Discussion
Ali_T said:
Total b
ks. I've said it before but my GQV is the most reliable new car I've ever owned beating Subaru, Mitsubishi and Honda with ease.
Happy for you! ks. I've said it before but my GQV is the most reliable new car I've ever owned beating Subaru, Mitsubishi and Honda with ease.Edited by Ali_T on Tuesday 24th May 00:57
My niece has a service receptionist role in what used to be an Alfa main agent until recently (when they finally learned the error of their ways?) and based on what she has told me you may have been the exception to the rule!
There is certainly no way I would buy one with my own money!
Maybe you need to try something German - I had one for 6+ years and 80+K miles that only needed tyres, a battery and starter motor. It was still on it's original brakes and wiper blades when I sold it!
Edited by Mr Tidy on Tuesday 24th May 01:31
No thanks. Too many friends and neighbours with horribly problematic German cars to be bothered with the hassle. The days of German reliability have long past. If you want something that won't go wrong, buy a Lexus. It'll probably last forever but, there's the problem. You'll be bored senseless for the rest of eternity!
325/330i Touring? Looks great in msport trim and the engine is a peach. You may need to look at older cars due to your price range but well worth it if you want something practical that will make you smile every time it starts. I just got one for my wife and we both are hugely impressed. They are rare, but they are out there!
It's a long shot and I had to ignore the bit about VAG but I found this:
Audi A4 AVANT 3.2 FSI Black Edition Multitronic 5dr SAT NAV, 19" ALLOYS, B & O with 60,000 miles
0-60 in 5.2 seconds and yet the practical family car for the man on the up.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...
The 1 series imo is too cramped for what you want. The 3 series you will struggle with your criteria.
Re leasing. £15K in bank would generate 3% so £450 a year. Car depreciation over say 3 years at 15% PA will cost £6,000 over 3 years so a nett figure of £2450 per annum including lost interest. If you can find a car for around that then it maybe worth considering.
Audi A4 AVANT 3.2 FSI Black Edition Multitronic 5dr SAT NAV, 19" ALLOYS, B & O with 60,000 miles
0-60 in 5.2 seconds and yet the practical family car for the man on the up.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...
The 1 series imo is too cramped for what you want. The 3 series you will struggle with your criteria.
Re leasing. £15K in bank would generate 3% so £450 a year. Car depreciation over say 3 years at 15% PA will cost £6,000 over 3 years so a nett figure of £2450 per annum including lost interest. If you can find a car for around that then it maybe worth considering.
blearyeyedboy said:
^ Yes, and I'd love one, but rear doors are a must. Need to get a child seat in and out, and while you can do it with a 3 door it'd be a pain.
Shame they don't do a Megane RS 5 door, but then many purists would lynch me for that thought.
There is a Megane 2L Turbo that isn't the RS. I think it's ~180bhp and has five doors. Might be called GT Line or something similar. If you search online for 2l, petrol & five doors you might find a few listed.Shame they don't do a Megane RS 5 door, but then many purists would lynch me for that thought.
gweaver said:
There is a Megane 2L Turbo that isn't the RS. I think it's ~180bhp and has five doors. Might be called GT Line or something similar. If you search online for 2l, petrol & five doors you might find a few listed.
Yes the Megane sport tourer Gt220 i think it's called. Has a detuned version of the RS Megane 2.0T engine.
No doubt a cracker but don't think I've ever seen one for sale.
BaronVonVaderham said:
gweaver said:
There is a Megane 2L Turbo that isn't the RS. I think it's ~180bhp and has five doors. Might be called GT Line or something similar. If you search online for 2l, petrol & five doors you might find a few listed.
Yes the Megane sport tourer Gt220 i think it's called. Has a detuned version of the RS Megane 2.0T engine.
No doubt a cracker but don't think I've ever seen one for sale.
Only one sale , fits the bill nicely but I wouldn't spend 15k on a family and dog car.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...
This would do nearly as well with a lot of change left over.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...
