Last Summer a lady shunted the back of my 52 reg micra, and whilst the bumper was sorted out I got a 58 reg Mazda 3 TS2 through the insurance for 2 weeks. I pretty much fell in love with it. I dont know how much of this is due to the fact Ive only really ever driven my Micra for the last 7 years, so have nothing to compare to, but I loved actually having a boot which isnt bordering on the microscopic, and climate control/air con that does more than just drain power from the engine. Little things like that.

Im now starting to ponder saving up and trading in my micra and seeing about getting a slightly newer Mazda 3. Maybe 04-05 reg.

Im just curious what peoples opinions are on such cars, and trading up in such a way. Ive not really given much thought to it whatsoever, and as Im still on my first car, lack the knowledge / experience in part-ex and buying used cars etc. I will also need to save a few k to be able to do this, as parkers reckon £1.5-2k for my 1.4L micra and £3-6k for a 1.6L 3 TS2.

Hehe.

Ive been partly of the mind to just get my moneys worth out of the micra and run it till it dies. One thought was to stick with it for a few more years in the hopes an alternate fuel goes mainstream etc. But after my last service/mot when I needed a wheel cylinder replacing, I figure its at the age when things start to break, so I can either keep fixing it as things go, or fix things as they go in a car which isnt quite such a squeeze. Itd also help lots for things like travelling and work when I have a load of field equipment to transport.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1992-MITSUBISHI-DELICA-L300-Super-Exceed_W0QQitemZ170327778351QQcmdZViewItemQQptZAutomobiles_UK?hash=item170327778351&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2|65%3A7|39%3A1|240%3A1318|301%3A0|293%3A1|294%3A50


Massive load space, infinitely reliable, and will go most places.
Can kip in the back too.

I wouldnt call an Astra "different" tbh

Jaimz

Wouldnt those be a little over budget?

Im not too fussed about getting a really nice and relatively new car, more just swapping up, with a little bit of expenditure, so I get features that I dont have in my micra. having a slightly bigger engine, and more space, as well as climate control would make trips to and from places like the lake district much more pleasant

step 1 - forget parkers. Parkers is full of crap. The prices in there are at best unrealistic and at worst a total joke. Look at what others are selling for at the same age and condition. There are too many people who think their car is worth 3k because they read so in Parkers when in actual fact its a £900 job.

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As Ive said in the past I know NOTHING about cars but even Ive noticed this is true. As advised I always have a look on AT and ebay motors and see what the going rate is. Aim above that then if they knock you down you should get a fair price.

Good and fair point, will do. Kinda busy now to actually start car hunting, plus need to actually have some cash to hand before I can really even justify thinking about it more

heheh you should ALWAYS be looking for your next car! Ive only had my Punto a year (paying for it over 4!) but doesnt stop me eyeing up the MR2s!!