new car possibly

mayordenis

hi guys,

getting a new car sometime in january, realistically i should be looking at 15-16 on something secondhand 05/06 but saying that i think i should get a 08 honda civic for about 25 so technically i've got a budget of 15-25 but i should be looking at the lower end of that scale, anyone got any suggestions? and nothing over 25k or 1.4l

Anan1

What do you like? What do you want? What do you need? What have you driven?

E92

If you are going to buy a new Civic, wait till July. Car is going down in price because VRT is dropping from 22.5% to 16%. It should fall from €23,670 to €21,840. On the other hand, a 1.8 is falling from 25% to 20%, so the 1.8 SE Exec should come in at €25,110(assuming Honda pass on the VRT saving in full). At the very least a new Civic registered after July will cost €150 to tax, and a 1.8 will cost €290 to tax if registered after July.

Cars will no longer be taxed on engine size if they are registered after July, so don't rule out larger engined cars on the grounds that they will cost a lot more to run.

In any event because I'm expecting that new Civic prices will come down a bit in July, that will de-value older ones too(especially as they will have higher tax rates too).

mayordenis

E92 wrote: »

If you are going to buy a new Civic, wait till July. Car is going down in price because VRT is dropping from 22.5% to 16%. It should fall from €23,670 to €21,840.

great advice thanks if i do go with the civic i will definately wait,

also what im looking for is something the looks pretty sporty and doesn't look cheap on the inside, something with a bit of power but i'll be sticking to the speed limit for the most part so while i'd love a massive engine it would be wasted on me, i've owned a ibiza 1l and a micra . . . so i'm looking to step out of that car range, good driver and i'm looking for something overall enjoyable to drive so far the most enjoyable test drive i've had was an 06 puegout 307 sport thing 1.4l pretty nice, other considerations in the mixer right now are both the leon and a brand new ibiza but i would like opinions on all mentioned and others i've neglected what about the new mazda 2?

ninty9er

I've heard US tourists compare the new Grande Punto to a VW Golf, (with the Golf coming out of the comparison badly)

Drive one and see if you like it. Don't buy anything until you've driven it!!

mayordenis

i wont done worry i drove a grande punto maybe 05 and was reasonably impressed but must say i preffered the 307 but i might give it a second chance on that comparison

ninty9er

Make sure it's the 1.4 that you try. The 1.2 is fine, but will probably be less efficient given the car's size.

1.4 Dynamic

ninty9er

That one has climate control too ^^^^^^^^^^^^

mayordenis

i'm not sure which i tries but i think it would of been the 1.2 but definately will take your opinion on board, anyone tried the civic i will be test driving it soon but would like opinions? how bout the 307 which i quite like?

witconor

mayordenis wrote: »

i'm not sure which i tries but i think it would of been the 1.2 but definately will take your opinion on board, anyone tried the civic i will be test driving it soon but would like opinions? how bout the 307 which i quite like?

Have been looking at similar cars so have done some research..

I've been in a new Civic 1.8 S type but my friend drove it. He thought it was excellent, performance almost as good as his 7 year old Alpha Romeo 156 1.8 TSpark.. But that probably just says how good the Civic is cos the Alpha is amazing. The styling with the Civic is a love/hate thing I suppose. I like spaceships I've read that the ride can be a bit harsh and that it is a bit noisy inside - check that on your test drive. Also, visibility, especially rear vis, didn't seem great. It's expensive but will hold it's value well.

Mazda 3 saloon looks a fine car. Not so into the looks of the hatch. Smallest saloon comes in is a 1.6 though.

The new Hyundai i30 is an impressive package. The 1.4 petrol has had excellent writeups from reviewers as has the 1.6 diesel. The iPod integration and other standard features like heated wing mirrors make it very good value. As it's a new model, only concern would be depreciation which hasn't been great for Hyundai's in the past but then again this one seems different.

Also maybe think about the new Subaru Impreza hatchback. Would be an interesting test drive anyway.

Biro

I like the civic, and I like Honda's in general, so in my opinion the Civic is the winner in it's class, but then I'm a little biased towards Honda! However the Leon is an excellent car.
The Mazda 2 is an excellent car, but bear in mind it's in the class below the Civic/Leon/307, which means it's in the Ibiza/Polo/207 type class so should be compared with that group.