How much to spend £4k to £18k - Page 1 - Car Buying

Slackman99

Original Poster

61 posts

74 months

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Thursday 30th June 2022

I've had a lease car for the past 2 years and before that have had company cars for the 10 years.

I do about 25k per year business and private and get 45/25p per mile for business mileage which totals about 15 of the 25k.

Lease prices have gone nuts (along with everything else) so to get exactly the same again would be another 50% on the monthly payment over what i'm currently paying, and looking at what that totals over 2 years, it seems crazy to lease again for a boring car that I won't even own.

Therefore i've decided to buy.

What i'm not sure on is how much to spend, as more money means a newer/nicer car, but also more depreciatite etc and I quite like the idea of something cheaper that I don't worry about scratches/dents that seem to accumulate just parking at the supermarket!

Whilst my mileage would normally suggest a diesel, I quite like the idea of some sort of hybrid (depending on budget) and I understand some of the newer small petrol engines (1.4tsi) are actually quite frugal with possibly less to go wrong?

My main requirement is something comfortable for 2+hr journies with a good amount of motorway/A roads. Reliability is a must (maybe a problem at the lower end).

At £4k

At this price point I could get something like an 80k mileage Renault Laguna or similar. I understand that the Renault diesels are actually fairly good and seem are quite reliable. The cars likely to be 12+years old and whilst I don't particularly mind this, I think that the wife might.

At £9k

At this point I might get into something like a 9/10 year old Skoda Octavia, possibly with the 1.4TSI engine which I understand is quite economical on long runs. This price point seems to open up a few more options and depending on car might even get me close to a used approved so 12 months warranty (which appeals if i'm spending more money)

At £18k

At this point i've been considering 5 year old Toyota Prius' or possible a few years older Lexus to make use of the 10 year relax warranty. Boring I know, but if i'm not going for something fast then I might as well go eco! Even at those ages i'd probably only get 2 maye 3 years of warranty before hitting the 100k mileage limit. However, 2/3 years of manufacturers warranty, and some Toyota reliability appeals.

Looking for thoughts on price point more than specific options, although happy to have a look a most things (although I had an Insignia Elite and didn't get on with the seats).

What would you do?

Pistonheader101

2,206 posts

135 months

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Thursday 30th June 2022

get what you can afford comfortably. Financial decision is yours at the end of the day.

Canon_Fodder

1,775 posts

91 months

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Thursday 30th June 2022

Slackman99 said:

I do about 25k per year ...

Reliability is a must ...

80k mileage Renault ...

likely to be 12+years old...

What would you do?

Not that.

Slackman99

Original Poster

61 posts

74 months

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Thursday 30th June 2022

Thanks for the replies. Appreciate the thoughts on the Renault. Was a thought based on the Sheds thread where they seem to get decent ratings for longevity.

All are within financial reason but it's more about whacking the miles on them and at what point is there diminishing returns with more money for a more reliable/comfortable car.

MDL111

8,772 posts

205 months

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Thursday 30th June 2022

This is probably not helpful, but how about a RS Clio 200 - petrol, but doesn’t use that much petrol and is fun to drive. I enjoy a manual even when driving a lot and the high revving engine is always fun

ZX10R NIN

30,431 posts

153 months

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Thursday 30th June 2022

MDL111

8,772 posts

205 months

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Thursday 30th June 2022

Just to add, I find it reasonably comfortable, but it is clearly no barge, so you might have a very different view on that

Slackman99

Original Poster

61 posts

74 months

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Thursday 30th June 2022

I've looked at the Q50 a few times. I have to say the metallic brown is quite nice! Look like nice cars but not that aware or their history. Is the Mercedes drive train reliable?

Whilst the French cars aren't often renown for reliability I understand that their diesel engines are actually quite good and ride comfort is on the 'soft' comfortable side.

Clio, whilst a good shout is probably too small, but thanks for the suggestion. I guess I'm looking at a Golf size or larger

ZX10R NIN

30,431 posts

153 months

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Thursday 30th June 2022

Slackman99 said:

I've looked at the Q50 a few times. I have to say the metallic brown is quite nice! Look like nice cars but not that aware or their history. Is the Mercedes drive train reliable?

Whilst the French cars aren't often renown for reliability I understand that their diesel engines are actually quite good and ride comfort is on the 'soft' comfortable side.

Clio, whilst a good shout is probably too small, but thanks for the suggestion. I guess I'm looking at a Golf size or larger

Basically Infiniti is Nissans version of Lexus/Acura & as such you get a highly spec'd car for your money, the downside is that Infiniti are no longer in Europe but 80% of Nissans dealers can service Infiniti's, as I said earlier because they use Mercedes drivetrains most decent Indys can service them.

