Really Unsure on New Used Car
Discussion
Really unsure whether to buy a petrol or diesel.
My current car is slowly heading towards the scrap heap.
Ford Focus | 56 plate | 160,000 miles | petrol - I currently drive about 60 miles a day when commuting.
£185 in tax, which I really hate paying!
Our other car is a Golf, diesel, £30 a year in tax.
Although we've just started a family, we'll probably replace the Golf in the coming years with something more family space as the V40 will be a little step down from the Focus.
I currently am looking at a Volvo V40 and unlikely (but not completely closed to the idea) to change my mind about that.
Looking at a 2017 plate as I can't really afford newer but want the facelift version.
I understand the tax changed in 2017 and it's likely I'll need to pay a £150 flat rate, although some of the ones I have looked at claim £0 tax - I wonder if the tax changes were in the middle of the year so affected some 2017 cars but not others.
I was initially drawn to diesel because of the mileage I do and our Golf is about twice as quick as the Focus off lights (I'm not a boy racer, but it's nice to be able to overtake in a timely manner!). Someone suggested a 2017 year petrol will be just as quick as a diesel and possibly cheaper to buy.
I have around £10k to spend and looking keenly at R-Design V40s as they have an upgraded speedo/console.
I am completely no good at price negotiation although one V40 that I've been looking at has been on sale since August. Worried there is a problem with it or maybe it's just priced too high. Difficult to know if car sales places are doing test drives at the moment as driving a diesel vs the petrol equivilant will tell me which I feel more comfortable in.
Any advice on what to do?
My current car is slowly heading towards the scrap heap.
Ford Focus | 56 plate | 160,000 miles | petrol - I currently drive about 60 miles a day when commuting.
£185 in tax, which I really hate paying!
Our other car is a Golf, diesel, £30 a year in tax.
Although we've just started a family, we'll probably replace the Golf in the coming years with something more family space as the V40 will be a little step down from the Focus.
I currently am looking at a Volvo V40 and unlikely (but not completely closed to the idea) to change my mind about that.
Looking at a 2017 plate as I can't really afford newer but want the facelift version.
I understand the tax changed in 2017 and it's likely I'll need to pay a £150 flat rate, although some of the ones I have looked at claim £0 tax - I wonder if the tax changes were in the middle of the year so affected some 2017 cars but not others.
I was initially drawn to diesel because of the mileage I do and our Golf is about twice as quick as the Focus off lights (I'm not a boy racer, but it's nice to be able to overtake in a timely manner!). Someone suggested a 2017 year petrol will be just as quick as a diesel and possibly cheaper to buy.
I have around £10k to spend and looking keenly at R-Design V40s as they have an upgraded speedo/console.
I am completely no good at price negotiation although one V40 that I've been looking at has been on sale since August. Worried there is a problem with it or maybe it's just priced too high. Difficult to know if car sales places are doing test drives at the moment as driving a diesel vs the petrol equivilant will tell me which I feel more comfortable in.
Any advice on what to do?
Edited by anotheruser on Wednesday 27th January 16:46
I'd worry less about a few quid in tax - at 15k per year, a £150 difference in tax is 1p per mile. How much do you think you are spending in fuel, insurance and maintenance, and how much do you reckon a 4 year old car is going to depreciate when you are doing 15k a year in it?
Now that is out of the way, it seems you just want an appliance, so I'd look at the usual suspects - focus/ mondeo, hyundai i30/ i40, toyota auris, vauxhall astra etc.
Now that is out of the way, it seems you just want an appliance, so I'd look at the usual suspects - focus/ mondeo, hyundai i30/ i40, toyota auris, vauxhall astra etc.
Disco You said:
I'd worry less about a few quid in tax - at 15k per year, a £150 difference in tax is 1p per mile. How much do you think you are spending in fuel, insurance and maintenance, and how much do you reckon a 4 year old car is going to depreciate when you are doing 15k a year in it?
Now that is out of the way, it seems you just want an appliance, so I'd look at the usual suspects - focus/ mondeo, hyundai i30/ i40, toyota auris, vauxhall astra etc.
I would agree with this, £150 a year is nothing for VED when you consider the other costs like fuel, insurance, depreciation, servicing, tyres etc. Now that is out of the way, it seems you just want an appliance, so I'd look at the usual suspects - focus/ mondeo, hyundai i30/ i40, toyota auris, vauxhall astra etc.
£150 is probably the lowest cost out of the things you are going to need to shell out for.
