What (boring) £6k Car? New C1 vs 08 Ibiza vs 06 Golf

[va1o]

Got £6k to spend on a commuting car. Was originally set on going back to VW and buying a 4-year old Golf (probably a 1.6 FSI Match) but the worry of expensive repairs (particularly ESP failure) is putting me of and for that money it would be a high mileage example at a independent garage.

I then discovered that the new shape Ibizas have started to come down in price and £6k-ish is enough to pick up a 2008 1.4 SE from a dealer, which looks on paper like it offers a good blend of performance, economy and equipment and would still have a year of warranty to run.

But, following on from this thread I'm now starting to think I might be better of just buying a new car, and at under £6k the Citroen C1 VT is cracking value for money and with 60mpg+ and £20 RFL will cost pennies to run. Also have the benefit of a full manufactures warranty. Only problem is other than an ipod socket it has basically no equipment, certainly won't have cruise control like the ibiza and golf. Although I liked the 107 I drove last year I'm not so sure its up to a daily motorway commute.

So the question is which should I buy? Open to other suggestions, I'm also considering the new shape Fiesta, MINI R56 and Fiat 500, used of course. I'm looking to buy sometime between now and April (not sure whether prices are going to go up or down in the new year) and I will be keeping the car for 18 - 24 months.

ETA - And yes I realise the 3-cars in the title are not really meant to compete with each other nor are they in the same class! All they have in common is there £6k hatchbacks, which is what I want.

Edited by va1o on Friday 24th December 02:00

[anonymous-user]

How far is the commute? The C1 sounds like a plan as it has the warranty and won't need an MOT for 3 years.

[va1o]

MSTRBKR said:

How far is the commute?

Its about 30-40 miles each way depending on the route I go

[anonymous-user]

va1o said:

MSTRBKR said:

How far is the commute?

Its about 30-40 miles each way depending on the route I go

The C1 would be fine for me in that case at 30 miles each way on the motorway.

[C2james]

Have you considered a citroen C2 next to a C1, the 1.6 diesel is ment to be quite good.

[va1o]

C2james said:

Have you considered a citroen C2 next to a C1, the 1.6 diesel is ment to be quite good.

Yeah I thought about the C2 but there don't seem to be that many 1.6 HDIs out there, and for that money it would have to be a couple of years old. The engine is excellent though.

[C2james]

What about a code, there's a few around as it is a vts but has a nice leather interior.

[Richard-G]

vote for the 500 for me, the gf got a great deal on one, great economy, cheap rfl, good on a cruise, comfy, good image. Panda gets you more for less and has an honest charm that will grow on you

[greggy50]

If after a C1 mate is selling his in red 6 months old (10 Plate) only has like 1,200 miles on clock. After a fairly quick sale and will be priced well as he got the car very cheap to begin with as his brother works for citroen.
PM me if want his detail's

[DaveL86]

minimum of 60 miles each day communing? lets say you work 5 days a week for 48 weeks of the year? that's nearly 15k a year... I'd personally be looking more at the diesel market.

My suggestion would be a Skoda Fabia 1.4TDi, you can easily get a 57/58 plate with less than 30k on the clock, the 80hp version will get upto 70mpg (claimed) since you are looking to spend 6k anyway the saving in fuel compared to the other choices can only be a bonus.

[Sir HC]

Fabia VRS? Good on fuel, good to drive.

[va1o]

Haven't ruled diesel out just petrol cars tend to be cheaper to buy, insure and maintain compared to the equiv diesel in my experience

[dave9]

what about a saxo VTS in mint nick for about £2500 they are fun!

[DaveL86]

va1o said:

Haven't ruled diesel out just petrol cars tend to be cheaper to buy, insure and maintain compared to the equiv diesel in my experience

Maintainace costs are less than petrol in my experience, if you're running a diesel for 15k+ a year you will probably be on a variable service regime meaning a longer time between services, servicing cost has always been cheaper for me compared to the equivalent petrol servicing cost (no spark plugs so cost is reduced)

As for cheaper to buy? if your aim is to spend 6k then a £6000 petrol car is no more expensive nor cheaper than a £6000 diesel car

The Fabia I mentioned is £30 RFL and group three insurance which is cheap as chips.

[va1o]

Had a look at the SEAT and Citroen today. Came to the conclusion that the C1 is just cheap and nasty plus the dealer was awful so I've completely gone of that idea. Ibiza seemed OK but none really in my price range at the dealer I went to. Think I'll wait a few more months and see what comes up as I'm in no rush. Thanks for the suggestions anyway. Will consider the Fabia and C2 Code but somehow I don't think I'm going to buy a Saxo VTS

[AlpineWhite]

Sir HC said:

Fabia VRS? Good on fuel, good to drive.

That was my choice twelve months ago. Bought an '06 on 80k for £5800. Done 22k miles since then, it's had the following done:

2x service
Glow plugs
EGR pipe (my fault - bent it whilst cleaning the EGR valve)
1x rear wheel bearing
6x tyres (turns out Toyo T1-R is very soft... now have a pair of Contis on the front and using up the Toyos at the back. To be fair the rear tyres are still pretty meaty.)
Geometry
Radiator (stone chip, could happen to any car)

All in all, not bad. My commute is 27 miles each way. In the summer the computer read 58-60mpg average, down around 51-52 at the moment however.

Edited by AlpineWhite on Monday 27th December 13:36