Help on new car please, looking for experience...

[trackdaynova]

now that our bundle of joy has landed (10days early)

we're on the hunt for a new car for my wife now we've sold the 172

in our budget, of £4.6k... the 'musts' are:

> 5 door
> Diesel
> Less than 7 years old
> Moderate mileage
> Hatch preferred, but not a must must

Spotted a VAUXHALL ASTRA 1.7 CDTi 16V Club 5dr Diesel but have no experience of MK5 Astras, so wouldn't know of common problems.

Other considered alternatives are:
SEAT LEON TDI
SEAT ALTEA TDI
VW GOLF MK4 (MK5 out of our price range)
PUG 307
RENAULT MEGANE DEIERRE
FORD FOCUS

Larger possibles are:
FORD MONDEO
VAUXHALL VECTRA
VAUXHALL SIGNUM

Any experience/ avoids/ recommendations are welcome

Thanks

[mowgli]

my mate has an altea, he loves it.. apparently i recommended it to him when i was pissed one night....

tourans are ace, but a bit pricy..

tbh, you don't need a huge car for just one little one. once yon missus realises that you can pack really light to take a baby in the car.

[saloonwoody]

astra ok but look for afm bein fooked .
seat's seem ok as is the golf (pretty much the same car )
the 307's get abs probs.
megane's like coil packs and front springs.
mondeo's seem to eat starters which is the dual mass.
and the vec's and sig's seem pretty good :)

hope this helps lol


WOOP WOOP 2K POSTS LOL

[peester]

the bigger cars are probably going to be cheaper than the smaller, more preferred cars (signum/vectra cheaper than astra) a 1.9cdti vectra c as late and hi spec as poss. is prob best deal.

[Hayley]

I've had 3 Seats (2 Ibiza's and 1 Leon, one of which being a 1.9 TDI) and I never had a problem with any of them. I would happily recommend one

[trackdaynova]

thanks for the replies so far :) Signums look quite funky, hadn't looked closely at them before.

Luke - you're right about mega big car, its more for the pushchair & wheels etc lol

[Nobby]

mate it would have to be a VW or Audi cant beat them for mpg performance, reliabulty etc

[Lee]

The mondeo is a very very good car. Its just the dealers you need to avoid.

[trackdaynova]

So you'd recommend me buying it from someone private? as opposed to trader?

Thing with VW's, they hold their value, so for our kinda money, it either has to be slightly older, or with 150k+ miles on it :(

[Lee]

Yeah, and for that money I would imagine you'd get a really good condition high spec one, as opposed to an equivilent priced German for example.

Really cant fault them, hate to say it but Ford really know how to build a car these days.

[bazil]

anything with euro ncap 5 stars:thumb:

put your kid first not you:)

[scott.parker]

If i was buying a "new" car in that price range it would either be a Vectra hatch,or another passat (but i would buy estate) as the saloon boot opening is too small for getting stuff in.

Glad the little one's come along OK mate.

Scott

[g111mds]

i'd go audi or vw diesel. We've had both passat, audi a4 and Audi a6 tdi estates and they have been great family buses. Reasonable performance, good economy and most importantly good safety for the family. With buggies and everything else to cart about, the estate is an excellent option.

Jamie

[Nobby]

Yeah, and for that money I would imagine you'd get a really good condition high spec one, as opposed to an equivilent priced German for example.

Really cant fault them, hate to say it but Ford really know how to build a car these days.

i agree with the mondeo its alot of car for the money but i dont like the change the injector lark at 60k :confused:

[srs1]

i'd go with what scott said.

passat estate, driven one before and my thoughts are they are really good on fuel, feel safe (doors seem high) and plenty of room.

if for something smaller, i have always fancied the leon tdi, hold there value well too. went looking for one a year or so back and they were hard to find at dealers.

[nathan.]

Many congratulations to you and your wife.

We had our First last October, Its great!

As for cars, we have a 2005 Astra sri, very practical and not too big. Pushchair and everything fits in the boot fine. Only downside with ours is its a 1.8 petrol, would've prefered a diesel.

:thumb: Nath

[Bubba]

what about something like a bora tdi or an A4

[trackdaynova]

Thanks Nath :) congrats to on your baby too - 5 months old now then eh? B or G? (PM me if don't want to discuss on public forum)

So is your Astra a MK4 then? do they still suffer from bad rust, arches etc, as we can't be doing with that again, had enough of it on Michelles Tigra.

