Confused. Help me chose my next car...

rossk26

rossk26

rossk26

Soldato
Joined
23 Nov 2009
Posts
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Location
North East of England
Hello,

Some people may already be aware of the various cars I have asked for their views on. And thanks to the members of OCUK I have had my mind changed on what car I should get next (originally wanted a B7 A4 2.0tdi).

I'm moving from an 08 facelift Focus ST, which I could sell privately for around £10k

I would like to recoup some of that to save for a deposit on a house (first time buyer :mad:), so my budget is around 5-6k

What I would like:
  • Petrol Engine (less hassle and I only do max 10k miles a year)
  • Lots of toys (Don't want to loose a lot of what I have in the ST e.g. Aircon, Xenon's, quick-clear windscreen etc..)
  • Decent power around 200bhp
  • Easy on fuel (currently get 25mpg, would like something around 30-35mpg)

The only thing I have looked at and considered so far is an Audi A4 B6 1.8t Sline Quattro. I like the prestige of the car, and the build quality, but worried about spending £6k on a 8 year old car.

Thank you in advance for your input

Ross
 
maccapacca said:
Mondeo ST220

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif.../page/1/radius/1501/postcode/cr01ty?logcode=p
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I'd say the ST220 is a decent shout although the fuel costs might be a bit high? Best car for the money though, maybe look into a Honda Accord as an alternative suggestion?

If it was me though I would buy something super cheap and reliable for a couple of grand and put as much as possible towards the house deposit. If your going to be selling the ST most things will seem like a downgrade so might as well slum it in something until you get your house?
 
Crizzy said:
Octavia VRS then?
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Don't think I could ever pay to own a Skoda. Silly as it sounds, as I'm sure they are a great car.

Crizzy said:
If it was me though I would buy something super cheap and reliable for a couple of grand and put as much as possible towards the house deposit. If your going to be selling the ST most things will seem like a downgrade so might as well slum it in something until you get your house?
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What reliable cheaper car would you recommend?

P.S See that you have an MX-5, can't wait til I have a spare few grand to get one as a hobby! Been an ambition of mine for a while now. But the house purchase comes first I think!
 
rossk26 said:
Don't think I could ever pay to own a Skoda. Silly as it sounds, as I'm sure they are a great car.



What reliable cheaper car would you recommend?

P.S See that you have an MX-5, can't wait til I have a spare few grand to get one as a hobby! Been an ambition of mine for a while now. But the house purchase comes first I think!
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I'd recommend a non ST Mondeo as it would be nice enough and cheap enough to get you from A to B and you'd be able to chuck a few more grand into the house saving fund which could see you into a property a bit quicker?

If you've budgeted £6k for a replacement car but only spent say £2k you've got an extra £4k to put into your house deposit. Without knowing how much you need save that could be fairly significant? It's just a consideration.

If you wanted something fun like an MX5 it doesn't need to be a hobby as it's a very acceptable car to use everyday (unless of course you do lots of motorway miles as it can become a little tiresome). You'd be able to get a MX5 for £2k but based on your initial criteria it's probably not the car for you at the moment!
 
This? 2003 FORD Mondeo 2.0 Zetec S

Can't help but think how much I would hate to drive it though? And also doesn't look the most attractive. I see where you are coming from with the savings. Although that said, I can't move out until my girlfriend has finished university and has a stable job. Which is about just under 2 years away. Plenty time to save what I need???
 
rossk26 said:
This? 2003 FORD Mondeo 2.0 Zetec S

Can't help but think how much I would hate to drive it though? And also doesn't look the most attractive. I see where you are coming from with the savings. Although that said, I can't move out until my girlfriend has finished university and has a stable job. Which is about just under 2 years away. Plenty time to save what I need???
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Granted would be a massive change to what you've got now, I only made the suggestion as it seems a lot of people seem to want to sell their cars to save some money for this or that and then go on to buy another older performance car which could potentially cost more in repairs being a bit older.

