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Family car within £8k budget

So I posted an earlier thread about a Seat Toledo but managed to do a bit more research and visited a few more car dealerships over the weekend to help work out what I want.

We've decided our budget is £8,000 and want to buy a car below that price.

Having looked at the various cars, our preference is a large saloon/hatchback style. The models which fell within this are:

Skoda Octavia
Seat Toledo
Mazda 6
Ford Mondeo

Volkswagen Passat
Toyota Avensis
BMW 3 series
Audi A6

So that should give a frame of reference for the size of the car we're looking at.
I have to admit that I didn't like the Toyota Avensis due to the shape/set-up in the drivers seat - seemed very boxed in to me.
Also I don't think I can find a Seat Toledo within budget as they only seem to have been released in the past year or so. When looking on Autotrader, all the Toledo's seem to be £10k+

I've split the above as the bottom set are the more expensive/luxury brands and therefore significantly more expensive than their counterparts in the first list.

I know some compromises will need to be made when picking a car so my questions are as following:

- considering my budget, is it worth buying one of the expensive brands?
- should the focus be on spec/extras or on age/mileage of the car?
- the car will only really get used once/twice a month but generally it will be used for long motorway journeys: typically 130-160 miles each way so what should my focus be on?


Tl;dr - what car should I buy?!

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Original post by Zerforax
So I posted an earlier thread about a Seat Toledo but managed to do a bit more research and visited a few more car dealerships over the weekend to help work out what I want.

We've decided our budget is £8,000 and want to buy a car below that price.

Having looked at the various cars, our preference is a large saloon/hatchback style. The models which fell within this are:

Skoda Octavia
Seat Toledo
Mazda 6
Ford Mondeo

Volkswagen Passat
Toyota Avensis
BMW 3 series
Audi A6

So that should give a frame of reference for the size of the car we're looking at.
I have to admit that I didn't like the Toyota Avensis due to the shape/set-up in the drivers seat - seemed very boxed in to me.
Also I don't think I can find a Seat Toledo within budget as they only seem to have been released in the past year or so. When looking on Autotrader, all the Toledo's seem to be £10k+

I've split the above as the bottom set are the more expensive/luxury brands and therefore significantly more expensive than their counterparts in the first list.

I know some compromises will need to be made when picking a car so my questions are as following:

- considering my budget, is it worth buying one of the expensive brands?
- should the focus be on spec/extras or on age/mileage of the car?
- the car will only really get used once/twice a month but generally it will be used for long motorway journeys: typically 130-160 miles each way so what should my focus be on?


Tl;dr - what car should I buy?!


Have you considered saving the money and renting a car instead?

No insurance, no maintenance, no upfront capital cost to the tune of £8k and best of all it is always a nice and fresh car to drive each time.

Personally of the cars you mentioned, I would get the Mazda6, the Skoda Octavia and Ford Mondeo would come in a close 2nd. Best value for money and possibly you will be getting a fairly recent model for the money.

I wouldn't touch the Audi or the BMW,
Reply 2
Original post by Alfissti
Have you considered saving the money and renting a car instead?

No insurance, no maintenance, no upfront capital cost to the tune of £8k and best of all it is always a nice and fresh car to drive each time.

Personally of the cars you mentioned, I would get the Mazda6, the Skoda Octavia and Ford Mondeo would come in a close 2nd. Best value for money and possibly you will be getting a fairly recent model for the money.

I wouldn't touch the Audi or the BMW,


+1 PRSOM

Renting would be a bit difficult since I presume you mean renting a car each time? We have a little one on the way so I think the use of the car will increase over time. Also we do sometimes use the car for big shops when we're organised. Considering the extra admin related to renting cars and the cost of each rental (since we'd be renting for weekends and therefore be paying premium rates), I think it becomes a no-go.

Sounds like my research wasn't that far off. If there are other models I've accidentally ignored which would also be good, that would be really helpful.
Original post by Zerforax
So I posted an earlier thread about a Seat Toledo but managed to do a bit more research and visited a few more car dealerships over the weekend to help work out what I want.

We've decided our budget is £8,000 and want to buy a car below that price.

Having looked at the various cars, our preference is a large saloon/hatchback style. The models which fell within this are:

Skoda Octavia
Seat Toledo
Mazda 6
Ford Mondeo

Volkswagen Passat
Toyota Avensis
BMW 3 series
Audi A6

So that should give a frame of reference for the size of the car we're looking at.
I have to admit that I didn't like the Toyota Avensis due to the shape/set-up in the drivers seat - seemed very boxed in to me.
Also I don't think I can find a Seat Toledo within budget as they only seem to have been released in the past year or so. When looking on Autotrader, all the Toledo's seem to be £10k+

I've split the above as the bottom set are the more expensive/luxury brands and therefore significantly more expensive than their counterparts in the first list.

