What car should my newly retired dad buy?

Hey,

Just wanted opinions on this.

So my dad has just retired, he has been a sales rep all his life, current car is a 2016 Mondeo, before that it would have been a Passat and before that a Laguna so all kind of big enough cars.

His pension isn't the best and he will have to give back the company car soon, he's always had new cars so what's about to hit him will be a bit of a change.

He says he wants to spend 5k on a car but it can't be a small car he wants another saloon or something with a good bit of capacity.

The mother has a new enough Yaris but he refuses to drive it, says they need 2 cars and I'm not wasting my breath arguing with him that they only need one car.

What would you guys recommend he looks at? He's talking a Passat or Octavia obviously older models but any vag cars I have have all gone to crap after 5+ years so my inclination would be not to go near anything VAG group at the age car he will be looking at.

I suggested maybe an older Toyota or Lexus maybe, he won't be doing big miles so petrol is fine but no need for a massive engine either. 1.8 probably be grand.

Thanks

I can't recommend highly enough a Toyota hybrid for sheer reliability, cost of running, ease of driving without clutch wearing out knee joint etc, as well as having great safety features. They hold their value quite well too. I drive a CH-R, just love it.

Heres Johnny

Josie Scary Speedometer wrote: »

Hey,

Just wanted opinions on this.

So my dad has just retired, he has been a sales rep all his life, current car is a 2016 Mondeo, before that it would have been a Passat and before that a Laguna so all kind of big enough cars.

His pension isn't the best and he will have to give back the company car soon, he's always had new cars so what's about to hit him will be a bit of a change.

He says he wants to spend 5k on a car but it can't be a small car he wants another saloon or something with a good bit of capacity.

The mother has a new enough Yaris but he refuses to drive it, says they need 2 cars and I'm not wasting my breath arguing with him that they only need one car.

What would you guys recommend he looks at? He's talking a Passat or Octavia obviously older models but any vag cars I have have all gone to crap after 5+ years so my inclination would be not to go near anything VAG group at the age car he will be looking at.

I suggested maybe an older Toyota or Lexus maybe, he won't be doing big miles so petrol is fine but no need for a massive engine either. 1.8 probably be grand.

Thanks

Try buy the mondeo would be my suggestion. My dad bought his company car when he retired and gave it to my sister as a present (I only got a free pint at the retirement party)

mikeecho

Just the bus pass and the Yaris.

Sexual Chocolate

Renault Fluence ?

https://www.donedeal.ie/view/26083924

Kia Ceed estate ?

https://www.donedeal.ie/view/26246276

I also wouldn't be afraid of looking at Passats or Octavia's at that money you buy on condition. You could be lucky and find a gem with a good service history.

salamiii

cars

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars?price_from=3000&price_to=5000&source=private&sort=publishdate%20desc&numDoors=4&country=Ireland&previousOwners=1

punisher5112

Audi A6 or if he had the budget.... Dreams of course but a S3, rs4 or RS6.....

Isambard

he should replace the Yaris with something She wants , that he would drive too, and buy a Classic to polish up during lockdown and then enjoy.

I had Company Cars for years and had lost the joy of driving, it became a bit of a chore. I re-discovered the passion of the open road with my Classics.

n1ck

punisher5112 wrote: »

Audi A6 or if he had the budget.... Dreams of course but a S3, rs4 or RS6.....

What A6 are you getting for 5k?

shane b

Biggest issue is going to find a petrol car in that D-segment size for 5K ish. They all seem to be diesel at that price. On Donedeal there is only 1 Passat and 3 Octavia petrols for sale at 5000 euro. No Mondeos, Avensis or Mazda 6 petrols.

punisher5112

n1ck wrote: »

What A6 are you getting for 5k?

Obviously an older one, pretty self explanatory, sure with €5k he ain't getting anything new is he.

passatman86

2 petrol toyotas

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/toyota-avensis-1-8-petrol/26272773
Possibly boot lines are off

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/09-toyota-corolla-1-4-terra-nct-tax/26253937

colm_mcm

Grim.

bazz26

Jesus, you could fit your arm between the shut lines on the boot of that Avensis.

punisher5112

Saab aero......

Volvo v5

Alfalfa Romeo.....