I just think either get something really cheap to maximize the amount you save or just keep what you've already got. Selling the ST and buying something to save just £4k doesn't really seem worth it to me if you are not in any rush for the money?

Going back to your original post then if you want something that meets that criteria then I would be looking at the ST220, but you don't want another ford (which is fair enough, variety is the spice of life after all). I would be looking at an Accord or Octavia. You did state you didn't want a Skoda but the Octavia does offer fantastic value for the performance you get. I wouldn't be looking at performance Audi's or BMW's at this budget as if something goes wrong (fairly likely) then the repair cost could obliterate the money saved changing.
 
Crizzy said:
I just think either get something really cheap to maximize the amount you save or just keep what you've already got. Selling the ST and buying something to save just £4k doesn't really seem worth it to me if you are not in any rush for the money?
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I roughly need £10-12k by August 2013. I currently have £3k, which is steadily rising now since I got my new job. It will be a struggle to save the required £12k by the date though. Whereas if I sell the ST bag £5k and put that straight into my savings, that gives my £8k with only £4k to save in 20 months!

I still love cars, and am a car enthusiast, so don't think I could bring myself to drive around in a 2k Mondeo or a Skoda. Hence why I am looking at the Audi, provides similar power figures to the ST (albeit a little slower accelerating). And also offers good looks (IMHO).

Other than the Audi, an E46 Coupe is the only other car that appeals to me that I have found so far.
 
rossk26 said:
I roughly need £10-12k by August 2013. I currently have £3k, which is steadily rising now since I got my new job. It will be a struggle to save the required £12k by the date though. Whereas if I sell the ST bag £5k and put that straight into my savings, that gives my £8k with only £4k to save in 20 months!

I still love cars, and am a car enthusiast, so don't think I could bring myself to drive around in a 2k Mondeo or a Skoda. Hence why I am looking at the Audi, provides similar power figures to the ST (albeit a little slower accelerating). And also offers good looks (IMHO).

Other than the Audi, an E46 Coupe is the only other car that appeals to me that I have found so far.
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That's all well and good but this wasn't a just a £5-6k spec me thread as you also stated you wanted to recoup some of the money from the ST.

I'm just (badly) trying to make the point that if your going to be buying a £5k performance BMW or Audi just research the running costs as you could find yourself in a situation where over the next 20 months where you've had to spend what you've saved (or at least enough of it to not warrant the change in the first place).

Hence the recommendation for a cheaper to run marque or downgrade completely. I don't really want to discuss the finances behind it but if the whole aim of the change is to save money just don't factor in the initial purchase cost.
 
No car enthusiast worth his salt looks down on Skoda purely because of the name. Thats a badge snob not a car enthusiast. May I remind you that you currently drive a Ford? :p

A £5k BMW is a car you buy if you really want a BMW. It is not a car you buy if any part of your breif is to save money. It's just pointless, it will be a money sink.
 
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My thoughts on prestige marques were that although the purchase price does come down, the repair and running costs don't. Therefore buying a cheaper older one is an invitiation for random but expensive repair costs. Not really what you want when you're saving for a house.

You want something that wont cost too much to run and if it does go wrong is cheap to fix. A Ford, VW, Skoda etc is probably a safer bet.
 
Malc said:
My thoughts on prestige marques were that although the purchase price does come down, the repair and running costs don't. Therefore buying a cheaper older one is an invitiation for random but expensive repair costs. Not really what you want when you're saving for a house.

You want something that wont cost too much to run and if it does go wrong is cheap to fix. A Ford, VW, Skoda etc is probably a safer bet.
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I'm not a pessimist of life. So therefore I don't think what if and oh no!!!

Anything could go wrong with my ST at any point! So I can't really validate not buying an Audi/BMW because the repair costs if/when something does go wrong will be higher than Ford repair costs.

