Help me choose!

mOdO · 14 Aug 2019 at 07:43

Hi all,

I currently drive a 2005 330ci
Work is 13miles away (m25/m4)
10month baby so need a decent boot
Budget 10k

Need help deciding what car to go for as I keep changing my mind... I know I should be going petrol, but there are so many diesels available it's hard not to look.

A few examples with my take on it:
Octavia VRS - quick with a decent boot
520d - comfortable but unreliable? (ideally want a 530d but not in budget)
Leon FR - cheap to run
Mazda 6 - don't know much about these cars (is the petrol version sluggish?)

Any help would be appreciated.

mOdO · 14 Aug 2019 at 08:07

DPF issues, short journeys does not allow the engine to warm up

mOdO · 14 Aug 2019 at 08:40

iamdjdz said:
Will the 13 miles a day be enough to sufficiently clean the DPF though? Genuine question as both my wife and I have the same length commute (13 miles in opposite directions mainly motorway) and we have one diesel and one petrol car.

That's what I meant!

Also the timing chain of the 520d seems to be the biggest bill? Is there a recommended time to change?

mOdO · 14 Aug 2019 at 09:24

[TW]Fox said:
Honestly the easiest thing to do is just avoid that engine. It's a liability and the chain was never meant to be a service item so it's not easy or cheap to change it.

Thought so, just needed someone to confirm.

Diagro said:
For some reason I saw 6k as his budget. My bad.

Yea deffo get a 14/15 plate model, very nice cars

I'll have a look, they do look smart and a 15 plate would be best.

mOdO · 14 Aug 2019 at 09:26

Should I not bother looking at the Octavia VRS? I guess it will be more expensive to run than the Mazda 6?

mOdO · 14 Aug 2019 at 19:04

So test drove the mazda 6 and ended up buying it today

Thanks for the advice

mOdO · 14 Aug 2019 at 20:20

Personally I would prefer the msport.

Happy with the purchase but didn't quite realise how long the car was until parking on the drive!

mOdO · 14 Aug 2019 at 22:59

Uncle_Gravy said:
Hahahahaha, i'm sure there's tether hooks in the boot

Haha

stevep85 said:
Liked the practicality, comfort and quality of my Mazda 6 but the 2.0 petrol was so sluggish it annoyed me enough to trade it in for an m140i.

Awful engine.. absolutely hated it.

That's what I read. The 2.2 goes pretty well.

mOdO · 15 Aug 2019 at 13:19

Pleased with it so far.

Filled up with dirty diesel and it was good to see 530miles instead on 350miles!

Sports Nav
Bose
65k
65 plate

mOdO · 31 Mar 2020 at 08:46

Got some small kerbing accidents that I want to tackle.

Cant' seem to find the colour code, dark bright silver seems to be the closest. Apparently they are powder coated. I know it won't be a perfect match.

Any ideas?