I know some compromises will need to be made when picking a car so my questions are as following:

- considering my budget, is it worth buying one of the expensive brands?
- should the focus be on spec/extras or on age/mileage of the car?
- the car will only really get used once/twice a month but generally it will be used for long motorway journeys: typically 130-160 miles each way so what should my focus be on?


Tl;dr - what car should I buy?!


Id choose the skoda octavia or ford mondeo.
Skodas are usually pretty bomb proof, and are solid cars. They may be slightly more expensive but are worth it.
With the ford mondeo, there are plenty about, so you should have plenty of choice when looking and should be able to get various specifications within your budget. They are reasonably cheap to maintain and replacement parts will be easy to come by as they are quite common cars.
Original post by Zerforax
+1 PRSOM

Renting would be a bit difficult since I presume you mean renting a car each time? We have a little one on the way so I think the use of the car will increase over time. Also we do sometimes use the car for big shops when we're organised. Considering the extra admin related to renting cars and the cost of each rental (since we'd be renting for weekends and therefore be paying premium rates), I think it becomes a no-go.

Sounds like my research wasn't that far off. If there are other models I've accidentally ignored which would also be good, that would be really helpful.


Many families in Norway especially those in urban areas are into keeping a small car and renting a larger one for the times they need it. Does work out fairly well and it does work out to be fairly economical too as car ownership doesn't come cheap.

However if you feel you need to keep a car then another to consider might be a small off-roader instead. Maybe a Toyota RAV4 or a Honda CR-V might be a good alternative as well especially in view of a baby on the way.
Reply 5
Original post by Emma:-)
Id choose the skoda octavia or ford mondeo.
Skodas are usually pretty bomb proof, and are solid cars. They may be slightly more expensive but are worth it.
With the ford mondeo, there are plenty about, so you should have plenty of choice when looking and should be able to get various specifications within your budget. They are reasonably cheap to maintain and replacement parts will be easy to come by as they are quite common cars.


Yea I've been leaning towards an Octavia. Was set on a Toledo but can't find any in my budget.

If I opted for an Octavia, should I be looking at S, SE or Elegance models?

Original post by Alfissti
Many families in Norway especially those in urban areas are into keeping a small car and renting a larger one for the times they need it. Does work out fairly well and it does work out to be fairly economical too as car ownership doesn't come cheap.

However if you feel you need to keep a car then another to consider might be a small off-roader instead. Maybe a Toyota RAV4 or a Honda CR-V might be a good alternative as well especially in view of a baby on the way.


I think it's just the convenience of having your own car? I currently have a VW Polo which will be replaced by this new car.

I can't explain why but I don't like off-roaders :colondollar:
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by Zerforax
Yea I've been leaning towards an Octavia. Was set on a Toledo but can't find any in my budget.

If I opted for an Octavia, should I be looking at S, SE or Elegance models?



I think it's just the convenience of having your own car? I currently have a VW Polo which will be replaced by this new car.

I can't explain why but I don't like off-roaders :colondollar:


Fair enough, they aren't everyone's cup of tea.
I never used to like them until my 3rd one came along.

I'd probably look for as new a car as I could find and preferably with rear side airbags.
Reply 7
Best family car I can think of by a long way would be something along the lines of a run out model Discovery 2.

D2 Td5 metropolis would be an awesome family hack.
Reply 8
Reply 9
Skoda Octavia wrs
Original post by decgreen
Skoda Octavia wrs


Vrs?
Reply 11
Original post by decgreen
Skoda Octavia wrs


Original post by shaymarriott
Vrs?


Seems like a lot of extra money on top for little benefit?

Think I'm looking at the SE and then trying to decide between the 1.2 petrol engine vs. 1.6 diesel engine.

I guess I mostly drive on the motorway so diesel makes sense?
Reply 13
Original post by Zerforax
Seems like a lot of extra money on top for little benefit?

Think I'm looking at the SE and then trying to decide between the 1.2 petrol engine vs. 1.6 diesel engine.

I guess I mostly drive on the motorway so diesel makes sense?

The VRS models are lovely (I have owned a couple) and they do do diesels but they are total overkill for most people and all the extra suspension and "performance" bits increase the cost and decrease the fuel economy.

To the OP. Do you "need" the extras?
Also if seriously consider the petrol octavia especially if you can afford the 1.4 mk3 octavia as its a peach the fuel economy is almost diesel like without the headache of DPFs etc. But as always, get a test drive of both.

Be really careful with fuel economy figures. A mk3 diesel vrs is supposed to do 60mpg but struggles to do 40.

Good thing in my experience with Skoda is you mostly get the quality of VW without the slightly snooty dealers and the extra cost of their service charges.
Reply 14
Original post by ichak
The VRS models are lovely (I have owned a couple) and they do do diesels but they are total overkill for most people and all the extra suspension and "performance" bits increase the cost and decrease the fuel economy.

To the OP. Do you "need" the extras?
Also if seriously consider the petrol octavia especially if you can afford the 1.4 mk3 octavia as its a peach the fuel economy is almost diesel like without the headache of DPFs etc. But as always, get a test drive of both.

