Hi All, I've been reading the site for a while and now I need some advice!
I start a new job next month and for the first time in nine years I won't have a company car. I've got around £7000 to spend and I'm looking for a diesel estate, I hope to change it in a year or so once I've worked out how the finances are going.
So far I'm thinking of:
Audi A4 Avant - I've seen some with high mileage (130,000 / 03 plate), does anyone know if they go on much futher?
Mazda 6 - I've currently got an 07 plate and it's okay
Saab - 9-5
Volvo - either V40 or V70
Also, I've been to cargiant and some of the cars there look interesting - does anyone have experience or buying from them?
Any thoughts would be appreciated!
Thanks, Matt
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i went to cargiant looking for a4 estaes and volvos etc but all were tatty and megamiles so i left with a c5 estate deisel in excellent condition with fsh and 70k miles less than 3yrs old for 4750. im really pleased with it and i also like the buying process there, very refreshing
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Hi Matt,
I bought a car from Cargiant. It was a 54 reg toyota corolla t spirit 2.0l diesel fully loaded with leather, 6 stack CD, climate, autowipers, towbar, fitted mats, boot liner etc and with a mere 10770 miles on the clock for £9k. The front tyres were well down and I replaced them at 12.5k.The only thing is it did not have a service history and had probably not been serviced. However it has now got 23k on the clock, six months later, and performs very well. I reckon the price i paid was around 1k less than I would have had to pay elsewhere and I have been very pleased with the car. I found Cargiant to have an enormous range of cars, largely leggy ex company stock, and were very professional in the way they dealt with me. You have to be consistent in refusing the extra breakdown cover they try and flog you, and the looks of amazement and surprise when you say no. Then a lot of mucking about as a suit needs to override the system, an excuse to keep flogging their insurance as far I could see. The car goes through a "144 point safety check", which in my case did not include checking the tyre pressures, and dont expect them to clean it up either. So what you see is what you get. What I did was to check their website regularly having decided what I wanted and when it came up immediately went down there and bought it on the spot. Personally I would be less than keen to buy something with 130k on the clock, and had a preference for something relatively new, lower mileage and reputation for reliability and economy. The toyota does it for me on my 114.2 round trip commute, which thank goodness i dont have to do every day.
MGs
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You seem to be looking at 'prestige' models but with a budget of £7K you are finding tired or leggy examples. If you are going to be using the car for work and are looking to replace it after 12 months, don't you want a more pragmatic choice that will suffer little depreciation in such a period? It may require a shift in taste but I would be thinking reliability, running costs and resale value.
Mondeo rings a bell at this price.
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Skoda Octavia estate - the PD diesels are excellent, and the prices aren't too bad.
VW Passat estate - the 'better' badge, if thats what you are interested in, slightly larger than the Octavia
As the owner of a 112K 2004 Golf diesel, I can vouch for these engines. Just had my service and nothing other than routine needed doing (Except for 2 tyres, which is fine by me at £70/corner)
I drive 40K a year and plan on keeping the Golf for a couple of years....
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Can't comment on anything other than the 9-5 - the old technology 2.2TiD fitted to the 9-5 from 2001 to 2006 is the most reliable engine in the range, and £7k should get you a relatively new example (2004) if you look in the right places. And the 9-5 is a lot roomier than the A4, both for passengers and carrying capacity.
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does anyone have experience or buying from them?
I bought SWMBO's CLK cab there 18 months ago. High miles for the age, and some reasonable previous body repairs, but one Lease Co. owner and full MBSH. It was cheaper than elsewhere at the time, but I don't think they are as competitive as they once were.
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Thanks everyone, I'm gong to test drive a Mazda 6 TS and Saab 2.2 TiD Linear tomorrow - I've reset my expectations of what I can afford! SWMBO mentioned that maybe an Audi was a bit out of range.
Matt
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Matt, not sure how much homework you've done, but the Linear is the base model - still has a reasonable set of kit however as they all have alloys, climate control etc. The Arc is the next one up, then the Vector (I think the Arc was dropped round about 2002-3 - I'm embarrassed that I don't know...). The point is, you probably won't pay much more for a higher-spec model.
