What (boring commuter) car should I look at?
Discussion
This is probably going to be a boring what car thread but it's in an area that I don't have much experience in so all suggestions are welcome.
I've just got a new job which will involve a 40 mile daily round trip on mainly motorway and NSL roads. At the moment my TVR is my only car which I will use as my fun/weekend car and this car will be used mainly for commuting so doesn't have to be 'fun' to drive.
The budget and requirements are:
- Budget is up to £6000.
- MPG not really important at this mileage so not really a concern.
- 4 seats (can be a 2+2 but prefer 4 adult seats).
- Saloon, coupe or SUV. So basically no soft top convertibles. Fuel type doesn’t matter.
- Reliable.
- Cheap to insure as I’m 23 years old.
- Cheap parts/easy to maintain as I won’t have the time to do any work on the car myself so will go to a dealer/specialist to maintain.
- Comfy, so things like leather seats and a/c would be nice.
- Also I'm not that keen on small hatches like a Fiesta or Polo etc.
I'll hand over to the PH collective...
I've just got a new job which will involve a 40 mile daily round trip on mainly motorway and NSL roads. At the moment my TVR is my only car which I will use as my fun/weekend car and this car will be used mainly for commuting so doesn't have to be 'fun' to drive.
The budget and requirements are:
- Budget is up to £6000.
- MPG not really important at this mileage so not really a concern.
- 4 seats (can be a 2+2 but prefer 4 adult seats).
- Saloon, coupe or SUV. So basically no soft top convertibles. Fuel type doesn’t matter.
- Reliable.
- Cheap to insure as I’m 23 years old.
- Cheap parts/easy to maintain as I won’t have the time to do any work on the car myself so will go to a dealer/specialist to maintain.
- Comfy, so things like leather seats and a/c would be nice.
- Also I'm not that keen on small hatches like a Fiesta or Polo etc.
I'll hand over to the PH collective...
I'll have to have a look at the A2 as I don't know too much about them, in fact I don't even recall seeing one this year.
I have thought about a Ford, the only thing that puts me off is when I was younger my parents had a constant stream of Focus and Escorts before that so something different to that would be nice.
I'll look into the Lexus, I find them a bit bland looking but they look like they could get the job done.
With the E39 is there much difference cost/reliability wise between diesel and petrol? Also is it better to go for manual or auto box in that type of car?
I have thought about a Ford, the only thing that puts me off is when I was younger my parents had a constant stream of Focus and Escorts before that so something different to that would be nice.
I'll look into the Lexus, I find them a bit bland looking but they look like they could get the job done.
With the E39 is there much difference cost/reliability wise between diesel and petrol? Also is it better to go for manual or auto box in that type of car?
thinfourth2 said:
Ford Focus Mk1 buy for 2 grand
Save 4 grand for something more useful
cheap to insure, cheap to run, cheap to fix and a far better drive then any 2 grand FWD family car has any right to be.
I'd second that, the Mk1 is such a better steer than the Mk2. Not sure if there are any with leather other than the ST170 though.Save 4 grand for something more useful
cheap to insure, cheap to run, cheap to fix and a far better drive then any 2 grand FWD family car has any right to be.
BertB said:
thinfourth2 said:
Ford Focus Mk1 buy for 2 grand
Save 4 grand for something more useful
cheap to insure, cheap to run, cheap to fix and a far better drive then any 2 grand FWD family car has any right to be.
I'd second that, the Mk1 is such a better steer than the Mk2. Not sure if there are any with leather other than the ST170 though.Save 4 grand for something more useful
cheap to insure, cheap to run, cheap to fix and a far better drive then any 2 grand FWD family car has any right to be.
Mk1 Focus for £2k? My 2007 mk2 only cost just over £3k and is a much nicer car, well worth the extra cash.
Personally I'd have a 5er with an auto box and if I wasn't worried about fuel then it'd probably be a 525 or 530i as it'll be cheaper than a derv to buy at the same age and probably lower miles too but a 520i isn't bad either if it makes a big difference on insurance.
Personally I'd have a 5er with an auto box and if I wasn't worried about fuel then it'd probably be a 525 or 530i as it'll be cheaper than a derv to buy at the same age and probably lower miles too but a 520i isn't bad either if it makes a big difference on insurance.
I've been doing some research today and I've been looking at the Focus and 5 series and whilst the Focus is probably slightly more sensible I do have a bit of a hankering for the E39. I've spotted one near me that's well within budget and that has heated leather seats, 6 disc CD changer, auto and cruise control which is winning me over as the idea of wafting around in one of those is appealing. It’s just a matter of weighing up whether the likely higher running and maintenance costs are worth it.
Looking at insurance again, from my initial findings it seems the 520 and 525 are very reasonable although the 530 starts to get a bit too expensive to justify over the 525 if I don’t find anywhere cheaper.
Looking at insurance again, from my initial findings it seems the 520 and 525 are very reasonable although the 530 starts to get a bit too expensive to justify over the 525 if I don’t find anywhere cheaper.
It's another one to add on the shortlist. With my insurance quotes so far the E46 is more expensive to insure than the E39 but is probably offset by lower running costs. I think I'll have to look at test driving both and see which one suits me more as well. Also if I go down the BMW route I think I'll have to budget for winter tyres because last year I couldn't even reverse a 3 series off my drive when we had a light dusting of snow.
jamiebae said:
Mk1 Focus for £2k? My 2007 mk2 only cost just over £3k and is a much nicer car, well worth the extra cash.
Well 2k is conservative. 1500 should easily buy a straight MK1 with money left over for a good set of tyres if needed. MK2 is more refined but I prefer the sharpness and simplicity of the MK1 myself. Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff