Suggestions please... I need to relace my car
Discussion
Now, before you all start panicking, I’m not looking to swap the Griff.
But as many of you will know, the Griff was promoted from my daily runabout of many years to my play thing when my Dad passed away and I needed to use his car to get my Mom about. The old mondeo is on its last legs and I need to replace it with something more reliable and hopefully a bit more fun.
Trouble is, I don’t know what to go for...I’ve been casually looking at all sorts and I eventually decided to ask you lot for some advice and suggestions! Risky I know, but I thought I’d chance it...
Essentials are:
- Not too low to the ground as Mom is 83 now and she struggles with the Griff!
- Big enough to cope with lots of motorway driving (so not a little town car).
- Economical – goes without saying. I travel all over the country for work so I do a fair amount of miles.
- Dog friendly – we’re getting a Border Collie pup in a couple of months and he won’t stay small for long!
- And I don’t have a bottomless pot of money
Oh yeah, forgot to say, work are introducing a new rule and I need to have a car that's less than 10 years old in order to keep getting my car allowance. So I'd like something up to 3 or 4 years old at the MAX so I can keep it for 3 or 4 years and then change again to keep within the rules! Both the Griff and Mondeo are 16 years old now and I've got a period of grace before my allowance gets cut.
What should I go for?
I'll hide behind a cushion as the ideas come in
But as many of you will know, the Griff was promoted from my daily runabout of many years to my play thing when my Dad passed away and I needed to use his car to get my Mom about. The old mondeo is on its last legs and I need to replace it with something more reliable and hopefully a bit more fun.
Trouble is, I don’t know what to go for...I’ve been casually looking at all sorts and I eventually decided to ask you lot for some advice and suggestions! Risky I know, but I thought I’d chance it...
Essentials are:
- Not too low to the ground as Mom is 83 now and she struggles with the Griff!
- Big enough to cope with lots of motorway driving (so not a little town car).
- Economical – goes without saying. I travel all over the country for work so I do a fair amount of miles.
- Dog friendly – we’re getting a Border Collie pup in a couple of months and he won’t stay small for long!
- And I don’t have a bottomless pot of money
Oh yeah, forgot to say, work are introducing a new rule and I need to have a car that's less than 10 years old in order to keep getting my car allowance. So I'd like something up to 3 or 4 years old at the MAX so I can keep it for 3 or 4 years and then change again to keep within the rules! Both the Griff and Mondeo are 16 years old now and I've got a period of grace before my allowance gets cut.
What should I go for?
I'll hide behind a cushion as the ideas come in
Edited by MrsFlipFlopGriff on Tuesday 2nd April 21:46
my mrs just picked up a 2011 saab 93 1.9 tt diesel, 12000 miles for 11k. vv comfy,leather, pretty fully loaded, reasonably economical (48mpg) pretty quick for a biggish diesel. an estate version would be perfect for hounds.
ive had a saab 95 for the last 130000 miles. really comfy, eats motorways, and so far, apart from servicing, has not cost a penny more than normal service items.
slightly older 93 estates are really cheap now, and servicing networks are very easy.
ive had a saab 95 for the last 130000 miles. really comfy, eats motorways, and so far, apart from servicing, has not cost a penny more than normal service items.
slightly older 93 estates are really cheap now, and servicing networks are very easy.
Subaru Legacy Sport Wagon 2.0tdi. Perfect fit for your requirements and, if it's a bit on the slow side for you, get a Litchfield remap, makes such a difference. Reliable, 44mpg (with the remap), fast enough for when the Griff's not an option and handles well enough that you wouldn't get bored.
I love my passat tdi estate, it does everything it should perfectly but as with all the VW family a bit dull to drive when pushing it round the twisties (still very quick though). But if you want to hack about in traffic and up down motorways you cant beat it. I have blocked my egr valve and average 62mpg! just towed the griff 200 miles and got 48mpg.
If it were me and we we were buying now,,,,, Alfa 159/156 sportwagon [estate]JTD [diesels]. either the 1.9 150hp 4 pot or 2.4 200hp 5 pot 
They have the best interiors of any other too.
PS; Don't believe the 'clarkson' s
t, we've had our 53 plate Alfa from new and it is THE BEST CAR WE'VE EVER HAD!!!!!!! and we'd buy another without question.
They have the best interiors of any other too.
PS; Don't believe the 'clarkson' s
t, we've had our 53 plate Alfa from new and it is THE BEST CAR WE'VE EVER HAD!!!!!!! and we'd buy another without question.
I'm in the market for a 156 or GT diseasel so that's what I'd 'recommend' - although I wouldn't of course, just in case. Had 2 156s which have been faultless though so maybe.....
Colleague was looking at Skodas recently and found that used Superbs held their value better than their more upmarket VAG cousins.
