Is this a good deal on a ST ? / Spec me a car

Dangerous Dave · 15 Dec 2007 at 19:41

Looking to replace the girlfriends 307SW HDI, after a gentle nudge she likes a Mondeo ST or her next choice was a new shape Zafira !. There are plenty available however have managed to track down a 9 month old TDCI estate in blue with 13k on the clock up for £13k included in this deal is a 5k trade in for a 02 307SW with 65k on the clock, I suspect another £500-1k can be taking away from the cost to change as the dealer put no fight up for the trade in price which is over book assuming as December will be a quite month for them.

I am not too cluded up on 2nd ST prices to know if this is a good deal there are 04 plate ones with 20-30k on the clock still going to around 9-10k in this area. We plan to keep the car for 4 years and would really want it to still be worth more than a couple of K.

Any other suggestions on cars ? The girlfriend has ruled out, all Mazdas, Civic, Focus, C-Max, Leon, 3 series, Astra, Golf and anything Nissen or Toyota. It really needs to be diesel (suits her driving style more than concerns over fuel consumption), big boot for our pet lab and 5 doors. Budget around 10-14k.

zain · 15 Dec 2007 at 19:54

Try a diesel Audi A4 estate and BMW diesel 5 series estate.

Reality Bites · 15 Dec 2007 at 19:58

zain said:
Try a diesel Audi A4 estate and BMW diesel 5 series estate.

which would be older, higher mileage and more expensive to service etc etc

zain · 15 Dec 2007 at 20:01

Reality Bites said:
which would be older, higher mileage and more expensive to service etc etc

Not always, mileage would circa 60k+ for newer models (04 onwards) and running costs are to be expected on an older model and servicing can be done from an independent dealer.

An extended warranty will cover any problems and the fuel economy from diesel is better than petrol.

Reality Bites · 15 Dec 2007 at 20:05

zain said:
Not always, mileage would circa 60k+ for newer models (04 onwards) and running costs are to be expected on an older model and servicing can be done from an independent dealer.

An extended warranty will cover any problems and the fuel economy from diesel is better than petrol.

so...double the mileage and you say running costs are to be expected on older models?

i'd want my 3 year old 10k+ car to be dealer serviced.....just me though

Dangerous Dave · 15 Dec 2007 at 20:08

Thought about a 5 series which she likes but they are the E60 and none what so ever for 14k, she doesn't like the E39 shape.

Might take a gander to the Audi garage would need to be an Estate A4 for the dog a couple I saw today in our budget were very high mileage though.

zain · 15 Dec 2007 at 20:10

Reality Bites said:
so...double the mileage and you say running costs are to be expected on older models?

i'd want my 3 year old 10k+ car to be dealer serviced.....just me though

What sort of running costs do you have in mind? The independent dealer would be there if you want to save a few quid.

I'd go for a higher mileage BMW/Audi over a newer Ford as they feel better, look better, nice quality feel, etc. As you are stating your opinion so am I.

zain · 15 Dec 2007 at 20:17

Dangerous Dave said:
Thought about a 5 series which she likes but they are the E60 and none what so ever for 14k, she doesn't like the E39 shape.

Might take a gander to the Audi garage would need to be an Estate A4 for the dog a couple I saw today in our budget were very high mileage though.

What mileage is high mileage to you? Have a look at these;

Link (Look from highest to lowest)

Reality Bites · 15 Dec 2007 at 20:17

Dangerous Dave said:
Thought about a 5 series which she likes but they are the E60 and none what so ever for 14k, she doesn't like the E39 shape.

Might take a gander to the Audi garage would need to be an Estate A4 for the dog a couple I saw today in our budget were very high mileage though.

the audi/BMW route will always be an older/higher mileage car, but i did love my old audi. We parted company at 120k after 3 years and it still went strong.

The mondeo has a massive boot, infact i'd have the hatch over the estate.

Dangerous Dave · 16 Dec 2007 at 02:57

zain said:
What mileage is high mileage to you? Have a look at these;

Link (Look from highest to lowest)

My girlfriend prefers the newer shape A3/A4 (handling ability and performance stats mean little to a female she simply doesn't want anything slower than her current 110bhp HDI 307 and would like heated seats), mileage itself doesn't scare me too much I would be happy with around 80k as my girlfriend does 12-15k a year she does a lot of mainly town miles which hammers the car as she runs a nursery with her mum so does school pick ups hence the 5 doors which we basically want trouble free with as little trips to the garage as possible. The two new shape A4s I saw today had 90k and 115k on the clock that were in our budget which for 2/3 year old cars I would class a lot, under the circumtances too many miles for us. If she did less miles 100k+ in a well maintaned BMW/Audi would not bother me.

Reality Bites · 16 Dec 2007 at 10:01

the st would certainly be quicker than the audi's of that age....but i did love my 03 A3.

you can drive the diesel however you like and still get 48mpg.

pendulum666 · 16 Dec 2007 at 10:18

Isn't the Focus ST the one that has horrific torque steer or was that the RS version? If I was to buy a half decent car these days I'd find it hard to admit the reality that I would simply HAVE to be looking at diesels with the cost of petrol right now

Reality Bites · 16 Dec 2007 at 10:29

pendulum666 said:
Isn't the Focus ST the one that has horrific torque steer or was that the RS version? If I was to buy a half decent car these days I'd find it hard to admit the reality that I would simply HAVE to be looking at diesels with the cost of petrol right now

if you read the OP you would see that it's the mondeo and it's the diesel!

And it's not the focus st which suffers from torque steer....that was the VXR

Liverpool-Lad · 16 Dec 2007 at 10:31

I think he's on about the RS.

Reality Bites · 16 Dec 2007 at 10:34

either way the OP was looking at diesels and never mentioned hothatches?

The petrol/diesel arguement would depend on mileage i think.....no point paying extra for a diesel unlessyou do 15-18k plus.

Furbs · 16 Dec 2007 at 12:55

Was at my local Ford garage yesterday and 13k seems about average for a STtdci. Linky

One thing I will add after buying mine 9 months ago is they are fantastic cars and I dont regret buying it in the slightest. Do you really want an estate though?