Hello - I'd really welcome some opinions on my 'next car dilemma'. For the first time in my life I have a bit of cash and I'm looking to replace our current car - a SEAT Cordoba 1.8 GLX.
Budget is up to £6k. I want something reasonably fast which seats wife + 2 kids comfortably and has decent luggage space. Would love a few luxury extras, primarily leather seats! We only do about 8k miles/year, 3k around town the rest touring/social. Looking for a car that we will keep for 5 or 6 years so long term cost/reliability is a concern.
We've been really happy with current car and my head says get another SEAT. Either a Leon or Toledo, probably 1.9 diesel, with as low mileage as possible and drive it until it starts to get 'tired' like our current car has..
My heart though would love an Alfa - 156 saloon or sportwagon.
Any views on the pros and cons - and suggestions for other cars (quite like the Saab 9-3 but reliability issues put me off) would be very welcome.
cheers
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Not really much to add to be honest other than to ask, do you really need a diesel? I think they only really become viable at 15-20k miles a year.
Might be worth going petrol if you want a bit of fun.
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do you really need a diesel?
As a car gets older then the price difference between buying a petrol and diesel narrows. This then also means the viable mileage comes down as well. I only do about 8000 miles a year with my diesel and the reason I bought it was solely because I wanted a diesel. If you are planning to keep a car for a number of years then a diesel engine should last longer than a petrol. The only different things that might need doing are new glow plugs and cleaning the injectors, but you do not need sparkplugs!
My advice is try a few cars and see what you like, though I must agree an Alfa would be stylish and fun. I currently drive a Fiat and have had no reliabilty problems in the past couple of years.
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Roger
I read frequently, but only post when I have something useful to say.
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If you like the Seat what about a Leon Cupra Turbo, fast, good to drive, not too thirsty. IMO the 1.9 diesels are not too refined.
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Mondeo Td...
Sorry, I'll get my coat..
Kevin...
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I'm very happy with my Toledo 1.9TDi SE (03 plate)
You'll get a fairly new TDi within your budget, yes the engine is the old 110 lump but its reliable, not too agricultural and with reasonable performance (feels much quicker than a 1.8 petrol toledo).
The downside? Huge boot but rear legroom poor for the size of car (probably no worse than your Cordoba though).
The SE is also loaded with some of the toys you crave: Cruise, climate, alloys, 4 electric windows, 6 cd changer etc. However, it doesn't have leather. You'd have to get a 2.3 V5 to get that!
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Thanks for replies - Cupra certainly tempting - there seem to be quite a few about @ reasonable price. Probably easiest to sell to my other half too (as long as it's not a bright yellow one!) I like the Toledo and it makes practical sense - we'd probably need a roof box for camping trips in a Leon - but wife not keen on Toledo looks, too frumpy looking from behind (and it is 10cm longer than our drive - Leon is 10cm shorter!)
2 further questions if I may - what are some of the the pros and cons of buying an older car with low mileage vs newer higher mileage car? I'm thinking that on one hand at 80k a lot of wearable stuff will have been replaced and at 50K it's all still to come - but on the other hand surely lower mileage, logically, should be best.
and is no-one going to try and convince me that an Alfa isn't necessarily a money pit that will break my heart?!
I'm going to have a play with a 156 at the weekend because I've discovered a work colleagues husband has one and lives close by.
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"and is no-one going to try and convince me that an Alfa isn't necessarily a money pit that will break my heart?!"
The Alfa is a money pit and will break your heart.
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How old are the children? There is not much room in the back of the Alfa unless they are still small.
I reckon if you drive the Alfa, you will fall in love with it. They are getting better, the only real problem now are the dealers. If you can find a good independant dealer and the car is out of warranty, you will be able to run it cheaper than you think.
Last thing, if you buy an Alfa and it has alloys, replace the locking wheel nuts. Mine got seized on and took hours and several broken tools to remove.
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