Bubba - Bora is certainly a consideration dude!

Thinking about taking a walk around 'Available Car . com', as there are no sales people to bug you, all cars are unlocked, and we can take bambino around to check size, access to rear seats for car seat, boot space for pushchair etc, also its good to just sit in them sometimes, to check out the seating position!

[craig green]

Olly, just my advice, but trial a car with the littlun going into the back seat etc. Some 5 door cars are actually more hassle than a 3dr. My mates wife says its easier to put the baby into the back of the new Beetle than a Focus estate, as you cant lean in through a 5dr like you can a larger opening on a 3dr with the fr seat reclined....

[trackdaynova]

spot on advice CG :thumb: cheers bud! :)

[sr jack]

Olly, just my advice, but trial a car with the littlun going into the back seat etc. Some 5 door cars are actually more hassle than a 3dr. My mates wife says its easier to put the baby into the back of the new Beetle than a Focus estate, as you cant lean in through a 5dr like you can a larger opening on a 3dr with the fr seat reclined....

yes true, a few of my mates have a 5door leon and mk4 golf and they are soo bad for leg room, its actually easyier to get in the 3 door:tard:

[old skool jake]

congrats on the sprog :thumb:

was in a similar position last year and went for the honda accord ictdi. plenty room, very comfy, well spec'ed and only £125 a year on the tax.
looks the part with a few mod's and a proper honda built in japan no swindon

[nathan.]

Thanks Nath :) congrats to on your baby too - 5 months old now then eh? B or G? (PM me if don't want to discuss on public forum)

So is your Astra a MK4 then? do they still suffer from bad rust, arches etc, as we can't be doing with that again, had enough of it on Michelles Tigra.

Bubba - Bora is certainly a consideration dude!

Thinking about taking a walk around 'Available Car . com', as there are no sales people to bug you, all cars are unlocked, and we can take bambino around to check size, access to rear seats for car seat, boot space for pushchair etc, also its good to just sit in them sometimes, to check out the seating position!

Cheers mate, we had a boy, Charlie. 4 months now, goes soooooo quick. Hes just started giggling. :cool:

Our astra is a mk5 shape, no rust at all, really is a lovely motor.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v613/nathan1600/28062008089.jpg

[Sloth]

toyota avensis 2.2 d4d. these dont have issues with the accelerator pedal. if you find a t spirit or t4 model then loadsa toys. and they go like stink and can be chipped to 200bhp

[wwmnw]

Mate of mine has a Vectra estate 1.9 CDTI pulls spot on in every gear does loads of mpg and enough room in the boot for 5 bodies, fold the rear seats down and you could double that.

[Stuart]

Mondeo, focus, signum or astra Ftw :) Carly would love a signum, wonder if they have dropped to sensible prices now.

Carly thought we'd have a mare with the 3dr astra but its acutally pretty good, the only mild drawback is if you are in a carpark and someone kindly parks too close you have a real struggle (Or if you are a feck like me, just dent the car next to you for being an ass lol).

As said in the message, I'd never touch anything french again, and VAG cars (bar the A6 and A8) are all hideously uncomfortable. Would be careful looking at 7yr old Derv 3seriesseses as they have a habit of eating their turbos (ok if its been done already lol), lovely cars though.


Basically it all boils down to the buggy system you have which dictates the boot size. The futureproofness for car seats is mostly irrelevant as the Maxi Cosi Tobi fits vauxhalls like a glove so it fine for just about all other cars :)

[blue_peg_16v]

5dr astra is what we will be looking for later in the year when the baby comes along

[Mike]

Personally, id go for a Passat, Bora or Lexus IS.

EDIT: All the Diesel 1700 new age GMs suffer from the same old problems. Alternators & Fuel ECU's.

Alternators are £100 for a recon upto £350 for a new one!
Fuel ECU's are, as i found out, VERY expensive! Forget the exact figure but along the lines of £400++ then add the dreaded ontop of that.
Timing chains randomly snapping to, apparently thats not "so" common tho.

[craig green]

Olly knows there is only 1 car for him & the girls...

