New career; will need car
Discussion
In the most non-PH thread ever, there's a very real possibility of starting a new career in the next 3 months, for which I'll be doing good distance motorway miles across the country on a regular basis, (regular as in twice a week, work to manchester, manchester to work)
I'm 22, had license for 5 years in january, no claims, no NCB either (with having no car)
I'm not looking for some crappy little 1.2l 2 door-box. It needs to be a mile muncher basically; currently I'm mainly looking at previous gen Ford Mondeo's and prev gen Mercedes C Class'
Mercedes -
Ford Mondeo - Not actually comtemplating these; just examples
Here are some insurance quotes I've already gone and had a look at http://gyazo.com/2bdf5849a9cc3dbad9c0a95de9db2d58
http://gyazo.com/19a188bf88e15c2514cb779834c4bb11
I'm not too fussed paying up to £1300 a year insurance at the moment; the lowest I can possibly get it down to is about £800, but for the practicality/comfort of a larger car, it's worth it.
Have I missed any obvious possibilities? What should I be looking for (or not looking for) in regards to either of these?
Finally, I could afford £2500-£3000 outright though would prefer to spend under £1500. At the moment, I see this as a car for 1 or 2 years max before then upgrading with new much higher salary
To throw a spanner in the works, if I could find a used current gen Ford Mondeo Titanium X with all the bells and whistles for a good finance rate, I'd be tempted to go for that; obviously that then wouldn't be getting replaced in 1/2 years and would therefore be more of a long term investment
I'm 22, had license for 5 years in january, no claims, no NCB either (with having no car)
I'm not looking for some crappy little 1.2l 2 door-box. It needs to be a mile muncher basically; currently I'm mainly looking at previous gen Ford Mondeo's and prev gen Mercedes C Class'
Mercedes -
Ford Mondeo - Not actually comtemplating these; just examples
Here are some insurance quotes I've already gone and had a look at http://gyazo.com/2bdf5849a9cc3dbad9c0a95de9db2d58
http://gyazo.com/19a188bf88e15c2514cb779834c4bb11
I'm not too fussed paying up to £1300 a year insurance at the moment; the lowest I can possibly get it down to is about £800, but for the practicality/comfort of a larger car, it's worth it.
Have I missed any obvious possibilities? What should I be looking for (or not looking for) in regards to either of these?
Finally, I could afford £2500-£3000 outright though would prefer to spend under £1500. At the moment, I see this as a car for 1 or 2 years max before then upgrading with new much higher salary
To throw a spanner in the works, if I could find a used current gen Ford Mondeo Titanium X with all the bells and whistles for a good finance rate, I'd be tempted to go for that; obviously that then wouldn't be getting replaced in 1/2 years and would therefore be more of a long term investment
What do you reckon your total mileage will be? Is an old diesel with the potential for bills actually worth it? And bear in mind that Manchester will be looking at London's LEZ and thinking about banning old diesels in the centre.
You might be better off with a grandad spec (ie unpopular with the youth and therefore less frequently crashed) petrol saloon.
You might be better off with a grandad spec (ie unpopular with the youth and therefore less frequently crashed) petrol saloon.
My citroen c5 is for sale, perfect for this.
My dad had it from new and I recently acquired it but my Mrs wants something much smaller for her work car. We're replacing it with a Renault Zoe all being well.
Anyway.
You'll get 50mpg on the mway, ride comfort is supreme with the hydropneumatic suspenders (just had the pump replaced too), in fact for out s
tty UK roads this system is perfect. You just glide over all the rough stuff and speedbump. You get cruise control, auto wipers/lights and Bluetooth hands free. No rattles from the interior.
Pm me if you want the full details, got it advertised at less than the bottom of your budget.
They are very overlooked cars imo, if you want a super comfy cruiser they are brilliant.
My dad had it from new and I recently acquired it but my Mrs wants something much smaller for her work car. We're replacing it with a Renault Zoe all being well.
Anyway.
You'll get 50mpg on the mway, ride comfort is supreme with the hydropneumatic suspenders (just had the pump replaced too), in fact for out s
tty UK roads this system is perfect. You just glide over all the rough stuff and speedbump. You get cruise control, auto wipers/lights and Bluetooth hands free. No rattles from the interior. Pm me if you want the full details, got it advertised at less than the bottom of your budget.
They are very overlooked cars imo, if you want a super comfy cruiser they are brilliant.
I'd go for the longest wheelbase possible, and definitely give it a test drive beforehand.
The comfiest seats and best ride would take priority over outright economy for me, and my usual stock answers are the Volvo S60 D5, or having ridden in one recently the Citroen C5 2.2HDI with the air suspension - very comfy and reliable as well (the technology is mature and straight-forward now, and diesel-related issues like DMF, injectors etc are all common to anything you're looking at).
