Next gen motor upto/around £10k - Page 1 - Car Buying

cj2013

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1,409 posts

146 months

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Sunday 4th November 2018

I bought a shedtastic shed about 8 months ago, having sold my last sheddy whim (Mk2 Maverick) when 17mpg became a little boring. Or when I became bored of it. Was a really nice thing to drive, so my rose tinted retrospective makes me regret it a bit.

So a bit of context which is important:
Anyway, I have a young daughter and the family may expand in the future. At the time, I bought a £200 Zafira, with the view of having something in the short term that I could part ex/scrap at a dealer without a care, once I'd found a suitable car I actually wanted. Problem is/was, I have a young daughter and I do my own spannering, so keeping it safe has probably meant it owes me at least £1600 now (made up of parts). I only have a short commute (5-10 miles e/w), but we often go away on weekends or to weddings and so on, which means I've been up to the lake district, down to Torquay, over to Porthcawl, up to the North West several times etc, all from being based near Bath. My mileage is probably between 8 to 10k pa. This means I have to choose something that can handle short commutes for 4 weeks in a month, but then can handle a longer trip economically (Maverick cost around £120 to go the North West and back, whereas the Zafira is more like £60-70). The Zafira has been quite good, but it's not pleasant to drive and has now got to the point where, despite my better efforts, has started to rattle, clunk and vibrate more and more, and I am loathe to spend any more on the damn thing. It has no cruise or other luxuries, so long distance trips are not comfortable, and I find it hard to stay disciplined/relaxed when I'm on the pedal constantly.

I recently thought I'd get a luxobarge, something like an 8-series, A8 etc - but for half the above budget, as a itch-scratch of a category I haven't had before. Lots of research suggested it was a stupid idea to buy anything for around £5k and expect it to be anything but throwing money away, and finding decent examples just has you climbing out of budget, so I went off the idea quite quickly.

I have some money saved away, but interest rates are good enough for it me to leave them aside and loan around £10k to put towards a car, budgeting around £250 pcm to repay. I worked out that the Zafira has probably cost me near £250-300 pcm in fuel, VED, and maintenance so far, which is frankly ridiculous, and would be around £140 pcm going forwards to cover fuel, VED and parts for inevitable up-coming stuff. This, in my head, suggests that rather than having a significant extra outgoing, I'd probably not be too far off what I pay at the moment anyway.

So, I thought it'd be a good time to go electric - issues being that few EVs have both the space and range I'd need. The Zoe/Leaf don't have the boot space for the push chair and all the associated stuff we lug around when we go away (mostly the ridiculous amount of baby and woman stuff they need with them). This means the criteria would be:

- Budget of around £10k or £250pcm over 3.5-4 years
- Good load space (not V70-esq, but certainly better than the Clio-sized <300L stuff)
- Improved economy/zero VED is advantageous
- Capable of shorter commutes (Pretty much rules out Euro 5+ diesels)
- Good spec. Heated seats, nice interior are more than achievable
- Comfortable to drive
- No glaring weaknesses/failure points.

Sounds silly, maybe, but so far I've drawn up (and in some cases, crossed out) the following (driven none yet, so hypothetical in some way):

- Ampera/Volt: Really like them, but SWMBO ruled them out as being 'too small', as they only have 4 seats and medicore boot space.
- Outlander PHEV: Currently what I prefer, as the range would cover my commute, but would want the GX4h, meaning I'd be getting a high miler (100k+) for my budget. I don't mind the poor ICE economy on longer runs, as it would balance the savings on the commute.
- Lexus ct200h: Like most things about this, except the boot looks very small
- 508/DS5 Hybrid4 - Really like the look, but the engine is barely an advantage or suitable
- 2012+ Prius: Bit ugly and unconvincing reports on economy. The PiP is barely in budget, and has crap range (~10 miles)

I'm tempted to arrange the money and have it ready for if/when a decent Outlander comes up locally.

I did also look at lease deals, as I could justify the balance of not having to worry about repairs and VED against fuelling it, but I'm not really seeing anything too exciting out there within the budget I'd want to pay.

I did cycle the commute in the summer, but it's out of the question in the other seasons (small and twisty NSL country lanes - I'd probably end up in hospital).

ZX10R NIN

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145 months

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Sunday 4th November 2018

cj2013

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Sunday 4th November 2018

ZX10R NIN said:

Thanks - some interesting options I'd not considered there.

