Reliable 2nd hand car advice :)

[lizzydripin]

Hi All,

I have been recommended to try on this board for advice on a reliable car for motorway driving. OH has just got a new job with a car allowance of £4500 a month, we will have some capital we could use towards the purchase from his redundancy payment.

Any thoughts please?

Many thanks
Lizzy

[staffordian]

If only!

Posts elsewhere suggest per year. Obviously wishful thinking

[ReformedCharacter]

Hi All,

I have been recommended to try on this board for advice on a reliable car for motorway driving. OH has just got a new job with a car allowance of £4500 a month, we will have some capital we could use towards the purchase from his redundancy payment.

Any thoughts please?

Many thanks
Lizzy

Have a look at Honest John's Reviews:

https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/

RC

[lizzydripin]

Haha in another life maybe, although not really my thing
That should have read £4500 pa,
Lizzy

[ten0rman]

I'll stick my neck out! And wait for it to be chopped off.

Over the years I've had A35 van, Moggy Minor, VW Beetle (old style), VW Variant (old style), two Maxis, Montego, Peugeot 405, Focus 1.8 diesel, and now a Toyota Avensis 1.8 petrol estate.

Of all these, the Toyota has so far been the most reliable, with possibly the Peugeot next, and then the Montego. Unfortunately, the Focus I had turned out to be a combination of Friday afternoon and Monday morning jobbie in that it was by far and away the worst car I've ever had. I accept I may well have been unlucky, but as a result I would not recommend any Ford to anyone now.

The Avensis is not the fastest car on the block, it is sluggish unless you drive it hard, but then the consumption suffers. For our purposes, bearing in mind we also tow a caravan, we achieve an overall figure of 38mpg over 58k miles: Toyota state something like 42 or 43 mpg on the combined cycle. As I said it's sluggish, but I have surprised a diesel owner who could not believe that I could be in 6th, and accelerating with 4 people up a slope at 45mph - his 1.9 VW turbo diesel would not do that. Running solo, we find that on the motorway, because it is very quiet, as soon as 70 is reached, the speed very quickly starts to drift up necessitating a good watch on the speedo to avoid getting well into the 80's.

So, my recommendation, if you can find one, would be a 1.8 petrol Avensis. Incidently, Honest John reckons that the 1.8petrol is 'better' than the diesels.

Good luck,

ten0rman

[tsr2]

Skoda Octavias are reliable enough to be used as taxis. I had a Mk1 Octavia vRS (petrol) and its only flaws were that it was easy to go too fast and I only got about 30 mpg. I believe there are more sensible version of the Octavia available.

I'm currently driving a Ford Grand C-Max and so far it's very reliable, but it's got less than 30,000 miles on the clock. I find it very comfortable. The high seating position might not suit everyone, but having quickly got used to it, I find it more comfortable than a Focus.

Someone recommended a Toyota Avensis. I have never had a Toyota, but my mother in laws elderly Corolla seems bullet proof.

[bungeejumper]

First, great news about the OH's job, Lizzy. Don't know if I'm allowed to refer to your posts in another forum, but it was clear that you/he were overdue for a bit of good luck. So really pleased for you.

£4,500 sounds like a decent allowance really, though I suppose it would depend on how much company driving that includes, and whether it puts up the insurance cost? I tend to budget £3,500 a year for the whole cost of running a car (assuming 10K a year and £1,000 a year depreciation, which is easily doable if you buy at 2-3 years and sell at 9-10 years).

I'd agree with everyone who's said that petrol engines have the edge on diesels these days, except for real motorway-burners. That's mostly to do with lower maintenance costs than diesels, but also because diesels may soon be charged excess congestion fees in several provincial towns. And I'd add that a mid-sized petrol engine (1.6 to 2.0) will be more capable and probably more reliable (for company mileage) than a 1.2 that sounds like it performs OK on paper but is actually flogging its little nuts off with its turbo working overdrive.

I'd also agree with the Toyota suggestions. Toyotas don't score many cred points in the executive car park, but as value for money they take a bit of beating. When I bought my Auris estate last year (18 months old, top spec model. 1.6 petrol, plenty of toys and acres of stowage space in the back) it cost me just under £10.5K, which wasn't bad considering that it still had three and a half years of the manufacturer's warranty still to run.

