Ok advice re new car - spec me

Daff_Duck

Daff_Duck

Daff_Duck

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797
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Manchester
Right currently drive (as some may already know) Audi A4 Avant and now the kids are leaving home I no longer need it for little old me. I am looking for a brand new car and this is where I need your help? The list of criteria are

1. Must NOT be Jap or Peug or Citroen. Might be tempted by Ford at a push but primarly after driving most mainstream cars from Audi to Saab I have been impressed by the VAG/German models be it Seat to Mercedes..

2. Looking for a smaller car e.g A3 or smaller but must have enough boot space to hold a large amount of shopping, would be willing to put some in the rear of the car on the seats. It doesnt really matter if hatch or saloon.

3. Must be diesel as do @ 15K miles per year too and from work and be reasonably economical, however at the same time I would like it to have some poke (not a 200bhp mean machine) but something that can shift if I put my foot down.

4. Must have a high spec inc metalic paint and all the other goodies except sat nav.

So in a nutshell there you have it, what would be your suggestions? Based on your suggestions I will then visit the various showrooms and give them a closer look/drive.

Thanks
 
Daff_Duck said:
Right currently drive (as some may already know) Audi A4 Avant and now the kids are leaving home I no longer need it for little old me. I am looking for a brand new car and this is where I need your help? The list of criteria are

1. Must NOT be Jap or Peug or Citroen. Might be tempted by Ford at a push but primarly after driving most mainstream cars from Audi to Saab I have been impressed by the VAG/German models be it Seat to Mercedes..

2. Looking for a smaller car e.g A3 or smaller but must have enough boot space to hold a large amount of shopping, would be willing to put some in the rear of the car on the seats. It doesnt really matter if hatch or saloon.

3. Must be diesel as do @ 15K miles per year too and from work and be reasonably economical, however at the same time I would like it to have some poke (not a 200bhp mean machine) but something that can shift if I put my foot down.

4. Must have a high spec inc metalic paint and all the other goodies except sat nav.

So in a nutshell there you have it, what would be your suggestions? Based on your suggestions I will then visit the various showrooms and give them a closer look/drive.

Thanks
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Budget?

Why derv @ 15k a year, it hardly starts to be worth it till you're doing 18k-20k a year or more?

Why brand new, could get a cracking 6-12 month old car?

If you're after a German hatch with boot space and don't seem to really care about money (hence buying new) then the new Golf GTD is suppose to be pretty good. Would be a bit of a waste of money as you could look at getting a decent second hand 1 series or A3 for the same price however.
 
Peerzy said:
Budget?

Why derv @ 15k a year, it hardly starts to be worth it till you're doing 18k-20k a year or more?
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I worked out roughly how much I could have saved by driving a diesel for the last 14 years and I'm also doing around 15k a year. Based on going from 30mpg to 40mpg (being conservative), that works out to be almost 8000 litres of fuel.

Then again it's still not enough to coax me into making my commute even worse by driving a diesel...
 
So what happens if you drive an Audi A4 when its just you in it, do you get a divide by zero error?

I'm curious as to why not needing space means you must now spend many thousands of extra pounds buying less car.
 
123D M-Sport

/thread

But....

[TW]Fox;16094486 said:
So what happens if you drive an Audi A4 when its just you in it, do you get a divide by zero error?

I'm curious as to why not needing space means you must now spend many thousands of extra pounds buying less car.
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This.
 
Dogbreath said:
I worked out roughly how much I could have saved by driving a diesel for the last 14 years and I'm also doing around 15k a year. Based on going from 30mpg to 40mpg (being conservative), that works out to be almost 8000 litres of fuel.

Then again it's still not enough to coax me into making my commute even worse by driving a diesel...
Click to expand...

Why did I just confirm your maths.. :( :D

7962 litres, using 4.55 as a gallon

So saving roughly £500 a year (very roughly)
 
[TW]Fox;16094486 said:
So what happens if you drive an Audi A4 when its just you in it, do you get a divide by zero error?

I'm curious as to why not needing space means you must now spend many thousands of extra pounds buying less car.
Click to expand...