I have family & friends with various Infiniti's & they're proving very reliable.

With the Laguna's window regulators can be an expensive fix but they donn;t have to many major issues.

Slackman99

Original Poster

61 posts

74 months

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Thursday 30th June 2022

So the Q50 sounds like an option for some more money. Are these the ones that can have Android auto added for a price?

Electric window motor doesn't worry me. My first car had manual windows as electric windows might be 'unreliable'. 6 months later the winder broke and I had to prop the window up with a piece of wood smile

QJumper

3,238 posts

54 months

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Thursday 30th June 2022

Slackman99 said:

At £18k

At this point i've been considering 5 year old Toyota Prius' or possible a few years older Lexus to make use of the 10 year relax warranty. Boring I know, but if i'm not going for something fast then I might as well go eco! Even at those ages i'd probably only get 2 maye 3 years of warranty before hitting the 100k mileage limit. However, 2/3 years of manufacturers warranty, and some Toyota reliability appeals.

It's worth noting that once the Lexus relax warranty runs out, they now offer the option to buy an extended warranty for cars over 10 years old and up to 15yrs/150k miles. It about £500 pa, give or take, depending on model, and includes UK and European AA cover.

Slackman99

Original Poster

61 posts

74 months

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Friday 1st July 2022

I've not seen anything about being able to extend the warranty past 10 years. Have you got a link as i'd be interested in that.

CrippsCorner

3,369 posts

209 months

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Friday 1st July 2022

ZX10R NIN said:

The pictures on that first one rofl

QJumper

3,238 posts

54 months

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Friday 1st July 2022

Slackman99 said:

I've not seen anything about being able to extend the warranty past 10 years. Have you got a link as i'd be interested in that.

Sadly no link as, for some reason, it's not heavily publicised. Even my Lexus dealer was unaware of it and I had to get Lexus UK to email them details so they could set it up for me. I'll tell you what I know though.

It's called the 10 year plus extended warranty, and is for approved vehicles up to 15 yrs old, and subject to 150k miles limit. Naturally car needs to be serviced by Lexus and not modified in any way. It seems to cover most things with main exclusions being: multimedia/satnav components, body, paintwork, trim, damage from impact or corrosion, consumables obviously, so seems pretty comprehensive.

If you do a search for "Lexus 10 year plus extended warranty" it will throw up a thread of the same name on the Lexus UK forum, which has a few more details.

Canon_Fodder

1,775 posts

91 months

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Friday 1st July 2022

ZX10R NIN said:

Coupe:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202203253...

To be fair, that looks lovely for the money. Always liked these.

I had new '56 plate renault Megane CC 1.5 Dci 110bhp, 6spd manual and put 20k on it in a year and it was a very comfy and capable mile muncher.

Mechanically it was flawless but the door card fell off which I felt didn't bode well for the future

Slackman99

Original Poster

61 posts

74 months

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Friday 1st July 2022

I've had the ad for the Laguna Coupe open in a tab for a few days. Does look quite nice, but not sure if it has the fancy 4ws system which I imagine will be expensive to fix if it goes wrong and will introduce another layer of something to go wrong!

georgeyboy12345

4,568 posts

63 months

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Friday 1st July 2022

Slackman99

Original Poster

61 posts

74 months

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Friday 1st July 2022

Thanks for the suggestions.

I would like a BMW, but understand from reading that they might not be the most reliable of cars so unless it's coming with a good warranty think I'd avoid spending that much.

It seems strong money for a Kia that doesn't have that long left on the manufacturer's warranty.

Civic is out. It's what I'm leasing at the minute and in addition to the massively uncomfortable seats, I couldn't handle being back to the garage again every 6k for a service!

The Alfa is beautiful on the outside, but the two tone interior hurts my eyes! Has their reliability improved at all?

ZX10R NIN

30,431 posts

153 months

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Friday 1st July 2022

Slackman99 said:

I've had the ad for the Laguna Coupe open in a tab for a few days. Does look quite nice, but not sure if it has the fancy 4ws system which I imagine will be expensive to fix if it goes wrong and will introduce another layer of something to go wrong!

No 4WS on the normal models.

SIMON67

346 posts

286 months

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Friday 1st July 2022

OP I was in exactly the same situation a few months ago. Out of co car and needed something reliable, comfy and economical. I bought an 18k 3 yr old Kia Niro with 4 years remaining on the warranty. Absolutely love it as it's so we'll put together, super comfy and has averaged 64 mpg over 2 k mixed miles. Hope you find something