ZV Yoda

https://www.donedeal.ie/view/25860662

This is an absolute peach. He’d get it for half his budget. Style, practicality & exclusivity. With change left over. I had one of these for 6 years. Better built than any German equivalent.

Cue the usual Alfa bashers!

Matthewjohn

Volvo S40, good value, nicely equipped and still looks fresh IMO.

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/volvo-s40-se-flexifuel-2008/26221071

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/excellent-condition-taxed-5-21/25844278

punisher5112

ZV Yoda wrote: »

https://www.donedeal.ie/view/25860662

This is an absolute peach. He’d get it for half his budget. Style, practicality & exclusivity. With change left over. I had one of these for 6 years. Better built than any German equivalent.

Cue the usual Alfa bashers!

Smashing motor, would love the engine as a coffee table.

boardise

Nice looking Avensis on Cars Ireland..2009, red, 90k miles. Going for just under 5k. Fresh car with power and space. Tax 390.

AndrewJRenko

This opinion will be about as popular as the proverbial fart in a spacesuit, but if he's going to be living off a fairly limited pension, you might want to have a good chat with him about whether it makes sense to pay for two taxed, insured, maintained, NCT'd cars to sit outside their door 99% of the time. How often will both cars be used at the same time? Does he have reasonable access to GoCar or other car sharing schemes?

As a company car owner, he may well not be quite so conscious about the costs of maintaining a vehicle on the road, or with the maintenance costs of 10-15 year old vehicles, when he always had 2-3 year old vehicles, or the difficulties in insuring older cars.

Does he really want to devote a good chunk of his limited pension for this?

bilbot79

With the age of car he'll need to buy I'd recommend he head up North and import an X Type. They are peanuts and won't cost too much to import

CoBo55

Has he enquired about insurance? It can be very sore as he is effectively starting from scratch.

Rrrrrr2

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I can't recommend highly enough a Toyota hybrid for sheer reliability, cost of running, ease of driving without clutch wearing out knee joint etc, as well as having great safety features. They hold their value quite well too. I drive a CH-R, just love it.

The only problem being he only has €5k to spend- used CHRs still around the €15k mark plus!

saabsaab

How about something like this? Mercedes 230E .


Classic car, yax 56 per year, classic car insurance prob 150, fuel cost if you don't do much mileage would be low and you have access to the 'modern' Yaris. Comfort space and probably values to increase as time goes on.

shanec1928

saabsaab wrote: »

How about something like this? Mercedes 230E .


Classic car, yax 56 per year, classic car insurance prob 150, fuel cost if you don't do much mileage would be low and you have access to the 'modern' Yaris. Comfort space and probably values to increase as time goes on.

unless things have changed do you also not need to have an insured car on the road in order to take out classic insurance

saabsaab

shanec1928 wrote: »

unless things have changed do you also not need to have an insured car on the road in order to take out classic insurance

Usually yes but the Yaris should cover that?

Isambard

saabsaab wrote: »

Usually yes but the Yaris should cover that?

it would

saabsaab

Or like this



https://www.donedeal.ie/vintagecars-for-sale/mercedes-benz/26182888


less power but could do the job.

selectamatic

2008 1.8 civic saloon. Easily in budget. Look quite nice, well put together and a very reasonable balance between economy and power.

punisher5112

selectamatic wrote: »

2008 1.8 civic saloon. Easily in budget. Look quite nice, well put together and a very reasonable balance between economy and power.

Yes it would be a great buy. Super reliable.

CoBo55

CoBo55 wrote: »

Has he enquired about insurance? It can be very sore as he is effectively starting from scratch.

Will it be that bad? I think some companies now will take company car experience as if you are a named driver

Gael23

I’d try and work out a deal to buy the Mondeo from his company

CoBo55

Josie Scary Speedometer wrote: »

Will it be that bad? I think some companies now will take company car experience as if you are a named driver

He should be ringing a few just to get an idea of prices. The company he's insured with for the company car would be my first phone call.

colm_mcm

Gael23 wrote: »

I’d try and work out a deal to buy the Mondeo from his company

Would be double the budget though.

Gael23

colm_mcm wrote: »

Would be double the budget though.

In the situation I’d expect there’s a deal to be done.