If it's something older that OH wants, I'd personally stay away from VWs, especially the diesels, because some of them have turned out to be a bit of a pig in a technological poke. (Audi, Seat and Skoda included.) S/H Mondeos are still good solid buys, but unfashionable; Insignias slightly less so, because they don't drive so well. And Peugeots - oh dear, I'd have liked to say something nice but my neighbour has had sooooo much trouble with her 2008.

You can often save a fair bit of money by buying an unpopular colour - the downside is that you've then got to drive the bugger. But if flame red floats OH's boat, it's sometimes a lot less expensive than boring old silver (like mine). I saw a Skoda Octavia petrol last year that very nearly turned my head!

BJ

[redsturgeon]

Probably need to know a bit more about the £4500 allowance before giving advice.

Is the allowance given as cash and to be used completely as you like or is the allowance only claimable against actual car expenses?

I assume the allowance quoted is gross therefore it would be sensible to consider the net of tax and NI figure, which may be more like £3000 pa.

Will the car be used for actual business use or just commuting?

John

[UncleIan]

You said in the other thread he was looking at a VW Golf diesel.

I'd avoid VW/Audi/Skoda/Seat/anyone else in the VAG companies diesels thanks to the emission scandal, as others have said, but my 1.4 petrol golf is fine, 5 years old now. Have done some long motorway journeys in it and it's comfy and quiet. I seem to arrive fairly fresh even if I've been in it for 2-3 hours. It's more than happy sitting at *ahem* 70 for miles and miles. I've owned it for 4 years and it's been, touch wood, trouble free.

If he's looking at that sort of size, ford focus is another possibility.

Most modern cars are pretty reliable. My past bad experiences put me off anything from Peugeot/Citroen.

[redsturgeon]

Probably need to know a bit more about the £4500 allowance before giving advice.

Is the allowance given as cash and to be used completely as you like or is the allowance only claimable against actual car expenses?

I assume the allowance quoted is gross therefore it would be sensible to consider the net of tax and NI figure, which may be more like £3000 pa.

Will the car be used for actual business use or just commuting?

John

Please ignore my questions, I see they have been addressed on the other thread. I can see now that this thread is just for the purpose of the choice of car and in reality it will be about £3000 net as an allowance and probably a mileage payment for business miles claimable.

I which case I'd second the thoughts regarding Japanese cars in general and Honda and Toyota in particular. Something like a two or three year old Avensis or Accord or Civic or Auris will do the job for years with no trouble.

John

[redsturgeon]

Big advantage of a two year old Toyota, still has three years factory warranty.

Actually that reminds me that a Kia might be an excellent choice also...with its 7 year warranty and perhaps pound for pound better value that a Japanese alternative.

John

[vrdiver]

If he's doing a lot of m/way mileage then the fuel economy will add up: e.g. for every 1,000 miles he drives, if fuel is £1.20 (assume it's going to go up, rather than down in price ) then an mpg of 30 will cost £181, whereas if he gets 40mpg, the cost drops to £136, and if he gets 50mpg, it goes to £109. His fuel claim will remain the same, regardless of mpg.

So, in my case I used to do 20 - 25,000 company miles a year. The mpg differences (I got just over 60mpg on motorways, compared to under 30mpg in my previous car) meant I saved £2k a year by choosing the "right" car. that's £2k with no tax liability, so a real £2k in the hand!

We all know the manufacturers' mpg specs are under test conditions and not real driving, but they're a good comparison for car vs car (but not for hybrids which assume short journeys on electric to boost their overall mpg!). A high mpg petrol engine that won't strain on the motorway (e.g. 1.4 or above, depending on the weight of the car; mrs VRD's 1.2L Corsa was fun for nipping around town, but a real pain over long distances and long hills) and a reliable manufacturer (VW, despite the diesel scandal) or Toyota etc, would be good. A car a couple of years old from a car supermarket, possibly checked out by the AA for peace of mind prior to purchase, and away you go.

[Slarti]

Another vote for a Toyota Avensis.

Preferably nearly new from a Toyota dealership.

Reliable, frugal, boring. Boring as in it does what it is supposed to and doesn't frighten me.
Only downside with mine is the push button parking brake. I don't like the concept and the button is badly positioned.

