GF Car Buying Advice Required

[YorkshireRed]

Probably won’t be this year but I’m thinking my next car will be electric, or at the very least a hybrid. 

I have an Audi A4 at the moment, which has been a good car, but spends most of its time on the drive.
 

I seem to be driving less and less these days. That might pick up but not to the extent I did previously.

 

Trying to get my head around it but there seems to be some decent tax savings if purchased through my limited company. Need to research this a bit more though.

 

Anybody got one? Recommendations? Pros/Cons?

[Elite]

14 minutes ago, dockers_strike said:

Was on the verge of buying the Octavia vRS a few years back. Personally, Id say Skodas are better built than VW and Audi even though they're the same platforms and group.

 

I wouldnt look past a Kia right now with their 7 year warranty. The XCeed looks very nice and even the humble Ceed estate looks decent. If anyone's not badge conscious, the new Dacia Sandero Stepway Comfort or Prestige are good cars and well worth a look at.

Those Kia Stingers look very nice.

 

Not that I could afford one like.

[Paulie Dangerously]

Recently got a new Skoda Scala when our old runaround died a death. Its like being in a space ship and I love it. I now feel guilty for the time I dropped a tray of chips in @Chip Butty's brand new Ford Ka on the way back from an away years ago. 

[littletedwest]

I've got a shitty old toyota yaris, looks awful but runs OK. I'm fucked if it knackers as I haven't got a pot to piss in at the minute 

[Chip Butty]

44 minutes ago, Paulie Dangerously said:

Recently got a new Skoda Scala when our old runaround died a death. Its like being in a space ship and I love it. I now feel guilty for the time I dropped a tray of chips in @Chip Butty's brand new Ford Ka on the way back from an away years ago. 

Was it fuck a Ka, it was something way shitter than that. It was a Talbot Sunbeam or some-other failed purchase like that. 

 

And you never even offered me a chip!, ye tight get. 

[Scooby Dudek]

1 hour ago, YorkshireRed said:

Probably won’t be this year but I’m thinking my next car will be electric, or at the very least a hybrid. 

I have an Audi A4 at the moment, which has been a good car, but spends most of its time on the drive.
 

I seem to be driving less and less these days. That might pick up but not to the extent I did previously.

 

Trying to get my head around it but there seems to be some decent tax savings if purchased through my limited company. Need to research this a bit more though.

 

Anybody got one? Recommendations? Pros/Cons?

Have a Toyota Auris hybrid (saving the planet one car at a time) and as I said previously not single issue with it.

When bought our previous car was Astra and this actually goes 0-60 quicker than the Astra. 

 

I tend to watch the mpg too much on the dash, which sometimes has a chain of cars behind me as I am coasting at 20 odd miles an hour towards lights etc. 

Obviously with it having an engine, running out of fuel is just the same as a normal car.

 

If I had the money I would love an Audi e-tron, pure electric but a range of approx 200 miles, so no issues whatsoever for me.

[YorkshireRed]

1 minute ago, Scooby Dudek said:

Audi e-tron

Thanks - looks lovely this. I’ll have to do a bit of saving mind. Not planning to change until next year so I have time. Might end up having to lower my sights though, something a bit lower down the electric car food chain, unless I can get a good business lease deal. 

[YorkshireRed]

4 minutes ago, Colonel Kurtz said:

The tax saving on all electric cars is amazing. It’s basically 50% off the lease cost. 

Yes, that my driver for looking into getting one. Well that and saving the world obviously. 

[Rico1304]

9 minutes ago, Colonel Kurtz said:

The tax saving on all electric cars is amazing. It’s basically 50% off the lease cost. 

Octopus energy have set up a leasing  company to take advantage of the BIK savings.  I’m looking at a Tesla or Taycan when mine goes back. Same price as my X3 but 8k free miles through Octopus.  No brainer. 

[YorkshireRed]

8 minutes ago, Rico1304 said:

Octopus energy have set up a leasing  company to take advantage of the BIK savings.  I’m looking at a Tesla or Taycan when mine goes back. Same price as my X3 but 8k free miles through Octopus.  No brainer. 

