A few questions on new / newer cars
Discussion
Backstory: Basically I've fallen on my feet and been offered a job with a salary far above mine and the offer of £4000 toward the deposit or whole value of a new or used car of my choice.
Basically I'd like something comfy, reasonably economical, a large sedan or estate for the room, a few toys (Satnav and climate control at least). It doesn't have to be 'fast' per se however I'd like a bit of punch and something that isn't a complete barge to drive. Above all it has to be reliable. 100% no crippling faults or design issues like eating cambelts or pooping DPF filters. It can't leave me stranded at all. I'm fairly savvy mechanically and do most of my own work so I can keep it well maintained and know what to look out for etc.
I currently drive a 102 hp Volvo s40 1.9d so most things would be an upgrade over that, however I've never been able to afford anything new or nearly new before. Thus I have no idea what's good now. I know early 2000s VAG should be avoided but have they stepped their game up nowadays? I quite like some of their offerings. Should I avoid modern diesels because of DPF issues or are we on top of that now? I'm wary of the 'executive' offerings such as BMW and Benz because I know absolutely nothing about their track record now.
I think I just need someone to give me a crash course on what's what with newer car reliability. I feel a bit out of my depth here to be honest lads! My only initial thoughts would be a new Mazda 6 simply because the styling isn't awful.
Edit: Also what's the deal with buying new and wanting unlimited mileage? I'm gonna be doing a fair bit and don't want to worry about extra charges. Am I going to have to pay out the bum for it?
Basically I'd like something comfy, reasonably economical, a large sedan or estate for the room, a few toys (Satnav and climate control at least). It doesn't have to be 'fast' per se however I'd like a bit of punch and something that isn't a complete barge to drive. Above all it has to be reliable. 100% no crippling faults or design issues like eating cambelts or pooping DPF filters. It can't leave me stranded at all. I'm fairly savvy mechanically and do most of my own work so I can keep it well maintained and know what to look out for etc.
I currently drive a 102 hp Volvo s40 1.9d so most things would be an upgrade over that, however I've never been able to afford anything new or nearly new before. Thus I have no idea what's good now. I know early 2000s VAG should be avoided but have they stepped their game up nowadays? I quite like some of their offerings. Should I avoid modern diesels because of DPF issues or are we on top of that now? I'm wary of the 'executive' offerings such as BMW and Benz because I know absolutely nothing about their track record now.
I think I just need someone to give me a crash course on what's what with newer car reliability. I feel a bit out of my depth here to be honest lads! My only initial thoughts would be a new Mazda 6 simply because the styling isn't awful.
Edit: Also what's the deal with buying new and wanting unlimited mileage? I'm gonna be doing a fair bit and don't want to worry about extra charges. Am I going to have to pay out the bum for it?
Edited by WaldoMcBaldo on Wednesday 17th September 11:09
Everyone else will answer the car question so i'm going to wax lyrical on just the satnav :-)
For SatNav i'd really really strongly encourage you not to bother and stick to the one on your phone. If you don't have a phone with good SatNav, the Motorola E is around £100 PAYG and does everything an expensive phone does and is far better quality than many more expensive phones.
That means the only thing you need in the car is bluetooth, a holder and a charger. Parrot is a reputable bluetooth provider but many work well. Just avoid early built in jobs (pre-2009) which are often utter gash.
Besides satnav, bluetooth and a basic phone opens up calls, music, audiobooks, podcasts etc. etc. essentials for long journeys. And it all just works together, if a call comes in the audio book pauses. If a satnav announcement is made the music dims while the woman talks etc.
For SatNav i'd really really strongly encourage you not to bother and stick to the one on your phone. If you don't have a phone with good SatNav, the Motorola E is around £100 PAYG and does everything an expensive phone does and is far better quality than many more expensive phones.
That means the only thing you need in the car is bluetooth, a holder and a charger. Parrot is a reputable bluetooth provider but many work well. Just avoid early built in jobs (pre-2009) which are often utter gash.
Besides satnav, bluetooth and a basic phone opens up calls, music, audiobooks, podcasts etc. etc. essentials for long journeys. And it all just works together, if a call comes in the audio book pauses. If a satnav announcement is made the music dims while the woman talks etc.
According to the ex main dealer mechanics at the garage that I take my car (VW golf TDi) to, the 2004-2008 VW cars are the ones to go for in terms of reliability. They said they see a lot more turbo and gearbox failures on 2009on cars whereas the 04-08 cars tend to be good for 250,000 miles on original gearbox, turbo and in some cases clutch too.
Rovinghawk said:
Congratulations on the good fortune.
A late model Saab will be fairly cheap to buy, well made & comfortable.
Wasn't Saab bought out by GM? I thought it all went down the pan from there.A late model Saab will be fairly cheap to buy, well made & comfortable.
