New car time (~£3k)

Haggisman

Haggisman

Haggisman

Soldato
Joined
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Posts
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Location
Birmingham
Finally had enough of the dire fuel economy and faults with my Mazda 6 (2.3 petrol), and its going to be needing some expensive repairs in the next few months, so looking for something to replace it.

I have about £2600 to spend, plus what I can px the Mazda for (probably in the £2-300 region).

My annual mileage is around 12k, although this may reduce in the next 6
months

Required:

5 doors
Focus sized or bigger
40+ mpg combined
Reliable (as much as any £3k car can be!)

Desired:

Manual gearbox
Cruise control
Aux/mp3 in or ability to fit aftermarket stereo

Cars I like the look of (in order of preference):

Civic mk8
Volvo V50
Mondeo
Vectra
Focus

I really like the civic, but not sure which engine, the 1.8 petrol or the 2.2 diesel. Not sure I do the mileage or type of driving (80 mile round trip commute atm, but may change to a 6 mile round trip) to justify the diesel, but from what I've been reading, it is the better engine. I believe at this age there is no dpf to be concerned about with short journeys? Still the potential for dmf failure though.

The Mondeo I guess is the "sensible" option, and while I like them, they just seem... "Grey" to me, although I wouldn't say no to the 2.2 diesel ST - again no dpf at this age, but maybe not a sensible car for reliability/keeping costs low?

Is the Vectra worth looking at over a Mondeo? Been looking at the SRI trim as i've read they are far better than the others. You get a lot more car for your money than the Mondeo, but I'm assuming there's a reason for that? ;)

Volvo is probably out of budget...

Thoughts?

Cheers
 
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Mondeo would be my choice.

Or a Jaguar X type if the price is right and you don't mind the Old Man stigma.
 
My v50 was in that ballpark a few years ago - it's basically a tarted up focus anyway... There are bargains to be had but the engine choice is pretty crucial, I went for the 1.8 petrol which was, even if do say so myself, a terrible choice! It's ok if you don't mind a mind numbing drive. But its the se spec so has nice heated seats/parking sensors/air con etc.
Definitely worth a shout if you keep your eyes open - I did see a few horrors before buying mine too, there's a Volvo forum which is handy for buying advice
 
Haggisman said:
Petrol or diesel? Would an ST diesel at this budget (~2005-6/100k) be asking for trouble?
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I bought my 05 2.0tdci estate for 2400 a couple of years ago. It had 80odd k on it. I've since put 35k on it and had no major bills. However around that mileage I think DMF failure is not unusual.

I don't know about the ST but I imagine it's the same engine in the 2.2d x type which might come cheaper.
 
Hedge said:
I bought my 05 2.0tdci estate for 2400 a couple of years ago. It had 80odd k on it. I've since put 35k on it and had no major bills. However around that mileage I think DMF failure is not unusual.

I don't know about the ST but I imagine it's the same engine in the 2.2d x type which might come cheaper.
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Yeah, I've read about the potential for the DMF to go - also the injectors on these supposedly are a bit of a weak point and potentially expensive?

No comments on the Civic yet - is this not a good choice?
 
Haggisman said:
No comments on the Civic yet - is this not a good choice?
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I think the issue might be that £3k for a civic is the crossover point between a good Mk7 and the low end of the market for Mk8s.

The 2.2 Diesel is reliable, although DMF failure seems to be almost a given at some point. Other known issues with the MK8 are corrosion to the roof, and brake callipers that corrode/stick easily.
 
Eugh, busy morning!

Looking at what's available, Focus seems to be the most "sensible" option at the moment:

Something like a 2006-2007 1.6 petrol Ghia on 70-80k is easily in budget, can't shake the feeling I'm going resent driving something so boring though :p

There are a few Volvo V50s, 2.0 Diesel, but they are older/higher mileage (2005/100k) and at the very top end of the budget.

Still not sure about the Mondeo ST, 2006 on 85-95k is around the 3k mark, but there aren't many of these around, and it looks like running costs are going to be a bit higher than the others (bigger wheels = tyres double the price of the others, potential DMF/injector problems).

For the Mk8 Civic, I'm looking at 2006-2007 on 80-100k, for both the 1.8 petrol or 2.2 diesel, slightly better trim level on the petrol.

Had a look at the Mk7 Civic as well - 2004-2005 on ~70k in the 1.6 petrol.

Given the mileage I'm doing (works out at about 14k/pa) is it worth ignoring the diesels? There isn't a huge difference in price at this point, and given the age, I don't think any of them have DPFs to be concerned about?
 
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I would imagine most if not all of the petrols you are looking at would struggle to hit 40mpg+.

The mondeo's of that era can have problems with injectors and DMF's as you've mentioned, can be a bit of a minefield.

I would look at the 2.2 Civic, they're one of the better engines in that class of car.
 
MORE SPEED said:
I would imagine most if not all of the petrols you are looking at would struggle to hit 40mpg+.

The mondeo's of that era can have problems with injectors and DMF's as you've mentioned, can be a bit of a minefield.

I would look at the 2.2 Civic, they're one of the better engines in that class of car.
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If I'm going for a diesel then it's certainly looking like that's the best option - as long as the clutch has been done recently!

The 2.0d in the Volvo looks to be somewhat unreliable at high mileage/age, so scrap that idea

Seems to be a major shortage of petrol Mondeos around my budget (plus the economy isn't great).

So, revised list:

Focus 1.6 petrol
Civic mk8 1.8 petrol
Civic mk8 2.2 diesel
Civic mk7 1.6 petrol
 
Toyota Corolla. A very tidy example can be picked up for £2k these days.

I abused my 1.4 VVTI for well over 8 years, putting 80k on the clock, and treated to regular servicing it never missed a beat.
 
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