Time to replace my first car - £4,500 budget

[TheVoice]

So after almost 5 years with my Astra I feel it's time we parted ways. It's been a good five years and certainly served me well as a first car (as is evident by the fact I kept it so long) but now I'm looking for something a bit newer, a bit comfier and maybe a bit quicker as I feel the Astra's perhaps going to start kicking up a few expensive bills soon. I've set myself a max of £4,500, anything under that is ideal.

So right now I'm in two minds; stay with a standard small hatchback (e.g. Astra Mk5, Focus, Mazda 3) or go larger and look at Mondeos, Octavias etc. My question is, can I get a decent one with my budget? For a Mondeo/Octavia I'd probably want a 2.0, though I'm also seeing a few STs (mostly diesels sadly) and VRSs but are these going to be poor examples at this sort of budget? I don't think insurance should be an issue with those as I'm 26 now, 5 years no claims and my current insurance took a huge dip when I moved up here last year.

Having already looking on Autotrader and Pistonheads I'm unfortunately not exactly spoiled for choice for used cars in this part of the world, which isn't making it any easier.

Anything else anyone could recommend looking at? Thanks for any help.

 

[tummelv]

£4.5k would get you a great mk3 Mondeo St220. Good thread here. Living in Aberdeenshire, what I'd do is spend £4k and keep the £500 to pay for trips to Glasgow and further afield if you're up for it to to go look at some Mondeos. If you go for a 2.0 Mondeo then £4.5k would get you a decent early mk4. Another to consider would be a Octavia VRS. Similar performance to a Mondeo st220 but easier on fuel. The boot is larger than even the Mondeo's but the overall car inside is a little smaller so something to consider if you regularly ferry people about.

 

[rossk26]

Are you into cars? If not, then it's silly anyone recommending a 3 litre V6 petrol Mondeo.

Traditionally at this budget you get a lot more car for your money if you go bigger. For example Mondeo>Focus and Accord>Civic.

I'm currently looking around this budget, and my 2 favoured options are a Mazda 3 Sport or a Honda Accord Type S.

Examples:

Accord Type S

Mazda 3 Sport

Both will have a noticeable improvement in power than your Astra, and will come with more toys too.

 

[TheVoice]

I think you're right, an ST would be a nice thing to have but isn't really practical for me right now, I'm not earning great money for the time being (although my outgoings are also minimal) so a thirsty V6 isn't going to do me any favours. A decent 2-litre will still be an upgrade over my current 1.6. I'd probably be more enamoured by some extra gadgets, buttons and lights than a bigger engine anyway!

Thanks for those suggestions, hadn't considered the Accord so will have a look in to that one, and I do quite like the Mazda 3 already (more than the equivalent Focus); that one looks superb, and would be well under my budget too, just a few too many miles away from me!

Would the Mazda 6 be worth looking at for this sort of budget perhaps? I don't necessarily need a larger car, I'm not in the habit of playing taxi for others.

 

[OpenToSuggestions]

I feel the Astra's perhaps going to start kicking up a few expensive bills soon.

OP: Why do you think the Astra is going to kick up big bills? As it is your first car I will assume it is something like a 1.6 petrol which means it doesn't have anything that can cause a big bill? If you know it is pending many repairs i.e. tyres + headgasket + exhaust + sill rust etc. then I get what you mean, but because it is old often means it is reliable as it is far simpler.

Whatever you do, avoid the 2.2 TDCI Mondeo. My dad had company Mondeos for years all new (or <6 months old) on a N, R, Y, 02 reg and they were all petrols and excellent. He then had an 05 Titanium X (ST diesel but without multispoke wheels or snazzy seats) and it was a dog, constantly misfiring wiyth repeated injector trouble.

 

[rossk26]

Thanks for those suggestions, hadn't considered the Accord so will have a look in to that one, and I do quite like the Mazda 3 already (more than the equivalent Focus); that one looks superb, and would be well under my budget too, just a few too many miles away from me!

Would the Mazda 6 be worth looking at for this sort of budget perhaps? I don't necessarily need a larger car, I'm not in the habit of playing taxi for others.

Please do not rule out distance when choosing your car. For the cost of a return train ticket, you could still save hundreds. Plus it's not very often a high spec low mileage car of this type pops up near you, especially in Aberdeen!

I ruled out the Mazda 6 as it didn't really offer that much more over the already highly equipped Mazda 3 Sport. I prefer the saloon version of the Mazda 3 over the hatchback as well. You'll save a bit on petrol as the 3 is lighter than the 6 too.

 

[TheVoice]

OP: Why do you think the Astra is going to kick up big bills? As it is your first car I will assume it is something like a 1.6 petrol which means it doesn't have anything that can cause a big bill? If you know it is pending many repairs i.e. tyres + headgasket + exhaust + sill rust etc. then I get what you mean, but because it is old often means it is reliable as it is far simpler.

It's a 1.6 petrol, yes. Could do with new tyres as I find I keep having to top-up my front-left every few weeks and they're mis-matched cheap ones anyway, engine isn't feeling or sounding quite right at the moment similar to a problem I had with the EGR valve getting stuck open last year, handling doesn't feel right as it's a lot less stuck to the road than it used to be, backbox was down as an advisory on my last MOT due to rust, there's a problem with either the battery or the alternator causing lights to dim noticeably when you turn the heater/AC on (or even the interior lights when I use the indicators while it's idling). And it's going to need new discs soon as the brakes are starting to fade.

I still like the car, but with the current engine issue I'm starting to feel like it might decide to leave me stranded in the middle of nowhere on the way back from work one evening at 10pm, which is not an ideal situation to be in. I also don't have the knowledge or experience to be able to diagnose these issues on my own, all I do know is what the car feels like when it's fine and at the moment, it isn't.