The Guiletta isn't a bad looking thing - I'm just not convinced that it looks like it would have enough space if a 2nd child came into the picture (there's been times with this one where the full boot of the Zafira, plus some of the seat space). Part of the issue is convincing the o/h that we're not "downsizing" too much.

As an additional, I've had a lot of cars (I'm early 30's and I'm on/over 60 now) and would like to keep something a bit longer (last few have been a bit more stable - this one is 8 months, Mav was a year, had a Boxster for a year before that), and I think if I had something mudane/common like an Astra or Leon, with no other distinguishing point of interest, that I'd just get the itch for something else. That's part of the draw in having a Hybrid/PHEV.

JonChalk

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130 months

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Sunday 4th November 2018

You could probably get a decent spec. late model petrol Qashqai for £10k.

Not the most "PH" car in the world, but meets your requirements.

cj2013

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146 months

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Sunday 4th November 2018

JonChalk said:

You could probably get a decent spec. late model petrol Qashqai for £10k.

Not the most "PH" car in the world, but meets your requirements.

I wouldn't say it meets the requirements really. A 2016 on is a 1.2 Turbo, the previous is a 1.6 petrol. Both with a real world consumption of mid 30's on MPG. I can't envisage a trouble-free ownership of short commutes on a small capacity turbo. And similar power outputs to early 90's tech.

I really can't see past hybrids/PHEVs at this stage - I think I'm working to a very small window of vehicles.

TreeHouseTim

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86 months

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Monday 5th November 2018

cj2013 said:

I think if I had something mudane/common like an Astra or Leon, with no other distinguishing point of interest, that I'd just get the itch for something else. That's part of the draw in having a Hybrid/PHEV.

To be blunt, with the Hybrid/PHEV options at this price point they will still be mundane, but electrically mundane. Apart from the novelty of electric-only running, they are all still dull hatchboxes of boredom. Your electric itch will be scratched, and you’ll then find yourself trying to move on a used electric box with the associated buyer uncertainty around battery life and condition.

It is rarely a financial win to go for EVs at the moment, and your requirements suggest you wouldn’t fall into that category. Scratch it, but it will be fleeting smile

JonChalk

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Monday 5th November 2018

cj2013 said:

I wouldn't say it meets the requirements really. A 2016 on is a 1.2 Turbo, the previous is a 1.6 petrol. Both with a real world consumption of mid 30's on MPG. I can't envisage a trouble-free ownership of short commutes on a small capacity turbo. And similar power outputs to early 90's tech.

I really can't see past hybrids/PHEVs at this stage - I think I'm working to a very small window of vehicles.

Understand your concern - and not questioning you; it's your decision - but my wife's 1.2 turbo A1 has been doing 5 mile journeys it's entire life (60 plate and only just 40k miles) & it's in perfect nick according to the indy who services it.

cj2013

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Monday 5th November 2018

TreeHouseTim said:

To be blunt, with the Hybrid/PHEV options at this price point they will still be mundane, but electrically mundane. Apart from the novelty of electric-only running, they are all still dull hatchboxes of boredom. Your electric itch will be scratched, and you’ll then find yourself trying to move on a used electric box with the associated buyer uncertainty around battery life and condition.

It is rarely a financial win to go for EVs at the moment, and your requirements suggest you wouldn’t fall into that category. Scratch it, but it will be fleeting smile

Perhaps. The only one which seems to be tempting at the moment (if a little contradictory) is the Hybrid4 508. Can be had for around/under £6k, even if it is a modern diesel.

JonChalk said:

Understand your concern - and not questioning you; it's your decision - but my wife's 1.2 turbo A1 has been doing 5 mile journeys it's entire life (60 plate and only just 40k miles) & it's in perfect nick according to the indy who services it.

That's fair enough.

I'm now tempted to spend less (£6-7k) on a car and put some money towards the house, so I've been considering ICE cars again.

The Mrs is just strict about having a lot of load capacity, so I've seen the 508 RXH, which she agrees looks nice.

I've also seen that it's XC60 territory, too.

Not too keen on the more common white goods stuff, like the Nissan Qashqai/Juke (although I might have been tempted by a pathfinder if they didn't have £500+ VED).

So yes, the remit has changed a little.

BigTrak79

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111 months

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Wednesday 7th November 2018

V40 d4