Original Poster

12 posts

81 months

Saturday 2nd August

Hi to all, Pistonheads has been my go to for car and diy trouble as you guys are commended on forums for not being rude, and I can verify that per my history.
I want to upgrade my Peugeot 308, 2012, 95,000 miles.
I bought it 6yrs ago for 4k, I opted for it at the time because my son was going to be driving it and as he was young I wanted cheap insurance, how and ever he got his own car and I was left with this Peugeot which I never really liked the look of. The irony is this Peugeot is the most reliable car I've ever had, I've not spent any more than general wear and tear on it.

Now I want to change up to a newer and more aesthetically pleasing car. I'm not being diva about it, I'm wondering what my options are. My previous car was bmw 318 2001 and I got more than my moneys worth from that car.
Are bmws still trustworthy? I'm thinking a 2015/16 1 series. My budget being max 7k.
I need a car for just myself, to and from work and long journeys 3-4 times a year. And I do want to look forward to getting into a nice car to drive.
....and would I get 1500 for my Peugeot?
Thanks guys in advance for any help 🤔

Pit Pony

10,199 posts

137 months

[report]

[news]

Saturday 2nd August

You get to a certain point in life where (I quote) : this Peugeot is the most reliable car I've ever had, I've not spent any more than general wear and tear on it.

Hopefully in 4 years you've also serviced it. The thing is would do is run it until it becomes an unreliable piece of s

t.
Meanwhile save up your pennies ready for its replacement.

ZX10R NIN

29,297 posts

141 months

[report]

[news]

Saturday 2nd August

Talitha2

Original Poster

12 posts

81 months

[report]

[news]

Tuesday

ZX10R NIN said:

Thank you for all these suggestions. Im in the north of Ireland. I've been mulling them all over and I'm now going to go for the A3.
I can up my budget but am so afraid at the same time. Do I go for years old over mileage?

I'd like to get 10yrs before i think of another; Is that realistic without huge upkeep costs? Would you give me your opinion on this one.

https://www.usedcarsni.com/2017-Audi-A3-1-6-TDI-SE...

Thank you.

Tinkermantony

51 posts

43 months

[report]

[news]

Tuesday

I looked at all of these for my wife and the Mazda 3 sport nav was went went for. You get so much for your money. Its pretty much got everything I have in my BMW 3 series and it handles really nicely.

I wanted a BMW 1 series but they are very difficult to find with similar spec/price point

ZX10R NIN

29,297 posts

141 months

[report]

[news]

Tuesday

Talitha2 said:

Thank you for all these suggestions. Im in the north of Ireland. I've been mulling them all over and I'm now going to go for the A3.
I can up my budget but am so afraid at the same time. Do I go for years old over mileage?

I'd like to get 10yrs before i think of another; Is that realistic without huge upkeep costs? Would you give me your opinion on this one.

https://www.usedcarsni.com/2017-Audi-A3-1-6-TDI-SE...

Thank you.

Talitha2

Original Poster

12 posts

81 months

[report]

[news]

Yesterday (19:40)

ZX10R NIN said:

That one is okay for the price, what I will say is that if you don't mind flying into Edinburugh.

You can get a better car but if you want to stay closer to home then here are some good alternatives.

ZX10R NIN, I really appreciate your replies as I didn't know there were very different models of A3s.

I've had to look them all up and actually write down each ones specs, I've no clue. I take it the one I linked is just OK because it is the basic model.

I wouldn't have the confidence to go across the water to buy a car, I'm already in nerves having to do it locally.

I understand now from your links that the S line is quite sporty, I see that as a man's car. Not for me.

The Sport maybe for me as has a wee bit more flair than Technik. I think there are still variations on all of these that I know zero about.
I really like the Saloon one you linked. How quickly are good A3s snapped up? I imagine they are popular with new drivers with wealthy parents, as they are looking the same perks as I am 😞

Thank you for your advice and links. It's a minefield for me and 10k is me out of available savings. I know no one who knows anything about cars so you have been super helpful.

defblade

7,833 posts

229 months

[report]

[news]

Yesterday (23:41)

Talitha2 said:

Do I go for years old over mileage?

Always a tricky question.

The answer, really, is to buy on condition... a high mileage car that's been well maintained/serviced may well be a much better buy than one that's done half the miles but rarely seen new oil.

If you want more for your money, 100k miles is not a death sentance for moden cars, but the prices still tend to fall heavily about this point, there are usually years and years and many thousands of miles left in these cars with little more than routine servicing.

As it's very hard to get a clear picture from an advert, you really need to go and see a few cars (Sit in loads! Sit in ones you've never thought about before! Have fun!) and I'd suggest taking a checklist with you and working through it to help you not getting carried away with the first car you quite fancy (although it might be the one.. smile

).

Examples:
https://www.reddit.com/r/CarTalkUK/comments/vu9itl...
https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/advice/buying-and-sell...

Although you can decide for yourself what is important to you - for example, my daughter simply does not care what her car looks like so long as it's comfy and and rides well; she bought a very cheap car which was very cheap as it was scratched and dented all down the passenger side... everything else still works and is nice, bargain. Had it 4 years now with minimal cost.

You sound quite nervous about the process.
Remember - car dealers and test drives are basically free theme parks for adults wink

And don't be afraid with those test drives to completely change what you imagined you wanted - going back to my daughter again, she always wanted a Mini... until we went for a drive in one and it was far too stiff for her liking.
Most importantly, this is not a distress purchase - you have a working car, there's no pressure to buy a replacement before the weekend, or next months, or whenever.

Finally, and a secret I'm fairly sure many dealers would rather you didn't cotton on to: the car you're looking at, which they are trying to sell, is NOT the only one like that ever made despite the way they may try and sell it. In fact, there's probably thousands and thousands of them. If you do miss out to the other (often imaginary) buyers very keen to buy it tomorrow, there'll be another one around, more likely a dozen of 'em. Don't be pressured by Fear Of Missing Out, it's not real!

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