Depressed by used car options

[Al U]

I sold my S2000 towards the end of last year to help with my house deposit which I've bought now. I got myself a 2005 focus 2.0 tdci for the interim, telling myself I'd get something decent again afterwards.

Now that afterwards has arrived, nothing on the market at the price I want to pay (could be the issue) particularly interests me. My journey to work is 42 miles each way, 5 days a week. That pretty much rules out a lease car/buying new without losing quite a lot of money. I also feel like I don't really need a new car and it would be a bit overindulgent to get one.

My requirements are basically:

Looks good, coupe ideally.
Can get 40mpg with no effort, and by no effort I mean at modern UK motorway outside lane speeds.
200bhp+
Mileage around 40k, I'd like to be able to keep it for at least a year and it not be approaching what society deems as high mileage.
Leather interior ideally with a screen/sat nav integrated but not essential.
Can be had for £10-£15k.

The focus has actually turned out to be really good for what I need a car to do. It munches motorway miles at speed, gives good mpg in return and the seats are comfortable. It's a titanium so has some nice options too. I think that is making it more difficult to look at what's available on the market at the moment and not feel a bit unmotivated to get something else.

Things I have looked at so far -

2010-2012 BMW 325/330/335D - I do like these, but I think they are expensive for what is a fairly common car and not exactly new. They look a bit dated next to the latest gen, but not enough to prevent me from considering them. £15k seems to be required for a decent example.

2013on BMW 125D - I do like these and I think for £15k they would be a good buy, but £15k ones with the right options such as xenons and the autobox are few and far between.

Golf GTD - Only 184bhp and £15k is a bit of a no mans land as that will get you the highest priced previous gen examples but not the lowest priced latest gen examples.

2011on Mercedes C250D - Only higher mileage examples available at £15k.

2010on Jaguar XF - Really prefer the latest gen so much so that I don't think I could go for the gen available at £15k.

BMW 123D/Audi TT tdi - totally subjective, but to me they are a bit feminine.

Scirocco tdi - just don't fancy one.

So should I just stick with the focus and until I find something I like? I feel like that could be a long time, any suggestions?

Edited by Al U on Tuesday 3rd May 21:20

[Al U]

EnglishTony said:

Stick with the Focus and get a weekend toy.

I forgot to mention, 2 cars is not being considered.

I just don't do enough miles at the weekend to justify running 2 cars.

[Al U]

wemorgan said:

Most of those options it would be almost cheaper to lease new than pay £15k on.
I've a 125d and it drives very nicely. So that's my choice of the above.

Maybe, but maybe not. Bearing in mind I'd need a car with 25,000 miles per annum and be tied in for 2 years.

I did look at this and a Golf GTD weighed in at around £9.5k over 2 years. I don't think I'd lose that much on a used car and I'd rather have the freedom to come and go when I please, not worry about how many miles I am doing so much etc.

I think leasing is great for people that do lower mileage though.

[Al U]

PSRG said:

Do any of the Saab 9-3 diesels have > 200 bhp? I'd be tempted to spend £5ish k on something like that for commuting (should be comfortable, economical, well equipped) and accept that a few years at 20/30k miles a year will make it a high mileage car. Then spend the other £10k on a fun car for the rest of the time... Maybe an Boxster or something like that?

It's fun spending someone else's money

Edited to add. Ah, you posted at the same time! So, if you don't want 2 cars then keep what you've got for the time being

I do like Saabs and I can see the appeal, but I just don't fancy one myself right now.

[Al U]

Cemesis said:

I feel the same. £15k on a 6 year old 3 series is madness. Ten years ago I bought a 6 year old M5 for £16k. The 1 series is hardly a luxurious 5 series so don't waste £15k on that either.

Stick with the Focus until you find something that appeals.

I've looked at 5 series too but again £15k is bottom of the market of the latest gen and the ones with the decent engines are £20k realistically.

I thought the 125d was good from the point of view it looks fresh, has the right ingredients for what I need, chassis could be satisfying enough at the weekend and I have heard good things about the auto. Interior is pretty nice compared to the other hatches available too. They look pants without the xenons though!

[Al U]

wibblebrain said:

A bit of a compromise on cost or mileage would put you in a BMW 635d

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

I think that looks expensive for what it is. If I saw that going down the road and you told me it was more than about £12k I'd be surprised.

[Al U]

tiger.banana said:

How about an Alfa Romeo Brera?

2.4 diesel should easily do 40 mph and the Brera is a stunning looking car!

Getting on now a bit though and I don't like the dash.

[Al U]

cat220 said:

How about a CLS 350 or 320cdi?

Like pretty much all recent Mercedes, Mercedes have done a very good job of making the next generation look much better than the last, making the previous gen much less desirable.

[Al U]

wemorgan said:

Fair enough, though final point, you can lease an Octavia vrs for £8k at that mileage.

Link?

