Hello all, I'm here to pick your brains and take advantage of your collective wisdom as I choose a new car.
There's a baby on the way in a couple of months, so my Prelude has to be replaced with something with four doors and a lot more luggage space.
Originally I was looking at estates, but now we're putting off getting a dog for at least a year, so have been considering saloons also.
We only drive about 5-7k miles per year, mostly running around the suburbs, M-ways and Scottish/Welsh country roads. Priorities are comfort, reliability and handling. In roughly equal measure. Prefer petrol to diesel. Prefer manual to auto.
I'd favour Japanese, Ford or possibly BMW. Wife quite short, so needs to be able to reach pedals.
Here are the cars I've "narrowed" it down to, but I'm in a bit of a bind. Please furnish me with your experiences of the vehicles in question - and also suggest any possible alternatives.
This is roughly the order I'm ranking them in at the moment...
1. Ford Mondeo V6 2.5 Ghia saloon or estate - (mk3?) probably '99 - '02
2. Mitsubishi Galant 2.5 V6 estate or saloon - '99 - '00
3. Nissan Primera 2.0 saloon - late old model, '00ish
4. BMW 520 or 523 saloon, '98-'99
5. Subaru Legacy estate
Thanks in advance, never been disappointed by quality of response on this site before!
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i'll be the first to help - the 5 series saloons rarely come with the option to fold the rear seats down. may not be wise...
been there - and still doing it!
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Thanks for that, 5 series is now off the list. Can't risk not being able to fit my bike in the boot if necessary.
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Coincidently I was in the same predicament just a month ago and I've bought a Mondeo 2.0TDCi Estate, which has exceeded all my expectations. It's quick, refined and great to drive with a huge boot and plenty of space inside.
It's an 04 with 81k miles (feels more like 31k!) and I paid £3700 +£250 fee through www.auctioncarbuyer.co.uk
It's my first Ford (I've owned Audis, BMWs, Volvos and Saabs before) and I would say that the quality is as good as the Volvo and much better than the Saab, but only just behind the BMW and Audi.
I know that you would prefer a petrol to a diesel, but the way dear Gordon is going at the moment you might be facing a £450+ vehicle tax bill each year and £2/litre fuel costs. I know diesel is more expensive, but I get just over 50mpg out of my Mondeo...
Anyway, good luck with the search and let us know what you go for in the end.
R
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Nice to hear good things about the Mondeo, I'm certainly not a badge snob - but I've still found it difficult to get over the hurdle of that "Mondeo man" stereotype.
Sounds like I'll be bang on target for my money anyway.
Was looking at saloon but now tempted to get estate with a view to keeping it for a few years - and avoiding depreciation hit when I sell to get something dog-friendly.
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Hi there - As a commited Mondeo ( estate ) Man. I'm on my fourth now. I can highly recommend them. Good to drive, tons of room , cheap to run and mine have been as reliable as Swiss watches. Oh, and despite my fears to the contrary, all my friends still speak to me and my wife says she still finds me attractive ! Only downside will be wondering what to do with all the money you will have saved by not buying something posher !
;-)
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I see the top two cars are not exactly slow nor terribly economical so how about this for a possible alternative?
Peugeot 406 3.0ltr V6 (saloon or estate) £3k should get you an 02 with relatively low miles on, I'm possibly biased as I own a diesel one but for the money you won't get better comfort. Handling is in my opinion fairly good for the size of car, although agreeably not Mondeo good. (Trade off with comfort I suppose)
Reliabillity is I suppose the only questionable matter. Personally my HDi has been pretty good, although you hear of people who have number of problems with them. I think its a case of picking a good one, easy to say I know :-)
Anyway just another car for you to consider. My opinion is biased but I think you get a lot of car for the money.
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Thanks for the suggestion Whisky, but you're right - the reliability question would put me off.
I'd worry that the combination of all those bells and whistles and French build quality would be an expensive proposition. I hope that's not too prejudiced.
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Did you like your Prelude? If so, it's worth putting a Honda Accord on to the list; also the Skoda Octavia - you'd get a newer one than with some of those on your list.
If you've already discounted these, then the Mondeo sounds a good idea, not least because there will be more to choose from. Either of the V6s will be a lot more fun to drive than the Primera.
That said, at £3k you're better off not setting your heart on a particular car and going for something that's been looked after (not necesarily with low mileage). For example, DP on this forum knows a lot about cars and has gone for a 100,000 mile Volvo S60 which has been well looked after and is giving him a lot of pleasure.
Edited by Avant on 30/06/2008 at 23:35
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I do like the Prelude a lot, and looked at the Accord, but I think the old model has aged rapidly and the new one is out of my price range at the moment.
