Tekforums
Chat => Sports, Hobbies & Motors => Topic started by: M3ta7h3ad on January 02, 2013, 06:45:18 AM
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So I'm about to lose my company vehicle in feb and need to find a suitable replacement... I'm looking for a budget vehicle that'll handle motorway munching (25 to 35k per year), also reliable. Looking at the moment at less than £2,000 budget and something relatively cheap to insure as I only have motor bike no claims which I don't wish to transfer.
Also places like car supermarkets, any one recommend them or is private the only way to go?
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With that criteria, you're going to be looking at Passat's, Mondeo's and Vectra's with starship mileage.
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most places will copy over most if not all of your NCD from your motorbike to a new policy anyway (without transferring)
(as long as you haven't been in any accidents in anything else etc...)
private buying is way way way better than a car supermarket type place
and if you're not too car savvy, get an AA check or simmiler ;)
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you might be able to get an extra NCD as a former company driver - might have to phone rather than compare on websites though.
That many miles, with that kinda budget - I'd go German.
Kinda strange your losing your company car & doing that sorta mileage.
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do you have a minimum mpg requirement?
You will get more for your money with a bigger petrol engine.
Skoda Octavia is a perfect mile crunching work horse. 1.8 or 2.0tdi should be in your budget, although tdi will be higher mileage.
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most places will copy over most if not all of your NCD from your motorbike to a new policy anyway (without transferring)
(as long as you haven't been in any accidents in anything else etc...)
private buying is way way way better than a car supermarket type place
and if you're not too car savvy, get an AA check or simmiler ;)
I heard that you had to transfer Ncb over and then couldn't use it on the second insurance. Only difference is if you accrue car Ncb then you can maintain two ncbs.
Company Ncb is going to be zero as I have claimed for scratches, etc, if it was my own car I'd have driven it with them, or touched up...but no I opted for the cheaper at the time but more expensive in the long run route.
Losing it due to a crap company vagueness. The mileage I do more than qualifies me for one but I have to give a project code to charge it to... As a pen tester I don't have a home project, so no projects will cover the cost... I lose the car at end of its lease.
A decent mpg would be nice.
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What's the thoughts on a diesel fiesta?
Or the alternative motoring method of buying a 12mth mot car for £500 then flogging it when it fails and buying another?.
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What's the thoughts on a diesel fiesta?
Or the alternative motoring method of buying a 12mth mot car for £500 then flogging it when it fails and buying another?.
The Fiesta Diesels, C2's etc do mental mileage for the money and can be picked up reasonably cheap, ideally though as had been pointed out already i'd be looking for an Octavia or Passat or Leon/Toledo 1.9tdi, i have my eye on one locally for my next purchase in budget spec like Clocked's old one, although i think this one has front electric windows!
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I wouldnt fancy doing 30k miles per year in a fiesta.
A middle sized Saloon car would be best. Octavia, 3 series bmw, Laguna, s type jag.
If you don't mind the image you can get some bargain Rover 75 CDT's that are full of BMW engineering and one of the nicest cars to drive and bullet proof.
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I wouldnt fancy doing 30k miles per year in a fiesta.
A middle sized Saloon car would be best. Octavia, 3 series bmw, Laguna, s type jag.
If you don't mind the image you can get some bargain Rover 75 CDT's that are full of BMW engineering and one of the nicest cars to drive and bullet proof.
Apart from the Longbridge cars being better all round.
I've had nothing but problems with high mileage german cars, but my Jap's been smooth sailing.
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I think the reliability of German cars can be called into question based on the previous owners, which seems less of a problem with Japanese cars.
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I wouldnt fancy doing 30k miles per year in a fiesta.
A middle sized Saloon car would be best. Octavia, 3 series bmw, Laguna, s type jag.
If you don't mind the image you can get some bargain Rover 75 CDT's that are full of BMW engineering and one of the nicest cars to drive and bullet proof.
