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Family Car: Vauxhall Astra (12) or Saab 9-3 (11)

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FauxEmuMango

Original Poster

2 posts

87 months

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Thursday 6th September 2018

Hello all,

First posting on this forum.

Family of 3 (plus a dog) in need of a new vehicle. My previous car was a Smart ForFour and it was time to say goodbye to it due to practicalities.

I have narrowed down our search and found a Vauxhall Astra 2.0 CDTI 165ps (12 model) and a Saab 9-3 1.9 ttid 160ps (11 model). Both around the £5.5K mark.

I’m opened to other options but mainly looking for the following:
- comfort
- reliability*
- acceptable maintenance bills (not sky high like some luxury cars)
- practicality (I.e big enough boot. 5dr)*
- decent performance
- 6k upper budget

I’m not sure how reliable a Saab is but the stylish looks and interior do intrigue me; essentially looking for a nice vehicle to keep for many years.

My driving habits; nothing adventurous:
- 3 mile drive to work
- weekly shop
- weekly trips now and again

Any advice on the above vehicles or alternatives to consider?

Edited by FauxEmuMango on Thursday 6th September 17:04

Jag_NE

3,276 posts

120 months

[report]

[news]

Thursday 6th September 2018

The SAAB has GM underpinnings so I would imagine that reliability wont be miles apart however the SAAB will obviously have a higher quality interior. If reliability is the must have id probably err toward the vauxhall as they depreciate like mad and you will probably get a newer car for your money, which will bode well for fewer bill. Also, if your commute is 3 miles id probably look for a petrol, of which there will be many more vauxhalls to choose from. I would also expect parts and servicing to be cheaper on a vauxhall.

Flumpo

4,024 posts

93 months

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Thursday 6th September 2018

I wouldn’t touch the Vauxhall 2.0 dpf with your 3 mile commute. Nothing wrong with the engine or dpf, it just isn’t designed for your usage.

Pothole

34,367 posts

302 months

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[news]

Thursday 6th September 2018

Short distances, go petrol.

anonymous-user

74 months

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Thursday 6th September 2018

I've owned both (well, same engines) both are fairly crude and not very nice to drive. I'd only consider either if doing a high mileage. Nothing wrong with either car, both are good family transport but I'd strongly recommend going for a petrol engine.

Terzo123

4,622 posts

228 months

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Thursday 6th September 2018

Why diesel? With your mileage it should be petrol all the way.

andy118run

948 posts

226 months

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[news]

Thursday 6th September 2018

8/9 year old cars. There's going to be an element of luck involved in whether you end up with a decent car or not.

Others would probably advise buying Japanese etc. for reliability.

Or sticking to a petrol rather than a turbo diesel where there's potential for some costly issues.

But I recently bought an 8 year old turbo diesel so I'm not so much one of those people.

Only thing I'd really add, to minimise any post purchase hassle (which you'd probably do anyway) is do your pre-purchase research.

By that I mean, scrutinise the service book (and receipts if possible). Without looking it up, I'd say both those cars have a cambelt and you can sometimes negotiate having it changed in the purchase price, if it's due anytime soon.

Don't know if you're looking at dealer cars, but I'd feel happier getting something like these from a reputable garage offering a bit of warranty (3/6/12 months, whatever). I know it's not the be all and end all and there's legislation to help if worst comes to worst.

For what it's worth, I've always liked the look of the 165ps Astra and I had one or two on my short list when I was looking a while back. I can't say I read of any big issues, though my research didn't run too deep.

FlatToTheMat

1,426 posts

183 months

[report]

[news]

Thursday 6th September 2018

My wife had a 150 TiD 93. She liked it but honestly i wouldn't get one again (unless very cheap). Really not great to drive, cabin is small, storage is lacking (Door bins are small, no cubbies other than small arrrest and glovebox. Boot is nice and square however rear seats whilst comfortable are small.

Im hypersensitive to rattles and squeaks but it was full of them. Especially from the rear. It began to rust on the rear arches. Driving wise at home on the motorway but I really didnt like it around town, crashy, frustrating in first and second gear, very gear sensitive.

My money? Id be buying a mk4 mondeo 2.0 petrol (145bhp). Very reliable engines, quite and easy to drive, massive boot and rear seats, wayyy better to drive. You'd not out grow it like the others.

Also considering you have a dog, I presume you're looking at estates? The Mondeo at least is a hatch/estate

2010 Mondeo Titanium X (Xenons, Half Leather Fr&Rr Sensors etc etc) I found these engines very economical 40 on a motorway, 35 around and about)
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Edited by FlatToTheMat on Thursday 6th September 19:52

FauxEmuMango

Original Poster

2 posts

87 months

[report]

[news]

Thursday 6th September 2018

Thank you everyone for your replies.

The reason for diesel in the first instance is that our daily driver is a Citroën Xara Picasso 1.6 HDI (2006). It has been running short trips for 2 and half years and is in perfect nick.

I owned a Peugeot 308 e-hdi 92ps (15 model) for a few weeks (£7K) but had to reject the vehicle so ideally would want to avoid the hassle again.

My concern with petrols is these days you’d have to opt for a smaller turbo engine or suck up the road tax for more beefy variants.

I’ve considered a Toyota Auris, Honda Civic, Ford Focus / Fiesta, the newer Skoda Rapids and even a Kia Soul however the road tax does put me off a bit for more powerful models of these.

I may be asking for a bit too much in a vehicle in terms of price, reliability, performance and practicability.

I’ve also toyed with the idea of a Lexus IS 220 due to Toyotas reliability but most models are 100k+ mileage and at least £230 road tax.

Are there any other Japense petrols I could consider that may fit the bill?

Thanks all

———————————
Thanks for your reply FlatToTheMatt. A rattling chassis is definitely something I’d want to avoid. Something more refined and comfy for the family.

I’m not dead set on estates as we also have the Citroën on hand but need something a suitable size.

I’ve always liked the look of Mondeo so definitely something to consider thanks.

Edited by FauxEmuMango on Thursday 6th September 20:04

ZX10R NIN

29,757 posts

145 months

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Thursday 6th September 2018

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