Accord CDTi cannot be beaten, really - chap at work wrote his 54plater off in an M25 incident. Was at 270k and still going strong - and still achieving high 60s/mpg.
Anything 'engineered' rather than 'built'
Or a rather handsome BMW 630Ci Cabriolet....
Colleague was looking at Skodas recently and found that used Superbs held their value better than their more upmarket VAG cousins.
Accord CDTi cannot be beaten, really - chap at work wrote his 54plater off in an M25 incident. Was at 270k and still going strong - and still achieving high 60s/mpg.
Anything 'engineered' rather than 'built'
Or a rather handsome BMW 630Ci Cabriolet....
As you have the Griffith for excitment and driving pleasure at the weekend maybe a more "sensible" car would fit the bill.
Having owned 40+ cars over many years including many sports cars and 4 TVRs we needed a reliable runabout for carrying two dogs etc. for the weekly run to the coast and for motorway driving. Many friends including my son have run Skoda Octavias for several years all have been most pleased so last October we bought a new Octavia Diesel.
Its roomy, economical (average of 54 mpg over the first 2500 miles) and has the pleasing quality finish that VAG are renowned for. Much quieter and more comfortable than the previous Volvo V40. I cannot fault it so far. Not exciting in any way but very competent.
They are however very popular with taxi drivers because of their reliability, so if you are interested make sure you find out its history.
Having owned 40+ cars over many years including many sports cars and 4 TVRs we needed a reliable runabout for carrying two dogs etc. for the weekly run to the coast and for motorway driving. Many friends including my son have run Skoda Octavias for several years all have been most pleased so last October we bought a new Octavia Diesel.
Its roomy, economical (average of 54 mpg over the first 2500 miles) and has the pleasing quality finish that VAG are renowned for. Much quieter and more comfortable than the previous Volvo V40. I cannot fault it so far. Not exciting in any way but very competent.
They are however very popular with taxi drivers because of their reliability, so if you are interested make sure you find out its history.
We LOVE Skoda Octavia, however, this is Paul's company car!
I don't think we can have twin Griffs and twin Octavia's as well...
! So I'm gonna have to rule out the Octavia unfortunately... 
I'd love a second convertible but I'm not sure how this will work with the dog? This will be our first dog, so we have limited experience, which has been prompted by our break-in last year.
I went to look at a VW Eos today but they didn't have one in!
Andrea
I don't think we can have twin Griffs and twin Octavia's as well...
! So I'm gonna have to rule out the Octavia unfortunately... I'd love a second convertible but I'm not sure how this will work with the dog? This will be our first dog, so we have limited experience, which has been prompted by our break-in last year.
I went to look at a VW Eos today but they didn't have one in!
Andrea
Edited by MrsFlipFlopGriff on Tuesday 2nd April 23:03
My runabout is a Golf Mk5 TDi with the DSG box. It is an 07 plate and a real cracking little car. I am hard pushed to get worse than 50 mpg but it is really fun to drive, it's like a go kart on the road. A full 5 seater with a reasonable boot and it seems to have most of the gadgets and accessories my wife's Discovery HSE has. I would be happy to drive a couple of hundred miles in it. With a Griff as your fun car it there seems no point in trying to match it with your runabout.
Start with the dog.
I have a bounder collie pup (well, he's nearly three now, but he's still a pup at heart). You need a decent tail gate for easy entry and exit, a big enough rear end to allow him room on journeys to lie down and stretch, and you need to be able to fit a proper dog guard, or get a wet nose rammed in your ear every five minutes. And do make it a proper well fitted metal dog guard, cheap ones with slidey adjusters, or luggage holder string things are useless. With those you will get back to the car after an hour or two in the shops or wherever to find a) your rear seat belts chewed through (I lost five rear seat belts in 12 months, and they aren't cheap and are an MOT requirement) or b) a wet muddy dog sitting on your driving seat waiting for you. There then needs to be enough space on the back seats to take all your luggage, as to put it in with the dog is to risk having it chewed during journeys. So you really need an estate car so that he can sit up and watch everything that passes without being too restricted. And do get a bounder collie - they are fantastic dogs, loyal and loving, very active and will keep you fit playing with him rather than watching TV all evening/weekend.
Next the elderly passenger - its obvious - not too low a car, a grab handle on the A pillar if possible to help with access, and space and comfort without making it a car you have to moor rather than park.
Then its you - comfort, comfort, comfort are the first three things on my list, closely followed by quietness, electric leather heated seats, a good auto box if you do a lot of town driving, and good economy so diesel. Only you know how much performance you need, but a good Turdo Diseasel can be remarkably quiet and quick these days. Just do your research online first - I bought a lovely 55 reg Saab 9-3 1.9 TDI Sport (not all sports are active) 15 months ago, and then discovered that they all have a design problem with the engine that causes a £20 rod to pop off and leave you with a £700 bill, plus waiting for the turbo to cut in when you have just nipped out into a gap in traffic can be alarming to say the least. After 9 months I have given up, given the car to the son-in-law (who drives like his grandmother), consigned the dogs to the 4x4, and have bought an Audi A8 for its comfort, silence, 3 litre diesel engine and 230bhp. But you need an estate, so forget luxo-barges.