The car after this will probably be the new Accord tourer.
Unfortunately, I just don't like the shape of the Skoda, and have a vague dislike of all VAG cars. Completely unjustified I know, but we all have our foibles.
I could spend a little more now if I needed to, but the way I'm looking at it is that I don't drive a lot - so the more I spend, the more each mile will cost me due to depreciation.
I'd maybe be losing £1k a year, and only driving 5k miles.
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How about an MG ZT-T?
£3K will get you an 02/52 plate at least with the 2.5V6. They are pretty good as far as modern estate cars go in terms of load space and access etc.
The 190 V6 engine sounds great and is fairly efficient on fuel as long as your right foot isnt too heavy - not sure about tax though as it will likely be in the higher band
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I think you're way over budget for the age of car you're looking at. £500 will buy you an Audi A6 2.8 quattro estate of late 90s vintage (for a car that cost, what, 30-40k when new). Let alone a Mondeo or Vectra.
Don't get a BMW, they have a poor reputation on here, being heavy and expensive on consumables.
3k should get you a 5-year-old car provided you don't want a Jag or a BMW or a MB.
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That's an interesting comment. I've not been following car prices for a year or so and I've taken my estimates from Autotrader - where I know people often ask ambitious prices.
I should have clarified that £3k was the top of my budget, I was going to spend £1k on the Primera, £1.5-1.8k on the Galant.
However, it now looks like the Mondeo is pulling out in front - so what price/year/condition should I be looking at for a Mondeo 2.5 Ghia V6 estate/saloon/hatchback?
Can I get away with £2.5k for an '01 or '02?
Also, there's the prospect that my father-in-law's company Audi A6 2.0 diesel estate could come up for sale at a reasonable price, would anybody care to give me a ballpark figure for an 02 model, dark blue, cream leather, auto I think, needs £1k work the garage has said.
I'd discounted it because I prefer petrol and think Audi estates carry a bit of baggage (no pun intended), but he's a very level-headed guy and rates it highly so perhaps I shoudl reconsider.
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eBay is a good place to assess prices. Some people are very wary of eBay, but it is no different to any other way of buying a car - turn up, check it works as described, pay the agreed cash and drive it away. Many people sell there having tried to get a high price on Autotrader for a few weeks, then give up and put it on with no reserve. Equally, a trader with a complete dog may put it on there with no reserve - but you could just as easily buy it from his drive...
My view is that 3k is too much and not enough to spend on a car. Sub £1k, and you can sell it back on eBay if something horrid goes wrong. Spend 3k, and you may be faced with a 2k bill.
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?f=2&t=64...3
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Just looked that MG up, it's a very handsome car.
Might check out the reliability and put it in the mix.
Edited by chakaping on 01/07/2008 at 11:15
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>>Just looked that MG up, it's a very handsome car.
Might check out the reliability and put it in the mix.
If you go for the V6 you wont have any problems with the engines as they are very reliable. Probably best to avoid the 1.8 turbo (160) though. Plenty of KV6 engines have done 200K+ miles with no troubles. Only thing to watch out for is the cambelts need doing every 90K or 6 years I think and there are three of them so makes it an expensive job. MGR tested them to 150K with no problems but it would take a brave person to risk it!
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No one here has commented on your Subaru suggestion- so I will. Car of the age you are thinking of are very reliable with a known record as good workhorses beloved by farmers. They are also enjoyable drivers cars, although the downside is that with 4WD they are not as economical as alternative FWD cars.
As I see it, you have the options of 'prestige' cars that are older, but may cost more if something goes wrong or a Mondeo type car which will be newer and probably cheaper to repair if there is a fault. Experience on this site is that unless you have a Japanese car, all European cars have faults which can cost money.
Given your mileage, I would avoid diesels and thirsty petrols (such as your 3.0 V6 Mondeo) and look at 2.0 petrols which are certainly powerful enough for your needs.
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Acquaint your self with the forthcoming road tax changes, a 2.5 litre Estate could end up costing you over £400 a year ! Better to go for an X-reg or Earlier.
VED Rates in 2010-11
Band A (up to 100g/km CO2) no fee
Band B (101-110g/km CO2) £20
Band C (111-120g/km CO2) £35
Band D (121-130g/km CO2) £95
Band E (131-140g/km CO2) £115
Band F (141- 150g/km CO2)£125
Band G (151 to 160g/km CO2) £155
Band H (161 to 170g/km CO2) £180
Band I (171 to 180g/km CO2) £210
Band J (181 to 200g/km CO2) £270
Band K (201 to 225g/km CO2) £310
Band L (226 to 255g/km CO2) £430
Band M (Over 255g/km CO2) £455
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