Talk me out of it... Megane Convertible?!

[Cupramax]

WJNB said:

1. It's a Peugeot.

A Peugeot Megane?

[V12 Virgin]

Cupramax said:

WJNB said:

1. It's a Peugeot.

A Peugeot Megane?

It has the underpinnings of a Peugeot.

[spodrod]

V12 Virgin said:

It has the underpinnings of a Peugeot.

Are you sure?

[jamiebae]

V12 Virgin said:

Cupramax said:

WJNB said:

1. It's a Peugeot.

A Peugeot Megane?

It has the underpinnings of a Peugeot.

No it doesn't, it is nothing at all to do with a Peugeot, and shares no components with it.

I'm going to go against the grain here, on the following assumption - you are aware it will be rubbish to drive, worse than an average hatchback, and you are prepared to throw it away if it breaks and write off the £1,500.

The Megane 2 is one of the five most unreliable cars made since 2000 (the others being the Peugeot 307, Land Rover Freelander, Laguna 2, and the Espace 4). This is why they're good value, you trade having a relatively new and well specced car against the fact it could throw up an electrical fault which will cost you a grand to fix at a moment's notice.

If you want to cruise around with the roof down and enjoy the scenery then it's a decent option, it's a (fractionally) better car than the contemporary Peugeot 307 and all the other cars suggested in the thread (3 Series, CLK, Saab...) will be ancient, with 10 former owners, a worn out hood and an interior full of cocaine residue for your budget. The Focus CC is a better car, but will probably be more expensive, and the Megane at least looks OK as it has (I believe) a 5 piece roof instead of the normal 3 piece so it doesn't require a boot lid big enough to land a helicopter on to accommodate it.

Would I buy one, no, but for a very specific set of circumstances it's not a totally awful option.

[Digby]

Volvo C70?

[qska]

Ok, I give in.

Megane is off the cards... :-)

I had the CLK vert Avantgarde, and moaned about the stiff suspension.

SLKs look nice as well, but I don't know which versions have the hard suspension (which I DO NOT WANT).

C70 is nice, I was even thinking of swapping the daily driver for one - but to be a proper daily driver it'd have to have Xenons on it.

[jamiebae]

qska said:

Ok, I give in.

Megane is off the cards... :-)

I had the CLK vert Avantgarde, and moaned about the stiff suspension.

SLKs look nice as well, but I don't know which versions have the hard suspension (which I DO NOT WANT).

C70 is nice, I was even thinking of swapping the daily driver for one - but to be a proper daily driver it'd have to have Xenons on it.

Assuming a budget of sub £2k a CLK will be rotten and the SLK doesn't have space for the kids. I'd look at the C70, it's probably the best 'comfort focused' option.

[mikey P 500]

My brother has one of the megane convertibles, he is not a car type, just wanted to be able to get top down from time to time. The roof means he can park on street in dodgy areas (previous escort cab had roof slashed more than once). He has put about 70k on it over last 4 years, only need one electrical repair (rear window mechanically) and oil change once a year is about all the maintenance it gets. Very slow 1.6 as heavy car fuel is not great either, but he likes it.

[qska]

mikey P 500 said:

My brother has one of the megane convertibles, he is not a car type, just wanted to be able to get top down from time to time. The roof means he can park on street in dodgy areas (previous escort cab had roof slashed more than once). He has put about 70k on it over last 4 years, only need one electrical repair (rear window mechanically) and oil change once a year is about all the maintenance it gets. Very slow 1.6 as heavy car fuel is not great either, but he likes it.

That's the sort of fun I meant - put the roof down, enjoy the not so quick ride, without people vomiting in the back ;-)

Plus, that'd be good for Oxford, Megane is a bit smaller than our S Max...

[qska]

... so you say something like this would do the trick?

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

Edited by qska on Thursday 23 March 20:51

[Nickp82]

qska said:

... so you say something like this would do the trick?

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

Edited by qska on Thursday 23 March 20:51

It's nice that, I reckon the original shape C70 has a classy look to it which will only get better with age, would have to be in Saffron Gold for me though!

[Cupramax]

That looks nice... Be prepared for the turning circle of the QE2

[SWoll]

Nickp82 said:

qska said:

... so you say something like this would do the trick?