I purchase a car based on the fact that's what I want. Regardless of if I need to save money or not. If this was the case I would have never bought my ST. I now want a change, I originally wanted a diesel car of the same value to the ST, so I would save on fuel costs, tax, insurance etc... But it was noted that the engine I was looking into was a known problem.

It was mentioned that I should get a cheaper car, and bag the money from the sale of my ST, I thought that was a cracking idea, and while still wanting an Audi, I looked at what I could get that I liked, and found the the B6 1.8t was going for £5-6k, champion, nice little package for my savings fund.

Now the running costs are similar to my ST, albeit slightly better on fuel and insurance.

Thank you all for your input and ideas.

P.S Fox, my view on anyone who buys a Skoda is not a car enthusiast. They just decide to opt for a cheaper option.
 
rossk26 said:
I'm not a pessimist of life. So therefore I don't think what if and oh no!!!

Anything could go wrong with my ST at any point! So I can't really validate not buying an Audi/BMW because the repair costs if/when something does go wrong will be higher than Ford repair costs.
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What a bizarre viewpoint. It's not a guess whether something goes wrong on a £5k BMW - it's a certainty. They are old cars. Stuff breaks on old cars. Your Focus was a nearly new car. Stuff doesnt break as often on nearly new cars.

You cannot and should not ignore this additional dynamic to the ownership costs, especially if your goal is to move to a car that is less expensive.

What matters with a car is not how much you pay for it, or how much the fuel costs, or what the tax disc costs. It's how much the total cost of ownership is.

This is a mix of everything. Buy a nearly new Ford, your TCO consists of fuel, high depreciation, tax, insurance. Buy an old BMW your TCO consists of fuel, repair bills, lower depreciation, etc. It just changes the mix.

Running my older 5 Series doesnt cost appreciably less than it costs to own a much newer 335i, for example. Because as you save on depreciation or purchase cost you simply replace that with higher running costs.

It's nothing to do with being a 'pessimist of life' its about actually getting some clue before making a decision.

Your objective is to release cash. It therefore makes no sense at all to release cash and then immediatly buy something which will simply go some towards using it all up again! I've no idea how suitable the A4 1.8T is for this objective - it isnt an engine that I have detailed knowledge on, so perhaps the others can share on that.

Giving no consideration to running costs and only to purchase price is just incredibly daft. You may as well just spend that £5k on an S600 Merc or something if thats how you think :confused:


P.S Fox, my view on anyone who buys a Skoda is not a car enthusiast. They just decide to opt for a cheaper option.
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Just wow. I can't beleive you've even posted that. It certainly says much more about yourself than it does about those who choose to drive a Skoda.

A true car enthusiast isnt blinded by badge on the bonnet.

'anyone who buys a Skoda is not a car enthusiast'

Hopefully the vRS owners on here will be along in a sec to give you a reality check.
 
[TW]Fox;20793252 said:
Just wow. I can't beleive you've even posted that. It certainly says much more about yourself than it does about those who choose to drive a Skoda.

A true car enthusiast isnt blinded by badge on the bonnet.
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Indeed true, and Skoda only really aquired it's bad name for the cars produced under communism, prior to that is made fairly luxurious cars.
 
[TW]Fox;20793252 said:
Just wow. I can't beleive you've even posted that. It certainly says much more about yourself than it does about those who choose to drive a Skoda.

A true car enthusiast isnt blinded by badge on the bonnet.

'anyone who buys a Skoda is not a car enthusiast'

Hopefully the vRS owners on here will be along in a sec to give you a reality check.
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We are allowed our views aren't we? Otherwise wouldn't life be a world of similarity and inevitably a life of boredom. I really really do not like Skoda's, and I am far from a badge snob. My dad owns a Skoda, which is obviously based on the passat. The Skoda is a horrible place to be, and a very horrible drive, on the other hand the passat is a nice place to be, and the drive is much better. I would hardly say a VW is a top end badge either.

I welcome the VRS owners to voice their opinion, and I will not argue against them as we are all entitled to our own views.
 
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