the idea of doing 40k a year in a 1.5 diesel.
Would you not consider going for at least 2 litres?
Far more relaxing, would probably be just as economical and just a better engine a round.

ElWalrus

Thanks to everyone who replied. Have to admit, I hadn't considered a luxobarge type (merc) but I'd be worried it might be pricey to maintain/repair.


Also didn't think about looking at volvo s40/60 so cheers for the inspiration.



So far, I've looked at a 151 1.5D Focus Saloon (km 120k, asking €12.9k), 2012 1.6L Comfortline Passat (141k, €9.5k), a 141 Skoda Octavia Elegance (91k, €14k). Took them all for a drive, all pretty immaculate condition, and all were solid on the road (funnily, I thought the focus was the best drive of the bunch). Of all the prices listed, there probably only the skoda would budge by anything decent.



Must have a look at volvos now too. Also, would it be worth considering an Astra again, I kinda grew fond of the Astra, and while a few things went in it that I would have preferred didn't, it didn't let me down in any major way. Anyone have any options on the Astra J model? Thanks again.

ElWalrus

bear1 wrote: »

I couldn't handle the idea of doing 40k a year in a 1.5 diesel.
Would you not consider going for at least 2 litres?
Far more relaxing, would probably be just as economical and just a better engine a round.

Yeah, was thinking should I get a 2L, just seems to be a lot more 1.6's around (maybe there's a reason for that :pac:) and obviously will cost more so would have to drop the year/spec or bump the mileage for similar cars. That sounds like a trade-off you would make though, is it?

bear1

ElWalrus wrote: »

Yeah, was thinking should I get a 2L, just seems to be a lot more 1.6's around (maybe there's a reason for that :pac:) and obviously will cost more so would have to drop the year/spec or bump the mileage for similar cars. That sounds like a trade-off you would make though, is it?

1.6s everywhere thanks to the greens. I'd rather drop back a year tbh but that's me.
The 1.6 might be ok for some but I couldn't hack it.

Nuw

ElWalrus wrote: »

Thanks to everyone who replied. Have to admit, I hadn't considered a luxobarge type  (merc) but I'd be worried it might be pricey to maintain/repair.
Also didn't think about looking at volvo s40/60 so cheers for the inspiration.

It most likely won't break the bank more than any other brands that are perceived to be cheaper. The parts might be a tad more expensive but the comfort levels are something else, and I do believe that given your mileage, it's money well spent. Be it Volvos are Mercs, they're actually quite reliable (generally speaking, always depends on specific engine and models), especially given the fact they'll be used at somewhat constant speed on Mways (which is the least stressful on mechanical parts). 

From personal experience, I did this type of mileage myself for 6 years for work, the moment I got my ass into a Merc, my life simply got better for it, I was less tired after long journeys, I saw myself being less of an agressive driver than I was in the Megane I drove before... don't get me wrong here, I'm not claiming a car "changed my entire life" but it did make less of a burden to drive that much, which in turn had a positive impact (however small) on the rest... I strongly suggest to try one out at least, you won't regret it.

Nuw

Oh and on maintenance cost note, the Merc I got back then (C-Class 250 TD W202) cost me less to run than the megane (MK1, 1.9 TD) overall as it needed less attention, was easier on insurance and drank less fuel (not much mind you, got avg. 6.5 l/100km from the merc, 6.9 from the renault) over the same mileage, difference wasn't big, saved probably 100 quid/year, but it goes to show that you should choose your tool carefully for the job at hand.

NIMAN

Did you see this Passat CC for sale?

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057887707

ElWalrus

Thanks to all who offered advice.So, I've convinced myself that I want a Skoda Octavia, seems to tick all the boxes that I'm looking for.



The 1.6L that I've driven, the garage that's selling it has reduced the price to €13k. Did a car check on it, and it had a condition alert which is making me wary. (He had mentioned that it had a ding on the passenger side that was repaired, but anyway). I couldn't notice anything wrong when driving it. He is looking for cash which is also making me a bit wary, and the car is out of NCT which I would insist on before going near it. Now saying that, he is the mechanic that I go to for servicing, so I have a history with him, and wouldn't think he would try pull a fast one, but still, a there's a lot of money at stake here.


On the other hand, there is a dealer nearby that specialized in UK imports (probably ex fleet cars) that has a same car 2014 Octavia elegance spec expect that it is a 2L with nicer interior (leather upgrade, etc.) but has 91,000 miles on the clock (the other one has 60,000 miles). Thing is though, the car is actually immaculate. The other garage knows of them and is convinced they are BCA clocked cars and wouldn't touch them with a barge pole (But hes not going to be impartial ). This is also going at 13k.


Both were lovely to look at, drove fine, the first one has those issues that I mentioned that are niggling at the back of my mind. The second one, he claims that there is a service history (will show it to me next time I'm in), did a HPI check and the mileage was at 76,000 at 2017) but other than that no other red flags). Sorry for the long post, just wondering which should I go for, or should I run a mile from both.


Thanks.

Philb76

Octavia are a great all rounder and u have done ur homework the 2litre is better engine if the uk one is better spec cleaner and checks out 15000 miles in a year seems average but its ur money and good luck with the purchase

Nuw

2.0L all the way! I don't have a massive experience with VAG engines but on paper the 2.0L makes much more sense to me... and don't worry your mechanic won't have his feelings hurt (and if he does, it's time to find a new one). Just make sure the service history is properly documented, ideally with itemised bills. If anything sparks suspicion, walk away. It's your money (and quite a lot of it at that), if either car raise an eyebrow for any reason, find another one, there's plenty of options out there in your budget

R.O.R

If you have the UK reg for the import, it's worth sticking it in to the old Google machine - quite a lot of the time it will appear on the stock list from whichever auction site sold it, and if you are lucky you'll see the mileage and condition report from the auction house.