Advice needed: Changing the car

[lloydyyy]

Looking for some advice. At the moment I drive an 11-year-old 1.25 petrol Fiesta which has just ticked over 106k miles; I've owned it for 8 years. My commute is about 100 miles per day, 4 days a week, and the Fiesta can be really uncomfortable and a chore to drive on the motorway all the time. I'm thinking of changing the car but I'm not sure which option would be best out of buying a second hand car outright or going down the leasing route.

Unfortunately the Fiesta seems to have sprung a coolant leak which will be looked at next week, and may or may not be a cheap fix. Given the age of the car, I'm thinking it may be time to change but my mileage (about 22k miles a year) may be an issue; leasing may be expensive and a second hand car would depreciate quickly.

[Scootersp]

Tricky situation!

You can perhaps go a couple of ways, switch to a newer Yaris, maybe one with nil or £30 tax and it'll be more frugal and a little bit more comfy/plush.

Or go something larger but still fuel efficient. Audi With a pre dpf pd tdi? Or 2004/5 S60 or V70 D5? So more comfort?

Or keep the current car and get a old but plush car to go with it, can be cheap like a Lexus IS200 or a bit more IS250, but then you have 2 car running costs, depends how much you like your motoring.

[anonymous-user]

I think any type of lease or pcp will be expensive due to the mileage knocking the future value and increasing the monthly payments.

I personally would buy something outright, bigger than a Fiesta and diesel then run it into the ground.

[lloydyyy]

Thanks for the replies. I'm leaning towards something bigger and a diesel, and running it into the ground. The Fiesta I have now drives spot on and it's solid underneath, so running something else long-term and racking up the miles won't bother me. Just need to decide what to get next...

Edited by lloydyyy on Sunday 19th May 20:28

[Pit Pony]

50 miles each way?
Something comfortable with high profile tyres and velour seats.

[Wooda80]

First thing to do is to establish how much you want to spend.

If the answer to this comes out as " I want to spend £X " or I want to spend £Y per month " then that will determine which way you want to go.

If you answer both ways, for example " I'd be happy to spend £5000 cash or I'd be happy to pay £200 per month " then you can explore which route gets you the most suitable car.

[ZX10R NIN]

As above work out your budget & then you'll get some ideas of which way to go.

[RSTurboPaul]

A coolant leak really shouldn't be expensive to fix - I'm sure it will just be a failing hose, a failing jubilee clip, or perhaps a leaking radiator, all of which should not cost that much in parts or labour to replace.

If you are finding the seat uncomfortable, a Recaro or similar sports seat from a faster Fiesta should be a straight swap and a reasonable cost to buy.

[GreatGranny]

Depending on your budget I would go large-ish saloon with decent spec.

Accord

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

S60

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Avensis

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Passat

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[lloydyyy]

I'm still toying with the budget but I'd probably keep my next car for a long time as well. At the moment I'm thinking up to £10k-ish. Haven't quite decided on an exact figure yet; I'd be willing to spend on something that I know I'd keep for a long time, but then I don't want to spend too much but I don't want to spend too little. What about a diesel that's 3-4 years old or perhaps an older one? Don't want to go too old but then again don't want to get a newer one and trash the value with the mileage I'll be doing.

I found the source of the leak - the expansion bottle had a split at the bottom. Had a new genuine part with a new pressure cap for £30. Just to top it off, I could hear a rattling underneath the car on my way to pick up the new part - the back box had detatched off its hook. A simple weld and now it seems fine. Might be the start of things slowly going on the car now...

Edited by lloydyyy on Wednesday 22 May 20:35

[RSTurboPaul]

lloydyyy said:

I'm still toying with the budget but I'd probably keep my next car for a long time as well. At the moment I'm thinking up to £10k-ish. Haven't quite decided on an exact figure yet; I'd be willing to spend on something that I know I'd keep for a long time, but then I don't want to spend too much but I don't want to spend too little. What about a diesel that's 3-4 years old or perhaps an older one? Don't want to go too old but then again don't want to get a newer one and trash the value with the mileage I'll be doing.

I found the source of the leak - the expansion bottle had a split at the bottom. Had a new genuine part with a new pressure cap for £30. Just to top it off, I could hear a rattling underneath the car on my way to pick up the new part - the back box had detatched off its hook. A simple weld and now it seems fine. Might be the start of things slowly going on the car now...

