Spec my girlfriend a car. 6k, 20k miles a year.

[sloth]

I've been offered a new job which means me and the girlfriend will need our own cars for commuting to work.

For her it's 70 miles of commuting a day which takes just under 2 hours. Mainly A roads, with a bit of B road and city driving. No dual carraigeways or motorways. (Lots of corners.)

Budget - 4-6k, could go a little higher if the car cost less to run overall.
Miles - 20k miles a year.
Size - No bigger than a Focus/Golf/Astra. Mondeo/Vectra = definate no. (Her choice). Big enough for doing the weekly shopping.
Engine - Petrol or diesel?
Economy - ~45mpg+ would be good, but not so important if the car is cheaper.
Insurance - 0 NCD (new policy), age 23. Say below Group ~12 as a guide.

In short, something very reliable with a fairly low total cost of ownership, which is nice enough to spend 2 hours a day in. We'd probably keep the car for 2-3 years.

So, OcUK, spec my girlfriend a car.

 

[sloth]

2005 renault clio 1.5 diesel?

My girlfriends keen on a Clio, but I think 6k or so could be spent on something that'd be a better place to do 20k miles a year in, and probably more reliable too. Thanks for the suggestion though - a good one, just I'm keen to avoid as many future niggly problems as possible.

My sister has an Almera 2.2dci SXE which she has had for a couple of months now.

Never thought about an Almera actually, and the SXE spec looks very well equipped. I'll have a look and see if there's anything local. I'm not keen on the looks, but it might be a good buy.

Focus TDCi would be my choice.

But seriously, she needs to properly consider a new job instead. 70 miles a day can be a nuisance up and down the Motorway but will be a proper free-time-sapping nightmare on A and B roads. Unless it's a damn good job with an excellent salary it's probably not worth it.

Focus TDCI was my first thoughts to be honest. Problem is price. Give or take a little, but a 2002 TDCIs and a 2004 1.6s are roughly the same price. So a 2002 1.6 would be ~£1500 cheaper than a TDCI of similar age. £1500 buys a lot of fuel, but perhaps the TDCI would still be the better buy. I'm unsure either way.

New job isn't really an option - she's happy, enjoys her job and the money is good for what she's doing. Relocating in 2-3 years time is a realistic possibility. Can't afford to just now - we only moved here 6 months ago.

On the subject of hatchbacks, why does nobody on here ever reccomend Audi A3s.

You can get an Audi A3 1.8T Quattro sport for about £5500 and they go like a missile.

Just did a search locally. The only TDI A3 available in budget is a 2000 with 100k miles for 5k. It'll have to do 40-60k miles at least before we switch cars (or move house). Something more recent with less miles would be better suited I think. A3's are nice, just too expensive.

1.8 Zetec Focus? My bro got an X reg for about £3000, prob do 35mpg+ no problem.

I had a 1.8 Focus a couple of years ago. Nothing went wrong with it, but I could only get 30mpg. Much less with my driving style.

Mine too. Don't get the TDDi though as it's an awful engine

For 20k miles per year, no bigger than the Focus and 45mpg+ it's the best option really

Seems like a popular choice.

There one at a local Ford dealer for £6500 here. I think it's a little overpriced, but looks like it'd be well suited to the task. Standard Ghia spec + leather. I'll take a look at it on Saturday.