[Al U]

gibson2004 said:

When I saw this thread i was very suprised, you can get all sorts of good cars for that money.

The miles you stated is incredibly low. The saying I see on pistonheads a lot is "buy on condition not on mileage".

My choice of car would be audi a5 3.0tdi.

I looked at the A5 and they just look bland and boring to me, forgot to mention that. The later ones look fresh with the newer lights but you're talking £25k quite easily.

Also, I agree the condition is more important than mileage to an extent. But I would like some resale value when I am done with the car and unfortunately the closer you get to 6 figures on used cars, the depreciation curve steepens again.

[Al U]

Valgar said:

200BHP and 40mpg seems like a big ask, relegating yourself to Diesels, if you were to lower your expectations to 25-30 MPG you can get much more interesting stuff, the difference in fuel costs between 30 and 40 is less than £1000 a year.

That is an interesting point you raise. Having just checked on a calculator, at the mileage I am doing you are right it is about £1k per year. So about £20 a week which sounds steeper than £1000 a year.

The thing is though in my experience, petrol cars struggle with mpg at motorway speeds more than a diesel which is where the car will spend most of it's time.

[Al U]

sebhaque said:

With all due respect, I disagree with your point about petrol cars on motorways. A motorway is where a car is most fuel efficient, and it's very easy to get 40mpg+ from modern petrol cars. I regularly top 40mpg in my C180 wagon, and I used to regularly achieve 38mpg from my 3.8 911. If you're doing over 20k a year on the motorway, I doubt you're someone who spends his life in the outside lane doing n+10mph of whoever's in front of you.

The thing is on the stretch of motorway and A roads that I use the car is generally very much on the naughty side of 70mph. The focus can do this and still get 45mpg. I haven't come across many petrol cars that can do that.

[Al U]

nadger said:

I know you said you wanted a car which has lower miles, but with the number of miles you do p.a, why don't you consider a car which has already had the depreciation by going over 100k? Look for something like an ex police car (I saw a lovely 330d which 116k on it the other day which was an ex cop car) which will have been maintained well and stick the rest of the money in the bank. Run it for a year or two and then flog on!

The thing with higher mileage cars is bigger bills are expected. I don't mind paying more for a lower mileage example of what I decide to go with.

[Al U]

veccy208 said:

What about looking for cheaper cars with higher specs? Look at cars between 5-10k and a bit older. Get some great cars with full service history, 1 owner and kept in a garage all their lives. It also gives you a chance to look at something different from the usual.

Just fancy something newer to be honest. I don't think 6 years old or newer is an unreasonable target.

[Al U]

FredClogs said:

Spend less on the car, get something a bit older and with a petrol engine for £10k and save the money for fuel bills and repairs.

I don't really think the benefits of a petrol car are going to be made apparent with the type of driving I do. My personal opinion is that lazy diesels are perfect for motorway driving, just fancy something better than the focus.

[Al U]

Crusoe said:

GT86 ticks all the boxes I think. Either that or something like a z4 coupe for 10k and live with 30s mpg.

My previous car was an S2000, which is in a different league to the GT86 IMO. I also don't think that either a GT86 or Z4 is going to get the MPG I'm looking for.

[Al U]

FredClogs said:

Got to be this then...

http://www4.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...



Diesel
>200bhp
Good MPG
Looks great
Not a focus
Coupe

Do I get a commission?

No you don't get commission for suggesting something I have already said I don't like earlier in the thread .

[Al U]

Glasgowrob said:

Keep the focus but get it mapped?

Had the same 2l tdci in s Mondeo £450 later it was making 197 bhp and 323 lbs/ft

Totally different car and £14500 cheaper than your other options

I wouldn't map an old leggy car to be honest, I think the extra load on the concerned parts isn't worth the gain. Things just tend to break faster on mapped cars in my experience.

[Al U]

Bill said:

You have beer taste to match your beer money, whereas the OP wants the best champagne for prosecco money.

Personally I'd be keeping the Focus and looking at something with a V8...

I wouldn't go that far. I didn't start the thread saying why aren't Panamera diesels £15k yet!?

[Al U]

SturdyHSV said:

Exactly right

Better yet, sell the Focus, get this for £9k:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/231841460909

and spend the £6,000 on brave pills and fuel

Even better yet, get this for £4,875:

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/m...

Spend £5,625 sorting out any issues over time, and spend the other £4,500 on fuel.

For 20,000 miles a year, comparing 40mpg to 25mpg (you'd eek that out 'on a run' ) is about £2,500 a year vs £4,000 a year.

So your £4,500 would last you 3 years of supremely refined motorway cruising with a 5.4 litre V8 at your disposal, and 234,000 miles vs 174,000 miles is hardly anything, you could probably sell it on for at least £3,000 assuming it doesn't rust into oblivion!

There you go, some proper PH suggestions

TVR's and old Merc's aren't really of interest to me unfortunately. I know they appeal to a lot of people on here but not myself.