If you want to get a flavour of the Saab, go to www. saabscene.com and a few judicious searches will provide loads of info.
HTH
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Thanks for all the advice - I'm going to test drive (hopefully!) a 9-5 Vector TiD 3.0 on Saturday so that might be the one.
One other question, the dealer mentions Autoprotect Warranty - I'm guessing extra. Is this something worth getting, or would I be better off saving up for the anticipated repairs?
Thanks, Matt
PS Just trying the saabscene site but they won't accept hotmail accounts to sign up!
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If I were you, I'd get myself a 5-year-old high-mileage Mondeo for peanuts. Compared to your 7k budget you will then be able to afford any problem that may (but probably won't)arise.
The fact that you plan to change your car within the next 12 months suggests to me that you should buy something cheap otherwise the depreciation hit will be seriously painful.
I'd guess that your 7k Cargiant car will provide you with 3k when you come to trade it in next year.
In terms of warranties, these companies make their money by selling you cheap cars with expensive finance and expensive warranties.
Where are you getting your car loan from?
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I've thought about mondeo's - but my wife hated the focus I used to drive so that's a non starter!
The Saab is from a local dealer, not car giant - was put off by my visit last weekend - so I'll see how it goes this weekend. Never realised car buying was such a difficult job!
I got the loan from a suggestion on my favourite money site - moneysavingexpert.com (hope I can name on this forum!) at a reasonable 6.3% so not too bad.
Matt
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The following is meant in absolutely the nicest possible way, Spinning Lad. I was being a bit naughty in finding out whether you had a car loan. It's absolutely up to you how you run your life. But if I were in your position I would not be borrowing money to buy the car.
You can't really afford to run the car - which is why you need the loan. You're starting a new job, in which you have no job security; you might be out on your ear next week. You're pretty much on the breadline in that you haven't even got 7k spare cash. If you do lose your new job, then you are stuck with an expensive car, possibly negative equity and a problem.
I don't think that your wife can afford to say that she doesn't like a Mondeo. It's only a car, for goodness sake. And in fact you can afford a fully loaded, high-spec reasonably young car.
12 months hence, reevaluate.
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re mapmaker
it's so refreshing to see genuine concern for a fellow forumite (im not being sarcastic)
very risky buying the car for 7k as it will only be 2.5k in 18 months.
buy a nice mondeo for 2k and put the rest of the loan in an account for just in case in the next 12 months and then if you dont need the cash you can repay it towards the loan.
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You're pretty much on the breadline in that you haven't even got 7k spare cash.
I wholeheartedly agree with the general sentiment of your post Mapmaker, but I wouldn't define being on the breadline as not being able to lay your hands on 7 grand. That puts a heck of a lot of people in this country on the breadline, myself included.
Cheers
DP
--
04 Grand Scenic 1.9 dCi Dynamique
00 Mondeo 1.8TD LX
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>>That puts a heck of a lot of people in this country on the breadline, myself included.
Yup, me too. If you ever read those financial advice columns in the papers they recommend you have six months' net salary in cash for unforseen events. 7k is nothing.
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n terms of warranties, these companies make their money by selling you cheap cars with expensive finance and expensive warranties.
when i bought a car from cargiant last week they wanted 520 for the warranty but when i declined it was offered again at 300 which i declined and they offered it for 220, which i took and checking the small print it cover what i need it to.
worth haggling very hard on the extras as they wont move on the basic price of the car
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I also agree with Mapmaker, unfortunately numbers plates and car marque badges are so important in ones lifes these days,lets hope spinning lad stands back and reapraises, i was once sacked after 8 weeks because the company i was working for had an unsaleable product but i only found this out one week into the job, i spent the next 7 trying to work out what my future was when the call came,thankfully only my pride was damaged
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Can I ask the same question but at £3-4000?
My excellent 2005 Golf Estate has just been written off in an accident and I want to replace it with something similar sized but cheap.
I thought of Astra, Focua, Octavia all as diesel estates. Don't care about image but want reasonable reliability.
Any suggestions? Would an older TD4 Freelander as an alternative be completely insane?
Any other ideas welcome!
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