What car - up to 8k

[funkyrobot]

Hello all.

After 7 months of horrendous Vauxhall ownership, i'm after a different vehicle. My 05 1.9 CDTI Astra is depressing me so much that i'm ready to chop it in and change it for something else.

To cut a long story short, my trusty old Bora was written off by an uninsured foreign national in January. As I need a car for work I had to hurry up and find a new one. At that time I was still a diesel lover and managed to find the 'gem' of a Vauxhall I have now. I picked it up in early March and since then it has been back at the dealership five times! Thank god I demanded an extended warranty as part of the deal. Otherwise I would have had to pay for the SIM chip replacement, the DMF failure, the boot breaking and the current problem i'm having with the suspension/gearbox that has arisen since the DMF was replaced.

So, today, i've decided that I want to change it for something else before it explodes or before I drive it off a cliff. The car has done 73k and is a high specced 1.9CDTI 120 (with part leather seats).

My requirements are as follows:

• Budget is up to 8k (would be nice to get something below that) and depends what trade in value I have on the Astra.
• I'm not bothered about diesel anymore, a petrol will be fine.
• I'd like something with some 'go'. A weedy 1.4 won't do. I know I have a diesel car now (so am probably not the best to judge a nippy car) but with the turbo the 1.9 isn't a slouch (based on what i'm used to).
• I'm 6ft 4in tall with back issues so can't really have a 2 seat sports car. However, I don't have kids and the only other driver would be my fiancee.
• I would like a decent warranty with the vehicle as I seem to be a bit jinxed with cars lately (tried a snotter after the Bora which went wrong within 2 weeks!). I know this isn't important to some. but it is to me.
• A hatch would be fine and due to where I park it would be useful to get something of a similar size to the Astra.
• I don't mind buying off a main dealer. Yes, the Astra was from a main VX dealer, but the Bora was too and it lasted me 5 years without any major problems. Or should I really be 'brave' and look at independent dealers?

I've been looking at Mazda 3's and Seat Leons. Looks like I can get a Mazda 2.0 Sport for about 7k. Seat Leons seem to fall into the price bracket too and would be a good size car for me. I've looked at Golfs but they are quite expensive. Looked at Hondas too but they don't really do anything for me.

So it's over to the PH masses. Does anyone have any good advice about which cars I should look at? I will say at this point that I should maybe hold onto the Astra until the warranty runs out in March 2011, but I really do hate the thing!

Finally, I have been wondering about buying new or nearly new and using a finance option. However, i'm trying to put together a deposit for a house so I don't really want a long term finance agreemtent to pay off.

Thanks all and sorry for the long post!

[HellDiver]

I went from an 06 Astra 1.9-150 Design (kept it 8 months myself, hated it from day one, spent a fortune on mods in the hope I'd grow to like it), chopped it in for a Vectra SRi that blew up, changed that to a 2WD Lancer which I also hated, and ended up with a grotty old '05 Mondeo 1.8 LX. The old Mondeo is the best car out of the 4, I've had it 6 months and still loving it.

So, with that in mind, I'd say you should check out a Focus if you want to stick to an Astra sized car. I'm fond of the 1.8 Duratec - I've mine remapped (yes, really) and it makes a huge difference. Really likes to rev now, and goes better than the same age 2 litre Mondeos we have at work.

The Mazda 3 is basically a Japanised Focus, so it's probably a good bet. Mazda seem to make good reliable cars, my folks have an '04 Mazda 2 (the Mazda version of the Ford Fusion) and they've had zero issues.

Edited by HellDiver on Friday 10th September 11:54

[funkyrobot]

HellDiver said:

I went from an 06 Astra 1.9-150 Design (kept it 8 months myself, hated it from day one, spent a fortune on mods in the hope I'd grow to like it), chopped it in for a Vectra SRi that blew up, changed that to a 2WD Lancer which I also hated, and ended up with a grotty old '05 Mondeo 1.8 LX. The old Mondeo is the best car out of the 4, I've had it 6 months and still loving it.

So, with that in mind, I'd say you should check out a Focus if you want to stick to an Astra sized car. I'm fond of the 1.8 Duratec - I've mine remapped (yes, really) and it makes a huge difference. Really likes to rev now, and goes better than the same age 2 litre Mondeos we have at work.

Thanks Hell. I haven't really looked at a Focus yet but I would probably go for one. I've been on Ford's website and tried to pick up listings for used ones but they only seem to have newer models! Will definitely take a look though. It seems the car I have bought isn't great when you consider you had problems too.

[funkyrobot]

HellDiver said:

I went from an 06 Astra 1.9-150 Design (kept it 8 months myself, hated it from day one, spent a fortune on mods in the hope I'd grow to like it), chopped it in for a Vectra SRi that blew up, changed that to a 2WD Lancer which I also hated, and ended up with a grotty old '05 Mondeo 1.8 LX. The old Mondeo is the best car out of the 4, I've had it 6 months and still loving it.