Edited by lloydyyy on Wednesday 22 May 20:35

If a cracked coolant bottle fixed for £30 and one failed weld on a service item hanging underneath and exposed to water and salt all year round on an 11-year-old car you're doing 22k miles a year in is the start of a car about to die, you may wish to consider leasing a brand new car.

Edited by RSTurboPaul on Friday 24th May 11:35

[Lukas239]

RSTurboPaul said:

If a cracked coolant bottle fixed for £30 and one failed weld on a service item hanging underneath and exposed to water and salt all year round on an 11-year-old car you're doing 22k miles a year in is the start of a car about to die, you may wish to consider leasing a brand new car.

Edited by RSTurboPaul on Friday 24th May 11:35

I wouldn't necessarily assume that was what he meant. I've been in the same position and every small fault makes you wonder if you'll get to work tomorrow etc.

Having done 80 miles a day for 5 days a week over 2 years in a 2005 fiesta I feel your pain.

Questions to answer before you know your plan;
- how old are you/how's your health? A journey like this in a car like this can be physically painful of your not up to it, if so, get ready to switch).
- is the job on the cards indefinitely? If not, maybe a suck and see approach.
- is the car worth anything at the moment? If not, better to run it into the ground.
- is public transport an option? At this mileage, you will always be killing a car whether old/new/shiny or st.

If it were me, personally wouldn't want to lease as you'll get stung. Find a nice balance in between 1-10k of appreciating the car you buy, and not caring if it blows up tomorrow.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2019...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2019...

[lloydyyy]

Popped to my local Sinclair VW dealer on the weekend to get some figures but after having a think I've ruled out leasing:

1. New T-Roc SE 1.6 diesel

£2.5k deposit
5.9% APR
£300 a month over 4 years
Without maintenance
Didn't ask what the balloon figure was; didn't think it would be worth it anyway.

1. New Golf SE 1.6 diesel

£2.5k deposit
3.8% APR
£381 over 3 years
Without maintenance
Didn't ask what the balloon figure was; didn't think it would be worth it anyway.

1. New Polo SE 1.6 diesel

£750 deposit contribution
5.2% APR
£332 over 3 years
Without maintenance
Didn't ask what the balloon figure was; didn't think it would be worth it anyway.

1. Ex demo Golf SE Nav 1.6 diesel

£1500 deposit contribution
Sale price £17990
£2.5k deposit
42 months finance - £301
36 months finance - £325
Final payment £6100-ish
7.8% APR
2 years free servicing

A friend of mine in work will soon be selling his 2014 Honda Civic SE Plus. It's a 1.6 diesel with 70k on the clock and its MOT history is spotless. Comes with full main dealer service history and he'll be asking £5k but I can't remember if he'll be selling the car with its current mileage or hanging onto it for a bit longer but then it'll be sold with about 90k on the clock. I'm considering that option. But my car is only worth about £1k tops, even with full service history and a folder full of receipts.

[kiethton]

I’d just run the fiesta into the ground tbh

[Terzo123]

A lightly used Passat would be a good option, something like this

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

A four year personal loan from somewhere like first direct is £302 per month at 3.3% Apr.

At the end of the 4 years the car would be all yours and with approx 100k on the clock would hopefully still have a bit of value.

[lloydyyy]

The gearbox on the Fiesta is starting to show signs of trouble, so I've achieved my goal of running the car into the ground.

I went to look around at cars today and came across a 2017 Seat Leon Xclusive 1.4 TSI with about 16k miles on the clock for £13k. It seemed very refined to drive. Are these TSI engines any good? Or is diesel still the better option?

[ZX10R NIN]

lloydyyy said:

The gearbox on the Fiesta is starting to show signs of trouble, so I've achieved my goal of running the car into the ground.

I went to look around at cars today and came across a 2017 Seat Leon Xclusive 1.4 TSI with about 16k miles on the clock for £13k. It seemed very refined to drive. Are these TSI engines any good? Or is diesel still the better option?

You'll be working that engine harder overtime I'd go for one of these:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Or the Leon sized Q30 Sport with the same drivetrain as above:

2017 5-19k on the clock & more kit than you'll need plus ULEZ compliant

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

2016 model

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Edited by ZX10R NIN on Sunday 21st July 12:16