Slarti

[lizzydripin]

Hi,

Thank you for all the advice, I think OH is still pretty set on a VW Golf but I am hopping to have a look at the Toyota Auris as well, I think they represent slightly better value. He also prefers the idea of diesel, he has always had diesels. I think you do get a warranty with the 2nd hand VWs but not sure about Toyota

Might go and have a look over the weekend with any luck

Lizzy

[supremetwo]

Hi,
Thank you for all the advice, I think OH is still pretty set on a VW Golf but I am hopping to have a look at the Toyota Auris as well, I think they represent slightly better value. He also prefers the idea of diesel, he has always had diesels. I think you do get a warranty with the 2nd hand VWs but not sure about Toyota
Might go and have a look over the weekend with any luck
Lizzy

The newer VW Polos are almost as big as the Golfs.

Look for the Match model with a 1.4l petrol engine and the 7-speed-auto, twin-clutch gearbox.

A dream to drive in any sort of traffic with nearly-identical emissions to a manual (lower road tax) and excellent mpg.

[bionichamster]

I've been driving VAG (VW/AUDI/SEAT/Skoda) for over 20 years all diesels and they have on the whole been very reliable despite high mileage. I'm not familiar with the latest engines but certainly up until recently diesels had the edge in reliability and fuel economy. However the writing is on the wall now for them.

I concur with many other posters that in general for reliability most of the main Japanese marques are probably the way to go, Toyota, Mazda etc...

But if set on a Golf I'd agree that checking out the current Polo might be worthwhile.

BH

[bungeejumper]

He also prefers the idea of diesel, he has always had diesels. I think you do get a warranty with the 2nd hand VWs but not sure about Toyota.

Any dealer will give you a three month warranty, but beyond that you're usually paying extra. (For a car that's past its original manufacturer's warranty, obviously. So that's three years for VWs, 5 years for Toyotas and 7 years for Kias. ) Any car should come with a fresh MOT, although they're not always freshly serviced. (It depends. Ask.)

The dealer will probably try quite hard to sell you a third-party warranty, such as the RAC one, for around £400 a year. Of which at least half is his profit! Don't let him rush you - you can get an RAC or Warranty Direct warranty yourself at any time for £200 or £250 a year - and personally, I think that can be quite a good idea on a mid-aged car that you don't know. My wife's RAC warranty paid out for a new aircon unit on a three year old Golf (£650 - a known weak spot on VW group cars, BTW.) And mine paid most of the £350 cost when the electronic parking brake failed on my Passat.

If you are (perchance) looking at an Auris, you want the mid-2013-onwards model, which has a revised chassis. You can't miss it - it has narrow slitty headlights and the whole car is a good two inches lower. (Lower roof, but also lower floorpan, so no difference inside.) The older model was just as reliable but it handled like a wounded whale.

Have fun!

BJ

[vrdiver]

If he chooses the VW Golf diesel, check whether it's had the EA 189 NOx emissions fix applied. If so, ask for an extended warranty for the engine.

Some background reading on the subject

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/ ... ndriveable
https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/askhj/keyw ... ns+scandal
https://www.hypermiler.co.uk/dieselgate ... ssions-fix

[bungeejumper]

If he chooses the VW Golf diesel, check whether it's had the EA 189 NOx emissions fix applied. If so, ask for an extended warranty for the engine.

Seconded. The diesel fix is overloading EGR valves and DPF exhaust systems to the point where they fail, and they ain't cheap to replace. I posted recently on my own brush with this issue - but the quick version of the story is that even VW dealers in the UK can't get their hands on enough replacement parts because they're failing in such numbers after the EA 189 fix. Shouldn't affect the 1.4 petrol engines, though.

BJ

[lizzydripin]

Hi All.
Just got back from looking at cars. We went out with a budget of £8,000.00 but OH has now been seduced by pcp plans which seems to have increased his expectations.

We have looked at Golf (decided the diesel version is a bit of a minefield so have decided against) Mazda (garage not very helpful decided against) Honda (nothing OH likes)
So we are between Toyota, OH liked the Aurus, was offered a deal on a hybrid petrol 2015 estate model (£16,800.00) £5850.00 deposit and then 36 months at £144.08 end payment of £6600.00 over payments can be made.
Or Nissan Quashqua 2016 diesel (£15,789.00)
deposit £6000.00 then 36 months at £169.91 and ballon payment of £6645.00. Again over payments can be made.

Any advice on the running cost insurance implications and pros and cons of what seem to very different options would be brilliant

Posting on DWD as well for financial advice

Many thanks
Lizzy