Another new car thread

wannabecyclist

Hi all, I have found people on this forum to be very helpful for non bike activities. I will be starting a new job that will involve commuting to Heathrow from Hemel Hempstead, around 40-50 miles round trip per day so cycling probably out of the question, especially to an airport.

So I am going to buy a new car, I would rather get one that is low mileage as I will be putting a lot of mileage on it. Would want a 5 door hatchback with a decent boot as have a 10 month old daughter. We currently have a 3 door polo and once the pram is in the boot there is not much space left.

Would spend around 6-7k, thinking a Nissan Qushquai? Finance is not an option as I am currently self employed and partner is on maternity leave so doubt we would get o% and don't want to pay interest on a loan.

Any good family car tips would be great. Have to avoid estate sized cars as we live in terraced housing and my partner would struggle to park a very large car.

Thanks

homers_double

A mate of mine has a Quaskai (sp?) and loikes it, nice and chunky inside with a 4x4 feel and pleanty of room for kids prams in the boot.

southdownswolf

Qashqai's are quite nice cars and if you like the elevated driving position then they are worth looking at. Of the versions that I have driven, the 1.6 diesel is probably the best engine.
However, although a decent size boot, it is not much more than a Golf...
If you like the Polo and VW quality, then take a good look at the Golf and decide whether you want the 4x4 looks without the 4x4 advantages or a very well designed and executed VW.

arthur_scrimshaw

Why would you want a low mileage car if you're going to be putting loads of miles on it? A lot of cars can take high miles without major reliability problems but low mileage is still one of the major drivers for car prices so you'll pay a lot (relatively speaking) for a low mileage car and then suffer high depreciation.
I'd buy a low cost, high mileage (but still tidy) quality car and your depreciation costs will be minimal.

How Far is too Far

I would look at a Golf, It will take very high mileages. I have one at the moment just a year old with 40,000 miles on it, my last one was 3 years old with over 120,000 miles and hardly missed a beat in that time. Also you are likely to get more for it when you sell even with big miles on it as people dont seem to mind big miles on VW cars as much.

Rich...

southdownswolf

Arthur Scrimshaw wrote:

Why would you want a low mileage car if you're going to be putting loads of miles on it? A lot of cars can take high miles without major reliability problems but low mileage is still one of the major drivers for car prices so you'll pay a lot (relatively speaking) for a low mileage car and then suffer high depreciation.
I'd buy a low cost, high mileage (but still tidy) quality car and your depreciation costs will be minimal.

Totally agree, in fact if you can find a reps car, all the better. They have normally done high mileage, but most of it sat in 5/6th gear at 70mph on a motorway at 2500rpm. They will also have been serviced regularly with no expense spared...

Monkeypump

southdownswolf wrote:

Totally agree, in fact if you can find a reps car, all the better. They have normally done high mileage, but most of it sat in 5/6th gear at 70mph on a motorway at 2500rpm. They will also have been serviced regularly with no expense spared...

You don't know many reps, do you?

It's a good point though. Look in some of the car warehouses and there will be loads to choose from with high mileages, but good history and probably only a few years old. Some of these places won't do test drives, so you'll have to do your homework elsewhere, but the prices are very competitive.

How Far is too Far

I do 40,000 miles a year and like already said most of it is in top gear, even 85 mph is only 2300 RPM, so they are easy miles for most modern cars.

What is better a car than has done a lot of miles in top gear or a one that has done the school run and sat in town traffic all day? I know what I would have.

Monkeypump

One point of caution with ex-rep cars - Many will be diesel, which is great until the miles pile up and things need replacing. Diesel particulate filters, dual-mass flywheels, etc. will cost A LOT to replace. There are lots of horror stories, but I'm not trying to put you off. Just do a little homework.

mr_goo

Whatever car you decide to buy. Just make sure it isn't a Renault. I have the unfortunate pleasure of having a Laguna Tourer (estate) as a company car, not my choice. The only good thing about it is that I have not had to clean it in the last year, as it spends so much time at the dealership being repaired that it benefits from their courtesy wash and vac.

VTech

I just bought my son a new VW Up. Brilliant car. Decent boot and 75mpg+ !

I'm actually a fan of the Renault Laguna myself.

£7-8k buys a lot of car. Spend an evening down your local finance car auction Lloyd's etc. and see what the cars are going for.

dave in swansea

If you are looking at a Nissan, be aware that they share a lot of components including engines with the Renaults. I have a Renault Megane CC. Which has done 163,000 miles, so this Is not necessarily a bad thing. ( Renault electrics are a different story however).

bernithebiker

Renault Laguna reliability is disasterous. Steer well clear.

How about a Caddy? Basically a big Golf with loads more space. Great for moving bikes around. We can get 2 inside and 2 on the tow hitch, + the whole family and dog. Although having said that I'm not sure they sell the Caddy Life in the UK?

It's not exactly exciting to drive but we have the A1 185hp for that!

wannabecyclist

Thanks for the advice. I appreciate high mileage cars may not be that bad but I was looking at a Honda Civic as that has been listed in the top 10 of various website most reliable cars so I thought one that has done around 25k miles may be a good shout, you can get them for around 6-7k on auto-trader. I don't know anything about ex rep cars but will have a look around, thanks for the advice. I appreciate the car will drop in value but I would probably keep it until it is on its last legs, I am not after a car for fashion, as long as it works that is all that matters to me so would only replace it in future if it is becoming costly to service and has too many faults.

jordan_217

Ford Mondeo or Skoda Octavia in diesel guise. Both have huge boots and have proven mechanicals. Diesel engines are strong and economical. Servicing and running costs aren't too bad.

£6-7K would buy you a nice one, with not too many miles on the clock.

pblakeney

jordan_217 wrote:

Ford Mondeo or Skoda Octavia in diesel guise. Both have huge boots and have proven mechanicals. Diesel engines are strong and economical. Servicing and running costs aren't too bad.

£6-7K would buy you a nice one, with not too many miles on the clock.

This is true but the Mondeo fails on the stereotypical wife parking as it is huge, if you read the OP.
My son opened his Mondeo boot with the seats down, I think I have slept in smaller B&Bs.

bigmat

I'd avoid the Qashqai, its a "pretend" 4x4, interior actually no bigger than a medium family hatch (Golf, Focus etc) but seem bizarrely overpriced 2nd hand. You could always get a bigger estate with parking sensors - that's what I did, got a top of the range Mazda 6 estate when it was a couple of years old / 60,000 miles - ex rep mobile, full service history, 2.0d, leather seats, electric everything inc parking sensors (at wife's request) for £8k. More or less a rebadged Mondeo with better features. If you want Qashqai size I'd look at a Mazda 3, or a Golf a good shout but pricey for what you get unless you value "the brand" - maybe a Seat Leon / Skoda instead as fundamentally the same. Or a Focus, bit boring perhaps but decent cars.