What car? £15k budget - Page 1 - Car Buying

Slipfan18

Original Poster

6 posts

111 months

[report]

[news]

Friday 29th August

Hello, long time lurker here, asking for some help from the PH hive mind!

Currently have a Mini Cooper S F56. It's been a brilliant little car for the time we've had it, however it's just too small.

I'd like something with a bit more power, that's also a nice place to be, with a decent level of reliability as it's our only car.

Budget is roughly £15k, can stretch a grand or so for the right car.

Only other hard requirements are:
-Not sky high mileage
-Automatic
-5 door

-F30 330i
-Seat Leon Cupra
-Audi Q5 (prev gen, reliability/repair concerns on this though?)

We have a baby on the way (will be our first) so if anyone has experience of the above cars with a child and does/doesn't recommend them, please let me know!

Thanks in advance, really appreciate any suggestions.

Slipfan18

Original Poster

6 posts

111 months

[report]

[news]

Friday 29th August

Should also add, one of my other concerns is "nickability". I've taken the recommended precautions at home but I worry about how it'd affect my partner if someone was to break in, so would like to avoid anything extremely favourable to thieves (ruled out an S3 for this reason)

I do realise the Cupra shares the EA888 engine with the S3, but in my mind it's less desirable, could be entirely wrong!

Magnum 475

3,853 posts

149 months

[report]

[news]

Saturday

F30 330i I hear you say….

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

Main failures on these:

- “Oil Filter Housing”, which is actually an oil:water heat exchanger unique to the 30i engines. Made of plastic, and might last 2 - 3 years. Dumps all the coolant when it fails.

- Steering rack knock. Well known, repair kits are available. But BMW don’t seem to want to acknowledge that it’s a fault.

Good cars, when they’re not broken.

Slipfan18

Original Poster

6 posts

111 months

[report]

[news]

Saturday

Haha I have read your thread already! I was almost dead set on a 330i before reading it, so it actually prompted me to make this thread, thank you.

Frustrating there's no revised component on offer for the oil filter housing.

ChrisH72

2,617 posts

69 months

[report]

[news]

Saturday

When baby comes the last thing you'll be interested in is power/speed/handling.

There's a reason that the best family cars these days are SUVs. You'll value space and comfort and the higher ride makes lifting new burns in and out easier on the back. But I get that we all resist this kind of change!

A swift estate would work well as a compromise. They are quite cool and have the space for all the stuff you will need to cart around.

3 series estate is a solid choice but quite pricey as they're popular. I like the Octy Vrs as it does what's required but is still under the radar.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2025081153...

Magnum 475

3,853 posts

149 months

[report]

[news]

Saturday

Slipfan18 said:

Haha I have read your thread already! I was almost dead set on a 330i before reading it, so it actually prompted me to make this thread, thank you.

Frustrating there's no revised component on offer for the oil filter housing.

Glad to know it’s helpful. That was the only BMW I’ve ever had issues with. Mrs Magnum’s 220i Active Tourer has been good, although with 80k miles on the clock it’s starting to use oil - about 1 litre every 4k miles or so. That’s a lower-output version of the same B48 engine, but the oil filter housing on the low output B48 doesn’t include the heat exchanger - it’s just a housing.

ZX10R NIN

29,413 posts

142 months

[report]

[news]

Saturday

RichFN2

4,005 posts

196 months

[report]

[news]

Saturday

Slipfan18 said:

Should also add, one of my other concerns is "nickability". I've taken the recommended precautions at home but I worry about how it'd affect my partner if someone was to break in, so would like to avoid anything extremely favourable to thieves (ruled out an S3 for this reason)

I do realise the Cupra shares the EA888 engine with the S3, but in my mind it's less desirable, could be entirely wrong!

I have a late 2019 Leon Cupra and they make for a great Q car, most people have no idea and yes they are less of a theft risk compared to an S3 or Golf R. However they are not immune (what hot hatch is these days) Once moving they have a the edge over the above due to the weight advantage so I would avoid any with the LUX pack as that includes keyless entry.

I would also strongly recommend you have a good look around one in the front, back and boot before committing to one. It will be bigger than your current car but that Golf,A3 & Leon platform did not grow in size when compared to the Focus or Civic. I can comfortably fit 4 average sized adults in mine, and its been used twice for airport runs for 3 of us with 3 medium suitcases and hand luggage but that completely filled the boot with the parcel shelf removed.

The very low profile tyres on the 19's are noisy on the motorway, otherwise its a great everyday hot hatch that's comfortable and discreet.

colin79666

2,081 posts

130 months

[report]

[news]

Saturday

Another vote for the Lexus IS 300h to be on your shortlist. Usually very reliable and if dealer serviced they have warranty up to 10 years. Not rocket ship performance (and a bit noisy if floored) but never slow and very refined when cruising.

Slipfan18

Original Poster

6 posts

111 months

[report]

[news]

Sunday

ZX10R NIN said:

The Jaguar looks interesting. Sent me down a rabbit hole with those now! They seem great value for the performance/mileage. Engine is shared across the F Type and F pace and other than a few common issues, seem fairly reliable?

~£5k difference between one of these and the equivalent 340i/S4.. is there something I'm missing?!

ZX10R NIN

29,413 posts

142 months

[report]

[news]

Sunday

No the badge is the main reason these are a good buy I'd consider one.

Fully leftfield

Ghibli:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202507194...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202505052...

chocolatefingers5000

59 posts

51 months

[report]

[news]

Monday

Slipfan18 said:

Hello, long time lurker here, asking for some help from the PH hive mind!

Currently have a Mini Cooper S F56. It's been a brilliant little car for the time we've had it, however it's just too small.

I'd like something with a bit more power, that's also a nice place to be, with a decent level of reliability as it's our only car.

Budget is roughly £15k, can stretch a grand or so for the right car.

Only other hard requirements are:
-Not sky high mileage
-Automatic
-5 door

-F30 330i
-Seat Leon Cupra
-Audi Q5 (prev gen, reliability/repair concerns on this though?)

We have a baby on the way (will be our first) so if anyone has experience of the above cars with a child and does/doesn't recommend them, please let me know!

Thanks in advance, really appreciate any suggestions.

I have baby on the way and an F30 (saloon) 2016 320d- it's enough space (just) for bassinet and pram & ancillaries but would recommend a touring over saloon for ease of boot space