New (or used) car - £26k budget

[Edward D'Amato]

Hi there - i had posted a similar thread a while back but circumstances have slightly changed since then.

I'm debating with myself (and trying to find something that convinces me of which way to go) as to whether to buy new or used. One of the options is to buy used from the UK and ship the vehicle year (it's a pretty standard practice here; Brexit permitting).

- My budget is around £26k (max.; £22k would be ideal);
- I live in Malta; so no long drives in motorways; average about 10k miles/year;
- No family (or plans for one soon) so no need for anything too big;

So far I've test-driven the new Peugeot 208 (didn't like the feel) and the new Ford Puma ST Line (which is by far the favourite so far).

With such a budget, should I go new? Why/why not?

 

[Edward D'Amato]

With Maltese weather? Get a convertible!

It's not as glamorous as one might think.

 

[Edward D'Amato]

So you back under a new name? This is your first post under this nick. Where you banned?

No - this was my original post: https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/threads/buying-a-second-hand-car-7k.18825159/#post-31954068 - not sure why it's under my own name now.

 

[Edward D'Amato]

I'd probably go for something like this for that budget https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202003128314584

No idea why you'd want either of the cars you've already mentioned? I would also never buy brand new due to the depreciation you suffer just by driving it off of the forecourt, let somebody else incur the initial hit.

That looks appealing but I'm looking for something with lower CO2 emissions as something like that will cost around 5k to just register it here.

I looked at the Peugeot and Ford as they seemed decent; good economy and good specs. I've discarded the Peugeot as an option as I didn't quite like the interor space. Besides being new; what's wrong with considering the Puma?

 

[Edward D'Amato]

There's nothing wrong with the Puma per say, they review reasonably well and I'm sure for some it would be hunky dory, but for me it just doesn't float my boat. It's another generic mini suv type car that I just cannot get excited about. For your budget you can get some wonderful cars which are far more exciting and involving to drive with the only downside being they'll cost a little more to run. What would be the highest CO2 emmisions you could stomach to pay for?

That makes sense.

So as an idea, a 2018 Honda Civic 1.5 Turbo at around 128 CO2 (g/km) would cost about £3.3k to register, which is probably the most I could do.

 

[Edward D'Amato]

Can the 208 and Puma (crossover) be compared?

What are 2nd car prices in Malta like?

I think you need to provide a lot more detail in terms of the type of car and driving that you do else you'll just get wide and varied suggestions.

Me personally, I'd never buy a new car, what's the point of taking the initial depreciation hit on it but that all depends on the state of the car market where you live.

Those are fair points. Let me give some more context.

I currently own a 2006 Ford Focus - bought new in Malta; it's spacious and fairly comfortable for what it is but it obviously lacks some features that nowadays are just standard; and also lacks power (75bhp for such a heavy car).

I'm not an avid car enthusiast so I'm not after something that has some kind of specific kind of drive, or some specific gearbox if that makes sense. I like something that looks nice (that's subjective admittedly), drives well and also comfortable inside (spacious, which is why I didn't like the Peugeot 208 in the end). I'd also prefer manual transmission and something with a bit more oomf than my current Focus (which I'm sure that's not hard to find). Driving in Malta as you can imagine is very hectic and filled with stop/starts; especially when you're in towns.

I looked at the Puma because a) I had good experiences with Ford b) liked how it looks c) good feature set for the price d) fairly good power/emissions/cost to run e) good reviews so far. I'm not someone that buys and replaces cars every few years; I like something that'll last for a while.

One of the reasons I'm considering new is the additional peace of mind that comes with it; but I also understand that's probably just my (wrong) mindset.

The 2nd hand car prices in Malta are a bit of a mixed bag. Some Maltese dealers tend to have a higher markup on 2nd hand cars when compared to UK dealers; even when you include the registration tax.

Apologies for the long post - I hope that gives a bit more context though.

 

[Edward D'Amato]

MX-5 surely, or the Abarth 124 Spider I guess.

Those look great but I don't think I'm after a convertible.

 

[Edward D'Amato]

Given you are on a tiny island have you considered electric or PHEV?

There might be some local incentives to help help with the extra costs.

Yeah we do have some government schemes that help out with costs. Not sure what 2nd hand electric/PHEV are out there worth looking for though...

 

[Edward D'Amato]

What about a BRZ or GT86 then?

Are these kind of cars practical for every day use?

 

[Edward D'Amato]

are the roads in Malta still shockingly bad? I used to go a lot (family friend lives there) but I've not been for many years.

We'd always hire a 4x4 when we went! ha!

There's definitely been improvements (constant road works nowadays) but you'll still find the occasional massive pot hole.

 

[Edward D'Amato]

Yeah sorry 10k = km. And actually that was based when I wasn't working from home (I work from home pre-covid) so it might be even less now. I do have my own garage so in theory I could charge it there.

I'm taking a closer look to the Golf GTE...