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c323/turbocraig/multipla.jpg

[Franny]

My family fun bus is a 05 ASTRA 1.8 Design Estate. cannot fault it, plenty of room, 1/2 leather, aircon, auto lights/wipers,autodimming rear mirror etc etc all standard and it's safe.
I would recommend getting a diesel 1.9 not 1.7 wouldn`t pull you out of bed, plus you can add tuning box to 1.9 200bhp diesel fun bus!!:thumb:

Cheers

Colin

[Mike]

You can add a tunning box to the 1.7 an still rinse a Golf GTi/GTDi/Zetec S :)

Or you can just flash map which is far easier/cheaper.

[Pistol Pete]

I would consider a Leon or a Mondeo. Or perhaps the Signum. Golf/Focus boot will be small in comparison IMO. G/F brother has a Golf mk4, stick the pushchair in (Quinny Buzz) and thats it lol

Congratulations to you both BTW.

[trackdaynova]

Thanks for all the well wishes :)

As we need it to be 'cheap' to run, not just mpg on the diesel, but road tax aswell, insurance isn't ever really a problem.

The Signum we were looking at, was well within budget, but road tax was £215 a year, which is extorsionate (imo of course) so we've knocked that on the head.

Nath - love the look of your Astra, but I can only imagine its WAYYYY out of our budget...

Still looking at Passats & Boras at mo :d :)

Thanks once again for congrats & replies :)

[Bubba]

Bora tdi sport...remap and ur away (in a big puff of smog)

[Welsh Dan]

Late joiner here but another vote for the mondeo. My 130bhp 2.0 derv is around £140/year in tax. Low 40's mpg in town, mid 50's mpg on the motorway. Only the late mk3's have isofix as far as I know.

Known issues are the DMF as per any modern diesel, rear subframe bushes on the hatch and saloon. Injectors can be a problem if the filter isnt changed according to schedule and crap fuel is used. One of the boost pipes can split, its the one feeding the EGR which is on the inlet manifold on the front of the engine. If you buy one over 100k check for a rumble from either end of the engine at idle, one end is the DMF, the other is the crank aux pulley/tensioner. There are 'lots' of reports of injector failures, but there are billions of mondeos on the road, most of them are diesel and no one signs up to post that their car is working fine lol.

Rear door apertures are massive, as is the boot. They all drive well, but the Zetec S, Titanium X and ST models have stiffer suspension. For your budget you should be able to pick a Ghia X up on a 54/05 plate, maybe newer if you look around. I've done around 20K in 18 months in mine. It had the known boost pipe replaced under warranty, then some rear brake pads. The only other issue I've had is the turbo/cat getting a bit clogged up due to lots of short journeys. The group over on www.fordmondeo.org are a lot like the group on here aswell ;). The 2.0 derv comes in 90 and 130bhp common rail flavours, plus 115bhp direct injection, but its the same engine block etc.. the 2.2 is 155bhp but has a torque limiter in 1st and 2nd until remapped ;).

The focus new and old are good, but the rear and boot are small. A friend of mine has a 2.0 ghia on an X plate, and I put 1000 miles on a new shape hire one whilst on holiday.

EDIT: Something you might have overlooked is the Freelander 1. The TD4 (beemer) engined ones aren't unreliable like the rest, they drive like a car and you don't have to bend down to reach the child seat in the back. Food for thought :).

[Ben]

I cant fault my mondeo tdci 130 2005, i have done nearly 40k miles on it and i bought it with a seized engine and free'd it up and it hasnt missed a beat, done the dmf and starter as i could it done cheaply as long as its serviced on the regular guidelines the mpg for performance is fantastic.

[Stuart]

Vauxh do seem to be a bit off the ball with the road tax lark

[mowgli]

freelanders drive like a mobile library & fall apart going up the road.

[JShannon]

My old man drives a 2.0 d mazda 6. 04/05 cant remember. It goes well and i think its good on the juice aswell. Lots of room inside (albeit an estate), and i think its pretty smart too.

Edit its 04!!

http://i975.photobucket.com/albums/ae235/Nova-Ace/media2.jpg

[Stuart]

freelanders drive like a mobile library & fall apart going up the road.

FL1 is BAD, FL2 is much much much better (but hold their price because of that)

[mowgli]

FL1 is BAD, FL2 is much much much better (but hold their price because of that)

but they drink fuel & cost loads to tax. and olly really doesn't need 4x4 down his road

[trackdaynova]

this link might not work, but does this look all in good order to most peeps?