Erm should have mentioned I am going from the A4 to a "company car" but there is no set budget so to speak of I have been asked to submit a few cars and then make a final choice
As for derv well to be honest I have only ever driven derv's since the late 80's I just dont like petrol - There are arguments to be made for and against I just lke derv's pure and simple. I dnt need a large car anymore hence my asking the peeps on here for guidance

:D
 
When buying a house, you see a 2 bedroom house and a 3 bedroom house. You like both and both are identical except the 3 bedroom house is obviously bigger and the smaller one is more expensive. Do you A) buy the smaller house because you don't need the extra space, or B) do you buy the bigger house because you'll be getting more for your money and the space may come in handy? If you answered A, see your doctor because you are mad.
 
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Well I'll just throw in the Octavia vRS.

1. Not Jap, Citroen or Pug. Is German & VAG
2. Built on same platform as Audi A3, VW Golf, etc. However loads of boot space
3. Diesel version available, 170bhp I believe (200bhp on the petrol version).
4. What equipment exactly are you looking for? Octy has plenty but maybe not quite enough

Only real drawback is the badge.
I have no problem at all with it and anyone who knows anything about cars also shouldn't.
But there will be the odd person who still judges by the badge.
 
Maz said:
Mercedes CLC220 CDI Sport.
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Surely this is just a joke, having sold them yourself you must know what a totally hopeless car it is?

It was outclassed when it was called a C Class Coupe let alone when they renamed it to try and fool everyone!

Worst Merc for years.
 
I am going to ignore the bit about derv (as frankly I find the number of smelly oil burners on our roads offensive to my nose and ears) and I am going to ignore the bit about 200bhp being too "mean" and recommend something I am not sure I ever have before, a Volkswagon Golf GTI ...it does everything you could want and more really. It has plenty of shove low down the rev range aswell due to being turbo charged.
 
[TW]Fox;16095276 said:
Surely this is just a joke, having sold them yourself you must know what a totally hopeless car it is?

It was outclassed when it was called a C Class Coupe let alone when they renamed it to try and fool everyone!

Worst Merc for years.
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What's wrong with them? RWD, good specification, good residuals, look good, drive and handle well, half decent engines.
 
Dear god, the man wants a new car and all he has got is ridiculous replies with people slagging off diesels, comparing purchases to houses and saying bigger is better just cos its bigger.

I'd suggest you look at the A3 in S-Line spec, either the 140 or 170bhp engines would suit and return superb economy with good driving manners. If you want a hoot then consider the 7 speed S-Tronic box, its great to drive.
 
I'm in a very similar position and I've just swapped my Passat Estate for an Audi TT Coupe. If your company car policy allows 2-door cars then it's probably worth a test-drive. Bizarrely, it was significantly cheaper to lease than a Skoda Octavia vRS Estate and it's in the lowest tax bracket. 20K service intervals are a bonus too. The CR diesel isn't exactly a ball of fire, but 170bhp is plenty with all the torque and the Quattro is standard on the diesels so you can use it all, even if it's raining (which was always the problem I seemed to have in my Passat - it couldn't handle all the torque through the front wheels.

One thing though - maybe it's me - but it does seem to attract glances more than I'm used to. Certainly much more than my old grey Passat!

I also looked at a Porsche Boxster and the new Z4 but I've had three Boxsters now (all as second cars) and I wanted something more 'everyday usable'. And driving the Z4 just confirmed that BMW still haven't made a car that I like. Plus I totally understand what you mean about having a diesel. Petrols just feel gutless after a good torquey diesel!

As for some of the responses, there is a huge amount of confusion on here about the difference between advice and opinion. Many people state an opinion when they think they are giving advice and many, many, people don't seem to understand company cars, so you get all the stuff about "buy a used one" or buy a "Nissan 200SX".
 
WJA96 said:
As for some of the responses, there is a huge amount of confusion on here about the difference between advice and opinion. Many people state an opinion when they think they are giving advice and many, many, people don't seem to understand company cars, so you get all the stuff about "buy a used one" or buy a "Nissan 200SX".
Click to expand...

To be fair whilst I totally agree that there are far, far too many people on here who walk into a thread and recommend something completely stupid without even bothering to place themselves in the OP's position (Witness the Lotus Carlton recommendation in the DB9 thread, I mean, what?) but he didnt mention it was a company car until later in the thread.

I'd certainly not have alluded to simply keeping the Audi had I known when I posted it was a company car.
 
What is your budget for company car tax? If you genuinely have the choice of the market, this is probably the best place to start as it will show you what ballpark of cars you can get into.
 
How could I miss the obvious!?

Audi TT Tdi! That's what I'm getting and sounds to me like it could be your kind of car.
 
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