Used to do 75k a year in a cramped Astra van so a fiesta for an average sized lad shouldn't be an issue. :P
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I heard that you had to transfer Ncb over and then couldn't use it on the second insurance. Only difference is if you accrue car Ncb then you can maintain two ncbs.
if you tell them you have Z ncb on something else, they'll give you at least some free, if not match it on a new policy just to get you to sign up :-)
(might have to phone a few tho)
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When I went from a bike to a car, the insurance company wouldn't take my bike NCD into consideration.
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So right... Just got a quote for buying my company vehicle.
Ford Focus Style 1.6 petrol, 58 plate.
72,000 miles or near enough on the clock.
£4231 is the quote, with 1 year warranty.
Insurance fully comp is surfing 800 or so.
Reliability wise its not skipped a beat since I've had it and its always had a ford service on the mileage markers. One minor bump to front right but all that damage got replaced or repaired by a large body shop that the insurers recommended.
So 5.2k I could just buy my current car, its out of budget and basically means I'll be taking out a loan when I don't really want to but I know every single mile on that car was mine and I know it's entire history.
Or... The other route which is grab something like an Audi A3 or Fiesta Diesel with astronomical mileage for about £1000 and insure it for £1300ish, possibly avoiding a loan I don't want to take out really, but basically running the car until it breaks or fails an mot then just buying a new banger and starting over.
What would you do?
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Tell them I was resigning if I didn't get a company car / car allowance and did 35k miles a year. ;)
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Given your mileage you would be mad to keep the current car. Get a nice cheap diesel and run it until it falls apart.
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Tell them I was resigning if I didn't get a company car / car allowance and did 35k miles a year. ;)
This - it's a ridiculous situation!
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Get a cheap £1k car & always keep a look out for a 2nd one at a bargain price. So when car 1 fails, you can hop straight into Car 2.
If you getting the mileage money your allowed (45p upto 10k miles, then 25p afterwards) - on 30k miles a year your looking £9500.
Dont forget it resets in April - Prob spent half of that on fuel (35-40mpg) - left with £4750 to buy, tax, insure & maintain your vehicle per year.
Tax - £250 (worst case scenario), Insurance about £1500 (WCS) left with £3k to buy & maintain a car - dont forget your wage slip will go up prob by about £150 a month as you will no longer pay P11D company car benefit. You could get a loan & not be worse off - or even buy from a car supermarket if your in a hurry.
I would just buy a cheap thing & run it into the ground. My stepdad drives 150miles a day round trip & he uses a rover 800. Tends to last him 3-4 years without any major failures. Proper old mans car, but great for motorway driving - IIRC your in the SouthWest - how about :-
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rover-820-2-0i-SLi-16v-This-car-is-out-of-the-box-condition-/110923486377?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item19d38e14a9
If your not getting the full mileage, then speak to the Tax man as you can offset it against your Tax.
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You speak sense, I don't get 40p a mile so will have to start tracking it and offsetting against my tax.
1k car it is, got this one until mid feb, figure I'll make the most of it while I can and buy something after its gone.
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You speak sense, I don't get 40p a mile so will have to start tracking it and offsetting against my tax.
1k car it is, got this one until mid feb, figure I'll make the most of it while I can and buy something after its gone.
you can only offset if its business mileage - if your home based then no problem, but if your office is X you cant claim for travelling to X from home. But you can claim for travelling to office Y, Z, etc.
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Yeah, I know the rules the company helps with that side of things, that said I still need to sort out a car.
Budget (after doing various comparison websites for insurance) is:
£1000 for car
£1500 for insurance
I may have a bit extra to play with but once you go above £1000 value of car, the insurance goes sky high plus anything extra comes out of what little house deposit I have saved up.
Thinking:
Ford mondeo, with my budget you're looking at 150k miles plus and may not be diesel.
Ford fiesta diesel, again looking at 120k plus miles on the clock
Peugeot 206 1.9d heard horror stories regarding these, anyone have real experience with them?
With only 1 years mot ride planned for the vehicle is it still worth me restricting myself to diesels as there are bucketloads of petrol cars below £1000?
