Help me with a Car
Discussion
So the deal is that i live in London for 5 years and haven't needed a car. We had a baby last year and now that he is 18mo and with the whole pandemic situation and possibility of my mum coming to london for a 4-6 months later in the year I have decided its high time i get a car and at the least i can use it for shopping or for weekend outings.
In the past i have hired a car three times, twice from europcar (A Skoda Octavia Technology (really liked this car with a wife baby and mum in it and a Mercedes CLS or something bit cramped wasn't a fan). The car from Greenmotion was a Seat Leon which wasn't bad but i preferred the Skoda because of the adaptive cruise control. But I had a lot of issues with green motion and it has really put me off hiring a car in general.
So I am hesitant to lease a car but open to it but personally i don't mind buying a car as i do have money saved to purchase it outright.
In either case my insurance is going to be expensive 800 to nearly 1k a year since i never owned a car in london and i owned a motorcycle overseas and drove parents car. never had insurance for a car under my name.
I have a budget of 10-12k(i could go higher up to 15k if necessary or if i can get away with lower e.g. 5-6k that would be amazing) but i don't know if this is too much or too little for my scenario because i may have to sell within 1 year if i have to go back home for family reasons or if situation is better then I might be able to stay and keep the car longer than a year.
a. I am not obsessed with fast cars or new cars i.e. changing them every few years. I can keep a car for donkeys years if it runs fine :P
b. I really like the Skoda Octavia but i am also intrigued by the Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid for the fuel efficiency and features
c. I need a car with good safety for the baby, Android auto and Adaptive cruise to better navigate the streets and make journeys a bit easier
d. Update - automatic only as i cant drive manual
e. need to be ULEZ exempt as i live not to far from city and i think the area is within the low emissions zone.
f. ideally a hatchback but open to suggestion, something that can fit a baby buggy and bags when going for a trip
g. Lane keep assist which the Ioniq has is optional but intriguing.
I know people say VW Golf is really good and holds value but i also know that if i want a car if ACC and android auto its probably fairly new which means it will still depreciate a lot which makes sense.
If I buy a Ioniq or skoda for around 15k how much value would it loose in 1 year if i decide to sell it? is it better to try and find a 12 month lease instead?
Can I get away with a cheaper car thats half the price e.g. 5-6k? i dont really car about looks or performance I care more about convenience.
Note: I do have access to company lease cars but they are 24 months. some of the electric deals seem good due to BIK advantage but my apartment doesn't have a charger so id have to charge at a service station. Would be a bit annoying hence why i thought hybrid is good but obviously not much advantage to get via company.
In the past i have hired a car three times, twice from europcar (A Skoda Octavia Technology (really liked this car with a wife baby and mum in it and a Mercedes CLS or something bit cramped wasn't a fan). The car from Greenmotion was a Seat Leon which wasn't bad but i preferred the Skoda because of the adaptive cruise control. But I had a lot of issues with green motion and it has really put me off hiring a car in general.
So I am hesitant to lease a car but open to it but personally i don't mind buying a car as i do have money saved to purchase it outright.
In either case my insurance is going to be expensive 800 to nearly 1k a year since i never owned a car in london and i owned a motorcycle overseas and drove parents car. never had insurance for a car under my name.
I have a budget of 10-12k(i could go higher up to 15k if necessary or if i can get away with lower e.g. 5-6k that would be amazing) but i don't know if this is too much or too little for my scenario because i may have to sell within 1 year if i have to go back home for family reasons or if situation is better then I might be able to stay and keep the car longer than a year.
a. I am not obsessed with fast cars or new cars i.e. changing them every few years. I can keep a car for donkeys years if it runs fine :P
b. I really like the Skoda Octavia but i am also intrigued by the Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid for the fuel efficiency and features
c. I need a car with good safety for the baby, Android auto and Adaptive cruise to better navigate the streets and make journeys a bit easier
d. Update - automatic only as i cant drive manual
e. need to be ULEZ exempt as i live not to far from city and i think the area is within the low emissions zone.
f. ideally a hatchback but open to suggestion, something that can fit a baby buggy and bags when going for a trip
g. Lane keep assist which the Ioniq has is optional but intriguing.
I know people say VW Golf is really good and holds value but i also know that if i want a car if ACC and android auto its probably fairly new which means it will still depreciate a lot which makes sense.
If I buy a Ioniq or skoda for around 15k how much value would it loose in 1 year if i decide to sell it? is it better to try and find a 12 month lease instead?
Can I get away with a cheaper car thats half the price e.g. 5-6k? i dont really car about looks or performance I care more about convenience.
Note: I do have access to company lease cars but they are 24 months. some of the electric deals seem good due to BIK advantage but my apartment doesn't have a charger so id have to charge at a service station. Would be a bit annoying hence why i thought hybrid is good but obviously not much advantage to get via company.