Cheers - I’ll have a look at this. I do fancy a Tesla if I can justify the cost. 

[rb14]

On 01/05/2021 at 10:58, Karl_b said:

Anyway, we probably need an estate for dog/camping gear and have a £10k budget. I know a little less than fuck all about cars but the Skoda Octavia looks decent. 

Toyota or Kia. 

 

On 02/05/2021 at 13:14, dockers_strike said:

I wouldnt look past a Kia right now with their 7 year warranty.

Indeed.

 

Although Toyota.

[Elite]

Do Kia not rip you off with the yearly service which is required for their warranty to be valid?

 

When I bought my focus I got the Ford service plan with it but they tried to rip me off so I sacked it off.

[VladimirIlyich]

My daughter had a Kia but had to have it recalled due to manufacturing issues and it kept breaking down. I'm a no vote for a Kia.

[dockers_strike]

3 hours ago, Elite said:

Do Kia not rip you off with the yearly service which is required for their warranty to be valid?

 

When I bought my focus I got the Ford service plan with it but they tried to rip me off so I sacked it off.

Same with every make to maintain a warranty which with the exception of Hyundai and Renault, tends to be just 3 years. If you miss a service, you void the warranty.

[Karl_b]

6 hours ago, rb14 said:

Toyota or Kia. 

 

Indeed.

 

Although Toyota.

Ta. What age/mileage should I be looking for under £10k? We do about 8,000 miles a year and I'd like this to last me a good few years!

[johnsusername]

On 01/05/2021 at 13:32, TheHowieLama said:

Unless the kids are sitting in the trunk that ain't happening in a Porsche.

 

Right now it seems like if you don't buy a Tesla you are purchasing outdated technology.

A mate of mine had a Porsche convertible and years ago was at the start of Edge Lane by the Rocket when it started pissing down. He couldn't get the roof back up and had to drive home in the docks with his roof down in the rain. Makes me chuckle every time I think about it. 

[johnsusername]

On 02/05/2021 at 13:52, Paulie Dangerously said:

Recently got a new Skoda Scala when our old runaround died a death. Its like being in a space ship and I love it. I now feel guilty for the time I dropped a tray of chips in @Chip Butty's brand new Ford Ka on the way back from an away years ago. 

The wife got a Skoda Kodiaq last year, it's really nice. Really solidly built, tonnes of room, really quiet inside, smooth ride, nice tech. Skodas are brilliant cars.

[rb14]

30 minutes ago, Karl_b said:

Ta. What age/mileage should I be looking for under £10k? We do about 8,000 miles a year and I'd like this to last me a good few years!

I don't think which Toyota model is something I can answer. You know what size you want, what you want to do with it. That's for you, not me. 

 

What I can tell you is that your friend is AutoTrader. I search for the manufacturer I want, the model, whether petrol or diesel and auto or manual. And then the killer: select Private Sales only. Look properly at the results. Ignore any that have freshly blacked wheels or look as if they're suspiciously tarted up, or a staged photo. You want to deal with honest, decent people. You're looking at their house and garden. Nice, proper people who are real and want to sell their cherished car to someone who's going to look after it. Why are they selling it? You want to buy from someone who has good reasons for selling. Perhaps they've bought a new car and the dealer is offering them very little, so they want someone to benefit from their passion, not some dealer who wants to turn a quick buck. Or some other similar bona fide reason. Not someone who goes the auction, adds a bit of spit and polish, then adds £500 to what they paid.

 

Go and see five cars. As soon as you drive up, you'll know an awful lot. Once you see it and talk to them, you'll know more. Look for service history and proper documentation. Proper people look after their cars and paperwork. Even if, having looked at a few, the best has already gone, fear not; you'll be better armed and equipped to look at the next ones. 

 

If you're worried about a warranty, there are plenty of options available online without buying from a dealer. 

 

Best of luck. 

[rb14]

1 hour ago, Karl_b said:

Ta. What age/mileage should I be looking for under £10k? We do about 8,000 miles a year and I'd like this to last me a good few years!

And you don't want a "Cat" anything. Whether Cat A, B, C, D or any other Cat except for one that sits on your lap and purrs. These are damage/accident/stolen recovered. 