Anyone know what I need to be looking out for on high mileage diesels or cars in general, what mileage normally results in big repairs, some cars I've seen talk of recently replaced Cambelts or new batteries, should any of these be ringing alarm bells like "oh well I'll try this but if it doesn't work I'll just flog the car"?
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Cambelts are basically every 60k, if you're buying a car just find it when it last had it done or if its due. For some cars its not as big a potential problem (e.g. my Mazda is a non-interference engine so if the belt goes it doesn't wreck the car) but it's still worth getting it done. I would say the biggest threat on a high mileage car will be the bodywork. Parts can be replaced but getting a rusty shell welded up properly would not be worth the expense, so check underside arches, sills very carefully for signs of rust or bodged repairs. Diesels can be a bit noisy but don't let anyone tell you how it should sound or fob you off that the engine is just cold; it shouldn't sound like a bag of rusty nails rattling in the engine so if its not right on tickover be concerned. Ideally take someone knowledgable with you.
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have a look for one thats been gas converted
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have a look for one thats been gas converted
that would be a pain in the arse filling up wise.
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have a look for one thats been gas converted
that would be a pain in the arse filling up wise.
Maybe so, but the cheaper you can run the car, the more profit you could make.
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Also worth noting that lpg conversions make the car dual fuel, the existing diesel system is left in full working order.
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I don't know which Fiesta you are considering MK6? If you consider a MK5 you shouldn't have too much issue finding a Diesel one, but you might have to travel a bit.
The Mondeo (MK3's) suck for around £1000, low or high mileage they can suffer from costly faults to include Rear Wishbone Bushes failing (knocking) and problems with the Dual Mass Flywheel and Fuel Pump, both can be pricy to repair £6-1000 quite easily, otherwise they are nice cars, they go well and are good on fuel, but for your budget i would be steering clear of them.
Can't remember where you are but i think it was Bristol area: 01 Corsa 1.7DI 16v £1300 (http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201301245034359/sort/default/usedcars/price-to/2000/maximum-mileage/up_to_100000_miles/fuel-type/diesel/price-from/0/onesearchad/used/onesearchad/nearlynew/onesearchad/new/page/2/radius/40/postcode/bs83ha?logcode=p)
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I'd not want to do that sort of mileage in a Corsa/Fiesta.
Rather pick up a BM, or Merc for that sort of money. Should be able to get some bland Jap wagon, like the avensis for that too.
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I'd not want to do that sort of mileage in a Corsa/Fiesta.
Rather pick up a BM, or Merc for that sort of money. Should be able to get some bland Jap wagon, like the avensis for that too.
In the old job we put 170k+ on a Combo 1.3 diesel, i put 75k a year onto a Astra Van and Kia Rio, both as uncomfortable/small as a Corsa, but reliable and cheap to repair when they go wrong.
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Volvo s60 d5. Will do over 50mpg and last ages. I've put 65000 miles on mine in two years and has only needed basic service items.
Plenty for about 1500 quid.
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Volvo s60 d5. Will do over 50mpg and last ages. I've put 65000 miles on mine in two years and has only needed basic service items.
Plenty for about 1500 quid.
the better ones come with a flat cap & driving gloves.
I used to have one as a company car. Loved it, except it made me feel about 60 :D
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So have a viewing tomorrow morning for this one: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201301295108141
Anything on there I need to be concerned about? Or anything I specifically need to check?
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So have a viewing tomorrow morning for this one: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201301295108141
Anything on there I need to be concerned about? Or anything I specifically need to check?
I'd be concerned about the price.
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So have a viewing tomorrow morning for this one: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201301295108141
Anything on there I need to be concerned about? Or anything I specifically need to check?
I'd be concerned about the price.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
Yeah budget went up. So aimed a little higher, still pretty steep but seems to be the going rate for them on auto trader.
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That sort of money for that sort of car(will have been thrashed) with high mileage is just stupid. Due its 2nd cambelt change soon aswell.
