New car for my Mum - good value?

nick · 5 Jul 2006 at 14:46

My mum wants to trade in her P reg Clio for something new and nice. Her shortlist is a Clio, Corsa or Polo.

Just seen an 02 reg Polo 1.4 TDI for £5499, good condition, 44,000 miles, air con, electric windows, 12 month MOT etc from a VW dealership. Does this sound like a good deal?

We both gave it for a spin, and I was pretty impressed with it, she seems to like it too. From what we've looked at we'd be getting a pretty much bottom of the range Clio for that price, the bog standard 1.2, and I'm talking her away from getting a Corsa

One thing that her (and me) aren't too sure about is that it's a Diesel, and neither of us have owned one before. What are the pros/cons of Diesel over Petrol? The salesman told us it was more economical, is that true?

Cheers,
Nick

Morba · 5 Jul 2006 at 14:47

could get a nice focus for that price :]
diesel is more economical than petrol yes

Confused · 5 Jul 2006 at 14:48

What kind of driving does you mum do? Local, motorways?

How "good" a driver is she - is she confident enough to park a larger car, or would it be "way too big"?

Adz · 5 Jul 2006 at 14:53

I quite like the Mk5 Polo. The bodyroll is scary, the steering is vastly over-assisted and the engines are limp-wristed (especially the 1.4 TDI) but it feels well built and 'grown up' compared to a Clio/Fiesta/Corsa of the same era.

Edit: And yes, I'd buy a Focus or an Astra without a doubt if it were my mum

.

Sone · 5 Jul 2006 at 15:20

my mothers got the generation before polo and its perfect for her, bottom of the range 1.0 and she loves it. While its horrible to drive, she loves the very light steering and even thoughts its the lowest spec the interor is nice, better than all of its rivals imho (except the mini, if you can count that as a rival at over 3k more).

Wouldent buy one myself but its perfect for her needs.

kaiowas · 5 Jul 2006 at 15:24

nick said:
New car for my Mum - good value?

Depends on the car

/gets coat.

matthew_o50 · 5 Jul 2006 at 17:17

It sounds very overpriced to me. Have a look at the Seat Ibiza and Skoda Fabia, both basically the same cars as the Polo but you will get a much newer one and with less miles for the same money if not less.

nick · 5 Jul 2006 at 17:20

I guess she goes on the motorway about once a week, and isn't the most confident of drivers I don't think. Anything bigger than a Polo-sized car would scare her I think, and she likes the look of a Polo.

We sat in a 51 reg Focus but both agreed it was a bit too "barge" like inside i.e. looked quite big... don't think she was too comfortable with that. She's not fussed on Astra's - it all about looks lol.

So the price seems reasonable? She's stretched to afford this tbh so wanna be sure she's getting a good deal.

Cheers,
Nick

Morba · 5 Jul 2006 at 17:26

if your stretching to pay for it then why not lower the budget or get a better car for the money.

quite amazed that the focus felt barge like!

atomiser · 5 Jul 2006 at 17:33

nick said:
From what we've looked at we'd be getting a pretty much bottom of the range Clio for that price, the bog standard 1.2, and I'm talking her away from getting a Corsa

didnt someone pick up a clio 172 cup for this sorta money not too long ago? granted i dont think it was an 02 reg, but i guess it depends on what your idea of 'new and nice' is. i've seen some older cars in significantly better condition than some newer cars recently!

pinkaardvark · 5 Jul 2006 at 17:36

If you can only buy a 1.2 clio for the price of a 1.4 tdi polo then something is wrong with your maths or the cars advertised in your area. The polo will command a much higher premium so you should be able to get much more for your money when buying other marques.

The diesel will be more economical, but they sell at a premium because lately everyone and their dog must have a diesel for some reason even if they are doing very low annual mileage where the extra purchase cost often will outstrip the very small saving made in fuel costs but you have to put up with a clattery noisy and smelly derv.

Gribs · 5 Jul 2006 at 17:46

Morba said:
could get a nice focus for that price :]
diesel is more economical than petrol yes

It depends on the amount of miles you do. If you do less than 20000 a year it tends to be more expensive due to increased servicing costs and higher initial price.

Plus they're smelly and dirty

matthew_o50 · 5 Jul 2006 at 17:49

after just looking on Autotrader here in Ni there are 2004 polo's going with less miles on them for less than £5400 and everything is overpriced here. If she wants a polo look around a bit because you will get one which is better for the money.