Please do not rule out distance when choosing your car. For the cost of a return train ticket, you could still save hundreds. Plus it's not very often a high spec low mileage car of this type pops up near you, especially in Aberdeen!

I ruled out the Mazda 6 as it didn't really offer that much more over the already highly equipped Mazda 3 Sport. I prefer the saloon version of the Mazda 3 over the hatchback as well. You'll save a bit on petrol as the 3 is lighter than the 6 too.

Good point, will certainly expand my search a little farther from home in that case.

I'll keep the 6 in mind but seems the 3 may suit me better if there are better-specced ones for the same money. Any idea what the buttons on the right-hand side of the steering wheel are for on that one you posted? Found some 3s not too far from where I am but none of them have that.

 

[rossk26]

I'll keep the 6 in mind but seems the 3 may suit me better if there are better-specced ones for the same money. Any idea what the buttons on the right-hand side of the steering wheel are for on that one you posted? Found some 3s not too far from where I am but none of them have that.

I'm not 100% sure, but I think they'll be for cruise control

 

[Jano]

How old is your Astra?

For 4.5k your still going to be looking at a 5 year old car I would imagine. I have a Mazda 3 and while it's a been a great car for me, the 1.6 engine really is too small for the car, I'd surprised if it wasn't a fair amount slower than the Astra.

Also, everything you've listed as going wrong with the Astra doesn't scream out big bills on the way to me, just general wear and tear.

 

[rossk26]

For 4.5k your still going to be looking at a 5 year old car I would imagine. I have a Mazda 3 and while it's a been a great car for me, the 1.6 engine really is too small for the car, I'd surprised if it wasn't a fair amount slower than the Astra.

Good job no one has suggested a 1.6 then

 

[Jano]

Good job no one has suggested a 1.6 then

He did originally, by saying he was only looking at a bigger engine if he went for something like the Mondeo. I'm just pointing out that the 1.6 in the Mazda 3 wouldn't be much of an improvement, sheesh.

 

[TheVoice]

My Astra is a late 2002. The only reason I mentioned 2.0 or larger for a Mondeo etc was because that class of car also has 1.8s (and even 1.6s for some it seems) so I was pre-empting anyone thinking I thought those were a good idea. I can imagine a 1.8 in a Mondeo or similar might feel a bit lethargic.

I'm not 100% sure, but I think they'll be for cruise control

Ah that'd make sense, will keep a look out for that then.

 

[Makhaira]

One thing we're missing is what your long term car plan is. Will this be a stepping stone that you keep for a year or two, or are you intending to run this vehicle for the next 5+years, or until it dies?

 

[TheVoice]

I'll probably keep it for a good few years, I intend to be saving money for other things first so I likely won't be in a position to upgrade for a while. I didn't expect to keep my Astra for five years but there was no real reason to get rid of it, I was still happy with it, it hasn't been unreliable and I couldn't have really afforded to until now anyway because I was paying out huge amounts in rent, bills etc.

I was intending to keep the Astra for about another 12 months and then upgrade this time next year (was looking at Volvo C30s), but with winter approaching and all the aforementioned niggles/issues I'm feeling inclined to expedite that plan even if it means going for something cheaper.

 

[rossk26]

You should be able to get that Mazda I posted for £1k under budget. It will be a worthwhile upgrade on the Astra even if the existing niggles/problems weren't there. It's been 5 years since you bought the Astra, it's fine that you want something else. No need to justify getting rid

 

[TheVoice]

Well the more I look into the Mazda 3 the more I'm taken in by it, looks like you can get a pretty well-specced car for my budget with Xenons, some with Bose sound system etc.

Anyone know of a good place that might explain some of the differences between model years/revisions? Already I've seen three different front bumper designs with different foglights etc so I'm trying to work out what's what.

 

[blueboy2001]

You want a post 2006 facelift car, which is easy for your budget. The suspension was tweaked, soundproofing was improved and the 2.0 got a 6 speed gearbox.

I wouldn't look at anything other than a Sport - the spec is well worth it, all 2.0 Sports have cruise, climate control, xenons, auto lights, auto wipers. Leather was an option, but became standard on 58 plate cars onwards, these also have piano black trim and and MP3 compatible CD changer and aux port. You can add these to the earlier cars with something like an XCarLink.

The saloon and hatch are quite a bit different in terms of bodywork - even all the front end panels and bumpers are different. Sport models have different bumpers and grille, but some of the later models like the Takara also got the Sport parts.

Pre-facelift Sport Hatch: http://images04.olx.co.uk/ui/1/03/79/1999479_1.jpeg
Facelift Sport Hatch: https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/...0cjvgDe1PFfLOWGW2tKTQuwUrbwFJqs_Xat4gZcNsrZNI
Pre-Facelift Sport Saloon: http://parkers.bauercdn.com/Images/Cache/External/325x0/USEDCFS-440084531884206.0.jpg
Facelift Sport Saloon: http://images.motoring.co.uk/images...-bose-6a2ea9f807fd47d73f781920a6435020-m2.jpg

 

[Manbatius]

I looked at saloons when I looked at 3's as I prefer them.

The only downside if you do look for saloons OP is they are rarer than the hatchbacks (at least in my area anyway)

 

[adam cool dude]

You could get a mint mk1 octavia vrs for this money. Would make a excellent step up as a second car. Maybe also a high mileage mk2 vrs as well. Depends what you want.

 

[Voxination]

Any idea what the buttons on the right-hand side of the steering wheel are for on that one you posted? Found some 3s not too far from where I am but none of them have that.

Those are cruise control

I'll +1 everything that blueboy said, you definitely want a facelift and for that budget you should achieve one, I sold my 2006 2L Sport (facelift) with 49k on it for £4200, so just keep hunting, don't rule out distance, and see what comes up.