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I'd prefer a car that's been thrashed, but maintained over one that's been mollycoddled and would go bang as soon as you drive it normally.
That said, I've picked up a very low mileage petrol Bora for £600.
For £2.2k, you could get a 320d with similar/less miles and an infinitely better car.
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As others have said mileage vs price, if you choose a slightly older one the price will go down a fair bit, otherwise: Octavia TDI (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Skoda-Octavia-1-9TDi-110-Elegance-2002-PX-POSSIBLE-/271109400117?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item3f1f612635)
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http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201301305116571/sort/default/usedcars/engine-size-cars/2l_to_2-5l/fuel-type/diesel/price-to/3000/transmission/manual/maximum-mileage/up_to_100000_miles/model/3_series/make/bmw/onesearchad/used/onesearchad/nearlynew/onesearchad/new/postcode/s66se/page/1/radius/1501?logcode=p
Or if you really want a Goof,
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201301305125865/sort/default/usedcars/price-to/3000/fuel-type/diesel/engine-size-cars/1-7l_to_1-9l/maximum-mileage/up_to_100000_miles/model/golf/make/volkswagen/onesearchad/used/onesearchad/nearlynew/onesearchad/new/postcode/s66se/keywords/150/page/1/radius/1500?logcode=p
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201301245038792/sort/default/usedcars/price-to/3000/fuel-type/diesel/engine-size-cars/1-7l_to_1-9l/maximum-mileage/up_to_100000_miles/model/golf/make/volkswagen/onesearchad/used/onesearchad/nearlynew/onesearchad/new/postcode/s66se/keywords/150/page/1/radius/1500?logcode=p
Removed the first link, Screamed scam :D
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That sort of money for that sort of car(will have been thrashed) with high mileage is just stupid. Due its 2nd cambelt change soon aswell.
Comes with full service history, Cambelt last replaced at 120k ( every 60k is interval), turbo replaced at 116k.
Guy selling suggests its his wife's car, guy sounds about 40 years old, and does not appear to be a fan of GPS "oh... You just want a postcode for a GPS, prefer good old fashioned maps and directions myself".
Doesn't strike me as someone who would be ragging it up and down a street, with banging tunes blasting out of his tweety-woofers.
That said, taking mechanically inclined brother-in-law with me to do the test drive.
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I'd prefer a car that's been thrashed, but maintained over one that's been mollycoddled and would go bang as soon as you drive it normally.
That said, I've picked up a very low mileage petrol Bora for £600.
For £2.2k, you could get a 320d with similar/less miles and an infinitely better car.
Got warned away from beemers... Strangely by 5 different work colleagues, who all drive various bmws.
Expensive to service
Expensive to repair
"sh*t" bootspace
Expensive to insure
Were the list of cons they came out with as I was quite eager to pick up a 320 or 318. Especially considering my neighbours each have a BMW themselves, didn't want to have the only banger on the street.
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Points 1 and 2, only if your daft enough to take it back to the dealers. None of the places I took my old BM to charged any more than any other car.
Bootspace is limited because the engine drives the correct wheels.
No more to insure than any other warm hatch tbh. I had a 325 and the insurance is the same as my 2.2 Leggy (~£400)
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Points 1 and 2, only if your daft enough to take it back to the dealers. None of the places I took my old BM to charged any more than any other car.
Bootspace is limited because the engine drives the correct wheels.
No more to insure than any other warm hatch tbh. I had a 325 and the insurance is the same as my 2.2 Leggy (~£400)
It's another 10ish or so insurance groups higher which makes for quotes around the 2k mark.
Some reason the 5 dr golf comes in at under 1k for me. Which is about the lowest I've seen against various cars, comparable to the ford focus quotes I was getting.
Despite the golf being the 130bhp GT spec diesel.
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Insurance groups don't mean squat. Get actual quotes.
I've had everything from group 2 up to imports at group 20. After the age of 25 I've not paid more than £900 for insurance. If you ignore the comparison sites and try companies like sky and Adrian flux then you'll get sensible quotes.