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

Edited by qska on Thursday 23 March 20:51

It's nice that, I reckon the original shape C70 has a classy look to it which will only get better with age, would have to be in Saffron Gold for me though!

+1 on the 'nice that'
-1 on the Saffron Gold

Silver suits it well, and it looks in decent condition from the pics. A much nicer place to spend time than a Megane.

[qska]

jamiebae said:

I'm going to go against the grain here, on the following assumption - you are aware it will be rubbish to drive, worse than an average hatchback, and you are prepared to throw it away if it breaks and write off the £1,500.

Would I buy one, no, but for a very specific set of circumstances it's not a totally awful option.

Yeah, we have a MPV and a diesel saloon for daily duties.

This is meant to take us to the shops, school, maybe New Forest day trips.

And the occasional 100 mile round trip commute in good weather, as half of it is through countryside.

Driving for fun was mentioned in the other long thread (is there a point in a fast car).

I was also considering replacing the daily driver with a convertible, but the depreciation already suffered would be too great - it's still a car that does its job very very well, and I'd buy it myself for the depreciated price Plus a benefit of known history and no hidden faults.

[Shore]

Hairdresser

[jamiebae]

qska said:

jamiebae said:

I'm going to go against the grain here, on the following assumption - you are aware it will be rubbish to drive, worse than an average hatchback, and you are prepared to throw it away if it breaks and write off the £1,500.

Would I buy one, no, but for a very specific set of circumstances it's not a totally awful option.

Yeah, we have a MPV and a diesel saloon for daily duties.

This is meant to take us to the shops, school, maybe New Forest day trips.

And the occasional 100 mile round trip commute in good weather, as half of it is through countryside.

Driving for fun was mentioned in the other long thread (is there a point in a fast car).

I was also considering replacing the daily driver with a convertible, but the depreciation already suffered would be too great - it's still a car that does its job very very well, and I'd buy it myself for the depreciated price Plus a benefit of known history and no hidden faults.

So given that £1,500 isn't all the money you have, and that you have other cars too, then the Megane is worth a look.

A couple of alternatives to think about too:

Mitsubishi Colt - bit ugly but reliable, only works if your kids have no legs. They're cheaper than the Megane though - http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017... or http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

Peugeot 207 CC - another smaller car but more modern (hence better reliability) than the Megane and 307 - http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

There seem to be a handful of Focus and Astra CCs too, but these are higher mileage than the equivalent French stuff.

With the Megane you need to make sure the key cards both work, and that there are no warning lights or electrical gremlins. 1.6 engines can stall from cold very easily and coil packs are a consumable but mechanically they're not too bad. My old Grand Scenic 1.6 needed a clutch after 65k miles, but it was a 1.6 litre 7 seat MPV with a tow bar on the back so who knows how tough a life it had before I bought it

[Zetec-S]

Cupramax said:

WJNB said:

1. It's a Peugeot.

A Peugeot Megane?

(although to be fair, this highlights how dull and anonymous they are)

[TR4man]

Good grief, you shouldn't need talking out of it.

Unless of course your name is Sebastian and you own a boutique in Wilmslow.

[rlengthorn]

jamiebae said:

Mitsubishi Colt - bit ugly but reliable, only works if your kids have no legs. They're cheaper than the Megane though - http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017... or http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

Well I've just bought one of these for a bit of 'Summer fun' and to keep the excess miles down on my leased car. And to be honest it's been great! I bought the 150hp turbo version and it really goes quite well. My previous leased car was the infamous Golf R and to be honest I'm having just as much fun in this, although that is a lot to do with being able to get the roof down.

It's a bit creaky, as are most cheap convertibles, and the rear seats are really very small, my kids are 5 and 8 and we just about get away with them, but overall it's nice little thing. I do sometimes wonder what I look like in it, but then I think fk it and just enjoy myself.

For the £1,500 I paid for mine if it only lasts until the end of Summer I'll feel I've had more than enough value.

[qska]

So.

Maybe just swap the daily driver for something with a panoramic sunroof? At least I could re-use the parking space I already have, and avoid hassle with parking outside someone's house, or the main road.

Whaddya think?

Convertibles are a bit eye-pokey and not necessarily inconspicuous.

Is a pano sun roof a nice alternative?