Which car would you buy?

WhatsGoingOn

boomshackala wrote:

agreed the mondeo is a better car than the vectra....but boring tho...in fact all cars mentioned here are!

Thanks for all the replies. Agreeing with boomshackla about the boring part though, so looking into a new SEAT Leon TDi. Bit above budget and not a saloon as I mentioned above, but I'm hoping to get a demo model which should knock a bit off the list price.

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=407759

mkdon05

Seat are one of the worst for holding their value, serious depreciation on them, be warned. Purely for resale value, you can only chose, mercedes, bmw, toyota, or vw.

Big Nelly

WhatsGoingOn wrote:

Thanks for all the replies. Agreeing with boomshackla about the boring part though, so looking into a new SEAT Leon TDi. Bit above budget and not a saloon as I mentioned above, but I'm hoping to get a demo model which should knock a bit off the list price.

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=407759

The Seat is a poor mans Passat, they take all the good stuff off the Passat and shove everything else into Seats and Octavia's

michaelanthony

BMW 530d

maidhc

Big Nelly wrote:

The Seat is a poor mans Passat, they take all the good stuff off the Passat and shove everything else into Seats and Octavia's

Good stuff? I'd say about 80% of Passats in this country as as low specced or lower than their Seat and Skoda counterparts.

Mc-BigE

Big Nelly wrote:

The Seat is a poor mans Passat, they take all the good stuff off the Passat and shove everything else into Seats and Octavia's

here we go again! the skoda bashers back!:)

tred

Mc-BigE wrote:

here we go again! the skoda bashers back!:)

I have a Mondeo TDCI 130 BHP GHIA X. I was seceptical a little at the start when I bought it, but i love this car. Its so comfortable. Leather seats electric everything. I have gotten 55MPG from galway to dublin on a regular basis. Getting 40MPg around town. Ill be changing selling her on this year and getting the same car again, it still has a years Ford warranty on it so keep an eye on Boards!!!...

phoenix_nights

Mc-BigE wrote:

here we go again! the skoda bashers back!:)

Or go for a Alfa 156. Great cars.

colm_mcm

Yeah a 156! no common problems at all!

Stastically Avensis is very reliable. and I rarely see them with the problems that are common on european cars.

knifey_spoonie

Big Nelly wrote:

The Seat is a poor mans Passat, they take all the good stuff off the Passat and shove everything else into Seats and Octavia's

Yeah and the skoda is a better built VW.

As to maidhc's avensis those problems are very unusual, ive just seen an avensis with 130K on it and it just got 2 services and the oil toped up.The car was still running fine, now try that in a mondeo or passat and you will end you with the remains of a car.

WhatsGoingOn

phoenix_nights wrote:

Or go for a Alfa 156. Great cars.

I already have one, I'm getting rid of it, heart would like a new one, but head says no.

colm_mcm

knife_fighter wrote:

ive just seen an avensis with 130K on it and it just got 2 services and the oil toped up.The car was still running fine, .

so, are ye going to retail it?

WhatsGoingOn

mkdon05 wrote:

Seat are one of the worst for holding their value, serious depreciation on them, be warned. Purely for resale value, you can only chose, mercedes, bmw, toyota, or vw.

This months 'Test Drive' magazine compares 9 hatchback diesels. Merc A180, Peugeot 307, Megane, Astra, C4, Focus, Civic, Golf and Leon. Of all of them, they say that the Leon will hold it's value best over 3 years. And it is definitely the sportiest looking of all of them.

colm_mcm

UK and Ireland are completely different markets.

knifey_spoonie

colm_mcm wrote:

so, are ye going to retail it?

Nah it was in for its 3rd service

colm_mcm

knife_fighter wrote:

Nah it was in for its 3rd service

3 out of 13 isn't bad!

ninty9er

colm_mcm wrote:

UK and Ireland are completely different markets.