The forgotten hatchback .
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...
INWB said:
It's a long shot and I had to ignore the bit about VAG but I found this:
Audi A4 AVANT 3.2 FSI Black Edition Multitronic 5dr SAT NAV, 19" ALLOYS, B & O with 60,000 miles
0-60 in 5.2 seconds and yet the practical family car for the man on the up.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...
The 1 series imo is too cramped for what you want. The 3 series you will struggle with your criteria.
Re leasing. £15K in bank would generate 3% so £450 a year. Car depreciation over say 3 years at 15% PA will cost £6,000 over 3 years so a nett figure of £2450 per annum including lost interest. If you can find a car for around that then it maybe worth considering.
5.2 to sixty for that seems pretty rapid, are they really that quick ? its a fairly large car with 260 ish bhp to do sixty that quick ?Audi A4 AVANT 3.2 FSI Black Edition Multitronic 5dr SAT NAV, 19" ALLOYS, B & O with 60,000 miles
0-60 in 5.2 seconds and yet the practical family car for the man on the up.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...
The 1 series imo is too cramped for what you want. The 3 series you will struggle with your criteria.
Re leasing. £15K in bank would generate 3% so £450 a year. Car depreciation over say 3 years at 15% PA will cost £6,000 over 3 years so a nett figure of £2450 per annum including lost interest. If you can find a car for around that then it maybe worth considering.
The smaller and similarly powerful S3 isnt as quick as that.
J4CKO said:
INWB said:
It's a long shot and I had to ignore the bit about VAG but I found this:
Audi A4 AVANT 3.2 FSI Black Edition Multitronic 5dr SAT NAV, 19" ALLOYS, B & O with 60,000 miles
0-60 in 5.2 seconds and yet the practical family car for the man on the up.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...
The 1 series imo is too cramped for what you want. The 3 series you will struggle with your criteria.
Re leasing. £15K in bank would generate 3% so £450 a year. Car depreciation over say 3 years at 15% PA will cost £6,000 over 3 years so a nett figure of £2450 per annum including lost interest. If you can find a car for around that then it maybe worth considering.
5.2 to sixty for that seems pretty rapid, are they really that quick ? its a fairly large car with 260 ish bhp to do sixty that quick ?Audi A4 AVANT 3.2 FSI Black Edition Multitronic 5dr SAT NAV, 19" ALLOYS, B & O with 60,000 miles
0-60 in 5.2 seconds and yet the practical family car for the man on the up.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...
The 1 series imo is too cramped for what you want. The 3 series you will struggle with your criteria.
Re leasing. £15K in bank would generate 3% so £450 a year. Car depreciation over say 3 years at 15% PA will cost £6,000 over 3 years so a nett figure of £2450 per annum including lost interest. If you can find a car for around that then it maybe worth considering.
The smaller and similarly powerful S3 isnt as quick as that.
Interesting thoughts, thanks all.
As for the "I wouldn't spend xxx on...", I take your point but I've budgeted very carefully and considered what/why/how much. £15k might be pushing it; nearer £12k is more likely but it depends on how a few things pan out in the next few months. I'm no company director sort and I'm more fat than powerfully built
- I have a realistic grasp of what I can afford and I'm careful. Some of it is hubris- it's nice to spend big chunks of my day sitting in something nice- but badges don't appeal to me. How nice an environment something is to be in, how fun (or not) it is to drive and how practical/reliable it'll be to run are all interesting.
Ali_T said:
No thanks. Too many friends and neighbours with horribly problematic German cars to be bothered with the hassle. The days of German reliability have long past. If you want something that won't go wrong, buy a Lexus. It'll probably last forever but, there's the problem. You'll be bored senseless for the rest of eternity!
Ali, I've heard you enthuse about your Giulietta several times. They're clearly not the rustbuckets they were but still seem to feature low down in reliability/satisfaction surveys. What is it that makes you so happy with yours? (And how would you convince others to try them in the face of that feedback?)PorkRind said:
The new 1 series feels absolutely massive, that's because it is compared to the old one.. A lovely drive, but feels too big for what I was expecting. Weird huh.