Edit Edit:
Just had a flick through the lower end of the spectrum. If I was to by used and not finance, 4 - 5k would get fairly tidy examples of BMW 325s, Jag S type V6s (lolno) and the like. Having never owned anything petrol larger than a 1.8 Honda Accord, this is also appealing providing I could stomach the fuel and tax.
Edited by WaldoMcBaldo on Wednesday 17th September 13:07
ShaunTheSheep said:
Everyone else will answer the car question so i'm going to wax lyrical on just the satnav :-)
For SatNav i'd really really strongly encourage you not to bother and stick to the one on your phone. If you don't have a phone with good SatNav, the Motorola E is around £100 PAYG and does everything an expensive phone does and is far better quality than many more expensive phones.
That means the only thing you need in the car is bluetooth, a holder and a charger. Parrot is a reputable bluetooth provider but many work well. Just avoid early built in jobs (pre-2009) which are often utter gash.
Besides satnav, bluetooth and a basic phone opens up calls, music, audiobooks, podcasts etc. etc. essentials for long journeys. And it all just works together, if a call comes in the audio book pauses. If a satnav announcement is made the music dims while the woman talks etc.
You see I disagree with this 100%, providing you are looking at a car newer than say 4 years I feel satnav built into the car is leagues ahead of any standalone system.For SatNav i'd really really strongly encourage you not to bother and stick to the one on your phone. If you don't have a phone with good SatNav, the Motorola E is around £100 PAYG and does everything an expensive phone does and is far better quality than many more expensive phones.
That means the only thing you need in the car is bluetooth, a holder and a charger. Parrot is a reputable bluetooth provider but many work well. Just avoid early built in jobs (pre-2009) which are often utter gash.
Besides satnav, bluetooth and a basic phone opens up calls, music, audiobooks, podcasts etc. etc. essentials for long journeys. And it all just works together, if a call comes in the audio book pauses. If a satnav announcement is made the music dims while the woman talks etc.
My last 4-5 cars have all had the built in sat nav and its NOTHING like sticking a tom tom to the screen, it will work through the buttons on your wheel, it will dim the music when giving directions, it will come up on your instrument panel on some cars.
Compare that to having to rummage through the glove box for the satnav/cradle, get it to stick to the window, plug it in, turn it on, wait for it to find satellites, push away at a tiny screen thats out of reach, to then do the journey trying to read the text on a small screen and listen to a tinny speaker over the road noise/stereo, to then arrive at your destination and dismantle it all again to put it back in the glove box. And don’t forget to wipe the ring off the window so they don’t know you have something stealable.
sidekickdmr said:
Ok apologies, "Rummage through the glove box for the cradle and charge cable, stick it to the window, get the phone out your pocket and unlock it, open the app...."
Those kind of cradles can be an MOT fail. You can use the semi permanent kind that attaches to your dash or air vents. They're much more stable too.Route the charge cable so that you never have to move it.
Use a method of auto unlocking your phone. Whether by the presence of an active Bluetooth connection or a 10pence NFC sticker in the cradle. Have it automatically open your music / navigation / live speed trap app.
Use voice control where possible, it's very very good on Android today. I have a strong Glaswegian accent and it manages OK. I speak then edit if needed. More often than not, it gets it right first time.
Seriously having lived with in car nav from many manufacturers since before they were cool to present day, none of them best a good mobile phone.
ShaunTheSheep said:
Seriously having lived with in car nav from many manufacturers since before they were cool to present day, none of them best a good mobile phone.
This!Plus they're cheaper! (you already have the phone so cost £0) some used cars you pay hundreds extra for nav over non-nav? Thousands if buying new!
You can take it with you! So if you buy a new car, you still have it. If you have more than one car, you always have it, if you have a motor(or pedal) bike it works too.
You can use it in other people's cars if they don't have one.
It wont break and cost to replace.
My phone is linked to my stereo in my car - via bluetooth.
For £130 my stereo allows me to link my iphone, stream music and sat nav over bluetooth, it auto starts when I get in the car, turns off when I leave, lowers the music when the sat nav talks, lowers the music when I get a message, hands free answering calls on the move etc, all for £130... you can take your fancy option stereos with nav and do one!
Anyway, back on topic guys, as you were...
Can you clarify, you have £4k as a deposit or the option of £4k to buy a old car.
So are you trying to compare putting £4k deposit on a brand new car plus £X per month ongoing with a second hand car that is most likely going to be several years old and you are expecting 100% reliability with no known faults that will never leave you stranded.
good luck
So are you trying to compare putting £4k deposit on a brand new car plus £X per month ongoing with a second hand car that is most likely going to be several years old and you are expecting 100% reliability with no known faults that will never leave you stranded.
good luck
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