Family Car hell !! suggestions please

Cionn

Following the birth of our daughter myself and the misses are being forced to sell the current motor (Ford Ka, and yes I do feel like a hairdresser driving it, but it is a nice car to drive)
I am looking for suggestions on what to get instead we are looking at an engine size of 1.6 max, trying to get a '00 reg and have up to 8k to spend. I am looking for suggestions of types of cars that would be suitable and where to get the best value. The garage prices seem ludicrasly expensive for what they are www.buyandsell.ie seem like the only option.
Has anybody used car auctions before what are the best ones ??

I have been looking at Mondeo's and S40's they seem to be the ones that fit the bill most.
Any help greatly appreciated.

Cionn

BrookieD

just a thought but go for a Jap car, not an import but Nissan have some great cars, ok style wise not the best but I am on my 5th Nissan [Primera 1.6] and swear by them, try www.windsor.ie and have a look at used stock, they all come with a Gold Standard warranty and have been given full inspections,

Mondeo and S40s are very nice cars though, i just prefer the easy running cost of the Nissans
IMO:D

daggeredge

I'd have to agree ...
you see the thing about mondeos (I'd like 1 by the way)
Is that a 1.6 one isn't going to be very fast/responsive (lift the bonnet and feel the weight!) thats detroit pig-steel for you..weighs a ton, more importantly youre lucky to get about 36/37 mpg outta the mondeo combined compared to about 40/41 for the primera (less weight) thats alot also s40s are heavy feckers 2...

for me it would be a tossup between the 1.6 primera or if your still smitten with the mondeo I'd have to say get a mondeo but get the 1.8 turbodiesel if you can at all (diesels cheaper and has more economy)

daggeredge

check out http://www.topgear.com and look under used car road tests, they're usually pretty acurrate.
also on a final point I'd imagine a mondeo has better crash protection than a primera...due to the fact that a primera is designed to crumple and a mondeo is just pure steel

Cionn

Thanks for the suggestions lads. I have to admit that the heavyness of the Mondeo is a plus at the moment given the fact that we will have a baby onboard and all that. The reason for sticking at 1.6 is more to do with insurance and read tax reasons tbh. Has anyone bought off buy and sell or an auction house if so what have your expieriances been like ?? Also I was thinking of finding out how car fleet management companys get rid of their cars, given the fact that we are looking to buy something that is a real sales rep. car.

thanks again for the responese.

BrookieD

mmmmm maybe tru but my Primer has airbags surroundng the car front, back and side airbags. i wanted a safe car for my baby also.

Cionn

Primera is on my list too, but one thing that I don't like about it is the turning circle is poor to say the least. They are a great value car though. I am trying to pursuade her indoors that a volvo v40 is the way to go, I have a thing about estate cars at the moment for some reason, ever since I saw an Audi Allroad and the Alfa sportswagon.

ToxicPaddy

I have a mondeo and they are fairly responsive and
cheap enough to maintain aswell as being pretty good
on petrol.. would recommend they to you for one
a few reasons:

They have a huge boot and you will need it with the kids
accessories, pram, bags etc

They are cheap to maintain as with a new kid money
will be fairly tight for the next few years

They are reliable as you are gonna get and cheap to
maintain..

There are lots out there that you can get off a dealers
forecourt and worth the extra few quid as you get a
warranty with them too.

Tox

ToxicPaddy

By the way, Bolands in wexford town always have a few
second hand mondeos with very reasonable mileage
on them for sale and usually in good nick too.. as they
have a few ford dealerships in the South East.. might
be worth checking them out.

Tox

ChipZilla

What about a Xantia? Loads of space, and much nicer ride and handling than a Mondeo or a Primera. You should pick up a 00 for well under your budget. And they're not bad to insure either.

trotter_inc

A mate of mine got a 00 Primera for 8,000 euro from Deansgrange motors - he said they had a couple - dont think they're Nissan dealers tho.

Hagar

I bought a 97 1.4 Citroen Xara Estate for 2.5k
The most I can lose on it is 2.5k.
If it lasts more than 1 year it will be cheaper than buying an 8k car that will be worth 5.5k after 1 year or 3k after 2 years.
Check cbg.ie and see what the car you are thing of buying would be in 2 yrs and factor that in.

Depreciation is the biggest hidden cost in motoring.

Cionn

Thanks for all the advice guys, I am having a busy time looking around now. I think I have it down to 4 cars at the moment a Mondeo, S40, Primera or a Renault Laguna.

I think I'll stick to trying to get a 00' as I don't want the other half to breakdown anywhere (not saying that happens with older cars but she has put the foot down on this issue). As far as depreciation goes I think we are going to run whatever car we get into the ground so I expext a 2k a year depreciation at least. The main thing is we don't want to get into debt to pay for the car.

I will take the car up to the garage that we bought it from and see what they will give us for it and see if there is anything that they have in stock that we might be able to do a deal on.

Anybody ever buy from auctions ? How are they ? I think all you get to see is the car running and a chance to kick the tyres. There should be the possibility of some decent deals there though.

John R

You can get some very good cars cheap at auctions but if you buy it and the engine seizes up the next day you have no comeback. If you know what you are doing auctions are great but if not they can be a lottery.

Gmodified

i would go for Primera or mondeo with bigger engine

Cionn

I was thinking if I went to an auction I would bring a mechanic or a firend that knows something about cars. I know there is a risk involved but I reckon it is built into the price. Therefore the big thing is knowing what price to pay for the car at auction. I was trying to get a list of cars that are being auctioned out in Naas. I rang them up and they said they would add me to a fax list of what is up for sale but I haven't had any fax yet.

I reckon I am just a scabby f**ker and don't like paying market rates. That might bite in the preverbials though.

Cionn