New Family Car - Spec Me

Kingdom34

Kingdom34

Kingdom34

Associate
Joined
6 Apr 2016
Posts
486
Hi All

As were having our first child, my partners 2006 Corsa SXI+ needs to go. With just over 100k on the clock and the fact i hate it, its a 3 door and it will be a ball ache getting a car seat in and out plus the small boot space were looking at replacing it.

Hoping to get around 1k for hers and then spend 4-4.5k extra on the car. So overall £5-5.5k to spend.
Used the wis******s website and her car is coming up at 1.5k part ex. So that would be a bonus

Realistically were looking at Kia or Ford - Ceed or Focus but then the focus will be a little older than the Ceed.

Upto 6years old (8 for the Focus)

Slight preference to Diesel

Mileage up to 75k

Low Annual tax (favours the Ceed as some are £20-30k compared to over a hundred for Focus).

Boot space around 350L as the Corsa has 260L, way too small.

Low running costs

Generally will be used for 20 mile round trips and some long weekends away with the little one. So not sure if Diesel will be beneficial really. Probably looking at annual mileage of 8-12k.

Your opinions will be gratefully received

Thanks
 
Perhaps a little overly cautious, but read in the paper that the price of Diesel is going to go up by 3p in a turnaround from the 2001 emission reduction policy.
 
The difference between 35 and 45mpg at 10k miles is about £300 a year. The higher purhcase price and added complexity of the diesel engines mean you should buy a petrol
 
Petrol Focus are very reliable and cheap to maintain.
And you will not get 1.5k part ex for a 10yr old Corsa with 100k on. My sister only got offered 1k trade in on a top spec 2006 Fiesta with 50k on it.
 
Deffo a petrol.

5 - 5.5k will get you a 6 year old 1.6 petrol focus from a dealer. I was looking a few months back and there was always a few 5k 2010 focuses around. Usually with 1 or 2 previous owners and around 40-45k miles on the clock.

I was looking for a similar spec to you with a 5k budget. I ended up going a bit smaller and getting a 2010 Seat Ibiza with 39k miles. Lovely car to drive and I can get 49-50mpg out of its (rather slow :p) 1.4 petrol engine on the way to work, but personally I was looking for as much economy as possible.
 
Last edited:
Kingdom34 said:
Low Annual tax (favours the Ceed as some are £20-30k compared to over a hundred for Focus).
Click to expand...

I always cringe at this argument as really the difference will only be about an extra £8/month at most on an asset that usually costs substantially more than that to run and maintain including depreciation.
 
General feel so far is the Petrol route, Focus a better car than a Ceed and Annual Road Tax and Petrol costs are heavily outweighing the Diesel savings.

Fair points, me personally i like the look of the Ceed 3 (top spec) over a Focus, as does the fiancee but i believe the Focus would be larger car and cheaper to run.
Still need to drive both.

Are there any alternatives you can think of? Just to throw a few options into the equation.
 
Dav4 said:
Petrol Focus are very reliable and cheap to maintain.
And you will not get 1.5k part ex for a 10yr old Corsa with 100k on. My sister only got offered 1k trade in on a top spec 2006 Fiesta with 50k on it.
Click to expand...

Good point. Wise Buyers did seem a bit "generous" in their part ex valuation. Car is in very good condition, im sure an ideal car for a first time buyer for sure.

My Sisters just sold a Peugeot Coupe 14years old with 45k on the clock for £750. So i have hope haha.
 
There will be plenty of wiggle room at a dealership when they initially offer you a micky takingly low price for yours.

If you find something you like and want to part ex your car, just say to them I want this car, but its impossible unless I clear x amount for mine.
 
Fair point. As in the original post thats the kind of area im looking.

Had a quick look on Autotrader, like you say there are a few Focus's around the 2010-2011.

I think the alternative is a Golf or a Citroen, i dont like French cars or trust them tbh.
 
The focus isn't a massively better car than the Kia tbh, i don't ee running costs being particularly different between hen either. Look at both and see what you prefer.
 
How about throwing the idea of a Hyundai i30 into the mix.
Decently specced insides for the price, cheap road tax and large enough for what you want.
 
I was in a similar boat to you and ended up getting a petrol 2008 Mazda 3 Sport 2.0 with 55K in mint condition for £3,300. It ticked all the boxes of ISO fix for car seats, big enough boot, etc. Its essentially a Focus under neath without the premium for the Ford badge. Had it a couple of months and it's been perfect. They are worth a looK IMO.
 
It's a shame the ecoboost Focus doesn't fall into budget, as that will give you diesel like power delivery without all the trouble with diesel. Not to mention that tax reforms will probably hurt small diesels in a big way. Older non turbo 1.6 Focuses are totally gutless.

I think a 1.8 Honda Civic would be a better bet.
 
I have a Civic Type S myself :-) Its just a 3 door and my partner hates the fact you cant see much out of the rear windscreen....i find using the wing mirrors helps hahaha
 
I know the mk3 Focus ecoboost models tend to be silly money compared to the standard. I've been looking at the 180bhp 1.6 Turbo Zetec S Focus's but they are very rare and demand a premium. 2012 models tend to go for 7.5-8k but a normal 100bhp 1.6 will be priced nearly 1k less. :(
Also Op if you can stretch to 5.5-6k that will get you a 2011 mk3 Focus which is the better newer looking car in your price range.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom