what car should I buy for taxi use?

[RobDaManc]

Its a question thats probably been asked on here a few times I know but I keep changing my mind.

The criteria is that it must be 2010 registered due to local council condtions.

Preferably an estate. Budget of about 5-5500.

So far I'm thinking of a mondeo 2.0 tdci titanium. I'm not keen on octavias - think they feel a bit plasticy inside.

Any suggestions/advice welcome.

[Superhoop]

The Skoda Superb seems to be quite commonly used as a taxi

[kiethton]

VW Passatt?

Vauxhall Insignia?

Late registered Saab 93/95?

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2013...

[POORCARDEALER]

Going to be a very high mileage car for that budget needing to be 2010 onwards

[Capt Bravz]

I'm guessing you will want reliability, comfort, economy?

Put aside your 'plasticy' thoughts. There is a reason why 95% of our local rank is made up of Skodas.

[RobDaManc]

Insignias wont last. Saabs probably wouldnt. Superbs out of budget. Yes I would be buying a car with around 100k on it already and needs to be good for another 100k.

[GTIR]

Do taxi drivers still make a decent living nowadays?

I know the ones on my rank in town struggle.

[knockturnal]

Accord

[RobDaManc]

Insignias wont last. Saabs probably wouldnt. Superbs out of budget. Yes I would be buying a car with around 100k on it already and needs to be good for another 100k.

[1s1]

Capt Bravz said:

I'm guessing you will want reliability, comfort, economy?

Put aside your 'plasticy' thoughts. There is a reason why 95% of our local rank is made up of Skodas.

Got to agree with this, I can't think of another car that is more well suited than the Octavia. The MK1 was built as late as 2011 for Taxi's in mind, as it means you can get a recently built car for a knock-down price.

[RobDaManc]

I do alright. I rent out astras but want something different for myself. My mate rents cars out to and believe it or not skodas do have their problems to.

[1s1]

RobDaManc said:

I do alright. I rent out astras but want something different for myself. My mate rents cars out to and believe it or not skodas do have their problems to.

With the kind of driving that taxi cars are subjected to, I would imagine most cars have issues. I own a C4 Grand Picasso and I once got a lift in a C4 Picasso taxi. He was telling me of the countless problems he's had and how much he hates the thing because of it. He had to replace the clutch at 30,000 and the latest fault was the DPF engine management light, as it does nothing but stop/start city driving. Our Grand Picasso is now 5 years old and it has never once been a problem.

If your mate rents cars out to Taxi drivers, then surely he has the best idea of what is the most reliable car? He might not know exactly but he must have a general idea of which models he sees the most being returned with faults.

[billzeebub]

Saab 9-3/9-5

[Blue Oval84]

If a Mondeo is in budget then that's what I'd be going with, comfortable, a decent drive, cheap parts and well made

[RobDaManc]

1s1 said:

With the kind of driving that taxi cars are subjected to, I would imagine most cars have issues. I own a C4 Grand Picasso and I once got a lift in a C4 Picasso taxi. He was telling me of the countless problems he's had and how much he hates the thing because of it. He had to replace the clutch at 30,000 and the latest fault was the DPF engine management light, as it does nothing but stop/start city driving. Our Grand Picasso is now 5 years old and it has never once been a problem.

If your mate rents cars out to Taxi drivers, then surely he has the best idea of what is the most reliable car? He might not know exactly but he must have a general idea of which models he sees the most being returned with faults.

I wouldn't buy a french car. Period.

[RobDaManc]

Blue Oval84 said:

If a Mondeo is in budget then that's what I'd be going with, comfortable, a decent drive, cheap parts and well made

Thats my gut feeling but want to know if the 2.0 tdci 140 would do 200k. For some reason looking at specs on autotrader the 2.0 is a bit more expensive than the 1.8 but will be more economical.

[scorcher]

One local to us has a couple of these.........

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

[Gtom]

RobDaManc said:

Thats my gut feeling but want to know if the 2.0 tdci 140 would do 200k. For some reason looking at specs on autotrader the 2.0 is a bit more expensive than the 1.8 but will be more economical.

Mine is on 172k and still doing fine. Admittedly it's the 130 bhp auto but it's still a psa engine. It hasn't had anything other than servicing its whole life. At just over 100k it was a pool car and racked up 63k in 18 months. My dad then had the car back for a little while and carried on putting 1.5k a week on it and said it was as good as when he got it new.

[Jazoli]

How about a Prius?

There's loads being used locally and the owners seem to like them, I believe they are great for the 'rank shuffle' as you don't need to be constantly starting the engine to move forward 10 feet every 30 seconds.

[10 Pence Short]

knockturnal said:

Accord

And petrol. Will last forever. Convert to LPG when budget allows.

Eleventy million Bradford taxi drivers can't be wrong.