I'm BEGGING you, help me find a new car
I'm BEGGING you, help me find a new car
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PHNeedHelp

Original Poster:

13 posts

141 months

Tuesday 20th January 2015
quotequote all
At the moment I drive a Jaguar X-Type 2.0 V6. I know many people say it's just a Mondeo but it's been an absolutely fantastic car and a joy to own and drive. However, at 12 years old the repair bills are coming close to 4 figures each time something needs doing, which is starting to become every 6 to 12 months.

So I figure it's time for a change. I have a family so want something of a decent size. Originally I budgeted £5k and wanted something no more than 5 years old. I've since upped that to £8k and might even stretch to £10k if I could find something that I really liked.

Here's what I've looked at so far. My opinions might be radical and perhaps a little offensive, but they are just my personal opinion:

1) Ford Mondeo - probably ticks every box that I need but they are just so BORING!

2) BMW 3-series or Audi A4 - so common and often so bland inside, they just don't do anything for me. Most examples seem to have racked up hefty mileage too.

3) Nissan Qashqai (don't laugh) - I really like this car and everyone assumes it's a big car, but it's actually too small inside.

4) VW Passat - too bland

5) Jaguar XF - too expensive

6) Jaguar X-Type - it would be wrong to own the same car twice

7) Ford Focus - too small and generally too expensive for what it is

I've been searching for 5 months now and not making any progress frown

jamieduff1981

8,092 posts

170 months

Tuesday 20th January 2015
quotequote all
Alfa Romeo 159?

2013BRM

39,731 posts

314 months

wemorgan

3,583 posts

208 months

Tuesday 20th January 2015
quotequote all
If you're looking affordable quality then I think you found it with your first choice, a Mondeo. I think they look quite good, rather than boring as you say.

PHNeedHelp

Original Poster:

13 posts

141 months

Tuesday 20th January 2015
quotequote all
I should have mentioned I gave serious consideration to the Vauxhall Insignia which, inside and out, I think looks better than the Mondeo, but my trusted mechanic put me off them

LordHaveMurci

12,338 posts

199 months

Tuesday 20th January 2015
quotequote all
Skoda Octavia vRS?

2013BRM

39,731 posts

314 months

jhonn

1,707 posts

179 months

Tuesday 20th January 2015
quotequote all
If reliability is your main concern, then plenty on offer from Mazda, Toyota and Honda.

Welcome to PH BTW.

Mr E

23,088 posts

289 months

Tuesday 20th January 2015
quotequote all
PHNeedHelp said:
but my trusted mechanic put me off them
Same guy who's charging you 4figures every time he sees the jag?

wink

2013BRM

39,731 posts

314 months

PHNeedHelp

Original Poster:

13 posts

141 months

Tuesday 20th January 2015
quotequote all
jhonn said:
If reliability is your main concern, then plenty on offer from Mazda, Toyota and Honda.

Welcome to PH BTW.
Thank you. I did look at the Mazda 6 but was put off by the fact that nearly all of them have rust on the roof (believe it or not). The ones I looked at were 2008. I had a look at a mate's 2013 plate Mazda 6 and that had the corrosion on the roof too, so nothing has been done to fix it in 5 years!

Mr E said:
Same guy who's charging you 4figures every time he sees the jag?

wink
He actually wants me to get rid of it lol

Tyre Tread

10,692 posts

246 months

Tuesday 20th January 2015
quotequote all
For a family load lugger this looks good value at the lower end of your budget.
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/s...

Pothole

34,367 posts

312 months

Tuesday 20th January 2015
quotequote all
Juke?

PHNeedHelp

Original Poster:

13 posts

141 months

Tuesday 20th January 2015
quotequote all
Pothole said:
Juke?
Too small - it's smaller than the Qashqai and for what looks like a big car the Qashqai is cramped inside

Rammy76

1,054 posts

213 months

Tuesday 20th January 2015
quotequote all
Mr E said:
Same guy who's charging you 4figures every time he sees the jag?

wink
Just out of interest, what is it that's costing all this money on a regular basis to keep the X Type going?

Swanny87

1,265 posts

149 months

Tuesday 20th January 2015
quotequote all
Wasn't there a thread on here yesterday where someone was looking at Audi A8's (or similar) for around 8k? biggrin

Here you go:

http://www.pistonheads.com/GASSING/topic.asp?h=0&a...

PHNeedHelp

Original Poster:

13 posts

141 months

Tuesday 20th January 2015
quotequote all
Rammy76 said:
Just out of interest, what is it that's costing all this money on a regular basis to keep the X Type going?
It's not necessarily 4 figures with every visit, but the visits are becoming more frequent over a period of 6 to 12 months with more and more things going wrong. Water pump, oxygen sensor, abs sensor, hand brake packing up, radiator replacement, alternator replacement... the list goes on. Whilst many of these things are somewhat trivial with the cost of labour being £50 an hour + VAT it doesn't take long for it to really add up.

EDIT: Sorry just re-read my original post which I said EACH visit is costing £1,000's. So it's not quite that bad. The wording was misleading in my excitement to create the post.


Edited by PHNeedHelp on Tuesday 20th January 13:49

Al U

2,394 posts

161 months

Tuesday 20th January 2015
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Monty Python

4,813 posts

227 months

thatdude

2,660 posts

157 months

Tuesday 20th January 2015
quotequote all
For a family car, boring dosnt really matter. Weigh everything up and you should conclude that whether or not it's enertaining isnt important; it's got to be comfrotable, hold all the fmaily plus a bunch of peoples crap, be reliable and be of a reasonable cost to run.

Buy a mondeo

ooorrrr

get an Accord