Having been in both I'd agree however it's still no more practical than the previos model other then an ever so slightly larger boot.Had a M135i 5-door on lease, and my daughter was born during that time. It was just about OK space-wise, with the newborn seat behind the passenger there was adequate legroom in front. No way it would have fitted behind my normal driving position. With everything going extended rear facing I'm not sure how the bigger seats involved would have fitted, or if we had a second child and car seat.
Boot is reasonable on the F20, an Uppababy Vista just about fits with the wheels on but then you have to pile other things on top and rearrange if you want to get the pushchair back out. Smaller pushchairs would work a bit better but even so it's tight especially with a dog too. An overnight (or longer) with travel cot and other bags would mean taking the wheels off the pushchair and carefully arranging things, and still ending up with stuff on the back seat.
Have a Golf estate now that is cavernous in comparison, and much easier to work with if we go away. You'd be bonkers to spend that sort of money on a 118i - get a newer Octavia instead.
Boot is reasonable on the F20, an Uppababy Vista just about fits with the wheels on but then you have to pile other things on top and rearrange if you want to get the pushchair back out. Smaller pushchairs would work a bit better but even so it's tight especially with a dog too. An overnight (or longer) with travel cot and other bags would mean taking the wheels off the pushchair and carefully arranging things, and still ending up with stuff on the back seat.
Have a Golf estate now that is cavernous in comparison, and much easier to work with if we go away. You'd be bonkers to spend that sort of money on a 118i - get a newer Octavia instead.
J4CKO said:
INWB said:
It's a long shot and I had to ignore the bit about VAG but I found this:
Audi A4 AVANT 3.2 FSI Black Edition Multitronic 5dr SAT NAV, 19" ALLOYS, B & O with 60,000 miles
0-60 in 5.2 seconds and yet the practical family car for the man on the up.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...
The 1 series imo is too cramped for what you want. The 3 series you will struggle with your criteria.
Re leasing. £15K in bank would generate 3% so £450 a year. Car depreciation over say 3 years at 15% PA will cost £6,000 over 3 years so a nett figure of £2450 per annum including lost interest. If you can find a car for around that then it maybe worth considering.
5.2 to sixty for that seems pretty rapid, are they really that quick ? its a fairly large car with 260 ish bhp to do sixty that quick ?Audi A4 AVANT 3.2 FSI Black Edition Multitronic 5dr SAT NAV, 19" ALLOYS, B & O with 60,000 miles
0-60 in 5.2 seconds and yet the practical family car for the man on the up.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...
The 1 series imo is too cramped for what you want. The 3 series you will struggle with your criteria.
Re leasing. £15K in bank would generate 3% so £450 a year. Car depreciation over say 3 years at 15% PA will cost £6,000 over 3 years so a nett figure of £2450 per annum including lost interest. If you can find a car for around that then it maybe worth considering.
The smaller and similarly powerful S3 isnt as quick as that.
Edited by underphil on Wednesday 25th May 16:15
I would go for an Alfa Romeo, I had a Giulietta 1.4 MA with 170 HP (engine from the Abarth 500) & the power delivery makes it feel quicker than the figures suggest. While not as fast (around 7.8 to 60 & 140 mph) it seems to be a bit more lively than the QV (1.75) and has a lighter front end so its still fun to throw around. I achieved around 35 mpg in the manual with a heavy right foot so on to motorway 40+ should be achievable. It should be more practical than the 118i too as the boot is a decent size. It was also really quiet & comfortable on long runs. Really, really, really miss mine :'(
Only real issue i had with mine was the gearbox which was because the previous owner used the wrong oil.
Only real issue i had with mine was the gearbox which was because the previous owner used the wrong oil.
Edited by DanQyou on Wednesday 25th May 15:35
Edited by DanQyou on Wednesday 25th May 15:36
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