Car hunting nightmare

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
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Wed 3 Feb 2016 21:46
Car hunting nightmare - cjdavies

Ok after many hours of searching, my criteria is/was:

5 door Hatchback
Maxmium £30 annual tax
Insurance group 12 and under
Luggage space with seats up above 288 litres
Age no older than 2011, will consider 2010(as budget is £5000)

I ended up narrowing it down to a range of Ford Fiestas 08 onwards, had about 16 trim models :-) or so I thought, a mate said about diseal being more expensive for me due to low milage. I searched and as I only do 5500 miles a year, maximum one way 15 mins on motorway once a week, this is not good :-(

Now the hard part, finding a petrol version of above is proving difficult, especially for tax bands and luggage space.

The brands I am mostly looking at (unless anyone says avoid):
Citroen
Fiat
Ford
Nissan
Renault
Suzuki
Vauxhall
Volvo


Not sure if I am ranting or asking for help on suggestions.

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Wed 3 Feb 2016 23:09
Car hunting nightmare - bathtub tom

Why have you not included Toyota?

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Wed 3 Feb 2016 23:17
Car hunting nightmare - Avant

I agree - add Toyota (Yaris or Auris depending on the size you need) to the list, and also the Skoda Fabia which is a little bigger then most superminis.

If the Fiesta is the right size for you, there must be lots of petrol ones available both on Autotrader and in you local press.

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Wed 3 Feb 2016 23:32
Car hunting nightmare - RobJP

Hyundai i20 is a possibility too.

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Thu 4 Feb 2016 05:24
Car hunting nightmare - oldroverboy.

Hyundai i20 is a possibility too.

And its cousin Kia Rio 1.2 . £30 a tear group 9 excellent mpg yuo'll get a current model too for that 2009 on 2010/10 reg and above.

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Thu 4 Feb 2016 09:41
Car hunting nightmare - slkfanboy

A Hyundia would have little/no warrany which is the main attaction of them, I had one as a second car and it rusted badly so I would not be keen. Kia samething but you would have a 2-3 warranty.

I am not sure what pumps your friend goes to but I see diesel at mine cheaper than pertrol and if you want lower tax band a diesel is a better bet.

A 60 plate ford festia 1.4 diesel with around 60k on the clock can be had for under 5K and would seam the best option considering the constraints you put on your list.

Before the DPF boys start their rant, you need to consider your daily use. If you do loads of short journeys with no exented driving then diesel not a good idea. On the other hand if you do at least a 30min daily drive or regular long runs you will be fine. I've not seen many issue with this engine being posted.

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Thu 4 Feb 2016 11:39
Car hunting nightmare - Bromptonaut

The OP's description of his usage - 5.5k miles pa and 15mins m/way - would say petrol to me, and I'm a diesel fan usually.

My other thought is that £30pa road tax may limit choice unduly. Even if you go up to band E (£130) the difference of £2 a week is tiny compared with other cost - particularly depreciation.

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Thu 4 Feb 2016 12:19
Car hunting nightmare - RT

At that low mileage, a bigger engined car might be better value - remember that depreciation is by far the biggest part of car ownership, followed by fuel costs - VED is a minor part of it.

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If you cover no more than 100 miles per day and have easy access to a charging point at home or work, then an EV is ideal for you.

Is an electric car right for me?