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Have gone direct to several companies, comparison sites actually did tend to be cheaper at least when it came to the meerkat one. Heck, elephant (suggested as they're cheap for new drivers apparently) gave me 1140 for a car, when meerkat came back with 970 from the, with the exact same details.
I did get quotes, like I said above I was quite fond of the idea of getting a BMW, think the lowest I saw was still above 2k.
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Have gone direct to several companies, comparison sites actually did tend to be cheaper at least when it came to the meerkat one. Heck, elephant (suggested as they're cheap for new drivers apparently) gave me 1140 for a car, when meerkat came back with 970 from the, with the exact same details.
I did get quotes, like I said above I was quite fond of the idea of getting a BMW, think the lowest I saw was still above 2k.
Didn't realise you were classed as a new driver.
Try sky insurance and Adrian flux.
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haha adrian flux.
Ive never got a competive quote from them. ever.
Best insurance company ive ever had was NFU
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I think it depends on the car. If I went on Confuse the Meercat, I'd get quotes of over £2000 for my Delica and Soarer. Try Sky and Adrian Flux, dropped to about £800 for the first year, then about 500 for the second.
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I can highly recommend the engines in these Civics..
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201302015159309/sort/default/usedcars/maximum-mileage/up_to_100000_miles/price-to/3000/body-type/hatchback/fuel-type/diesel/price-from/2000/maximum-age/up_to_7_years_old/make/honda/onesearchad/used/onesearchad/nearlynew/onesearchad/new/postcode/s66se/page/1/radius/1501?logcode=p
Cheeky remap can see you up near the 200bhp mark.
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I think it depends on the car. If I went on Confuse the Meercat, I'd get quotes of over £2000 for my Delica and Soarer. Try Sky and Adrian Flux, dropped to about £800 for the first year, then about 500 for the second.
Everywhere is different, Adrian flux has never given me a competive quote. NFU dont show up on comparison websites, I was getting quotes of up to £2k - NFU £550 & £350 sencond year. Changed my vehicle after that & they wanted £1200 :S - went elsewhere & got £500 - different places have different criteria. Usually high quotes means they dont want your business - unless your dumb enough to pay it
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Adrian Flux have been consistently cheapest for me and I seem to always end up going back to them.
Paying about £700 I think on my MX-5 (non-import) at the moment, they used all sorts of tricks to wrangle the price right down vs comparetheconfusedmeerkatsupermarket.
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986 in the end with admiral. National plus breakdown cover and key cover too.
Got the car for 2550 with a full tank of fuel. Jesus, it shifts. Hit 2000rpm and it kicks you in the ass up to 70mph. Otherwise its a solid car, not a spot of rust anywhere on the body. Seats are perfect, everything is invoiced and I even have the old tax disks for it.
Fingers crossed it is reliable now :)
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You seemed pretty set on it, as you say let's hope it's reliable after all :)
The turbo kicks in at 2k rpm? Seems low to me, is that common for these? I thought turbo's usually kicked in a bit higher like 3k to give you more power higher up the band?
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I wouldn't ignore comparison sites, i've found goCompare to be the cheapest quotes year after year, i've not paid more than £350 in years fully comp.
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I wouldn't ignore comparison sites, i've found goCompare to be the cheapest quotes year after year, i've not paid more than £350 in years fully comp.
Went with admiral thanks to compare the market, ended up ringing them and ordering it though so got another 20% discount on everything, premium was near 800, with tax and extras thrown on that took it to just under a grand.
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You seemed pretty set on it, as you say let's hope it's reliable after all :)
The turbo kicks in at 2k rpm? Seems low to me, is that common for these? I thought turbo's usually kicked in a bit higher like 3k to give you more power higher up the band?
Thats normal on a diesel, you change gear around 2000-2200 most the time on a diesel.
Hope its a good car for you, they are very well made and bullet proof engines and it sounds like its been well looked after.