ETA: Lol, beaten to the C5 recommendation by a hair!
The comfiest seats and best ride would take priority over outright economy for me, and my usual stock answers are the Volvo S60 D5, or having ridden in one recently the Citroen C5 2.2HDI with the air suspension - very comfy and reliable as well (the technology is mature and straight-forward now, and diesel-related issues like DMF, injectors etc are all common to anything you're looking at).
ETA: Lol, beaten to the C5 recommendation by a hair!
Bill said:
You might be better off with a grandad spec (ie unpopular with the youth and therefore less frequently crashed) petrol saloon.
This. A friend (also in his 20s) has a Rover 75 1.8T, partly because of the much cheaper insurance when compared to pretty much anything else. I actually really like it!NooBish AbbZ said:
These Saab's look a very good option; better than all the other's i've looked at, thanks 
Be careful of the SAAB 1.9TDI as its the engine that was co developed with Vauxhall and is prone to floating flywheel problems.Personally at that price point i'd be looking at something with the 1.9TDI VAG engine in it - Golf, Passat, Octavia, Superb, Leon, Toledo. Audis make too much money to be a consideration at this price - you'll buy a better / younger VW / SEAT / Skoda for your money.
They are generally as tough as old boots and should go on for years if well maintained.
A left of field choice would be a 2.0HDI Peugeot 406, 306 or 307. Again, will run forever - a friend of mine had one with 360,000 miles on it. Avoid the 1.6 as its a pig. Also Citroen C5 as it has the same running gear.
Edited by daemon on Saturday 13th December 09:56
dave_s13 said:
My citroen c5 is for sale, perfect for this.
My dad had it from new and I recently acquired it but my Mrs wants something much smaller for her work car. We're replacing it with a Renault Zoe all being well.
Anyway.
You'll get 50mpg on the mway, ride comfort is supreme with the hydropneumatic suspenders (just had the pump replaced too), in fact for out stty UK roads this system is perfect. You just glide over all the rough stuff and speedbump. You get cruise control, auto wipers/lights and Bluetooth hands free. No rattles from the interior.
Pm me if you want the full details, got it advertised at less than the bottom of your budget.
They are very overlooked cars imo, if you want a super comfy cruiser they are brilliant.
+1My dad had it from new and I recently acquired it but my Mrs wants something much smaller for her work car. We're replacing it with a Renault Zoe all being well.
Anyway.
You'll get 50mpg on the mway, ride comfort is supreme with the hydropneumatic suspenders (just had the pump replaced too), in fact for out s
tty UK roads this system is perfect. You just glide over all the rough stuff and speedbump. You get cruise control, auto wipers/lights and Bluetooth hands free. No rattles from the interior. Pm me if you want the full details, got it advertised at less than the bottom of your budget.
They are very overlooked cars imo, if you want a super comfy cruiser they are brilliant.
Good choice.
£2-3k for an A3 TDI? Sure; but plan to spend another grand or so to make it serviceable.
If you can stomach the MPG, how about an E46 320i/325i or Lexus IS200 (and taking the opportunity to run a NA petrol 6-pot whilst you still can)? I've just traded-in a 320i that I had for about two and a half years; the largest bill I got during that time was for a couple of corroded brake pipes (<£200), which is pretty standard for the age. My usage was mainly urban but I'd expect c35mpg on the Motorway.
If you can stomach the MPG, how about an E46 320i/325i or Lexus IS200 (and taking the opportunity to run a NA petrol 6-pot whilst you still can)? I've just traded-in a 320i that I had for about two and a half years; the largest bill I got during that time was for a couple of corroded brake pipes (<£200), which is pretty standard for the age. My usage was mainly urban but I'd expect c35mpg on the Motorway.
At your price point I'd pick a range of cars and see what comes up over the next few weeks.
Personally I currently own a V70 D5, recently sold a Mondeo 2 Litre diesel and have owned a couple of Octavia 1.9 diesels as well - and of these will do what you need, but given a choice I'd opt for the Volvo D5 engine in whatever you can find (S60/V70 probably).
I've owned the V70 for 10 years and it's given the occasional big bill, but big is a relative term. I've never had a bill into 4 figures - normally just £300-£500 for something which has every chance of failing at whichever mileage (170K so far) on top of regular servicing.
Personally I currently own a V70 D5, recently sold a Mondeo 2 Litre diesel and have owned a couple of Octavia 1.9 diesels as well - and of these will do what you need, but given a choice I'd opt for the Volvo D5 engine in whatever you can find (S60/V70 probably).
I've owned the V70 for 10 years and it's given the occasional big bill, but big is a relative term. I've never had a bill into 4 figures - normally just £300-£500 for something which has every chance of failing at whichever mileage (170K so far) on top of regular servicing.
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