 

Low mileage isn't necessarily a good thing. A car that whizzes to the local shop three times a week is probably less good than one that's done three times the mileage. But don't let any of that faze you. You'll know what's been repaired/replaced, and how regularly and when last it was serviced by looking at the paperwork - which is why you'll pass up on those that have none. And that's what your warranty is for - assuming you get one. 

[dockers_strike]

12 hours ago, rb14 said:

And you don't want a "Cat" anything. Whether Cat A, B, C, D or any other Cat except for one that sits on your lap and purrs. These are damage/accident/stolen recovered. 

 

Low mileage isn't necessarily a good thing. A car that whizzes to the local shop three times a week is probably less good than one that's done three times the mileage. But don't let any of that faze you. You'll know what's been repaired/replaced, and how regularly and when last it was serviced by looking at the paperwork - which is why you'll pass up on those that have none. And that's what your warranty is for - assuming you get one. 

Yeah avoid Toyotas and Hondas as the local scotes will nick the one cat you do need on your car, the catalytic converter.

 

Toyota Pruis and Honda SUVs seem particularly targetted for this theft. Otherwise Toyotas are reliable cars if not a little conservative with a small 'c.' I stopped buying Japanese stuff after watching Whale Wars, though.

[Chairman Meow]

14 hours ago, rb14 said:

And you don't want a "Cat" anything. Whether Cat A, B, C, D or any other Cat except for one that sits on your lap and purrs. These are damage/accident/stolen recovered. 

 

Low mileage isn't necessarily a good thing. A car that whizzes to the local shop three times a week is probably less good than one that's done three times the mileage. But don't let any of that faze you. You'll know what's been repaired/replaced, and how regularly and when last it was serviced by looking at the paperwork - which is why you'll pass up on those that have none. And that's what your warranty is for - assuming you get one. 

For my own daily drivers I typically scour the auctions for high mileage stuff.

 

None of the other traders want one as low mileage always gets viewed as a positive so they tend to get ignored, however, my logic on the likes of my current Mondeo that I am using as my daily scrapper/workhorse is that for a Mondeo to have the mileage mine does it has to have been well maintained. Furthermore, at over 160k it's already had to have had all of the problem areas replaced. My theory was born out as it's had the clutch, turbo, egr etc. all done in the last couple of years, all it needs is the glow plugs done and it's basically perfect and most of it's brand new. 

 

The Mondeo has replaced my previous A6 which was on about 340k if I remember correctly and is still running and waiting for me to strip it. That in turn replaced my old Audi 100 which had done somewhere near half a million, although that mileage will have been low as I snapped the clip for the drive on the gearbox when I did the clutch, so it did quite a lot of miles without registering them. 

[Karl_b]

Forgot to thank @rb14, and others, for the help here. I'm fucking useless at cars.

 

What are the thoughts on second hand petrol hybrids? There are a lot of 3/4 year old Toyota peteol-hybrid estate cars around in our price range but are they a potential money pit when the battery goes?

[mars]

59 minutes ago, Karl_b said:

Forgot to thank @rb14, and others, for the help here. I'm fucking useless at cars.

 

What are the thoughts on second hand petrol hybrids? There are a lot of 3/4 year old Toyota peteol-hybrid estate cars around in our price range but are they a potential money pit when the battery goes?

In case you haven't seen this https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-news/electric-cars/94872/buying-a-used-hybrid-car-the-complete-guide 

 

Which magazine is very positive about hybrids - can be the most reliable engines. Balance battery replacement (and most cars will do over 100 000 miles before that is an issue) against high mpg (I have a mild hybrid that gives me 60 mpg easily) and the fact that battery costs continue to drop. 

 

Get a trial Which subscription (you can cancel after a month) and look at their reliability reports. Toyota are highly regarded.

[lifetime fan]

13 minutes ago, Colonel Kurtz said:

Good point. My car has 172k on the clock and still runs perfectly. High mileage cars are a bargain 

We used to have an old Y reg 2.0 petrol focus that was passed around continually within the family. It had well over 200k before the bodywork finally went.
 

The engine still started first time every time. 

[Red74]

Just upgraded to a Q8. It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.