Dad Needs a car....

[SlowStig]

Greetings! Yes, this is another "what car" thread but with a twist! This time, its not the person buying but thier son asking for suggestions due to me being sick and tired of having to take thier dad out looking for a car.

The requirements are simple, 50mpg+, "sporty", LOW milage(sub 20k) and a budget of 8k. Dad needs a car to commute to work every day which is 28 miles either way so 56 every day which he currently is doing in his 206 HDi but he is getting rid of that due to the 112k miles on it. The current cars which he has looked at and is considering is:

-Megane CC (mid-life crisis)
-C4 HDi VTR
-Hyundai i20
-Ford C-max
-Pug 207 CC
-Pug 308

Any suggestions and/or feedback from owners or in the case of the Megane/207cc parners....

[jamoor]

You won't get a sporty car with 50mpg.

I am not sure what you mean by "sporty" does that mean a convertible?

[SlowStig]

Something which is a bit more fun to drive than his current 206 i think. He drove my tomcat yesterday and was throwing it round some of the twisties near home with a grin on his face so I am guessing thats what he means!

[SlowStig]

Cmon guys, did the "50mpg" scare some of you guys off?

[t955daytona]

Maybe try a 1 series diesel, 118d might be slightly above budget unless you get one with a few more miles on it.

[Wing Commander]

http://pistonheads.com/sales/1652962.htm

When I had mine, I averaged 48mpg in the 2 years of ownership, with a lead foot.

Edited by Wing Commander on Monday 19th April 20:27

[Beyond Rational]

Why a C Max and not a 'proper' Focus?

[Somnophore]

Fabia Vrs
Ibiza FR tdi
Ibiza Cupra tdi
Leon cupra tdi
Golf GT tdi

[DanGPR]

The thing is, with under 20k on the clock, you aren't going to be able to get anything that was worth much from new.
50mpg obviously means a diesel, and if he would allow cars with higher milage, say, 70k (which is absolutely nothing for a modern diesel car), he would find a lot more options.

I would rather have a BMW 320D with 70k on it, than a C4 disel with 20k , any day of the week...

[petrolveins]

Somnophore said:

Fabia Vrs
Ibiza FR tdi
Ibiza Cupra tdi
Leon cupra tdi
Golf GT tdi

What he said

[SlowStig]

Well he is quite set in his ways(otherwise known as getting old) and doesnt like BMW's. He did look at a smart but it didn't give him enough space inside and he wants some form of rear seats incase he needs to take more than himself and mum in the car.

[MondeoMan1981]

SlowStig said:

his 206 HDi but he is getting rid of that due to the 112k miles on it.

Any suggestions

Give the 206 a service and keep going.

There are plenty owners out there on the forums with Hdi's over 200k (206/307).

Sure I read of one with 235k on the clock, cambelt changed at 144k, and other than servicing and an injector, he's not spent anything else.

[Roan]

SlowStig said:

Greetings! Yes, this is another "what car" thread but with a twist! This time, its not the person buying but thier son asking for suggestions due to me being sick and tired of having to take thier dad out looking for a car.

The requirements are simple, 50mpg+, "sporty", LOW milage(sub 20k) and a budget of 8k. Dad needs a car to commute to work every day which is 28 miles either way so 56 every day which he currently is doing in his 206 HDi but he is getting rid of that due to the 112k miles on it. The current cars which he has looked at and is considering is:

-Megane CC (mid-life crisis)
-C4 HDi VTR
-Hyundai i20
-Ford C-max
-Pug 207 CC
-Pug 308

Any suggestions and/or feedback from owners or in the case of the Megane/207cc parners....

I don't know where to begin really. 50mpg and "sporty" are mutually exclusive qualities in my opinion. Is 50mpg really a necessity for someone doing 12k miles per year? If the 50mpg requirement is to save money on fuel, surely keeping the 206 is the best financial decision. If the only "problem" is the mileage (?) why get rid? The sub 20k mileage requirement for the new car is odd since it rules out anything remotely worth buying. The list of cars under consideration consist of probably the most bland, badly made and dynamically impotent cars ever made (although I haven't driven the i20 and I'm therefore only guessing it isn't great).

Get him out in some German metal - a nice E46 320d or Octavia VRS TDi if he absolutely must have a diesel. Better still, an E39 530i SE - my dad has just bought a 2002MY with 73k miles, 12 month warranty for £5000. Drives and looks like new. The £3k saved will offset the extra fuel used for about the next 10 years...

[300bhp/ton]

SlowStig said:

Greetings! Yes, this is another "what car" thread but with a twist! This time, its not the person buying but thier son asking for suggestions due to me being sick and tired of having to take thier dad out looking for a car.

The requirements are simple, 50mpg+, "sporty", LOW milage(sub 20k) and a budget of 8k. Dad needs a car to commute to work every day which is 28 miles either way so 56 every day which he currently is doing in his 206 HDi but he is getting rid of that due to the 112k miles on it. The current cars which he has looked at and is considering is:

-Megane CC (mid-life crisis)
-C4 HDi VTR
-Hyundai i20
-Ford C-max
-Pug 207 CC
-Pug 308

Any suggestions and/or feedback from owners or in the case of the Megane/207cc parners....

how are any of those even close to sporty??

[shaun442k]

SlowStig said:

Greetings! Yes, this is another "what car" thread but with a twist! This time, its not the person buying but thier son asking for suggestions due to me being sick and tired of having to take thier dad out looking for a car.

The requirements are simple, 50mpg+, "sporty", LOW milage(sub 20k) and a budget of 8k. Dad needs a car to commute to work every day which is 28 miles either way so 56 every day which he currently is doing in his 206 HDi but he is getting rid of that due to the 112k miles on it. The current cars which he has looked at and is considering is:

-Megane CC (mid-life crisis)
-C4 HDi VTR
-Hyundai i20
-Ford C-max
-Pug 207 CC
-Pug 308

Any suggestions and/or feedback from owners or in the case of the Megane/207cc parners....

My 206 HDi has 150k miles on it. Still going perfectly well. Has he thought about a remap for it? Not a particularly sporty car I know... That would leave enough change for an elise for the weekend.

[10JH]

Sporty means different things to different people.

My old economics teacher referred to his new Beetle as a sports car.

[SlowStig]

Dad is closing on 60 so his idea of sporty isn't quite how you guys would tag something. I am trying him with an x-type derv as thats where he works but I just dont think that he is wanting something too big and he wants something as new as he physically can. the reason why he isn't keeping the 206 is that its got a knock to the engine which has been narrowed down to either sticking hydrolic tappets or the big end and it needs other jobs doing on it.



Plus its in the worst green colour in the world.

[Somnophore]

10JH said:

Sporty means different things to different people.

My old economics teacher referred to his new Beetle as a sports car.

was it a V5 one? Not sporty but nippy and makes a good noise.

[shaun442k]

SlowStig said:

Dad is closing on 60 so his idea of sporty isn't quite how you guys would tag something. I am trying him with an x-type derv as thats where he works but I just dont think that he is wanting something too big and he wants something as new as he physically can. the reason why he isn't keeping the 206 is that its got a knock to the engine which has been narrowed down to either sticking hydrolic tappets or the big end and it needs other jobs doing on it.

Knock or tapping? Getting louder? Mine had that at 110k- fairly common fault is the crankshaft pulley. Only cost me £100 inc labour to fix.

[anonymous-user]

serious suggestion: smart roadster (could probably get a brabus coupe for that much)