Car advice

[Thereisalight..]

28 minutes ago, jimmy boo said:

2 hours ago, Thereisalight.. said:

Cheers for that. It’s a 55 plate Mitabushi and has done about 140k miles. She does about 9k a year visiting her family, going shopping trips etc

Hope it's not an Evo!!

nah a wee red Colt 

[pub car king]

There's quite a bit of difference in size between an Insignia and a Fabia.

Golf would be the pick for me. Focus is a nice car to drive but golf will hold its value far better.

[The_Kincardine]

9 hours ago, Lambie's Pigeon Feed said:

Decided on an estate car cause of the dog and camping trips. Any advice on my current order of preference...

Skoda Fabia, 2017, 45k miles

VW Golf 2014, 48k miles

Fabia is wee compared to the Golf -  more like a Polo though maybe the boot is similar.

I have a 2003 1.6 Golf (hatchback) diesel and it is fine but gutless.  You may have to buy older/higher mileage/lower spec but I'd look for a 2.0 Golf estate.

[thistledo]

17 hours ago, Lambie's Pigeon Feed said:

Decided on an estate car cause of the dog and camping trips. Any advice on my current order of preference...

Vauxhall Insignia, 2016, 60k miles

Skoda Fabia, 2017, 45k miles

Ford Focus, 2014, 42k miles

VW Golf 2014, 48k miles

Similar prices, all with diesel 1.6L engines as its for exploring the Highlands and the high mpg and £20 road tax make that the right choice for those circumstances or am I missing something? 

The Insignia has the most bells and whistles and looks the best imo, so unless its significantly less reliable or more costly to maintain than the Skoda I think I'm gonna get that. Didn't realise test drives were still  banned cause of covid so you just need to buy it after a look in person which is a bit shit.

 

Would avoid the Insignia. Would more likely go with the Golf personally, better ride quality, will soak up bumpy highland B roads well, it's just a better car than the Insignia and probably the Focus. If you can get a Bluemotion Golf I think the MPG is usually ridiculously good on long drives. 

Skoda Octavia estate is also a good option if you can find one as I think the road tax maybe slightly cheaper and it's probably cheaper to buy than a Golf estate.

[Ross.]

18 hours ago, Lambie's Pigeon Feed said:

Decided on an estate car cause of the dog and camping trips. Any advice on my current order of preference...

Vauxhall Insignia, 2016, 60k miles

Skoda Fabia, 2017, 45k miles

Ford Focus, 2014, 42k miles

VW Golf 2014, 48k miles

Similar prices, all with diesel 1.6L engines as its for exploring the Highlands and the high mpg and £20 road tax make that the right choice for those circumstances or am I missing something? 

The Insignia has the most bells and whistles and looks the best imo, so unless its significantly less reliable or more costly to maintain than the Skoda I think I'm gonna get that. Didn't realise test drives were still  banned cause of covid so you just need to buy it after a look in person which is a bit shit.

 

 

9 hours ago, pub car king said:

There's quite a bit of difference in size between an Insignia and a Fabia.

Golf would be the pick for me. Focus is a nice car to drive but golf will hold its value far better.

When I was looking earlier this year there seemed to be an absolute f**k load of Golf Estates for sale here at relatively low prices. Seemed very odd because for a Gold hatchback at a similar age and mileage, the prices were significantly higher. That is all I have to add here.

[welshbairn]

2 minutes ago, Ross. said:

When I was looking earlier this year there seemed to be an absolute f**k load of Golf Estates for sale here at relatively low prices. Seemed very odd because for a Gold hatchback at a similar age and mileage, the prices were significantly higher. That is all I have to add here.

If the hatchbacks were petrol and the estates diesel that could explain it, especially with the bad rep VW got for cheating on their diesel emissions and performance. 

[Ross.]

2 minutes ago, welshbairn said:

If the hatchbacks were petrol and the estates diesel that could explain it, especially with the bad rep VW got for cheating on their diesel emissions and performance. 

That would make perfect sense. I didn't really look into it in great detail at the time as I wasn't looking for an estate. Just found it odd at face value that the estates were coming in around 50% cheaper all the time.

[LincolnHearts]

19 hours ago, Lambie's Pigeon Feed said:

Decided on an estate car cause of the dog and camping trips. Any advice on my current order of preference...

Vauxhall Insignia, 2016, 60k miles

Skoda Fabia, 2017, 45k miles

Ford Focus, 2014, 42k miles

VW Golf 2014, 48k miles

Similar prices, all with diesel 1.6L engines as its for exploring the Highlands and the high mpg and £20 road tax make that the right choice for those circumstances or am I missing something? 

The Insignia has the most bells and whistles and looks the best imo, so unless its significantly less reliable or more costly to maintain than the Skoda I think I'm gonna get that. Didn't realise test drives were still  banned cause of covid so you just need to buy it after a look in person which is a bit shit.

 

I'd be wary of the Insignia mate. Dealt with a lot of people who've had a lot of problems on them. OE Parts are a lot dearer than you'd expect for a Vauxhall as well.

[RandomGuy.]

9 hours ago, The_Kincardine said:

Fabia is wee compared to the Golf -  more like a Polo though maybe the boot is similar.

I have a 2003 1.6 Golf (hatchback) diesel and it is fine but gutless.  You may have to buy older/higher mileage/lower spec but I'd look for a 2.0 Golf estate.

You can't compare a 17yo car to a 3yo one.

1.6 diesels have a lot of injector and DPF issues, no matter what make you buy.

[Ron Aldo]

Decided on an estate car cause of the dog and camping trips. Any advice on my current order of preference...
Vauxhall Insignia, 2016, 60k miles
Skoda Fabia, 2017, 45k miles
Ford Focus, 2014, 42k miles
VW Golf 2014, 48k miles
Similar prices, all with diesel 1.6L engines as its for exploring the Highlands and the high mpg and £20 road tax make that the right choice for those circumstances or am I missing something? 
The Insignia has the most bells and whistles and looks the best imo, so unless its significantly less reliable or more costly to maintain than the Skoda I think I'm gonna get that. Didn't realise test drives were still  banned cause of covid so you just need to buy it after a look in person which is a bit shit.
 

I've currently got a 2.0 diesel VW Scirocco so no doubt you'll be able to get a Golf with the same engine.

In terms of performance, it's 150bhp so has a decent amount of shove. On motorway journeys it'll quite easily return 60+ mpg (according to the trip computer).*

*I appreciate that VW and diesel engines might still have a bit of a stigma at the moment but I've found it to be excellent.

[Lambie's Pigeon Feed]

Appreciate the responses, saw the Insignia today and wasn't majorly impressed, added to the comments on here, the mileage and my non expert feeling Vauxhall's aren't built to last I've ruled it out. The Fabia was a bit naff and small.

The 2014 1.6TDI Golf Estate is looking like the winner, although that needs bought online and I can't see it first. Its top end of my budget and the mileage looks decent at 48k so I don't have any scope for a bigger engine. Cheap to run and the most reliable sounding.

[Honest Saints Fan]

I ordered a Sportage. Picking it up on Monday.

[Thistle_do_nicely]

5 hours ago, thistledo said:

Would avoid the Insignia. Would more likely go with the Golf personally, better ride quality, will soak up bumpy highland B roads well, it's just a better car than the Insignia and probably the Focus. If you can get a Bluemotion Golf I think the MPG is usually ridiculously good on long drives. 

Skoda Octavia estate is also a good option if you can find one as I think the road tax maybe slightly cheaper and it's probably cheaper to buy than a Golf estate.

Not trying to throw a spanner in the works but I was kinda wondering from that list whether there might be an Avensis estate with a similar mileage in the price range. Pal is a mechanic at a Toyota garage and says they're great, well made cars, albeit he's told me the parts can be very expensive.

afaik the build quality on the Avensis means if you get one with 50k+ miles on it you're still going to get a lot of miles out of it before you need to start eating shit over constant repairs. I reckon they're quite handsome cars too although that's getting into pure personal preference.

edit: going back a bit purely on personal "window shopping" (or is it browser shopping now, did it all online!) but I think a 1.8L petrol 15 plate Avensis is what I'd be looking at, can mind the Business Edition being eye catching when I did some idle fantasy shopping a few years back.

Edited July 24, 2020 by Thistle_do_nicely

[strichener]

4 hours ago, Ross. said:

 

When I was looking earlier this year there seemed to be an absolute f**k load of Golf Estates for sale here at relatively low prices. Seemed very odd because for a Gold hatchback at a similar age and mileage, the prices were significantly higher. That is all I have to add here.

Gold going through the roof just now.  That may be why.

[Lambie's Pigeon Feed]

1 hour ago, Thistle_do_nicely said:

Not trying to throw a spanner in the works but I was kinda wondering from that list whether there might be an Avensis estate with a similar mileage in the price range. Pal is a mechanic at a Toyota garage and says they're great, well made cars, albeit he's told me the parts can be very expensive.

afaik the build quality on the Avensis means if you get one with 50k+ miles on it you're still going to get a lot of miles out of it before you need to start eating shit over constant repairs. I reckon they're quite handsome cars too although that's getting into pure personal preference.

edit: going back a bit purely on personal "window shopping" (or is it browser shopping now, did it all online!) but I think a 1.8L petrol 15 plate Avensis is what I'd be looking at, can mind the Business Edition being eye catching when I did some idle fantasy shopping a few years back.

Fits this bill and peaked my interest https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202006109993776?advertising-location=at_cars&homeDeliveryAdverts=include&postcode=G61 1hy&body-type=Estate&model=AVENSIS&sort=price-asc&page=1&radius=50&make=TOYOTA&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=New 

[supermik]

37 minutes ago, Lambie's Pigeon Feed said:

Fits this bill and peaked my interest https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202006109993776?advertising-location=at_cars&homeDeliveryAdverts=include&postcode=G61 1hy&body-type=Estate&model=AVENSIS&sort=price-asc&page=1&radius=50&make=TOYOTA&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=New 

That looks very decent at the price 

[JamesP_81]

Update on my 3 kid car quandary. Have settled for a c4 grand picasso and so far delighted with my choice. Can't remember what the trim type is called but it's the middle one in the range so got everything I really need without the extra fandan gadgets that would probably just end up causing problems anyway seeing as it's French! Just under 3 years old and 18k on the clock ( dozens of same age ones on sale across various dealers with mileages seeming to average about 30-40k) so should hopefully do me for the next 3-4 years no problem untill both boys are out of car seats.

Fits the 2 boys in car seats plus the new arrival in an isofix base that swivels across the middle 3 seats perfectly with each seat still being able to be adjusted independently, really glad I went for the 3 full seats across the middle now as would be really annoyed with myself if they ended up still getting crushed in just for the sake of a slightly bigger boot or more stylish looks. Can fit the wee yin's full pram system along with both boys' bikes in the boot and still have the parcel shelf drawn over.

Deal clincher was taking it for a test drive and finding it drives remarkably well. Has a really comfortable driving position and surprisingly decent performance, it is in no way like steering a big boat around and being stuck at 50 going up hills like I was worrying it may be and imo it is the nicest looking of all the big family wagons out there. All in all ideal for my current requirements, can't comment on reliability yet but hopefully won't be any updates in that department!

[sonsanorak]

I loved our C4GP, hope you enjoy it

Update on my 3 kid car quandary. Have settled for a c4 grand picasso and so far delighted with my choice. Can't remember what the trim type is called but it's the middle one in the range so got everything I really need without the extra fandan gadgets that would probably just end up causing problems anyway seeing as it's French! Just under 3 years old and 18k on the clock ( dozens of same age ones on sale across various dealers with mileages seeming to average about 30-40k) so should hopefully do me for the next 3-4 years no problem untill both boys are out of car seats.

Fits the 2 boys in car seats plus the new arrival in an isofix base that swivels across the middle 3 seats perfectly with each seat still being able to be adjusted independently, really glad I went for the 3 full seats across the middle now as would be really annoyed with myself if they ended up still getting crushed in just for the sake of a slightly bigger boot or more stylish looks. Can fit the wee yin's full pram system along with both boys' bikes in the boot and still have the parcel shelf drawn over.

Deal clincher was taking it for a test drive and finding it drives remarkably well. Has a really comfortable driving position and surprisingly decent performance, it is in no way like steering a big boat around and being stuck at 50 going up hills like I was worrying it may be and imo it is the nicest looking of all the big family wagons out there. All in all ideal for my current requirements, can't comment on reliability yet but hopefully won't be any updates in that department!

[MP_MFC]

I ordered a Sportage. Picking it up on Monday.

Brilliant.

Can't say enough good things about mine, had my first real long run with a full load in it today up the a9 to Elgin from Motherwell and it was a breeze.

[jimmy boo]

I'm just so glad that kids in the car is no longer an issue and I can have a car for me to go for a blast in. A shame that when the current generation of kids have grown up there will be nothing fun allowed to be bought by the parents anymore.