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201005351523930/sort/pricedesc/usedcars/price-to/5000/maximum-age/up_to_5_years_old/price-from/4000/fuel-type/diesel/model/mondeo/make/ford/postcode/le98le/radius/20/page/1?previous=%2Fsearch%2Fused%2Fcars%2Fford%2Fmondeo %2Fpostcode%2Fle98le%2Fradius%2F20%2Fprice-to%2F5000%2Fmaximum-age%2Fup_to_5_years_old%2Fprice-from%2F4000%2Ffuel-type%2Fdiesel%2Fsort%2Fpricedesc%2Fpage%2F1&logcode=p

[trackdaynova]

this also appeals to us, but kinda put off by mileage @ averaging 25k a year

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201005351590286/sort/pricedesc/usedcars/engine-size-cars/2l_to_2-5l/maximum-age/up_to_5_years_old/price-to/5000/body-type/estate/fuel-type/diesel/price-from/4000/model/focus/make/ford/postcode/le98le/radius/40/page/1?previous=%2Fsearch%2Fused%2Fcars%2Fford%2Ffocus% 2Fpostcode%2Fle98le%2Fradius%2F40%2Fengine-size-cars%2F2l_to_2-5l%2Fmaximum-age%2Fup_to_5_years_old%2Fprice-to%2F5000%2Fbody-type%2Festate%2Ffuel-type%2Fdiesel%2Fprice-from%2F4000%2Fsort%2Fpricedesc%2Fpage%2F1&logcode=p

[Welsh Dan]

The mondeo looks good. Price looks about right. Its the same engine and gearbox as mine. First and second might be a bit stiff when its cold but a transmission fluid change fixes it in most cases.

Have a nose around here (http://www.fordmondeo.org/forum/showforum.php?fid/161/).

[Ash]

I recently sold my Leon Cupra as I have other plans now, but what a great car that was. Would highly recommend it over the golf. Better looking, better drive and don't hold the value that the golfs do. Also they share more with the A3 than the golf. My only grimp was the door cards were a tad flimsey. Saying that, I'd be suprised if you found a low mileage one under your budget thats under 7 years old (maybe thinking of the FR's/Cupra TDi's tho lol)

Oh and congrats BTW!

[Ben]

lol buy my mondeo Olly

[mowgli]

lol buy my mondeo Olly

did you ever bring your work home in it??????? ie. is it radioactive??

[scott.parker]

That Mondeo looks good mate, cant moan at the price range, but i would try to haggle.

Scott

[trackdaynova]

we bought our new car today, and opted for a 2005 55' Ford Focus Zetec 2.0 TDCi Climate (Euro 4), which basically means its cheap as hell road tax... large enough boot for us

Advertised @ £5.2k, bargained down to £4.6k, yeah man! it's silver, and have no pics lol

Thank you for all your opinions/ suggestions and experiences - muchoes appreciated! :)

I liked the Mondeo, but it is predominantly a car for Michelle as I have a company car, and she just said 'I cant see myself driving it' which is fair enough I suppose

[scott.parker]

Hatch or estate?

Sounds good though, i just wished id bought an estate passat lol, but medium size hatches are OK.

[trackdaynova]

we opted for hatch, i wouldn't have minded an estate personally, but Michelle wasn't keen... hmph

pics from ad:

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q161/neocapture/focus2.jpg

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q161/neocapture/focus9.jpg

[scott.parker]

Looks very nice mate

(god did i just say that about a focus! lol)

Must be getting old.

[Pistol Pete]

Good choice.

[trackdaynova]

needless to say its a heck of a lot cheaper for us to insure than the Clio 172 aswell, which is good news :)

[Mazz]

It will look even nicer -80mm and some 18's!

[mowgli]

just don't do what the numpty i met in hinckley did to his wifes focus..... he was pumping the tyres up on bond st. and was taking ages, as i was waiting, i said are they really low cos they are taking a while, 'yes, they say max pressure 51psi on the tyres & they were all around 28-30, so i've had to put loads in them'

[scott.parker]

just don't do what the numpty i met in hinckley did to his wifes focus..... he was pumping the tyres up on bond st. and was taking ages, as i was waiting, i said are they really low cos they are taking a while, 'yes, they say max pressure 51psi on the tyres & they were all around 28-30, so i've had to put loads in them'

PMSL lol

[trackdaynova]

lol lol lol

[Ben]

lmfao

Nice choice Olly.