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I wouldn't ignore comparison sites, i've found goCompare to be the cheapest quotes year after year, i've not paid more than £350 in years fully comp.
Went with admiral thanks to compare the market, ended up ringing them and ordering it though so got another 20% discount on everything, premium was near 800, with tax and extras thrown on that took it to just under a grand.
suprised they was cheaper than elephant. admiral owns elephant I thought! At least you get a nice plush toy to sell on ebay now 'o)
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And so... The first of the niggles appears.
1. A broken auto dimmer rear view mirror, basically turns everything sepia, noticed it being a bit odd but figured it just tinted that way as it was a bright day.
Cost = new £250+, eBay = rare as rocking horse poo but £50, refurb (the choice im likely to go for) involves posting unit to America and fixed for $140 with 1 year warranty.
2. Several stone chips in the paint work, only visible now after a car wash brought them out.
Cost = meehhh will think about it.
On the plus side VW service = £300, VW idependent specialist = £180 with a few extra things thrown on (air con check/refresh, brake fluid replacement).
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You seemed pretty set on it, as you say let's hope it's reliable after all :)
The turbo kicks in at 2k rpm? Seems low to me, is that common for these? I thought turbo's usually kicked in a bit higher like 3k to give you more power higher up the band?
er the red line is at 4.5k, not much further up the band to go. Definitely gives you a kick as the needle spins past 2k. In 6th gear at 70 I'm doing about 1.5k revs.... If that. Practically idle in comparison to a petrol engine.
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that's pretty normal
turbo kicks in about 2krpm
as the revs come up, just before the power starts to die off, if you change up it should put you just above 2krevs again so you're still on boost
once you've driven it a bit longer you'll love it... it's great fun "surfing the turbo" on a windy road etc... holding one gear all the time and having grunt at low revs and then still having a kick in the pants when you floor it :-)
for the rear view mirror... can you not get a generic one cheap ? might not be identical to the one that's in now, but it's still an auto dimming mirror ?
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Rvm - yes and no.
A generic one is available, costs about £75 but the problem is fitting it. My car has auto wipers and the rain sensor forms part of the mirror mount.
A generic one doesnt fit the rain sensor mount (they have an adapter for non rain sensor ones) so requires me to remove the rain sensor and associated wiring, losing that ability in order to fit the generic mirror.
Given the cost is only slightly cheaper than a refurbished unit and would cost me the auto wiper function, I figure its not worth it.
Turbo - yeah had a play today, think I still need to get used to it. Pulling away from traffic lights can be a bit wheelspin-tastic at the moment or excessively juddery as I'm being too gentle with the throttle.
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Remap tbh
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Heh while 190+bhp would be nice, I'm still wheel spinning in 3rd so it'd be too much for me.
Fixed the rear view mirror moments ago with a part from a breakers yard for a Passat (same color match and connectors) so now it even has an off switch for reversing.
Cost me £42 including £12 postage but worth it I think.
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(http://www.gx94radio.com/blogs/drive/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/lemon-car.png)
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Lol egg. Even with the mirror I'm still technically up on the deal.
Full service soon, that's when things will get interesting.
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If you're wheel spinning in 3rd gear your tyres are crap or done! Get a set of yokohamas on it.
My MR2 barely spins in 3rd (It is RWD though and mid engined), and the volvo D5 which has 200hp & 310lb/ft only spins in 2nd.
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Fair play perhaps a slight exaggeration.
130bhp and 228 lb-ft (310nm) torque probably not going to spin in third.
Tyres are decent on it, good year something's but not the usual li yong £50 specials that I was expecting to find.
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I've not had any issues with Kuhmo's or Maxxis tyres. Usually can get those at a fair price.
And that's on a 200bhp Accord and 220bhp Soarer.
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And that's on a 200bhp Accord
ATR?
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And that's on a 200bhp Accord
ATR?
Remapped diesel with larger intercooler. ~190bhp and 400 torques. Was rolling roaded at an AOC day.