I'm a big fan of the V40..in fact I still can't make my mind up whether to get a T3 or to go for a Leon 1.4/1.8.
A friend has a D2 with £0 tax, not exactly a rocket but the 2.0 engine has decent torque and is fairly efficient on fuel. The seats and comfort are excellent, just a very nice interior compared to other run of the mill hatches with a more 'premium' feel.
For my personal situation a few things are holding me back on the V40:
The petrol engines don't seem to be that efficient based on reviews but I've seen conflicting opinions.
(The diesel engines have the added benefit of torque but I live on a London boundary and only drive 5k a year so diesel is a no go)
The boot space isn't great, it's poor IMO compared to say a Leon, Golf or A3.
The rear visibility doesn't seem to be great either.
I'd probably have to spend about £12k to get a V40 r design T3 with reasonable mileage..not sure I can justify it with some of its limitations but still think the R Design is a tempting proposition! I'd have to weigh up whether a Golf or Leon might be a better overall option with the larger boot space but it's a tough one. Focus are great to drive but IMO their interiors are not a patch on the V40 and the Ecoboost even in 182 bhp is quite slow Vs a comparable model V40 e.g: T3/4 or D3/4
A friend has a D2 with £0 tax, not exactly a rocket but the 2.0 engine has decent torque and is fairly efficient on fuel. The seats and comfort are excellent, just a very nice interior compared to other run of the mill hatches with a more 'premium' feel.
For my personal situation a few things are holding me back on the V40:
The petrol engines don't seem to be that efficient based on reviews but I've seen conflicting opinions.
(The diesel engines have the added benefit of torque but I live on a London boundary and only drive 5k a year so diesel is a no go)
The boot space isn't great, it's poor IMO compared to say a Leon, Golf or A3.
The rear visibility doesn't seem to be great either.
I'd probably have to spend about £12k to get a V40 r design T3 with reasonable mileage..not sure I can justify it with some of its limitations but still think the R Design is a tempting proposition! I'd have to weigh up whether a Golf or Leon might be a better overall option with the larger boot space but it's a tough one. Focus are great to drive but IMO their interiors are not a patch on the V40 and the Ecoboost even in 182 bhp is quite slow Vs a comparable model V40 e.g: T3/4 or D3/4
If you're doing 15k a year then the Infiniti Q30 Premium is a good shout 170bhp £30 tax & a nicer interior than the Volvo & pretty much anything else listed.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202010235...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202101208...
308 GT 180 £30 very good cars nice spec reliable & a good steer.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202101178...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202101218...
DS5 Prestige 180 £30
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202101037...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202009244...
All are ULEZ compliant so you'll have no issues with future legislation.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202010235...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202101208...
308 GT 180 £30 very good cars nice spec reliable & a good steer.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202101178...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202101218...
DS5 Prestige 180 £30
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202101037...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202009244...
All are ULEZ compliant so you'll have no issues with future legislation.
Great replies.
Haven't actually seen / driven a v40 as yet but going to enquire tomorrow whether they're doing test drives at the moment. I hope so!
But I'll take a look at some of the other models listed.
Don't get me wrong about the tax, it's not all about that but when I see me having to pay £185 a year on the current Focus (hence not really looking for another one) and the Wife paying just £30, it's a bit of a bite in the bottom.
I should say though, my current Focus was bought for about £4500 in 2010 so has lasted a good 10 years. I'll be looking for the next purchase to do the same as by then, we#;; have figured out what we're doing with electric vehicles.
Haven't actually seen / driven a v40 as yet but going to enquire tomorrow whether they're doing test drives at the moment. I hope so!
But I'll take a look at some of the other models listed.
Don't get me wrong about the tax, it's not all about that but when I see me having to pay £185 a year on the current Focus (hence not really looking for another one) and the Wife paying just £30, it's a bit of a bite in the bottom.
I should say though, my current Focus was bought for about £4500 in 2010 so has lasted a good 10 years. I'll be looking for the next purchase to do the same as by then, we#;; have figured out what we're doing with electric vehicles.
Edited by anotheruser on Thursday 28th January 14:41
Dimebars said:
VED rates changed on 01/04/2017
Anything registered after this date will be £150 flat rate, plus any subsidy for £40k+ list price
Yes. Because the registration changes on 1st March, anything registered as a 17 plate from 1st - 31st March 2017 will be under the previous system. Anything registered after this date will be £150 flat rate, plus any subsidy for £40k+ list price
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