I couldn't agree more. The Golf and Merc will hold more value here,

I think VWs are depreciating faster over the last 12 months though, the Polo being the exception

boomshackala

Here's a different way of looking at it... There is a better re-sale market for diesels than petrols especially in this segment, hence I would'nt be too bothered about brand rasther engine and which one was more frugal at that. To further reinforce that argument, the savings on fuel consumption on diesel will outweigh interbrand depreciation...

maidhc

ninty9er wrote:

I couldn't agree more. The Golf and Merc will hold more value here,

A merc won't hold its value better than an avensis or passat. It may retain a greater % of its value, but you will still loose more cash on it.

Big Nelly

knife_fighter wrote:

Yeah and the skoda is a better built VW.

Where did you hear that gem? seeing as VW build the Skoda why would you think they would build there own version of the Skoda worse? the Passat are better built with more expensive parts, more extras etc.

As to maidhc's avensis those problems are very unusual, ive just seen an avensis with 130K on it and it just got 2 services and the oil toped up.The car was still running fine, now try that in a mondeo or passat and you will end you with the remains of a car.

Another gem, dont think you have a clue what you are talking about to be honest, have seen alot of Passat over the last while, last year when I was buying first one and this year again, with all sorts of milage and any of them that was kept in proper order where running like a dream. I wonder why alot of taxi men use Passats? is that because after a few miles they fall apart? I dont think so, its because you can rely on the engine to do well over 150k miles and still not have a problem.

130K car and only 2 services? do you know how often that car should be serviced? it should average about 10k which is what I service all my cars at but with new oils some people leave it till 20k. So you think a car that has been serviced twice over 130k is running fine? it would have 2 services for the timing belt alone.

maidhc

Big Nelly wrote:

Where did you hear that gem? seeing as VW build the Skoda why would you think they would build there own version of the Skoda worse? the Passat are better built with more expensive parts, more extras etc.

Skoda build skoda? Different companies, just both owned by VAG group. I think it was only in 2003 or something VAG took full control.

I suspect the czech workers take a little more pride in their work than the Germans.

Big Nelly wrote:

130K car and only 2 services? do you know how often that car should be serviced? it should average about 10k which is what I service all my cars at but with new oils some people leave it till 20k. So you think a car that has been serviced twice over 130k is running fine? it would have 2 services for the timing belt alone.

If its running fine then its running fine! Probably more wear inside all right, but impressive the timing belt didn't break and nothing else went wrong. Hats off to Toyota.

unkel

maidhc wrote:

I think it was only in 2003 or something VAG took full control

VAG bought Skoda in 1991

maidhc wrote:

Different companies, just both owned by VAG group

The integration goes much further than that. The cars are mechanically near identical. Differences are in the bodyshell and interior, etc. which have no impact on reliability of the cars

maidhc

unkel wrote:

VAG bought Skoda in 1991

I was certain they didn't buy the entire company (i.e. the remaining x% shares) until about 2002/2003, when the Octavia had proved a success , I read this somewhere, but I forget where so I may be all wrong. I rmember there was very interesting goings on there around that time, including a chief executive getting killed in car "accident".

You are right though, they are practically the same car, and one would think the same design flaws apply to both.

Sizzler

The C5 is a sh1tbox.Wouldnt give it a 2nd glance.

Vectra not bad, but you can be sure it will be in a joccer once it hits 6/7 yrs old.

The mondeos have got much better in recent years so its between that and the passat.

Im bias....but Id defo say the passat without a doubt...although the one you have linked there aint great, you could get a much nicer one for the sort of lids you're willing to spend.

knifey_spoonie

Big Nelly wrote:

Where did you hear that gem? seeing as VW build the Skoda why would you think they would build there own version of the Skoda worse? the Passat are better built with more expensive parts, more extras etc.

Thats no jem its the truth, all you jave to do is look at the top gear survey skoda 2nd Vw 21st. Now lets see you argue your point and as to where my knowledge comes from, it the family business we are a main franchise dealer with a turn over of upto 1000 cars a year ive known the trade for ten years.Dont try and tell me Vw's are better built than skodas, we would be much kinder to to a skoda owner than a vw one.