How does anyone make a decision buying a car? [What car]

[DanDanDaan]

I am now bored with my old shape Fiesta ST. But trying to decide on a new car is doing my head in. My budget is 8k - maybe slightly over for something amazing. I am not mechanically minded at all so something reliable would be nice.

I constantly change my mind about what I want - faster , more comfortable, more toys etc.

The list of cars I have been looking at includes , but isn't limited to:

Volvo c30 t5 - seem to be rare - the few I have looked at seem to have issues.

BMW 130i - current winner but a bork fund is probably a must

Mazda 6 2.5 - slower but was a very comfortable place to be

Mazda 6 MPS - look a bit dated, again maybe big bills?

GOLF R32 - probably out of budget for one that won't have issues or silly miles on it.

TL:DR:

Roughly as quick as the Fiesta ST at least

£8k

Reliable

Fairly modern

[Mr SFJ]

Mk5 GTI?
Focus ST?
S2000?
335i/d?
Astra VXR
Civic Type R?

Put a cheap private plate on any of them and you could probably disguise them as a couple of years newer than they are.

All are going to need work on them, but A tidy GTI can be had for around 8k.

[billy939]

Civic Type-R FN2

Covers all bases, you can get a good one for that price and they're quicker than the older Fiesta ST's so it will be a nice step up

[Hooli]

A bus pass is nicer than a fiesta HTH.

[jamieduff1981]

The difficulty you are experiencing is because none of the cars you are considering are remotely interesting. It's very difficult to get excited by a modern hatchback.

Sounds like spending more money to get something functionally adequate but emotionally no different from what you already have i.e. boring.

Why not a sportscar?

[BorkFactor]

Is the bork factor really that high on a 130i?

Straight 6 NA petrol with a manual gearbox, seems a pretty solid combination?

[amusingduck]

1. Spend months weighing up the pros and cons of a huge range of cars
2. Decide to have a look for a cheap (£1-1.5k) local car which is "less st" for the time being.
3. See a car previously dismissed from step 1, actually quite like it in real life
4. Impulse buy the car and spend far too much (£4k) for that particular model
5. Regret

[vtecyo]

I'm in exactly the same boat. My list includes:

Monaro
Evo
Impreza STi
E46 M3
350Z
VX220

V8 X5 for a curveball

PITA. Cannot decide for the life of me. Once I'm back from holiday I'm going to go drive a few.

[Axionknight]

billy939 said:

Civic Type-R FN2

Covers all bases, you can get a good one for that price and they're quicker than the older Fiesta ST's so it will be a nice step up

Agreed, quick enough, handle well for a FWD hatch, good fun to cane, plenty of room in the back and the boot and proven mechanicals - good cars.

[lickatysplit]

the Mazda 6 MPS is a quick car and very underated. but I think the tax on it is high. I have the MK2 sport and the tax on that isn't cheap.

[ED209]

use your 8k and get a new st on lease?

[giger]

Don't rule out the wild cards or random cars that come up. I went through this nightmare some years ago, and randomly chanced upon a MKII race blue Octavia VRS 2ltr Turbo and it was fantastic. Great value for money, goes well, handles well, lots of toys and you would be able to get a decent one within your budget. Have a quick look in the classifieds and see what you think - essentially a MK5 Golf GTI with a larger shell fitted. Great cars!

I've since sold the car after owning for 3 years but still rate them highly - often over looked or sniggered at due to badge snobbery.

[keith2.2]

look at other requirements;

are you going to want to tune . modify?
will you want to use on track?
do you need more space?
do you need 4/5 doors?
rwd / awd / fwd preference?
Are running costs an issue? (tax, mpg, tyres, insurance, servicing)
Age?

When I was replacing my S2K, I had a budget that would have seen me in anything from asupercharged MX5 to an Evo. By the time I had confirmed it had to be a rwd convertible with a V8, I was left with only a few choices, and it was pretty obvious what to go for.

[iloveboost]

I wouldn't worry that much about reliability as fuel is by far the biggest cost for most people and you can get 'lucky' with an 'unreliable' car and 'unlucky' with a 'reliable' car. I think all you can try to do is try to stay away from cars with common expensive faults that weren't sorted with a recall, as it's very difficult to know when parts will fail or how a used car has been driven.

Based on your suggestions I think you should also consider:
Focus ST 2.5.
Audi A3 3.2 Quattro.
330i (E90 or '05 on)
Mazda 3 MPS.

[neil1jnr]

'more toys'

What is classed as a 'toy' in a car...

I can't think of anything in a car that is a 'toy'.

[CaptainSensib1e]

Yu need to go and drive a few of the cars you've listed to work out what's really important to you. It's a bit like choosing a house based purely on its Rightmove listing, it gives you a fair idea of what its like, but the relaity could be veyr different.

[DanDanDaan]

I don't mind fuel bills as I have a relatively small commute, anything that will do > 25 mpg will do. Comfort would be nice as I have the occasional trip to the other side of the country to see in laws.

By toys I suppose I mean modern refinements. My ST has Aircon and an aux port. I kind of like the idea of cruise / full leather / dual zone climate / heated seats etc. I suppose I consider them toys as I have driven the whole time without them.

Afraid it has to be at least a 2+2 as I have a large-ish dog that will need to be able to sit comfortably in it. A 350z was on the list but I don't think the dog would get on well with it.

Everything else is open.

The problem is being a member here - every day a new car gets added to the list.

Dealers are the other problem - hovering around trying to talk when I just want 20 minutes alone to press all the buttons, check all around etc.

[Shurv]

Z4 coupe. Nice 3 litre straight 6, good spec, room for the dog, looks good and drives well, high spec, within budget.