What to buy?

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
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Sat 27 Mar 2010 18:24
What to buy? - johnnyrev

Have a budget of around 14-15k, got to be a petrol because I mainly do short journeys. Need enough space for family and dog, and fancy something a bit different. Am considering New Doblo, Honda Insight.

Other half likes VW Touran and Hyundai i30, but they are a bit dull.

Any ideas?

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Sat 27 Mar 2010 20:45
What to buy? - b308

So thats 4 totally different cars!

Not sure how we can reccommend a car without knowing what your requirements are... and with the ones you've listed so far i don't think you know yourself! ;-)

Try putting down on paper what you both want from a car and then try to narrow it down to a concrete set of requirements and then start looking!

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Sat 27 Mar 2010 22:06
What to buy? - Avant

Good advice from b308, but I'm sympathetic: I know a bit about cars but I can understand what this sort of confusion feels like when buying a new computer.

It's the old story - you need it to be practical yet you want it to be fun. Me too - that's why I have a Skoda Octavia vRS - basically a VW Golf GTI with a bigger, more practical body.

Within your budget you could have a newish vRS or even a new 1.8T which will be more economical for your short journeys. You can have it as a very roomy hatchback or even more roomy estate.

In your other thread you were going for a Fiat Doblo - I haven't tried one but although it looks 'different' would it be different enough to drive?

'Johnnyrev' doing short journeys - are you a priest? I'm a church organist so probably beyond redemption....

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Sun 28 Mar 2010 13:58
What to buy? - johnnyrev

Yes I am a C0fE priest, hence the short journeys! The parish isnt very big.

I am tempted by a petrol Doblo as I currently have a diesel one, but the multijet is no use for short journeys and I anticipate problems sooner rather than later with the DPF.

I love the space and practicality of the Doblo, not bothered about speed or sporty handling. Am concerned about mpg, running costs, reliability, practicality and longevity.

I also like to have something a little different, hence the current Doblo.

A colleague has a civic hybrid and gets on well with it. I have had several fiats (X-19, Panda, Regatta, Seicento) but maybe now is the time for a more 'quality' product!

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Sun 28 Mar 2010 14:11
What to buy? - Avant

I should have added the Toyota Prius to the list of suggestions: you could pick up a newish one (previous shape) within budget. I think they're better to drive than the Civic hybrid.

Quite a few bishops are driving hybrids so you'll be in good company!

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Sun 28 Mar 2010 17:46
What to buy? - Sofa Spud

QUOTE: ....""Other half likes VW Touran and Hyundai i30, but they are a bit dull. ""

We recently bought a secondhand VW Touran 1.9 TDI and it doesn't strike me as dull.

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Sun 28 Mar 2010 23:08
What to buy? - LikedDrivingOnce

>> I'm a church organist so probably beyond redemption

Do you do that voluntary?

Err, I'll get my coat . . . . . .

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Wed 31 Mar 2010 18:55
What to buy? - johnnyrev

So anyway....

Had a look at Touran, and was quite impressed but too expensive for our budget really.

Had a drive of the Insight, really nice to drive but suffers from similar thing many modern cars do, in that it has a huge windscreen at a steep angle so its like looking through a letterbox. And you cant see out the back. And my wife didnt fit in the back. The dealer wouldnt budge much on the price either.

Had a look at Ceed also. Nearly fell into a coma. Dealer wouldnt offer a decent deal either.

So drove the new Doblo and was nice, better than our current Doblo. Plus cheap (13k for top of range, Insight and Ceed we looked at were bottom of range) and 0% finance. Our 3 year old wanted to take the one in the showroom home!

So buying a Doblo!

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