What car for the Mrs
Discussion
Haven't done one of these for a while but thought I'd tap into the PH resources and get some ideas flowing. I apologise, it's not going to be very exciting and probably won't involve an MX5.
Need a car for the other half.
She'll be doing very short (3 miles each way ish) journey's. Need something that will take this in it's stride and delivery good economy under the circumstances. I'm undecided on petrol vs diesel. Not sure if diesel will offer a huge advantage in stop start traffic but the car will occasionally be used for much longer trips as well.
Mustn't be too large, I'd guess Golf size would be her limit.
She'll have our toddler with her who is in a front facing car seat. So it will need 5 doors and the better access to the rear in terms of height and door aperture, the better.
Will need a boot big enough for a modern push chair and other bits and bobs or a seat configuration that very easily allows for through loading on one side only. Again, a Golf sized boot is big enough but only just.
Shouldn't be too appalling for the odd long journey.
All important budget. £3k tops but we have a house renovation about to kick off so if all the boxes can be ticked for a lot less than I'd be a happy bunny.
Have gravitated so far to tall, well packaged cars.
So far, I've considered an Audi A2 as it seems quite well packaged for a relatively small car. Removable rear seats is a massive bonus. Frugal engines and I quite like the quirk factor. Downsides, I hear tales of dreadful ride quality and potentially costly maintenance. They're quite pricey for what they are but that could be offset against slow depreciation. It's certainly a contender.
Have thought about an old A-Class as well as these are available very cheaply but I'll profess to knowing little or nothing about them. On the face of it they offer better value than the A2 but I'm concerned about Merc's patchy build quality for cars during this period.
There are a myriad of Golf sized cars that are an option (including a Golf) but nothing leaping out there. I think anything much smaller is off the menu.
Need a car for the other half.
She'll be doing very short (3 miles each way ish) journey's. Need something that will take this in it's stride and delivery good economy under the circumstances. I'm undecided on petrol vs diesel. Not sure if diesel will offer a huge advantage in stop start traffic but the car will occasionally be used for much longer trips as well.
Mustn't be too large, I'd guess Golf size would be her limit.
She'll have our toddler with her who is in a front facing car seat. So it will need 5 doors and the better access to the rear in terms of height and door aperture, the better.
Will need a boot big enough for a modern push chair and other bits and bobs or a seat configuration that very easily allows for through loading on one side only. Again, a Golf sized boot is big enough but only just.
Shouldn't be too appalling for the odd long journey.
All important budget. £3k tops but we have a house renovation about to kick off so if all the boxes can be ticked for a lot less than I'd be a happy bunny.
Have gravitated so far to tall, well packaged cars.
So far, I've considered an Audi A2 as it seems quite well packaged for a relatively small car. Removable rear seats is a massive bonus. Frugal engines and I quite like the quirk factor. Downsides, I hear tales of dreadful ride quality and potentially costly maintenance. They're quite pricey for what they are but that could be offset against slow depreciation. It's certainly a contender.
Have thought about an old A-Class as well as these are available very cheaply but I'll profess to knowing little or nothing about them. On the face of it they offer better value than the A2 but I'm concerned about Merc's patchy build quality for cars during this period.
There are a myriad of Golf sized cars that are an option (including a Golf) but nothing leaping out there. I think anything much smaller is off the menu.
NO diesel will be competitive based on your criteria of tiny miles as servicing is more expensive and it wont have time to warm up and so will return poor economy and no heat in the winter, petrol will be your best bet, and if i was you i would buy something with big miles and full history. If your missus is only going to be covering such small miles (<2k pa i assume ) get something newer with big miles then a few years down the line the miles will have evened up with other similar cars on the market.
My Dad had an A-class, it never caused him any issues, but i think you need to watch out for the semi autos IIRC they are prone to expensive bills.
A2 wise, i had one for a weekend once and saw 70mpg easy out of it but it was mostly on the motorway and it was a TDI. ride was Ok and that was on big 17's...but again read mostly nice smooth M-ways.
3k gets you plenty of golf sized 1.6(ish) petrol cars that will all be much of a muchness.
My Dad had an A-class, it never caused him any issues, but i think you need to watch out for the semi autos IIRC they are prone to expensive bills.
