my daughter is changing her polo 1.2 on 53 plate with 27500 miles. She is considering a pre reg seat 1.2 or 1.4 tdi, would you think this is a wise buy, or would you stick with vw, which has been a reliable to date .
Prices on the seat... £7650 & £8488 including met. paint, allowing £3300 for the polo, would these figures be reasonable.
Please advise of any alternatives to the seat, her budget is £8500.
Many thanks...gavin
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Which SEAT is your daughter looking at? I assume it's the Ibiza?
If so, SEAT is part of the VW group and the Ibiza (I think) still has the old chassis of the Polo so there would be relatively little difference overall between the Ibiza and the Polo she currently has.
In terms of getting a diesel over a petrol - if I have understood you correctly - it depends on the mileage your daughter is likely to do but I would think a relatively low powered petrol engine would still offer the economy she requires as diesel's are usually more expensive initially and the fuel carries a premium which offsets some of the mpg benefits.
If it were me, I'd stick with the Polo she has if it meets her needs and spend the money on something else - she's paying approx £5k for effectively the same car she already has (albeit newer).
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This begs the question - why is she changing the Polo? It has already depreciated heavily, an extra year won't affect it's value too much.
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You'll be familiar with the engine but I think the one in the SEAT may be higher power. My oldest daughter has a 54 reg Ibiza 1.2S and I really don't like the engine at slow speeds (judders like there's an engine mount missing) but at speed it's quite nice. Economy isn't very good - struggles to do 40MPG and I've seen lots of complaints about that elswhere. SEAT handling is supposed to be more sporty than VW. It's developed quite a lot of rattles. I recently drove a new 1.4 (petrol) Sport Ibiza and the 4cyl engine transformed the car.
As for alternatives, just helped our other daughter buy a Mitsubishi Colt. The 1.1 is also a 3 cyl engine, but seems fine. It's available for under £7000 in 3 door form. We got a 5 door (which I think loses some of the body rigidity) with a/c for £7500. Seems a lot of car for the money - the 5 door is very similar looking to the Jazz, and rides much better, although it lacks the Honda's build quality feel (but is £3500 cheaper). Only snag so far is the gear change is a bit baulky, which I've since learned is common on Mitsubishi's, although daughter is fine with it.
Jumping up a bit in price, the other car we seriously looked at was Toyota Yaris - the Zinc special edition looks relatively good value as it gives you the 1.3 engine, met paint, alloys & lots of airbags (my wife liked those) all included in the price.
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In my opinion she may as well keep the Polo. It's not an old car and has done a low mileage so unless she is really bored with it there doesn't seem to be anything to gain on spending up to £5k on something that's going to be fairly similar.
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Since she's spending her own money, I would recommend neither. The Polo is a better investment, and the SEAT is arguably an inferior car, though it really is the same under the skin. The 1.2 would be a pointless change, and so if it had to be an Ibiza, I'd recommend the tdi. Also bear in mind the Ibiza is likely to be replaced within the next couple of years.
Alternatives I would consider are the Jazz (amazing reliability, space and residuals), Clio III (outstounding interior quality, styling, engines - diesel and petrol), and Fiat Grande Punto (styling, space, equipment, value). If she wanted new, the Grande Punto MultiJet gets a rave review from HJ on here, and she may be able to get one within her budget, haggle and a Jazz might come in new too. The Clio III would probably (to get a 1.4/1.5 dci) need to be a year old or so, look at car supermarkets, if interested.
Hope this helps.
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Having just got £3400 for an 02 reg Fiesta, the p/x value seems a bit mean. If I hadn't just bought a Getz, I'd have snapped your hand off for that price.
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Have to agree with the comments regarding the need for a change. My daughter would get the advice to kkep the Polo. at the mileage it has done it's hardly run in. should be good for another five years. Why spend thousands for a new car that will be worth £3k in another three years?
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many thanks for the informative advice, will have a look at th Mitsubishi and the fiat punto.
Keep believing............
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