advice/suggestions - looking for new car
Discussion
Hi all,
Long time lurker, new poster looking to get a new car and hoping to solicit some friendly advice and suggestions I may not have really thought of before.
I've recently finished being a carer so now I'm looking for a me car. The price of second hand cars over the last while has taken me out of my comfort zone a little in terms of prices for what is available.
I'm looking generally at a budget of £3k, could stretch this a little for the right car. I'm a little on the tall side at 6'1" and have had the odd pie or two in my time. My car history has pretty much been Japanese apart from an old Orion 1.8 Diesel when I first past my test. I've had Almeras, Primeras, Corollas, Auris, Rav4 and Camrys.
I intend to be travelling a lot so needs to be something reasonably comfortable and economical for motorway cruising. My sister also lives 300 miles away so there'll be several motorway jaunts up and down per year regardless of any travelling for myself.
Would be fine with an automatic or manual, petrol or diesel. Family members have had bad experiences with Renaults and Vauxhalls in the past, most recently an Inisignia 2.0 Diesel and I've never really fancied the look of Volvos.
I've been half thinking about a Civic 2.2 or the Accord with the same engine, but would appreciate any suggestions or thoughts. Have also ben thinking about shedding in an old Corolla/Avensis for around the £1k mark to see if prices do at all settle down in the near future.
Thanks.
Long time lurker, new poster looking to get a new car and hoping to solicit some friendly advice and suggestions I may not have really thought of before.
I've recently finished being a carer so now I'm looking for a me car. The price of second hand cars over the last while has taken me out of my comfort zone a little in terms of prices for what is available.
I'm looking generally at a budget of £3k, could stretch this a little for the right car. I'm a little on the tall side at 6'1" and have had the odd pie or two in my time. My car history has pretty much been Japanese apart from an old Orion 1.8 Diesel when I first past my test. I've had Almeras, Primeras, Corollas, Auris, Rav4 and Camrys.
I intend to be travelling a lot so needs to be something reasonably comfortable and economical for motorway cruising. My sister also lives 300 miles away so there'll be several motorway jaunts up and down per year regardless of any travelling for myself.
Would be fine with an automatic or manual, petrol or diesel. Family members have had bad experiences with Renaults and Vauxhalls in the past, most recently an Inisignia 2.0 Diesel and I've never really fancied the look of Volvos.
I've been half thinking about a Civic 2.2 or the Accord with the same engine, but would appreciate any suggestions or thoughts. Have also ben thinking about shedding in an old Corolla/Avensis for around the £1k mark to see if prices do at all settle down in the near future.
Thanks.
On a smallish budget I'd be inclined to stick with the Japanese...
Lexus is you fancy some proper comfort...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2021090269...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2021081663...
(the newer ones aren't CVT, except for the 450h)
Hondas of varying ages...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2021082566...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2021051124...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2021091072...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2021061839...
Lexus is you fancy some proper comfort...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2021090269...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2021081663...
(the newer ones aren't CVT, except for the 450h)
Hondas of varying ages...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2021082566...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2021051124...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2021091072...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2021061839...
ussprometheus said:
Hi all,
Long time lurker, new poster looking to get a new car and hoping to solicit some friendly advice and suggestions I may not have really thought of before.
I've recently finished being a carer so now I'm looking for a me car. The price of second hand cars over the last while has taken me out of my comfort zone a little in terms of prices for what is available.
I'm looking generally at a budget of £3k, could stretch this a little for the right car. I'm a little on the tall side at 6'1" and have had the odd pie or two in my time. My car history has pretty much been Japanese apart from an old Orion 1.8 Diesel when I first past my test. I've had Almeras, Primeras, Corollas, Auris, Rav4 and Camrys.
I intend to be travelling a lot so needs to be something reasonably comfortable and economical for motorway cruising. My sister also lives 300 miles away so there'll be several motorway jaunts up and down per year regardless of any travelling for myself.
Would be fine with an automatic or manual, petrol or diesel. Family members have had bad experiences with Renaults and Vauxhalls in the past, most recently an Inisignia 2.0 Diesel and I've never really fancied the look of Volvos.
I've been half thinking about a Civic 2.2 or the Accord with the same engine, but would appreciate any suggestions or thoughts. Have also ben thinking about shedding in an old Corolla/Avensis for around the £1k mark to see if prices do at all settle down in the near future.
Thanks.
With your budget & proposed usage I'd be looking for a Mercedes diesel of some form:Long time lurker, new poster looking to get a new car and hoping to solicit some friendly advice and suggestions I may not have really thought of before.