A2 wise, i had one for a weekend once and saw 70mpg easy out of it but it was mostly on the motorway and it was a TDI. ride was Ok and that was on big 17's...but again read mostly nice smooth M-ways.
3k gets you plenty of golf sized 1.6(ish) petrol cars that will all be much of a muchness.
big_boz said:
NO diesel will be competitive based on your criteria of tiny miles as servicing is more expensive and it wont have time to warm up and so will return poor economy and no heat in the winter, petrol will be your best bet, and if i was you i would buy something with big miles and full history. If your missus is only going to be covering such small miles (<2k pa i assume ) get something newer with big miles then a few years down the line the miles will have evened up with other similar cars on the market.
My Dad had an A-class, it never caused him any issues, but i think you need to watch out for the semi autos IIRC they are prone to expensive bills.
A2 wise, i had one for a weekend once and saw 70mpg easy out of it but it was mostly on the motorway and it was a TDI. ride was Ok and that was on big 17's...but again read mostly nice smooth M-ways.
3k gets you plenty of golf sized 1.6(ish) petrol cars that will all be much of a muchness.
I was coming to that conclusion. I think the only diesel I've actually owned was a Smart CDi and it's true that short journeys weren't its forte in terms of mpg. I was probably going to seek out a big mileage but well maintained car as a matter of course. That's always worked best for me in the past. My Dad had an A-class, it never caused him any issues, but i think you need to watch out for the semi autos IIRC they are prone to expensive bills.
A2 wise, i had one for a weekend once and saw 70mpg easy out of it but it was mostly on the motorway and it was a TDI. ride was Ok and that was on big 17's...but again read mostly nice smooth M-ways.
3k gets you plenty of golf sized 1.6(ish) petrol cars that will all be much of a muchness.
kambites said:
The Octavia is exactly the same size as a Golf except for an extra bit of boot stuck on the back which you don't have any reason to notice unless you're parking.
Parking is exactly the issue. As a side line, we'll also have a very short driveway at our new place. A Focus just fits on it but is probably if anything, too long. It would be a big advantage if whatever was bought here fits on the drive which inevitably leads me to short and tall cars. 
ajh38 said:
1.6 petrol focus would be where my money goes at this price point. Practical & reliable.
Yep, that's on the list too although I didn't mention it as it falls under 'normal cars' which right now is a list as long as my arm. The Focus does look like decent value and I do enjoy driving them but I'm a little alarmed by how much corrosion a Focus that belongs to a colleague is showing. Is that normal?Gad-Westy said:
Parking is exactly the issue. As a side line, we'll also have a very short driveway at our new place. A Focus just fits on it but is probably if anything, too long. It would be a big advantage if whatever was bought here fits on the drive which inevitably leads me to short and tall cars.
OK, the (mk2) Focus is 4.35m long so you need something shorter than that? Gad-Westy said:
... Audi A2
Hmm - costly maintenance. Especially when big things happen. Even Audi "independents" aren't cheap. And my experience with Audi is the cars can be too over engineered for their own good.Something Japanese, spend £2k instead of £3k and keep some in the kitty - Lexus IS200?
Gad-Westy said:
ajh38 said:
1.6 petrol focus would be where my money goes at this price point. Practical & reliable.
Yep, that's on the list too although I didn't mention it as it falls under 'normal cars' which right now is a list as long as my arm. The Focus does look like decent value and I do enjoy driving them but I'm a little alarmed by how much corrosion a Focus that belongs to a colleague is showing. Is that normal?car lengths
2008 focus 4342
2008 Astra 4249
What about an IBIZA:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2013...
Mum used to have, nice car...and @ 3953 a fair bit shorter than a Golf/Astra/Focus
2008 focus 4342
2008 Astra 4249
What about an IBIZA:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2013...
Mum used to have, nice car...and @ 3953 a fair bit shorter than a Golf/Astra/Focus
kambites said:
OK, the (mk2) Focus is 4.35m long so you need something shorter than that?
It was a MK1 that I've seen parked on the driveway. It was slightly overhanging but I'm not sure that it was right up against the garage door at the front end so not 100% sure on max. length. Mk1 Focus appears to be about 4.2m in length. Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff