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3 minutes ago, Ron Aldo said:

Surely when buying a car on PCP or leasing is the best way to go? I've never seen the point in buying a car outright given it'll constantly be losing value. PCP or leasing means you only pay off a portion of the car's value for a few years with the dealership/finance company taking the hit in terms of depreciation. 

As I said, I prefer to avoid the smoke and mirrors. 

If I own the car...

I can do what I wish with it.  If I tire of it after, say, the new car smell wears off, I'm not stuck with it.

I can do as many miles in it as I choose, without  incurring a penalty.

If I get ill, or I lose my job..., the car is still mine and I don't have to find the £200 a month, say, month in, and month out,

for just about ever.

You say 'finance'.  I say debt, because that is what it is.

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4 hours ago, Lambie's Pigeon Feed said:

I'm approaching middle age but I'm about to buy a car for the first time and would love some advice as I'm unsure what to get.

Budget is £10k max ideally less, half of that is a car loan, it's a car I expect to run into the ground. Looking for a big hatchback that can accommodate a dog and camping gear. Mainly for trips to beach and long drives to the countryside, limited city driving despite loving in a city.

I figure I need to go to a dealer (ideally not Arnold Clark) as I dont know what I'm looking for with a private sale.

I was thinking Focus or Leon (or something of similar size I dont have my heart set on anything), in that price range I'd hope for sub 10k miles and less than 3 years old.

Specifically on the Focus, 1.0 EcoBoost engines seem to be all the rage, anyone got any experience? Instinctively sounds too wee.

EcoBoost 1.0

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202002267758238?advertising-location=at_cars&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=New&make=FORD&radius=30&model=FOCUS&price-to=9000&postcode=g611hy&sort=year-desc&year-from=2016&page=1 

Or Diesel 1.5?

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202003108218216?advertising-location=at_cars&year-from=2016&price-to=9000&postcode=G61 1hy&model=FOCUS&sort=year-desc&page=1&radius=30&make=FORD&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=New 

I reckon for about £9k you could get a pretty low mileage Astra?

We've got the estate largely because we've got a malamute cross so when I fold the back seats down he gets to just sprawl himself right out in the back, loves it. Doesn't feel too much like a big car to drive despite being its size, either, if that makes sense. My 15 plate hasn't given me any grief whatsoever especially compared to my first Ye Olde Fiesta deathtrap and the Clio I had after that.

Would be worth a test drive imo, pretty confident you could get a petrol 1.4L turbo for that, either with 120HP or 150HP.

Ohh! I had an EcoBoost 1.0 as a courtesy car recently, thought it was a good wee car - was weird being able to go up steep hills in 4th gear, ha. Think you're right in that it'd probably be too small for you unless you can get away with folding the back seats down.

edit: ha, had a wee look myself, £8998 for a 16 plate 1.4L turbo hatchback. Doesn't fit your ideal mileage though.

https://www.arnoldclark.com/used-cars/vauxhall/astra/1-4t-16v-150-design-5dr-auto/2016/ref/arnbi-u-65149

£9998 for a 17 plate 1.0L turbo, prolly similar to the Focus EcoBoost you mentioned. Sub 10k miles on it.

https://www.arnoldclark.com/used-cars/vauxhall/astra/1-0t-ecotec-design-5dr/2017/ref/arnag-u-32229

Edited by Thistle_do_nicely
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For all those decrying diesels my current car is a 2016 Ford B.Max 1.6 diesel. CO2 Emission is 109 so road tax is just £20 a year.  It also averages around 60 MPG, plus has all the performance I need. I can also get my golf clubs in the boot along with a ton of other stuff.

What more could anyone want?

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54 minutes ago, beefybake said:

As I said, I prefer to avoid the smoke and mirrors. 

If I own the car...

I can do what I wish with it.  If I tire of it after, say, the new car smell wears off, I'm not stuck with it.

I can do as many miles in it as I choose, without  incurring a penalty.

If I get ill, or I lose my job..., the car is still mine and I don't have to find the £200 a month, say, month in, and month out,

for just about ever.

You say 'finance'.  I say debt, because that is what it is.

Even more so if you intend to run it into the ground.

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Looking to get a car with 3 full size seats along the back due to the imminent arrival of child number 3. Research seems to point me towards a Citroën c4 grand spacetourer/Picasso giving best bang for its buck, does anyone have any experience of these or class rivals eg Ford S-max etc..

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Just now, JamesP_81 said:

Looking to get a car with 3 full size seats along the back due to the imminent arrival of child number 3. Research seems to point me towards a Citroën c4 grand

I had one when still married and had three under 5. Isofix on all three back seats was useful. Boot was huge too. 

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I've had a 52 picasso, an 06 cmax, a 57 grand picasso and now a 65 plate grand cmax.

I got rid of both citroens when they started breaking down, they were great motors for the family; huge, practical and comfy. I got rid of the picasso when the fuel pump went and I was advised to get rid. This was quite a basic model and it was the only problem it ever gave us. The grand picasso was the exclusive model and everything fancy on it broke at some point; egs gearbox bearings, egr valve, electronic handbrake, air suspension and compressor. When it was running it was a great motor. I would have another but not with all the bells and whistles.

The two fords aren't quite 3 full size seats across the back, but take my 3 easily now they're all out of car seats. The 2 fords have been good motors for us, but I would have loved the smax or galaxy.

