What would you do?/ New car advice

[keo]

Hi everyone

I got a different job this year which is about 500 miles a week comute. I couldn't use the Elise so i had a nail of a focus it was great for a few months. Then it was playing up so i needed a new car asap.

I ended up buying an Audi A3 2.0 TDI Quattro S Line, i rushed into it. It is a nice car, but it just doesn't seem that economical for what it is. I get high 40's mpg that is including a good stretch of motorway. It is on just below 80k miles so i am thinking sell it now before it loses to much money and buy something else.

Favourite at the minute is a firsta 1.6tdi zetec s. Mpg i have read on the internet range from 60-89mpg don't know how true this is. Has anyone got any real world expirence?

I was hoping to get around £6k for a3, pay £5k for a fiesta and enjoy overall cheaper motoring. Don't want speed/ fun that is what the lotus is for.

[DoubleD]

High 40s mpg is pretty good.

[ging84]

i've never come across any car that can get much more than 50mpg without having to exercise a fair amount of restraint while driving.

[KungFuPanda]

As the previous poster has said, 40mpg is pretty good. The money that you'll lose but selling the A3 off will pay for a lot of diesel.

[RobM77]

You should be able to get a 320D ED for that money. I don't own one, but I understand they average about 60-70mpg in real world out of town driving. My 320D SE averages 50-60, depending what mood I'm in and how 'fast' (a relative term in this car!!!) I drive. If you like the Audi though, it's up to you whether you want to change just to save a bit of money each week - I would always advocate buying a car you want to drive, not necessarily the cheapest, fastest, etc - you've got to like driving it.

As for what I would do, I used to have an Elise and a 320d and I felt it was a combination that worked very well. Everyone has their own tastes in cars though; I personally like RWD, balanced handling and modest grip and don't really care too much about engines, so it makes sense for me.

Edited by RobM77 on Thursday 17th November 18:35

[sparkythecat]

The depreciation on your Fiesta doing 20k+ miles per annum will be phenomenal.
You need to factor that in. I doubt the swop will save you any money at all.

[keo]

Half the problem is I just don't like the Audi much really. Its just boring, I could put up with it if it was super economical but it isn't that good. I know high 40's is ok, but I really try to get that. Slow acceleration, don't go over 70 on the motorway.

I get about the depreciation but that only applies if I sell the car. I have never drove a fiesta but have drove focus/ Mondeo diesel and they seemed ok, definitely a lot better than a Vauxhall sigma company car I used to use as well at the same time.

Thanks for the reply Rob, you helped me when I was looking for my Elise/ you told me about your 211 as well.

[DoubleD]

Your comfort is more important than a couple of quid savings. Audis arent very popular on here for some reason, but they do normally have very good interiors.

[qska]

keo said:

Slow acceleration, don't go over 70 on the motorway.

Mumsnet this way ------>

Just kidding.

I was impressed by the 2013 Octavia 1.6 diesel mpg, you might want to consider that. I had one rented for a week.

Overall it was as quiet as my E Class, and a nice cruiser.

[RobM77]

keo said:

Half the problem is I just don't like the Audi much really. Its just boring, I could put up with it if it was super economical but it isn't that good. I know high 40's is ok, but I really try to get that. Slow acceleration, don't go over 70 on the motorway.

I get about the depreciation but that only applies if I sell the car. I have never drove a fiesta but have drove focus/ Mondeo diesel and they seemed ok, definitely a lot better than a Vauxhall sigma company car I used to use as well at the same time.

Thanks for the reply Rob, you helped me when I was looking for my Elise/ you told me about your 211 as well.

No problem, glad to be of help.

Regarding your thoughts on the Audi, I agree entirely, but in their defence, I think they're supposed to be boring Sorry if that sounds flippant, but having driven a wide range of their cars, including the RS models, they're clearly designed to be uninteresting, reliable, steady and uneventful transport. My best mate's Dad was a motoring journalist years ago and he said the same thing - they've always been like that. They're intended for people who wear cardigans and listen to Radio 2. It's good that they provide the sort of cars they do, but they're not for me, and if you have an Elise, I suspect you'd be the same as me in that regard. I can echo your mpg findings too - I had an A4 2.0 Tdi for three months a few yesrs ago and in a range of driving it was consistently getting around 5-10mpg less than the 320d, despite having less power and the same capacity. I'm not saying they're bad cars, but your findings are very consistent with what I've found myself and what I've heard from others.

[keo]

I agree with everything you say Rob, A3 does have a nice interior that is about the most positive I can be.

I am just thinking now would be the right time to sell before the miles go up to much. If I can get for it what i would like, then that would be £850 less than I paid for it. Not sure if I would get ithat though.

Thinking short term costs with something cheaper would be more mpg, less tax, less insurance, cheaper tyres. I think a fiesta would probably be a better drive (It was good fun down a country lane in the focus, well as much as a diesel can be. The chassis was good) than the a3 as well.

It would also be a newer car.

Something else for me to think about though is I spoke to an Audi specalist last night. He seemed to think i should be getting atleast 55-60mpg on the run i am doing. He suggested having the car in and checking the timing. With a possible remap/ DPF delete he thinks my mpg would improve. But this would cost around £500 ish. So i really aren't sure what to do!

[RobM77]

The A4 I had was virtually new (it was a courtesy car) and it was getting 5-10mpg less than my 320d, which had probably done about 100k miles at the time. He may be right, but £500 is a lot of money and not really worth it to save a few pounds a day (off the top of my head it'd be 6-12 months before you break even wouldn't it?).

[anonymous-user]

keo said:

Hi everyone

I got a different job this year which is about 500 miles a week comute. I couldn't use the Elise so i had a nail of a focus it was great for a few months. Then it was playing up so i needed a new car asap.