So, with that in mind, I'd say you should check out a Focus if you want to stick to an Astra sized car. I'm fond of the 1.8 Duratec - I've mine remapped (yes, really) and it makes a huge difference. Really likes to rev now, and goes better than the same age 2 litre Mondeos we have at work.

The Mazda 3 is basically a Japanised Focus, so it's probably a good bet. Mazda seem to make good reliable cars, my folks have an '04 Mazda 2 (the Mazda version of the Ford Fusion) and they've had zero issues.

Edited by HellDiver on Friday 10th September 11:54

Have been scouring the net for some Mazda 3's today. They seem like nice cars. I've been looking at the 2.0i sport ones, but the MPS looks nice

[T84]

I'm in the market for a similar car, I think being on PH sometimes makes it harder to choose a car like this

If it helps I'm interested in these cars:

Honda Accord
Ford Mondeo
Ford Focus
Mazda 6
Mazda 3
Seat Leon
Skoda Octavia
Skoda Fabia

[funkyrobot]

T84 said:

I'm in the market for a similar car, I think being on PH sometimes makes it harder to choose a car like this

If it helps I'm interested in these cars:

Honda Accord
Ford Mondeo
Ford Focus
Mazda 6
Mazda 3
Seat Leon
Skoda Octavia
Skoda Fabia

Just about the same list as me . The only one I would drop from that list would be the Fabia as I drove one and it seemed a bit too small for me. I fitted into the car ok but I think it's just a little on the small side. Saying that though, the car will mainly be for me only so I could go for one.

Yes, reading PH makes it incredibly difficult (but helpful) to find a car. I'm a bit annoyed about the Astra to be honest because I didn't realise that it would be so troublesome. I just hope I can get a good trade in value as i'm really scared that I've lost thousands of pounds over the last few months.

Good luck with your search anyway, i'll keep you posted on how mine goes. Mazda 3's do look nice at the moment though, going to look at some tomorrow .

[raw1981]

This one would be good for dealing with uninsured drivers.

http://www.russianmilitary.co.uk/details.php?id=19...

[Rob_F]

I've heard a few mixed reports about reliability on the Mazda3, otherwise it does seem like a good buy. From driving quite a few of this class of car as hire cars i'd have to say that the Focus always stands out as the best drivers car by some margin.

Cheers,
Rob

[chrisispringles]

Audi A4 2.5 TDi: http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1833367.htm

E46 BMW 330d: http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1954713.htm

E90 BMW 320d: http: //www.pistonheads.com/sales/1899547.htm

Ford Mondeo ST TDCi: http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1997736.htm

Honda Accord i-CTDi: http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2048363.htm

Jaguar X-type 2.2d: http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1990183.htm

Mercedes C270 CDi: http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1978063.htm

Volvo S60 D5: http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1897256.htm

Hope that helped!

[R4PID]

Late toyota corolla t sport. Nearly 200bhp. Bomb proof reliability. 43mpg combined. Plenty of change left from 8k.

[robsco]

I've driven a couple of Mazda3s, including the 2.0 Sport. In all honesty, I wasn't massively impressed. The engine is punchy and eager enough, but I didn't like the gearbox, the interior plastics or the looks. I suppose the latter 2 are subjective so they don't really bear any weight, it just never really did anything for me.

With your budget I'd be inclined to look towards a late Alfa 147. I had a 1.6 Twin Spark and absolutely loved its responsiveness and enthusiasm, made a fantastic noise as well. Reliability worries are seriously over-hyped, mine was fine with the exception of a few minor niggles. They look the part both inside and out too.

The biggest bonus of course, is that the depreciation is very steep, meaning your 8k budget should get you a very clean example.

[Wadeski]

i drove an Octavia with the 1.8 Tsi and was really surprised at how good it was. 6 speed manual, very good mpg and decent poke.

[Steameh]

Civic Type-R might be worth a drive.

[GreatGranny]

I would have said E46 330d but you could also go for a new shape Jetta considering you liked the Bora so much. You can pick up a low mileage one for well within your budget.
The S60 has superb seats, may be good for your back. The D5 engine is excellent.

[funkyrobot]

Thanks all.

Been out today in a Mazda 3 sport, quite like it. Have found a 57 plate black one with only 13k on the clock! This is from a main dealer so if I decide i'm going to buy it i'll obviously run some checks on the mileage etc. One i drove today is of a similar age and had 20k on the clock (that one had a sunroof!).

Dealer salesman seems a bit of an ass, but i'm after the vehicle not a new friend.

So it looks like i'm binning the Astra for a Mazda 3. Never thought I would buy a Mazda but the car seemed ok today (and they will give me the greatest trade in on my vehicle).

Anyone else owned or owns a 3, anyone know of any problems with them?

Thanks again all.

[T84]

Is it derv or petrol?

I'm tempted by Diesel because of insurance