Looking to get a car with 3 full size seats along the back due to the imminent arrival of child number 3. Research seems to point me towards a Citroën c4 grand spacetourer/Picasso giving best bang for its buck, does anyone have any experience of these or class rivals eg Ford S-max etc..
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8 hours ago, Honest Saints Fan said:

My lease is ending on my Mazda 2 and it is time to upgrade to fit the family in it. I'm hopefully going to look at Kia Sportage and a Volvo XC40 in the next couple weeks. Any opinions? My knowledge of cars is basically the colour. 😂

We have a Tucson and it was an excellent car,great driving position and the kids fit is along with all the baggage

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I've had a 52 picasso, an 06 cmax, a 57 grand picasso and now a 65 plate grand cmax.

I got rid of both citroens when they started breaking down, they were great motors for the family; huge, practical and comfy. I got rid of the picasso when the fuel pump went and I was advised to get rid. This was quite a basic model and it was the only problem it ever gave us. The grand picasso was the exclusive model and everything fancy on it broke at some point; egs gearbox bearings, egr valve, electronic handbrake, air suspension and compressor. When it was running it was a great motor. I would have another but not with all the bells and whistles.

The two fords aren't quite 3 full size seats across the back, but take my 3 easily now they're all out of car seats. The 2 fords have been good motors for us, but I would have loved the smax or galaxy.
What kind of age/mileage did the Citroën have on them before starting to give u problems?
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7 hours ago, JamesP_81 said:

Looking to get a car with 3 full size seats along the back due to the imminent arrival of child number 3. Research seems to point me towards a Citroën c4 grand spacetourer/Picasso giving best bang for its buck, does anyone have any experience of these or class rivals eg Ford S-max etc..

Went through this a year ago, also to prepare for child 3. Went for a 7 seater in the end to keep the older 2 out of hitting distance of each other. Got a 3 year old Nissan x-trail and I love it. I think much of the family car class look absolutely tragic (the C4 in particular is a horrific looking thing), so the SUV style really appealed to me.

 

@Honest Saints Fan go for the XC40. My dad got one pretty much when they came out, it's a tremendous car. Volvos are cracking cars.

Edited by die hard doonhamer
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The 52 plate had about 70k on it when the fuel pump went. It was the 1.5 diesel and the advice was to get rid because of the likelihood of debris being pumped to the second pump and fuel injectors and the larger expense needed to fix that. I checked on it using the mot checker a few years ago and it was still running with over 100k on it.

The c4gp was a bargain, 3 years old ex motability but with 67k on it already. We had it for about 4 or 5 years so it was around 110k when we traded it in. The mechanic I sold it to ran it for a bit as a bus for his child minder wife, but only for so long.

What kind of age/mileage did the Citroën have on them before starting to give u problems?
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The 52 plate had about 70k on it when the fuel pump went. It was the 1.5 diesel and the advice was to get rid because of the likelihood of debris being pumped to the second pump and fuel injectors and the larger expense needed to fix that. I checked on it using the mot checker a few years ago and it was still running with over 100k on it.

The c4gp was a bargain, 3 years old ex motability but with 67k on it already. We had it for about 4 or 5 years so it was around 110k when we traded it in. The mechanic I sold it to ran it for a bit as a bus for his child minder wife, but only for so long.
Ah OK so quite high mileages on both. Interesting to know they both ran to over 100k, realistically I would never be anywhere near that, lucky if we put more than 6k a year on either of our cars. Have never owned a Citroën tho the anecdotal evidence that sticks in my head is that they are plagued with electrical problems, whether that has been resolved with newer models (last 10 years or so) I don't know. Always had a rule of thumb to never buy French cars but have got a wee clio as a 2nd car and that's blown that rule out the water, runs like a dream, even the local garage owner keeps asking about buying it off me whenever I take it for a service.
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My Vauxhall Astra is ancient. Mileage is about 120k. I’ve had a poor recent run with it repairs wise, I’ve had to spend hundred on it. Now the engine light has come on, this time it’s not going off. Who knows what that will be.

I quite fancy getting a 4x4 next - anyone’s got any tips/recommendations/good websites for buying them second hand?

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16 hours ago, JamesP_81 said:

Looking to get a car with 3 full size seats along the back due to the imminent arrival of child number 3. Research seems to point me towards a Citroën c4 grand spacetourer/Picasso giving best bang for its buck, does anyone have any experience of these or class rivals eg Ford S-max etc..

VW Touran has 3 full size seats in the back. It’s a good family car, with 2 extra seats or a large storage space. The 2 extra seats are handy if you are taking their pals/cousins to the park. The large storage space is handy if you’re off on holiday.

Edited by Scary Bear
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3 hours ago, jamamafegan said:

My Vauxhall Astra is ancient. Mileage is about 120k. I’ve had a poor recent run with it repairs wise, I’ve had to spend hundred on it. Now the engine light has come on, this time it’s not going off. Who knows what that will be.

I quite fancy getting a 4x4 next - anyone’s got any tips/recommendations/good websites for buying them second hand?

Time to get rid.   The old adage about Vauxhall's is that the wheels fall off at 100k.    

They live in the same area as Fords....., that is, overall not quality built cars.

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10 hours ago, Raidernation said:

Ummm if you buy a car with a bank loan you still don’t own it until you pay off the bank tbf.

Not in my experience,   I've always paid cash for cars, except for two occasions.  Both of those were personal loans

from banks.  They both knew that car purchase was in my mind, I told them so. 

Monies were credited to my account.  From there,  I gave it to the sellers.

I owned the cars.

 

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38 minutes ago, beefybake said:

Time to get rid.   The old adage about Vauxhall's is that the wheels fall off at 100k.    

They live in the same area as Fords....., that is, overall not quality built cars.

Nah mate. I'm driving it intae the fuckin' ground man

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