Solid, comfortable, reliable commuter car... help!
Discussion
Hi everyone... anyone got any advice here?
I need to buy my wife a new car for work... we can't go down the PPC/lease route at the moment as we really need to cut down our monthly outgoings due to a new house and other costly outgoings.
She commutes 80 miles a day, 5 days a week and currently drives a 61 plate Seat Ibiza 1.2d - a great little car that's incredibly economical. However, it's a lease car with about 75k on the clock that needs returning in February.
The motorways she's using every day have got huge amounts of roadworks going on for the next three years so the commute is getting very stressful for her. Taking 1h 20m to 1h 45m to do the distance each way. When she borrows my A6 auto she gets there and back much more relaxed but that's not feasible long term - I need my car!
Does anyone have any ideas for a car, no more than around £7k, that's fairly large (so she doesn't get bullied/harassed on the motorway too much), diesel, solid reliability, very comfortable and automatic that can handle 2-3 years more of 25k/year? Nothing more than about 7/8 years old... say 56/07 plate at the earliest?
Thanks! :-)
I need to buy my wife a new car for work... we can't go down the PPC/lease route at the moment as we really need to cut down our monthly outgoings due to a new house and other costly outgoings.
She commutes 80 miles a day, 5 days a week and currently drives a 61 plate Seat Ibiza 1.2d - a great little car that's incredibly economical. However, it's a lease car with about 75k on the clock that needs returning in February.
The motorways she's using every day have got huge amounts of roadworks going on for the next three years so the commute is getting very stressful for her. Taking 1h 20m to 1h 45m to do the distance each way. When she borrows my A6 auto she gets there and back much more relaxed but that's not feasible long term - I need my car!
Does anyone have any ideas for a car, no more than around £7k, that's fairly large (so she doesn't get bullied/harassed on the motorway too much), diesel, solid reliability, very comfortable and automatic that can handle 2-3 years more of 25k/year? Nothing more than about 7/8 years old... say 56/07 plate at the earliest?
Thanks! :-)
She does like the A6 but the job she's doing (youth offending office) means she goes into a lot of really bad areas. It's a bit on the flash side to be honest. Sounds bad I know but these areas are so rough and the families she visits are 2nd, 3rd, 4th crooks of the nasty variety... I don't want anything too flash that says "nick me".
I'd love to get myself a new car but, unfortunately, I can only afford the one right now... my A6 is worth more than the £7k I can afford to spend so I'd be doing myself out of a nice motor :-D
The Mondeos and Insignias are all too high mileage at that price from what I can see... the Volvos (although a bit older) seem to be a lot of car for the money?
I'd love to get myself a new car but, unfortunately, I can only afford the one right now... my A6 is worth more than the £7k I can afford to spend so I'd be doing myself out of a nice motor :-D
The Mondeos and Insignias are all too high mileage at that price from what I can see... the Volvos (although a bit older) seem to be a lot of car for the money?
Hmmm... it's the auto box that's a key part of what makes it more relaxing for her I think. So start/stop on the M62/M60 at the moment that you seem to be pressing the clutch all day long. Obviously it hurts the economy a bit but, on balance, it seems to be worth the few extra quid a week in the tank if it chills her out during the drive.
We spent £5k on an Octavia 2.0 DSG two years ago because my wife was doing 80 miles a day with a mix of fast A road and Somerset lanes. She wanted a comfy auto with some go, I wanted something tough that wouldn't wear out and every taxi around us is an Octavia, made sense! She was previously using an Alfa 147 that needed new suspension arms annually.
Two years and 50k miles later it took everything she could throw at it (and a few things she's thrown it at) without drama. Two suspension bushes (100k miles now) and just had to do disks and calipers on the front, calipers probably knackered due to weather last winter and the crud on the Somerset lanes she splashed through.
Highly recommended, and you can park it anywhere, it is the ultimate anti-flash car solution!
50 mpg average too and she doesn't hang about (as the points verify).
I'm now doing a 90 mile daily commute including school runs and will probably bin the Octavia and my XF for a Superb estate.
Two years and 50k miles later it took everything she could throw at it (and a few things she's thrown it at) without drama. Two suspension bushes (100k miles now) and just had to do disks and calipers on the front, calipers probably knackered due to weather last winter and the crud on the Somerset lanes she splashed through.
Highly recommended, and you can park it anywhere, it is the ultimate anti-flash car solution!
50 mpg average too and she doesn't hang about (as the points verify).
I'm now doing a 90 mile daily commute including school runs and will probably bin the Octavia and my XF for a Superb estate.
As long as you go for a later one, like an 07 or 08 you should be okay with the autobox on a volvo. A warranty that covers it could be better for peace of mind also. As far as D5's go for reliability change the fuel filter every second service and they run forever. Hence why the Police and Ambulance services use them. I've driven an Ex NHS V70 D5 with 170k on the clock and it did not show it at all. Still had a lot of life in it.
pacoryan said:
...will probably bin the ...XF for a Superb estate.
I did this 12 months ago = from an XFS to a Superb 2.0 DSG - Don't really feel short changed. The interior quality isn't as good but get a high spec one and its comfy and a nice place to be.Estates hold their price but the OP could look at the Superb saloon.
Golf 2.0 TDI 140 DSG
You'd get a high miler 61-plate in well specced Match trim for just slightly over your budget - http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2014...
You'd get a high miler 61-plate in well specced Match trim for just slightly over your budget - http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2014...
jumpinjohnson said:
Funnily enough I'd added a comment in about the S60 D5 but then deleted it... didn't want to sway people's opinions :-) Not having had a D5 before is the engine pretty reliable?
One of the most robust of the modern diesels - they're not bullet proof but they are goodNot the fastest, but they are pretty good
Not the most refined but they are good
So, I guess, they are good
Yup! Some great suggestions there - I hadn't considered the CRV at all thinking it would be too big/high and therefore thirsty. The Accord was something I'd looked at but she wasn't keen on the look - typical. Still, when you've got a limited budget you have limited choices!
Thanks for all your help :-)
Thanks for all your help :-)
05/55 plate BMW 1 seires diesel? Pre-DPF, and the auto box is very good. My wife drives a 120D and she likes it a lot. I've borrowed it on occasion for commuting to work and back, particularly in my old job which was 50 miles each way, mostly m3/m25 (so lots of traffic!). It was a pleasure to drive on those days, more so than my honda civic (manual, petrol). Auto box is good, fuel economy can be a bit hit or miss but on motorway runs through rush hour it's in the 40's - have seen above 50 on a steady run (sitting at 70 mph for over an hour).
Edited by thatdude on Wednesday 8th October 12:16
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