I've recently finished being a carer so now I'm looking for a me car. The price of second hand cars over the last while has taken me out of my comfort zone a little in terms of prices for what is available.
I'm looking generally at a budget of £3k, could stretch this a little for the right car. I'm a little on the tall side at 6'1" and have had the odd pie or two in my time. My car history has pretty much been Japanese apart from an old Orion 1.8 Diesel when I first past my test. I've had Almeras, Primeras, Corollas, Auris, Rav4 and Camrys.
I intend to be travelling a lot so needs to be something reasonably comfortable and economical for motorway cruising. My sister also lives 300 miles away so there'll be several motorway jaunts up and down per year regardless of any travelling for myself.
Would be fine with an automatic or manual, petrol or diesel. Family members have had bad experiences with Renaults and Vauxhalls in the past, most recently an Inisignia 2.0 Diesel and I've never really fancied the look of Volvos.
I've been half thinking about a Civic 2.2 or the Accord with the same engine, but would appreciate any suggestions or thoughts. Have also ben thinking about shedding in an old Corolla/Avensis for around the £1k mark to see if prices do at all settle down in the near future.
Thanks.
CLC220cdi Sport
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/194310623444?hash=item2...
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/363539133370?hash=item5...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202008212...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202108086...
CLK220
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/353662390525?hash=item5...
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/133850713392?hash=item1...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202106234...
CLK 270
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202108316...
CLK320cdi
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/373704066186?hash=item5...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202109057...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202109016...
All the above have pretty much bulletproof drivetrains with no clutches cambelts or DMF's to worry about that they make sense when you're running on a budget.
You do have to make sure the gearbox fluid & filters (every 40k) changed if there are no receipts of this being done the knock off £250-300.
Thank you both for the suggestions, appreciate your time. I'll be honest and say I'd never thought of a Mercedes before as I'd always thought they'd be a bit unreliable potentially for my limited budget, but it's food for thought. The gearbox filter/oil change, would that be a similar issue on the VAG group DSGs?
A friend had suggested a Passat/A4, but I kept reading stories about different speed wet/dry clutches on the DSG boxes.
But I shall seek the friendly advice when I've done a bit more reading and research and anything I come across. I do like the look of the Lexus, but wary about MPG as my V6 Camry did about 25mpg on a good day.
A friend had suggested a Passat/A4, but I kept reading stories about different speed wet/dry clutches on the DSG boxes.
But I shall seek the friendly advice when I've done a bit more reading and research and anything I come across. I do like the look of the Lexus, but wary about MPG as my V6 Camry did about 25mpg on a good day.
ussprometheus said:
Thank you both for the suggestions, appreciate your time. I'll be honest and say I'd never thought of a Mercedes before as I'd always thought they'd be a bit unreliable potentially for my limited budget, but it's food for thought. The gearbox filter/oil change, would that be a similar issue on the VAG group DSGs?
A friend had suggested a Passat/A4, but I kept reading stories about different speed wet/dry clutches on the DSG boxes.
But I shall seek the friendly advice when I've done a bit more reading and research and anything I come across. I do like the look of the Lexus, but wary about MPG as my V6 Camry did about 25mpg on a good day.
No the Mercedes have conventional autos (which are much less prone to issues than a Dual Clutch Gearbox) & will/have gone on for a long time without the changes but I was advising the change to make them last through your ownership.A friend had suggested a Passat/A4, but I kept reading stories about different speed wet/dry clutches on the DSG boxes.
But I shall seek the friendly advice when I've done a bit more reading and research and anything I come across. I do like the look of the Lexus, but wary about MPG as my V6 Camry did about 25mpg on a good day.
Running costs are very sensible on the Mercedes as parts are shared across their platforms keeping costs sensible, as for reliability their 2.1d is easily more reliable than any 2.0d in your price point.
Sounds like you'll be covering a lot of miles, so here are some diesels
Alfa Giulietta 2.0 JTDM
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202108146...
BMW 530d
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202107215...
Mercedes E320 CDI
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202106063...
Saab 9-3 1.9 TTiD Aero
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202109077...
Alfa Giulietta 2.0 JTDM
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202108146...
BMW 530d
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202107215...
Mercedes E320 CDI
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202106063...
Saab 9-3 1.9 TTiD Aero
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202109077...
ussprometheus said:
I do like the look of the Lexus, but wary about MPG as my V6 Camry did about 25mpg on a good day.
The GS300 is surprisingly economical for a car of its size, I think you should easily see 32-35 on a long run, 28-30 normally...and they just don't go wrong, plus get one pre March 2006 & the tax will be ok too...alternatively if you stretch the budget a little you'll be able to get a GS450h hybridGassing Station | Car Buying | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff