Car advice

[pub car king]

Gap insurance, educate me. 

For the first time I am buying a half decent car as opposed to the hand me downs, trade ins and shite from the auction. 

To be a bit more precise I'm spending £21,000 on a 2 year old car from a dealership because its a lot of money and I need to part ex etc. 

Now I'm paying cash effectively to finance this. The salesman as per was trying to punt me their Gap insurance (along with other shite)at a cost of about £450. I said gtf as I've seen polices independently for less than half that. 

Now my questions are. 

Do I need this or will the car hold its price well enough for the first couple of years? 

Which one do I need, return to invoice, vehicle replacement or something else. 

Any recommendations of companies.

It's a 21 plate seat leon for reference. 

[madmitch]

On 04/03/2023 at 19:25, Ross. said:

I’d be looking to get 7 or 8 years out the next one, this makes it relatively appealing.

I assume the 10 year/185k km warranty applies in the UK as well? Usually those deals tend to attract the taxi drivers, for obvious reasons.

Back in the office 3 days a week which means I am driving about 500km a week. The office commute is 95% of the usage. I basically just want something that will run hassle free, has relatively decent fuel consumption, and is comfortable enough to sit in for an hour at a time.

Have you considered  a Yaris Cross hybrid? Phenomenal fuel consumption on them and the white one looks like star wars stormtrooper from the front. 

[alta-pete]

32 minutes ago, pub car king said:

Gap insurance, educate me. 

For the first time I am buying a half decent car as opposed to the hand me downs, trade ins and shite from the auction. 

To be a bit more precise I'm spending £21,000 on a 2 year old car from a dealership because its a lot of money and I need to part ex etc. 

Now I'm paying cash effectively to finance this. The salesman as per was trying to punt me their Gap insurance (along with other shite)at a cost of about £450. I said gtf as I've seen polices independently for less than half that. 

Now my questions are. 

Do I need this or will the car hold its price well enough for the first couple of years? 

Which one do I need, return to invoice, vehicle replacement or something else. 

Any recommendations of companies.

It's a 21 plate seat leon for reference. 

Personally, I take GAP insurance. A car is a big purchase and the minute it is off the forecourt the trade price  (insurance value) is £5/6k down. Then you’ve got depreciation every month. Having to go back and fund another one in 12/18 months would be a real sore one.

I go independent (GAP-123, but I think they’ve changed their name) and the last one was the wife’s car. Less than £200 iirc. Return to invoice is the option we take. If you like the Leon, use it to buy another one; or if it has been wearing on you, your choice to go get something different. YMMV. 
 

ETA: thankfully have never yet had to claim so have zero experience that side of the transaction. But it seems a fairly binary decision with little room for debate. Car written off = payout. 

Edited March 6, 2023 by alta-pete

[Ross.]

31 minutes ago, madmitch said:

Have you considered  a Yaris Cross hybrid? Phenomenal fuel consumption on them and the white one looks like star wars stormtrooper from the front. 

Seems to be a relative f**k load of them on the market over here right now. Haven’t clicked on any of the ads, because I always thought the Yaris was incredibly small? Possibly I am just confusing it with some other Toyota. If it’s bigger than my Polo then I would probably consider.

[madmitch]

1 hour ago, Ross. said:

Seems to be a relative f**k load of them on the market over here right now. Haven’t clicked on any of the ads, because I always thought the Yaris was incredibly small? Possibly I am just confusing it with some other Toyota. If it’s bigger than my Polo then I would probably consider.

2022 Polo is 1751 mm wide. Length 4050 -4080 mm. 2022 Yaris Cross 1765 wide.  Length 4185.

[madmitch]

1 hour ago, Ross. said:

Seems to be a relative f**k load of them on the market over here right now. Haven’t clicked on any of the ads, because I always thought the Yaris was incredibly small? Possibly I am just confusing it with some other Toyota. If it’s bigger than my Polo then I would probably consider.

If it was me I would buy a Mazda 3 over a Corolla every time. Depends on how you view cars. I like them to be fun or at least engaging to drive.  That's where the Corolla falls down for me it's as dull as dishwater to drive. All Mazdas seem to be better driver's cars. Also, nowadays Mazda are just as reliable as Toyota and often cheaper to repair.  The clincher for me is the quality of the interior of the Mazda. If you are going to be spending a lot of time per day in your car. The Mazda is a far nicer place to be. With some notable exceptions, Toyota are the masters of mediocrity for me.

[coprolite]

2 hours ago, Ross. said:

Seems to be a relative f**k load of them on the market over here right now. Haven’t clicked on any of the ads, because I always thought the Yaris was incredibly small? Possibly I am just confusing it with some other Toyota. If it’s bigger than my Polo then I would probably consider.

It's not as small as the Ayo but I'm just under 6ft with short legs and struggle to fit my legs under the steering wheel and need to crane my neck to look higher than 10% below horizontal out the front of the wife's Yaris. 

[Ross.]

1 hour ago, madmitch said:

2022 Polo is 1751 mm wide. Length 4050 -4080 mm. 2022 Yaris Cross 1765 wide.  Length 4185.

Quoted the wrong reply but can’t be fucked fixing it. I have the Mazda 3 on a watchlist on one of the car sites over here. Also the Kia Nero, though the number of them that are available seems a bit worrying. Will hopefully be replacing the Polo in the next 3 to 6 months, would rather something a little bigger, I can definitely feel a few additional aches and pains after the commute to work 2 days in a row. Comfort will definitely play a fair part in the decision!

16 minutes ago, coprolite said:

It's not as small as the Ayo but I'm just under 6ft with short legs and struggle to fit my legs under the steering wheel and need to crane my neck to look higher than 10% below horizontal out the front of the wife's Yaris. 

Was the Aygo I was thinking of when the Yaris was mentioned earlier. I can just about manage with the current car but it is a bit of a squeeze at times, and I am relatively svelte these days…

Edited March 6, 2023 by Ross.

[Loonytoons]

4 hours ago, alta-pete said:

Personally, I take GAP insurance. A car is a big purchase and the minute it is off the forecourt the trade price  (insurance value) is £5/6k down. Then you’ve got depreciation every month. Having to go back and fund another one in 12/18 months would be a real sore one.

I go independent (GAP-123, but I think they’ve changed their name) and the last one was the wife’s car. Less than £200 iirc. Return to invoice is the option we take. If you like the Leon, use it to buy another one; or if it has been wearing on you, your choice to go get something different. YMMV. 
 

ETA: thankfully have never yet had to claim so have zero experience that side of the transaction. But it seems a fairly binary decision with little room for debate. Car written off = payout. 

Will a used car at £21k depreciate by £5/6k taking it off the forecourt?  I'd be surprised.

As for buying new, check your house insurance.  My one covered the first year of a new car, a tad strange but there you go.  Didn't bother with GAP the last couple of years as the car hasn't depreciated too much because of the current second hand car market.

[Ron Aldo]

4 hours ago, madmitch said:

If it was me I would buy a Mazda 3 over a Corolla every time. Depends on how you view cars. I like them to be fun or at least engaging to drive.  That's where the Corolla falls down for me it's as dull as dishwater to drive. All Mazdas seem to be better driver's cars. Also, nowadays Mazda are just as reliable as Toyota and often cheaper to repair.  The clincher for me is the quality of the interior of the Mazda. If you are going to be spending a lot of time per day in your car. The Mazda is a far nicer place to be. With some notable exceptions, Toyota are the masters of mediocrity for me.

Agreed. Mazdas are lovely these days, inside and out. In saying that, the the Corolla in GR Sport trim is a smart looking thing. 

Only thing is a Mazda 3 won't be as economical as a Corolla. The Corolla will be a hybrid whereas I don't think the Mazda 3 (certainly the later model anyway) comes with anything other than a 2 litre petrol engine. 

[Ross.]

9 minutes ago, Ron Aldo said:

Agreed. Mazdas are lovely these days, inside and out. In saying that, the the Corolla in GR Sport trim is a smart looking thing. 

Only thing is a Mazda 3 won't be as economical as a Corolla. The Corolla will be a hybrid whereas I don't think the Mazda 3 (certainly the later model anyway) comes with anything other than a 2 litre petrol engine. 

Yeah, that is my main issue with the Mazda. Next one I buy I am 99% sure will be a hybrid, in the short term it wont make a huge difference but over 7/8 years I expect the tax saving here will be substantial enough to make it stupid to buy anything else.

[dundeefc1783]

5 hours ago, Loonytoons said:

Will a used car at £21k depreciate by £5/6k taking it off the forecourt?  I'd be surprised.

