May need to change car - ideas welcomed!

danlightbulb

danlightbulb

danlightbulb

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Hi all

Due to change in circumstances I may soon be doing around 22k miles per annum with a good chunk of that being motorway miles. That's up from my current average of around 10k per annum.

I currently have a 2003 honda accord 2.4 petrol estate which gets between 28 and 31 mpg. It may gain a couple of mpg if doing more motorway miles but I think the extra mileage will cost quite a bit in this car.

So I'm thinking of going back to diesel to get around 55mpg on these sorts of journeys.

What I am unsure about is what car to go for. Realistic max budget is 10k but that would be a loan or finance. I could also buy something older and cheaper. Reliability is very important as I don't want a money pit, and some comfort on the motorway is nice too and I'm thinking automatic over manual.

Anyone any ideas please? Anything considered. Has to be an estate though I need the room.

One I had seen locally is a volvo v60 2.4 d5 r design 60 reg which looked nice, should get the economy I need and has 200 bhp. Was £11k though at 78,000 miles.

Thanks.
Dan.
 
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Diesel might be a risk since the government has declared war on it. A small, turbo petrol engine might be safer. Some are pretty much on par with diesels for mpg now.

But the Volvo will last forever, don't worry about mileage :p
 
Nasher said:
Diesel might be a risk since the government has declared war on it. A small, turbo petrol engine might be safer. Some are pretty much on par with diesels for mpg now.

But the Volvo will last forever, don't worry about mileage :p
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I think the latest gen turbo petrols are too new for my budget in the size of car I want.

I just don't know whether to splash £10k on something newer or stick to older. My current car is 14 years old so going for an similar aged car doesn't gain me many years.
 
l had a Volvo S40 D5 2008 model, that averaged about 43 Mpg in my year of ownership before it died on me. My 2006 Honda Civic 1.8 is averaging 48 mpg... Same route, Same driving style. The D5 is a good, effortless engine, but not the most economical around.
 
Jez said:
Unfortunately a fairly terrible idea at the age and budget he mentions...google timing chain failure on this engine :eek:
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It'll get him a 2012 f30 if he hunts about... Fairly high mileage but not moon miles. So not a bad idea at all.

there's a 318d with 55k for example on AT.
 
Dis86 said:
It'll get him a 2012 f30 if he hunts about... Fairly high mileage but not moon miles. So not a bad idea at all.

there's a 318d with 55k for example on AT.
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Are they not still a problem? I don't know when the issue was resolved. It certainly isn't in the F10 5 series....
 
To my knowledge it didn't occur on the ED's due to a slightly different engine layout. It's also not supposed to affect post March 2011 models.
 
Guys can anyone tell me about volvos?

As in - what sort of price is reasonable for particular ages of car and mileages?

I'm looking at v70's. To me, a 10 year old car shouldn't be still worth £6k, but this is what they are still going for.

For example on AT there is a 57 reg 86000 mile d5 auto up for £5495.

There is also a 10 reg, 177k miler up for £6k.

And a 12 reg, 121k miler D3 up for £8.5k.


It's just that paying £6 to £8k for a 10 year old car, or a car approaching 200k miles, seems a risk to me???

I guess what I am looking for, especially when I'm spending £6 to £8k on a car, is something that will do the next 100k miles without needing any major repairs.


Would a v70 make for a good motorway cruiser?
 
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You have a point tbh, but as you're discovering the rather large hike in list price of cars over the last few years means the price used can only drop so low in a relatively short timeframe, especially when they haven't really covered many miles per year.

If you're doing 20k+ pa I would personally steer well away from cars that have already covered over 100k as you're going to destroy what is left of its value by owning it any longer than a year or so(unless you go polar opposite and buy something for half the amount that's done 150k+ and hope for the best).

If you're finding that the cars you would like/want aren't available for the money then unfortunately either the brand or the budget need to flex a bit. If it takes £9k to buy an Accord with relatively low mileage then that's what I'd use as a yardstick as they're one of the more reliable options you have.

£9-10k will buy you a relatively new i40 estate with low miles for example. You'll be sacrificing a bit of power but still have a decent car for motorway work. Looks like you'll also get a 2011-ish Mondeo diesel too
 
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Run the current Accord until it dies. The cost difference between 30mpg and 55mpg for 20k per year is going to be about £1200.
 
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