Car Recommendations

sunshine

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Old, 104000 miles and time for a change

104,000 miles is nothing for an Audi. Unless it's got some major issue that will cost a fortune to fix, I don't see why you would downgrade. I expect it will remain much more comfortable and pleasurable to drive than a basic car, and just as reliable.
 

GB72

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104,000 miles is nothing for an Audi. Unless it's got some major issue that will cost a fortune to fix, I don't see why you would downgrade. I expect it will remain much more comfortable and pleasurable to drive than a basic car, and just as reliable.

Think it was building up to something. Just not sounding right. Still, got a good deal on it, decent deal on the new car so happy with the swap.
 

USER1999

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Just for a laugh, I looked on Autotrader for what I could sell our cars for.
CLS, has dropped 3k over 4 years. Z4 has gone up 500, and Mrs Mogs Z3M has dropped about 4k over 19 years. If she hadn't put galactic miles on it it would have doubled in value.

I would have kept the Audi. I would miss my rag top.
 

GB72

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Just for a laugh, I looked on Autotrader for what I could sell our cars for.
CLS, has dropped 3k over 4 years. Z4 has gone up 500, and Mrs Mogs Z3M has dropped about 4k over 19 years. If she hadn't put galactic miles on it it would have doubled in value.

I would have kept the Audi. I would miss my rag top.

I had sort of stopped using it except on the warmest days.
 

USER1999

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I had sort of stopped using it except on the warmest days.

House rules, if the roof is dry, it's down. Temperature is not a reason to have the roof up.

I am not as bad as a fellow Z4 driver I see every day on the M1. She has the roof down whatever. I wonder if it is just broken, but it has been 4 years, and she hasn't fixed it.
 

GB72

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I'm starting to lean towards Skoda....and the Octavia. Any reliability problems?

Not sure yet, only had it 72 hours but been fine for that period:)

Guessing as it is basically a VW Golf, there should not be any real issues and scored highly in that annual satisfaction survey that the car industry do (think Skoda were 5th overall).
 

Voyager EMH

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Skodas are good for reliability in general. The best engine is the 1 litre 110 bhp. Remember that a ford escort xr3i 1.6 had 105 bhp and 0-60 in 9.5 secs. A very ordinary fabia with the 1 litre 110 bhp pretty much matches those figures, but gives more than 50% better mpg. There are octavias with the 1 litre engine, but rare. Seems too many of us consider a 1 litre engine does not match a bigger car. That perception needs to change. If I were looking for a 1 to 2 year old skoda, it would be a Rapid (but not the spaceback as that has a smaller boot) with the 1 litre 110 bhp engine or a Fabia estate.
 

GB72

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Skodas are good for reliability in general. The best engine is the 1 litre 110 bhp. Remember that a ford escort xr3i 1.6 had 105 bhp and 0-60 in 9.5 secs. A very ordinary fabia with the 1 litre 110 bhp pretty much matches those figures, but gives more than 50% better mpg. There are octavias with the 1 litre engine, but rare. Seems too many of us consider a 1 litre engine does not match a bigger car. That perception needs to change. If I were looking for a 1 to 2 year old skoda, it would be a Rapid (but not the spaceback as that has a smaller boot) with the 1 litre 110 bhp engine or a Fabia estate.

There was actually a 1 litre Octavia available when I got mine. Perfectly fine for most of my test drive (I did try both) but felt better with the 1.5 when on the A1. MPG so far is appearing pretty decent (though not sure what is good these days for a car of this size as my last car was Diesel). What did surprise me was the size of the boot on the Octavia. You are looking at Mondeo levels of room, set of clubs will lay flat in there with little problem.
 

Robster59

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Almost every taxi driver in our area has a Skoda Octavia. I think that's a pretty good indication of reliabiility as they don't want to get something that will break down. I would agree about the space. In comparison to equivalent models, Skoda seem to manage to achieve far more space. I've a Skoda Superb 2.0 diesel (company car) and on Thursday it will get replaced by a Superb IV SE Technology. It's a 1.4 turbo hybrid. Power of the petrol engine is the same as my 2.0 diesel but the company car tax is massively lower. Immense space inside. It's my third Superb now and when I looked at the alternatives on our list, nothing came close in terms of bangs for the buck.
 

Voyager EMH

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There was actually a 1 litre Octavia available when I got mine. Perfectly fine for most of my test drive (I did try both) but felt better with the 1.5 when on the A1. MPG so far is appearing pretty decent (though not sure what is good these days for a car of this size as my last car was Diesel). What did surprise me was the size of the boot on the Octavia. You are looking at Mondeo levels of room, set of clubs will lay flat in there with little problem.
Don't get me wrong, I think you've made an excellent choice. My Rapid has a bigger boot than my mate's Mondeo. Specs always quote boot volume, but floor area of boot is probably more important to a golfer. Octavia boot is huge compared to an SUV with matching boot volume. Next door neighbours have a Superb estate, two labradors lie in the boot with plenty of room to spare.
 

Swango1980

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I am looking for something a bit simpler in a car. I have has the A5 convertible for a few years and it is time to move on to something a bit more basic as all I really use it for is a half hour drive to work and the same on the way back. Basically looking for a runabout (though I will be looking for some basic gadgets in the spec).

Will be looking at second hand with 20-30000 on the clock so where is the value these days. Am I better off stocking to the usual focus or fiesta (may be too small) or is the real value in other makes now.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.
I recently bought the Toyota CHR Hybrid. Really nice to drive, and golf clubs fit in the boot without taking them out of the bag.
 

BiMGuy

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I have survived owning 2 Renaults and a fiat without needing it so I reckon I can survive a Skoda ?????

Our 2 Octavias have been the most reliable cars we've ever owned. Despite the way the wife treats them.

By far the worst was her Renault Megane. On the rare occasions it was working properly. It was so awful to drive she would often go to the trouble of moving it out of the way and take one of my cars.

The answer here to me, is. Keep the Audi.
 

RichA

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Out of interest, how are Skoda main dealers for service and aftercare. I've had a Golf from new for the last 5 years and VW have been pretty dismal. Basically the same car with the same issues. Wondering how your experiences have worked out.
 
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