Another car advice thread....

[Redwood]

Well, my missus gave birth to our second child last Friday.

We've been dicussing it and think it is time for us to invest in a second car.

We are looking for something for her to use whilst I'm working away in London. Ideally, hatchback, economical to run (tax/insurance/mpg), 5 door and must have a decent enough size boot to fit a pushchair in.

Looking to spend no more than 4k.

Any thoughts/recommendations appreciated.

Looking at a Ford Fiesta types at the moment.

 

[Robobum]

Focus, none better.

 

[0]

Vw polo - well built and reliable

 

[madandra]

Firstly, congratulations on your new addition. I would say go for a VW golf diesel. My nephew has an 05 Fiesta diesel and it runs on vapour and costs £35 a year tax but it my be a bit tight getting a buggy in.

 

[brendy]

Congrats redwood fella, can i ask what you currently drive?

 

[Redwood]

Thanks for all the wellwishes.

Brendy - we have a VW Passat Estate as our only car at the moment. 57 plate 2,0 TDI.

 

[thecraw]

Another shout for the Ford Focus. I really cant fault it. I drive them nearly every day and despite them being thrashed to bits, they take abuse like no other car I know.

The trim is "plasticy" inside but its solid and dependable. I also find the drive, ride and performance very impressive.

Even in all the snow we've had I cant fault their performance.

Test drive one, I think you may be surprised.

 

[brendy]

Not worth giving that to her and getting an older sporty number for yourself? Bigger car will be better protection for the lady and baby.

 

[Redwood]

I would, only that the wife will only agree to another car if we get something with low running cost/insurance/car tax.

Agreed though, the new car would probably be the one I would use whilst away.

 

[brendy]

What about a mk4 golf 115 or 130 gttdi? They must be coming down to that sort of price range.

 

[Redwood]

Probably hoping for something more Car Tax band C.

 

[viscount17]

wouldn't the dual car insurance help in keeping those costs down a bit. haven't had it myself in years so out of touch with how it works.

 

[Leftie]

If you are talking about dual car insurance with Admiral, they couldn't get anywhere near what I am paying individually.

"Confused" works well for me on insurance.

 

[Smiffy]

Skoda Fabia. The sensible mans choice.
Decent boot, low insurance (certainly lower than a VW Golf/Polo) economical and you'll get a lot more Skoda for your money than either of the VW products or the Focus.
That's where my money would go.

 

[PNWokingham]

Focus C Max Diesel - not bigger on the outside but more space and more pratcical indide than the focus - and drives very well. Also, the slightly raised driving position adds a sense of safety.

 

[Smiffy]

Focus C Max Diesel - not bigger on the outside but more space and more pratcical indide than the focus - and drives very well. Also, the slightly raised driving position adds a sense of safety.

Nice car Paul. But his budget is £4k. If you can find one of those for that price I'd say buy it.
But you won't mate.

 

[surefire]

wouldn't the dual car insurance help in keeping those costs down a bit. haven't had it myself in years so out of touch with how it works.

I had a similar experience to Leftie.

I actually had two policies (me and Mrs) with Elephant, who are a part of the Admiral group. They called me and told me they could save me money with a multicar policy, so I thought great.

After playing 20 questions and wasting about 15 mins of my life, the quote came out to about £500 than the two separate policies.
Not accepting this as a bad deal for me, the person on the phone tried to convince me to get it by saying maybe my renewals will come back that high, and if they don't they will match the multicar policy so its ok. So I asked them if they would match a competitor if my renewals came back that high, but a competitor was lower, the answer obviously being 'No'. So then I asked in that case would they charge me an admin fee if I then wanted to go to cheaper competitor (my individual renewal was on a differen date from when the multicar policy would have run), answer 'yes'.

So I ran it by the person again, "You want me to commit to a higher premium, that may get lower, but if it doesn't you'll charge me to go to a competitor who is cheaper? Does that really sound like a good deal?" At this point the penny dropped, and they admitted defeat. I didn't get my wasted time back though.

Instead of offering me false promises, they could have actually just worked out the new quote was crap, as all the questions they asked me, they already had the answers from the existing policies. That would have saved everyone some time.

SHORT VERSION - In my opinion multicar policies are crap.

 

[Lump]

What about a mk4 golf 115 or 130 gttdi? They must be coming down to that sort of price range.

but they are truly awful cars. I have a MK4 Gti golf.... I utterly hate it, but cba to move on until my insurance runs out next june.
My previous car was a Ford focus ST170. I should not have sold it, it is by far the best car in its class for the money.

 

[medwayjon]

Disagree with the comments on the MK4 golf

I hate a MK4 GT TDI 150 and it was a joy to drive. Only mods were uprated suspension and brakes. This thing drove superbly, cornered like a dream and yet was cheap enough to tax and did nearly 50MPG average.

 

[Redwood]

My previous car was a Ford focus ST170. I should not have sold it, it is by far the best car in its class for the money.

Nah, the Leon Cupra (my previous car) was better for the money!!