I ended up buying an Audi A3 2.0 TDI Quattro S Line, i rushed into it. It is a nice car, but it just doesn't seem that economical for what it is. I get high 40's mpg that is including a good stretch of motorway. It is on just below 80k miles so i am thinking sell it now before it loses to much money and buy something else.

Favourite at the minute is a firsta 1.6tdi zetec s. Mpg i have read on the internet range from 60-89mpg don't know how true this is. Has anyone got any real world expirence?

I was hoping to get around £6k for a3, pay £5k for a fiesta and enjoy overall cheaper motoring. Don't want speed/ fun that is what the lotus is for.

What about a lease?

https://www.contracthireandleasing.com/car-leasing...

Fiesta ST-Line 140 BHP

Fully maintained

£219.90 per Month

£659.70 deposit

25k per year

£5,720 for two years

[DeadInside]

Just a bit left field but as we're here in 2016 rather than 1986 here is an idea:

Ask to work from home 2 days a week. This is good for them because you will be more productive (assuming you don't work in a factory) and good for you because you save a shed of money.

Or start looking for another job. Or move. 500 miles a week = 2,400 hours a year wasted. 100 days without sleep. Nearly a third of a year. Think what you can do with that.

Home working is proven to work well and technology allows anyone with a office based job to do this. Many businesses I deal with want to do more because it saves them money.

Just a thought.

[ZX10R NIN]

You're doing 25k per year I'd say get a low mileage Auto I'd say a Mercedes/ would fit the bill I had a CLK270 which I put over 100k on with no DPF to worry about & a pretty much bulletproof drivetrain my bills were minimal (2 Parking Sensors 1 Crank Sensor) then it was regular maintenance it was also comfortable (a big Factor when doing 500 miles a week well worth using a bit more fuel for) so this is what I'd do sell the Audi leave the other 5k in the bank & run the car until it dropped.

Also when running mine I averaged 42mpg, on the Motorway I'd average around 45mpg (not driving like a saint) but mine was mapped.

CLK270 47k 170bhp
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

CLK220 Sport 31k
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

C200 SE Sport C Coupe 46k
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

Volvo C30 2.4 D5 SE Sport 45k
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

Ford Focus 2.0 Titanium 28k
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...


If looked after the above will comfortably add another 100k onto their current mileage & lose around 3/4 of their current values over the next four years.

[keo]

Thanks for the suggestions. I like those mercs. I can't work from home as i am a contractor. However in january i might be offered a full time position. Not sure if i would want to take it though, contracting isn't bad. Not having a car on the drip every month.

I had someone look at my A3 yesterday and they are very interested. They just need to sell his current car. Idealy i want £6k+ for it. I would spend £4k on a replacement. Then i would have a little spare. But is it really worth it? Even if the a3 isn't that economical (suppose it isn't that bad) and it is really dull to drive. Looking on a/t and ph last night really not sure what to get.

[qska]

I'd say that for a long dull commute, a dull car is a good one. Won't push you for dangerous overtakes when you're tired after work.

Plus low NVH makes you slightly less tired by driving itself.

Having said that, winter driving in rain and eternal night is a right pain in the ass.

[keo]

I know we don't have bad winters, but atleast if i lept it through winter i would have 4wd. Not that i have ever struggled driving any other car through the winter. Although i wasn't doing the miles i am currently doing.

[TooMany2cvs]

keo said:

I got a different job this year which is about 500 miles a week comute. I couldn't use the Elise so i had a nail of a focus it was great for a few months. Then it was playing up so i needed a new car asap.

I ended up buying an Audi A3 2.0 TDI Quattro S Line, i rushed into it. It is a nice car, but it just doesn't seem that economical for what it is. I get high 40's mpg that is including a good stretch of motorway. It is on just below 80k miles so i am thinking sell it now before it loses to much money and buy something else.

Favourite at the minute is a firsta 1.6tdi zetec s. Mpg i have read on the internet range from 60-89mpg don't know how true this is. Has anyone got any real world expirence?

I was hoping to get around £6k for a3, pay £5k for a fiesta and enjoy overall cheaper motoring. Don't want speed/ fun that is what the lotus is for.

500 miles/wk at 50mpg is 45 litres, £51.75 @ 1.15/litre.
500 miles/wk at 65mpg is 34.6 litres, £39.80

I'm guessing you spend at least twelve hours a week in the car on that commute? So you're saving at most a quid per hour you're spending in the car. I'd certainly be willing to do a trade off for a nicer place to be. Only you can say whether that fits the A3/Fiesta decision - I wouldn't be picking either, tbh - but...

As for the real world versus book - well, what sort of difference are you seeing in the A3 between real world and book? Why wouldn't you expect that to mirror across to the Fester? If anything, since you're talking about a new Fester versus a middle-aged A3, the book figure gaming is likely to be magnified, so the real versus book difference may well be greater.

[ZX10R NIN]

You have your Elise for excitement, what I wanted from my commuter is comfort pace & obviously reliability with a 4k budget I'd still look at the Mercs as I said I put 100k on mine & sold it with 160k & then bought a another CLK320cdi which so far has been faultless. Is it as exciting as my 63 no but do I have moments that put a smile on my face then the answer is yes even on those boring journeys up the M6. I will say budget for a better stereo as in DAB Bluetooth etc as it makes a difference.

I use the Pioneer SPH-DA120 in my car but use the Clarion NX505E in my van.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PIONEER-SPH-DA120-APPLE-...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Clarion-NX505E-Double-Di...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Kenwood-DDX-4016DAB-6-2-...

All will work with you OE steering wheel controls on whatever you buy.

4K Options:

CLK270 57k
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

C Coupe 220cdi SE 61k
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

C320 Avantgarde SE
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...