As for buying new, check your house insurance.  My one covered the first year of a new car, a tad strange but there you go.  Didn't bother with GAP the last couple of years as the car hasn't depreciated too much because of the current second hand car market.

Gap insurance is an absolute scam if you ask me. As you say a second hand car is not depreciating by 5/6k particularly not these days. 

Most insurers offer new car replacement on car less than 12 months old. The dealers won't tell you that though when trying to scam you out of another £450 quid. 

[tam the bud]

On 03/03/2023 at 13:24, Ross. said:

I’m too lazy to check the thread but what are the general thoughts on Corollas these days? There’s a 22 model hybrid going that I might take a look at, seems a decent car but a bit too “sensible”(By which of course I mean absolutely fucking boring)?

Been driving a Corolla Wagon for 28 months and had no problem.

Been getting around 63 MPG on the motorway and around 45 MPG in town. 

It as good as any Toyota cars that i have driven before.

[TxRover]

13 hours ago, pub car king said:

Gap insurance, educate me. 

For the first time I am buying a half decent car as opposed to the hand me downs, trade ins and shite from the auction. 

To be a bit more precise I'm spending £21,000 on a 2 year old car from a dealership because its a lot of money and I need to part ex etc. 

Now I'm paying cash effectively to finance this. The salesman as per was trying to punt me their Gap insurance (along with other shite)at a cost of about £450. I said gtf as I've seen polices independently for less than half that. 

Now my questions are. 

Do I need this or will the car hold its price well enough for the first couple of years? 

Which one do I need, return to invoice, vehicle replacement or something else. 

Any recommendations of companies.

It's a 21 plate seat leon for reference. 

GAP insurance is a tricky one, especially on a used vehicle. From the dealer, never. From your finance company or an insurance company, perhaps.

1) What are you paying for the vehicle and what does your insurance company say its worth? If they won't tell you, find a reputible valuation (in the U.S. KBB is pretty much the best average choice) online.

2) Look at the same vehicle with 10,000 more miles and one year older (as long as they didn't change styles or facelift between the two years) and see what that shows as a value...thats an esimate of your value in one year. How does that compare with your payoff after one year of payments?

3) GAP generally is more necessary the less you put down, the longer the length of the finance, and the worse the depeciation of the vehicle. Here's one way to track it in the UK: https://motorway.co.uk/car-value-tracker (I havent used this, just found it).

 

Basically GAP insurance is a way to ensure that if you total your purchased car and still owe £19,000 on it, and the insurance company says its only worth £17,000, it pays the difference...different forms pay differently, but the theory is similar.

[madmitch]

12 hours ago, Ron Aldo said:

Agreed. Mazdas are lovely these days, inside and out. In saying that, the the Corolla in GR Sport trim is a smart looking thing. 

Only thing is a Mazda 3 won't be as economical as a Corolla. The Corolla will be a hybrid whereas I don't think the Mazda 3 (certainly the later model anyway) comes with anything other than a 2 litre petrol engine. 

They are introducing hybrid models in some markets. Mazda 3 hybrid is available here in NZ now. However only in the top spec model so isnae cheap. Mazda 2 hybrid is available in the uk

[Sweet Pete]

Question for those in the know: my Ford transit is making a ticking sound that increases or decreases in direct correlation to the acceleration. When it was happening last autumn the garage said it just needed an oil change with its MOT in December and that solved it at that time. Is it likely to be the same thing again? Should it need an oil change every 3 to 4 months?

[jimmy boo]

1 hour ago, Sweet Pete said:

Question for those in the know: my Ford transit is making a ticking sound that increases or decreases in direct correlation to the acceleration. When it was happening last autumn the garage said it just needed an oil change with its MOT in December and that solved it at that time. Is it likely to be the same thing again? Should it need an oil change every 3 to 4 months?

Nail or stone in a tyre?

[Sweet Pete]

31 minutes ago, jimmy boo said:

Nail or stone in a tyre?

Sounds identical to last time, but I'll have a look

[Sweet Pete]

Sound is definitely coming from the engine. Not tyre related as happening when stationary.

[Sergeant Wilson]

4 hours ago, Sweet Pete said:

Question for those in the know: my Ford transit is making a ticking sound that increases or decreases in direct correlation to the acceleration. When it was happening last autumn the garage said it just needed an oil change with its MOT in December and that solved it at that time. Is it likely to be the same thing again? Should it need an oil change every 3 to 4 months?

It's a bomb.