Edited by infinityx on Thursday 23 July 11:15
If you've been here for a few years and haven't felt the need for a car to date, then it's probably fair to say you won't be doing crazy mileage. It will be less hassle to buy a car outright rather than lease if you're unsure how long you might remain in the UK for as you can always sell a car but handing one back partway through a lease isn't so straightforward. A Skoda Octavia would be a great family car with plenty of space, it's hard to say how much value it would lose but if you buy a 5 year old car privately then it should have already suffered the worst of its depreciation.
Thank Bumblebee yes that was also my line of thinking. its easier to offload a car by selling it. of course either way would cost a penny but cant worry about that right now i guess.
I forgot to mention i'm looking for automatic only as i have never driven manual hence my high budget because i'm finding automatics are more expensive.
Any disadvantage in getting a hybrid ioniq vs octavia?
I forgot to mention i'm looking for automatic only as i have never driven manual hence my high budget because i'm finding automatics are more expensive.
Any disadvantage in getting a hybrid ioniq vs octavia?
No experience of the Ioniq so can't comment either way, that being said unless you're going to be regularly driving it into the city i don't really see the point.
Here's another Octavia with an auto box that's even cheaper than the last one:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
Just have a look at a few cars you like and play with the filters, so I put in petrol and auto with 'adaptive cruise' in the search bar at the bottom.
As you don't know how long you'll be in the UK for I'd personally spend under £10k as there's plenty of good cars about and they won't depreciate as much as a newer, more expensive car. I'd be personally looking at Skoda, Ford and anything Japanese/Korean should be newish and reliable.
If you're mileage won't be too high (so that fuel price isn't as important) you could consider an older Lexus GS 300, you will get cruise control but it won't be adaptive. You'll get a nice one for £3-5k and they won't depreciate much. All petrol cars from 2004 will be ULEZ exempt, and you'll find that many even as far as 2000 will be exempt if you run through the online checker.
Here's another Octavia with an auto box that's even cheaper than the last one:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
Just have a look at a few cars you like and play with the filters, so I put in petrol and auto with 'adaptive cruise' in the search bar at the bottom.
As you don't know how long you'll be in the UK for I'd personally spend under £10k as there's plenty of good cars about and they won't depreciate as much as a newer, more expensive car. I'd be personally looking at Skoda, Ford and anything Japanese/Korean should be newish and reliable.
If you're mileage won't be too high (so that fuel price isn't as important) you could consider an older Lexus GS 300, you will get cruise control but it won't be adaptive. You'll get a nice one for £3-5k and they won't depreciate much. All petrol cars from 2004 will be ULEZ exempt, and you'll find that many even as far as 2000 will be exempt if you run through the online checker.
I know this is PH and you should have you r own car and be either driving it or underneath it each weekend, but have you considered the "Car club" rental model.
Living in London (and close to the city as you say) you might find one with points near to you.
Here's TFL's view on it and there are a few links on the right hand side of the page.
https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/car-clubs
Living in London (and close to the city as you say) you might find one with points near to you.
Here's TFL's view on it and there are a few links on the right hand side of the page.
https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/car-clubs
I'd say consider a Hybrid all will come with cruise, adaptive will depend on the car & whether it was spec'd or not:
Infiniti Q70 Premium Tech (Superb in size) comes with Adaptive lane assist etc
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
GS450h SE-L
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...
Mondeo Titanium HEV
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...
BMW 535 Active Hybrid
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...
Q50h as above but in an Octavia sized package
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
IS300 Luxury
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...
Infiniti Q70 Premium Tech (Superb in size) comes with Adaptive lane assist etc
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
GS450h SE-L
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...
Mondeo Titanium HEV
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...
BMW 535 Active Hybrid
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...
Q50h as above but in an Octavia sized package
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
IS300 Luxury
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...
Hello, thank you for all the suggestions. I have been passively looking on autotrader using the notification feature. im starting to lean towards sticking to an Octavia mainly because i have driven it before and did like it if not a little boring lol. but thats fine.
i found this car: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202008202...
its a little bit more expensive but it ticks all the boxes (adaptive cruise, lane assist, android auto, approved use with warranty). The only thing is that its a diesel.
My only other option is to go for a simple Octavia maybe before 6-7k without all the gadgets or with only adaptive cruise and bluetooth. i realized that I can always use a spare phone or tablet as my navigation using android auto and Bluetooth. But the problem i have is how do we know the cars we get of autotrader wont break down in a few months or turn out to be lemons. I don't have any experience with the UK car market/dealers.
do you think prices will drop as we get into winter?
i found this car: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202008202...
its a little bit more expensive but it ticks all the boxes (adaptive cruise, lane assist, android auto, approved use with warranty). The only thing is that its a diesel.
My only other option is to go for a simple Octavia maybe before 6-7k without all the gadgets or with only adaptive cruise and bluetooth. i realized that I can always use a spare phone or tablet as my navigation using android auto and Bluetooth. But the problem i have is how do we know the cars we get of autotrader wont break down in a few months or turn out to be lemons. I don't have any experience with the UK car market/dealers.
do you think prices will drop as we get into winter?
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