What car - up to 10k

Tombles

Tombles

Tombles

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10 Jun 2005
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765
Hi all

Sorry for another what car thread but I'm in need of some advice.

I am looking to buy a new car for up to 10k. It will be shared by both my wife and I, mainly for commuting. We average around 14k a year. I am looking for the following specs:

- must be automatic
- comfortable
- at least 4/5 seats
- gadgets if possible i.e. Bluetooth
- reliable

Speed isn't too much of an issue but not anything too sluggish, however I don't want something that will also cost a lot in running costs.

Car at the front of my mind is some sort of 3 series as they tick most of the boxes but I'm sure there are others that should be taken into consideration.

Thanks in advance :)
 
3 Series are overrated. A bit left field, what about a Volvo S60 D5 or a S80 D5 they can be picked up for a reasonable price and with a good spec in that price range. A Passat is a good choice too, i had one recently until it was written off. Good overall car, but was a little boring.
 
Having had a 3 series Touring (in the 320D version) I'd have to say that although it ticks a lot of the boxes you list it doesn't do anything really really well, and I found it to be efficient but incredibly, mind-numbingly boring. It was really well built and comfortable, although 3 adults in the back would have been a squash, and it had all the gadgets (which I really like). It was reliable enough but BMW servicing is ludicrously expensive, which is easily sorted if you use a specialist.

I actually wish we'd bought a Mondeo estate instead, although a more powerful 3 series might have been a different proposition.
 
Thanks for the suggestions so far.

My main concern is the auto box. I've actually driven an auto BMW before and thought the box was very good but beyond that can't say much about other cars and how good they are?
 
The DSGs on VAG Cars I've driven a couple on 2.0TDI's and a 1.4TSI are excellent. Unfortunately I've not driven other autos, but it's my experience coming from manual vehicles.
 
Webzta said:
330d with CIC iDrive
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Don't forget to include starship mileage and high maintenance costs on the spec list with that!

Do people actually bother searching for examples before coming up with suggestions like this? The budget is £10k...
 
You can get a 4 year old focus for £6K which ticks all the boxes.

Any BMW will either be poor spec or old which you will never know how well it has been looked after therefore expect big bills.

So if you want something with a better badge than ford then would be a VW Golf/Passat or Audi A3/4 however I feel they are overpriced for what they are as you could just get the Skoda/SEAT version.

I would get the focus. Stick the £4K (that you have not spent) in savings and wait till you have added to that for 2-4 years then get the BMW you want.
 
How long do you plan to keep the car for? As you need to take depreciation into account here as well. Do you change cars every 3 years, 10 years or over 10years?
 
Stringy said:
Don't forget to include starship mileage and high maintenance costs on the spec list with that!

Do people actually bother searching for examples before coming up with suggestions like this? The budget is £10k...
Click to expand...

FWIW - I wouldn't recommend an E90/any 3.0l diesel for the OP purely because of the "comfort" and "not sluggish, but speed not important" prerequisite, but did *you* look for examples before commenting?

There are plenty of 325d's for £10k and below without "starship mileage", granted not great spec ones, but he wasn't *that* far away. And mainenance costs on a 330d are hardly excessive now are they? From your reaction you'd think he'd just recommended a C63 AMG or something :p

Anyway, OP, I'd recommend looking at Octavia's. I really like them - they look good, they come well equipped, have good build quality and a decent line of engines.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201609057456119

***Just an example rather than a recommendation of that particular car*** - I know it's a vRS, but don't be mislead into thinking it's some sort of fire breathing rally car - it has 15bhp more than an sale reps F30 BMW 320d :p They do look good though, have plenty of room in them, are nice an economical and are very reasonable to run.
 
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Gaygle said:
FWIW - I wouldn't recommend an E90/any 3.0l diesel for the OP purely because of the "comfort" and "not sluggish, but speed not important" prerequisite, but did *you* look for examples before commenting?
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Yes I did.
Under 10k
Automatic
CiC nav (2009 or later)
Lowest mileage 325d was a Cat D with 62,000 miles
Next was 86,000
First 330d was 93,000.

I also looked for Mondeos, Octavias and Superbs before my first post to check I wasn't spouting nonsense, otherwise we all might as well come in here and just post random car models.

There are plenty of 325d's for £10k and below without "starship mileage", granted not great spec ones
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If we're playing this game there are also plenty of 320d's, but the post I was commenting on referred to well specced 330d's.

And mainenance costs on a 330d are hardly excessive now are they?
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At this end of the market their maintenance to-date would probably be poor, pushing up the likelihood of high bills in the future.
 
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VW Scirocco.. DSG diesel for cheaper fuel economy. I love mine (2.0TSI) mind but not the best on fuel however pulls like a train.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions guys :)

I change cars fairly frequently (never had a car more than 5 years).

Gaygle - The Octavia VRS does look quite nice, I will check them out.

There are a few 3 series that don't have moon mileage and are in budget but how well maintained they are etc. is questionable.

Not sure about Ford's, had a few before and not sure I want another right now.

Volvo's are a possibility but I don't know much about them, how they drive, reliability, value for money etc.

In terms of speed, anything sub 10sec will probably be fine. Faster would be a plus but aside from usually higher running costs I will be 90% of the time sitting on the motorway doing my commute to work and 50% of this is queuing so the speed isn't always usable to it's potential.
 
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