Second car, £14k budget, need some help - Page 1 - Car Buying

rockymoghal

Original Poster

18 posts

89 months

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Sunday 19th January 2020

Hi everyone,

As the title suggests I am currently narrowing down my choices for a second car. I have a VW Tiguan which is doing a great job as the main family car. I now am in the position to acquire a second car to have a bit of fun whilst also being used by the Mrs in case she needs to take the little one somewhere. Obviously that means the car needs to be a compromise on a few factors. The must haves is 5 doors and hatchback. I would want a car that is fun to drive with a bit of oomph. Doesn't need to be 0-60 in 6 secs but just not dead slow. I don't think we will do enough miles to get a diesel so petrol will be the main choice. Automatic would be preferred but I'm happy to go manual if there is a particular good deal. The options I have come up with are...

Audi A3 (sport or S-Line) 2013 onwards
Ford Fiesta ST
Suzuki Swift Sport
Volkswagen Golf
Volkswagen Polo
BMW 1 series
Ford Focus ST (2006/07) - not ideal but colleague has one and they seem good fun to drive whilst also being practical.

As always any advice from the knowledgeable people were would be much appreciated.

ZX10R NIN

30,521 posts

154 months

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Sunday 19th January 2020

ChrisH72

3,075 posts

81 months

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Sunday 19th January 2020

If you really like the Tiguan then it's probably worth sticking with VAG as there is loads of choice in your 14k budget. These are all available with the dsg gearbox so that's the auto bit sorted. And even though it doesn't need to do 60 in 6 secs plenty of the do.

I'd agree that an S3 would be top choice as it will probably feel the most special. But it would mean going older, not a problem as your mileage is low.

Leon cupra is great. But if you compromise on performance you could get an FR only a couple of years old.

Golf GTi Mk7 hard to fault.

Polo GTi if you wanted smaller.

Or if you're looking for something different how about a Clio trophy 220?

rockymoghal

Original Poster

18 posts

89 months

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Sunday 19th January 2020

ZX10R NIN said:

Thanks for all the options. There is clearly plenty of choice. I'm very tempted by the M135i and S3. Is there anything I need to look out for in terms of parts that should be replaced etc? Just worried both these cars could have big bills if something goes wrong. I think the Mercedes would be 3rd on my list just because I am a badge snob if I'm honest. I'll give these a proper look.

rockymoghal

Original Poster

18 posts

89 months

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[news]

Sunday 19th January 2020

ChrisH72 said:

If you really like the Tiguan then it's probably worth sticking with VAG as there is loads of choice in your 14k budget. These are all available with the dsg gearbox so that's the auto bit sorted. And even though it doesn't need to do 60 in 6 secs plenty of the do.

I'd agree that an S3 would be top choice as it will probably feel the most special. But it would mean going older, not a problem as your mileage is low.

Leon cupra is great. But if you compromise on performance you could get an FR only a couple of years old.

Golf GTi Mk7 hard to fault.

Polo GTi if you wanted smaller.

Or if you're looking for something different how about a Clio trophy 220?

Would the S3 be a car you could just drive normally. Not sure if it was me but I had the MK7 GTi for a few months and to be honest struggled with the car jumping off the mark. Maybe the Auto would help this issue.

ZX10R NIN

30,521 posts

154 months

[report]

[news]

Sunday 19th January 2020

rockymoghal said:

Thanks for all the options. There is clearly plenty of choice. I'm very tempted by the M135i and S3. Is there anything I need to look out for in terms of parts that should be replaced etc? Just worried both these cars could have big bills if something goes wrong. I think the Mercedes would be 3rd on my list just because I am a badge snob if I'm honest. I'll give these a proper look.

The hadlex needs to be serviced on the S3 it's not overly expensive at around £110 from the main dealer they normally say you don't have to change the filter but change it, obviously make sure the gearbox services have been carried out, the M135i can have water pump issues & there have been some fuel pump failures but most of these issues were early in the cars life.

I'd say test drive some of the leftfield options you may be surprised especially on something like the Volvo.

rockymoghal

Original Poster

18 posts

89 months

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Thursday 23rd January 2020

ZX10R NIN said:

The hadlex needs to be serviced on the S3 it's not overly expensive at around £110 from the main dealer they normally say you don't have to change the filter but change it, obviously make sure the gearbox services have been carried out, the M135i can have water pump issues & there have been some fuel pump failures but most of these issues were early in the cars life.

I'd say test drive some of the leftfield options you may be surprised especially on something like the Volvo.

Thanks for the advice. Managed to test drive a few cars but now circumstances have changed. Decided to hold off for another year and see how much we can get for the Tiguan at part exchange.

That means I now have about £4k to spend on a car I can have fun with and run around for a year. Anyone have any suggestions. Ideally a hatchback with 5 doors but I'm still open to some good choices. I would like a car that I could potentially resale for 2/3k after a year but also keep if it's good fun. Need something that is also cheap to run if it breaks etc.

ZX10R NIN

30,521 posts

154 months

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Thursday 23rd January 2020

Wait to see where the market is at in a years time.