Then its budget - will it stretch to a decent 57 plate Audi A4/A6 estate with say 80,000 miles? They go on for ever and are presentable. Get a good one and the servicing is relatively cheap and you shouldn't get too many unexpected bills. Or a Mercedes C class or E class estate? Or a 3 or 5 series BMW. They would be my choices. Good ex-company cars, well specced, well maintained and motorway miles.
I have a bounder collie pup (well, he's nearly three now, but he's still a pup at heart). You need a decent tail gate for easy entry and exit, a big enough rear end to allow him room on journeys to lie down and stretch, and you need to be able to fit a proper dog guard, or get a wet nose rammed in your ear every five minutes. And do make it a proper well fitted metal dog guard, cheap ones with slidey adjusters, or luggage holder string things are useless. With those you will get back to the car after an hour or two in the shops or wherever to find a) your rear seat belts chewed through (I lost five rear seat belts in 12 months, and they aren't cheap and are an MOT requirement) or b) a wet muddy dog sitting on your driving seat waiting for you. There then needs to be enough space on the back seats to take all your luggage, as to put it in with the dog is to risk having it chewed during journeys. So you really need an estate car so that he can sit up and watch everything that passes without being too restricted. And do get a bounder collie - they are fantastic dogs, loyal and loving, very active and will keep you fit playing with him rather than watching TV all evening/weekend.
Next the elderly passenger - its obvious - not too low a car, a grab handle on the A pillar if possible to help with access, and space and comfort without making it a car you have to moor rather than park.
Then its you - comfort, comfort, comfort are the first three things on my list, closely followed by quietness, electric leather heated seats, a good auto box if you do a lot of town driving, and good economy so diesel. Only you know how much performance you need, but a good Turdo Diseasel can be remarkably quiet and quick these days. Just do your research online first - I bought a lovely 55 reg Saab 9-3 1.9 TDI Sport (not all sports are active) 15 months ago, and then discovered that they all have a design problem with the engine that causes a £20 rod to pop off and leave you with a £700 bill, plus waiting for the turbo to cut in when you have just nipped out into a gap in traffic can be alarming to say the least. After 9 months I have given up, given the car to the son-in-law (who drives like his grandmother), consigned the dogs to the 4x4, and have bought an Audi A8 for its comfort, silence, 3 litre diesel engine and 230bhp. But you need an estate, so forget luxo-barges.
Then its budget - will it stretch to a decent 57 plate Audi A4/A6 estate with say 80,000 miles? They go on for ever and are presentable. Get a good one and the servicing is relatively cheap and you shouldn't get too many unexpected bills. Or a Mercedes C class or E class estate? Or a 3 or 5 series BMW. They would be my choices. Good ex-company cars, well specced, well maintained and motorway miles.
macdeb said:
If it were me and we we were buying now,,,,, Alfa 159/156 sportwagon [estate]JTD [diesels]. either the 1.9 150hp 4 pot or 2.4 200hp 5 pot
They have the best interiors of any other too.
PS; Don't believe the 'clarkson' st, we've had our 53 plate Alfa from new and it is THE BEST CAR WE'VE EVER HAD!!!!!!! and we'd buy another without question.
PS; we've always had dogs. Dogs are They have the best interiors of any other too.
PS; Don't believe the 'clarkson' s
t, we've had our 53 plate Alfa from new and it is THE BEST CAR WE'VE EVER HAD!!!!!!! and we'd buy another without question.
[especially Staffies, Daisy will be 17 in July!!]Sorry but I'm with the Alfa's albeit a 159 (estate for the four legged friend to keep behind cars in the boot).....
or an old 4x4 of some description (cheep Jeep Cherokee sub £1k)... easy to get in and out of, and boot large enough for the K9 you can also use it as a truck to take crap to dump etc.... and then also get something half as your daily run around to suit your convertible daily desire an MX5 or something
or an old 4x4 of some description (cheep Jeep Cherokee sub £1k)... easy to get in and out of, and boot large enough for the K9 you can also use it as a truck to take crap to dump etc.... and then also get something half as your daily run around to suit your convertible daily desire an MX5 or something
Hi Mrs FFG. I have run VW's for many years and they have never failed or let me down. I currently run a Golf GTD 170, smashing car. So, knowing you need a car to cater for you, dog and mum of senior years go for an estate, the VW Passat or Audi A4. Both same engines , go for the 2.0L TDi. Bags of torque, high 40's to the gallon, loads of space, excellent build quality etc, etc... Rgds, Pete
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