Be really careful with fuel economy figures. A mk3 diesel vrs is supposed to do 60mpg but struggles to do 40.

Good thing in my experience with Skoda is you mostly get the quality of VW without the slightly snooty dealers and the extra cost of their service charges.


I had a run through the models and the SE seemed sufficient for me? I don't drive the car often enough or care too much about all the flashy extras for the top models.

I'm not familar with DPFs - what's the down side?

I see you mean the new 3rd gen Skoda Octavia which were released in 2013. I can't find any mk3 models in my budget of £8k which don't have more than 100k miles on the clock. So I think on that basis it's going to have to be a 2nd gen?

Yea I've had a VW Polo for the last 8 years which I adore so a Skoda/Seat made sense to keep the price reasonable but still get VW perks.

Was thinking about going to go test drive this one today:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201506094157812
Only a few miles away from me but would give me a good feel for the car (found another model which is 6 month newer and less than 30k miles on the clock for below 7k but is too far to test drive).
(edited 8 years ago)
Reply 15
Skoda renewed the octavia line in 2013 with the 3rd generation (mk3) based on the VAG MQB platform. It is much lighter and more efficient than the mk2 with a higher standard spec. From rusty memory even the basic mk3 gets Bluetooth and a touch screen stereo in the UK for example.

The most important thing though is the extra lightness and capacity (leg room etc) which makes it much nicer. However I have no idea whether your budget would stretch to a mk3 but it may be worth trying. Certainly the mk3 vrs is a much better car than the mk2 and I'd guess it's the same with the other models (never driven a non vrs mk2 -although I've driven loads of mk3s as courtesy cars etc)

DPF stands for diesel particulate filter but imho should stand for royal pain in the arse. It's basically a filter in the exhaust that catches soot etc and then burns if off at certain points by doing a "regen" - ie wasting loads of fuel to heat up the exhaust. The issue is that if you do any short runs the engine doesn't heat up and you can end up with all sorts of problems.

I've never had a dpf fail yet but it does mean my partner can't take the car to work as she doesn't drive it far enough. Last time she took it for a week it averaged 24mpg and was sluggish and unresponsive for a couple of days as it was trying to sort the dpf. A good long run up the motorway sorted it but it's still an annoyance. My next car is going to be petrol because of this even with the extra cost of fuel and road tax.

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-2332107/Petrol-vs-diesel-cars-Drivers-warned-diesel-filter-trap.html

Don't know when but I think it became a legal requirement for new diesel to have a dpf a few years ago.

Even worse now is modern diesels are staring to move towards urea injection (pee basically - seriously I'm not joking) to reduce nitrogen compounds from the exhaust. Lord only knows what that'll cost in additive and any repair costs.

From memory the brand new Passat (same MQB platform as octavia mk3) is using this tech in some of the higher end engines and merc etc have had it for a while.
http://www.businessinsider.com/adding-urea-to-clean-diesel-cars-can-i-just-pee-in-the-tank-2011-5?IR=T
(edited 8 years ago)
Reply 16
Original post by ichak
Skoda renewed the octavia line in 2013 with the 3rd generation (mk3) based on the VAG MQB platform. It is much lighter and more efficient than the mk2 with a higher standard spec. From rusty memory even the basic mk3 gets Bluetooth and a touch screen stereo in the UK for example.

The most important thing though is the extra lightness and capacity (leg room etc) which makes it much nicer. However I have no idea whether your budget would stretch to a mk3 but it may be worth trying. Certainly the mk3 vrs is a much better car than the mk2 and I'd guess it's the same with the other models (never driven a non vrs mk2 -although I've driven loads of mk3s as courtesy cars etc)

DPF stands for diesel particulate filter but imho should stand for royal pain in the arse. It's basically a filter in the exhaust that catches soot etc and then burns if off at certain points by doing a "regen" - ie wasting loads of fuel to heat up the exhaust. The issue is that if you do any short runs the engine doesn't heat up and you can end up with all sorts of problems.

I've never had a dpf fail yet but it does mean my partner can't take the car to work as she doesn't drive it far enough. Last time she took it for a week it averaged 24mpg and was sluggish and unresponsive for a couple of days as it was trying to sort the dpf. A good long run up the motorway sorted it but it's still an annoyance. My next car is going to be petrol because of this even with the extra cost of fuel and road tax.

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-2332107/Petrol-vs-diesel-cars-Drivers-warned-diesel-filter-trap.html

Don't know when but I think it became a legal requirement for new diesel to have a dpf a few years ago.

Even worse now is modern diesels are staring to move towards urea injection (pee basically - seriously I'm not joking) to reduce nitrogen compounds from the exhaust. Lord only knows what that'll cost in additive and any repair costs.

From memory the brand new Passat (same MQB platform as octavia mk3) is using this tech in some of the higher end engines and merc etc have had it for a while.
http://www.businessinsider.com/adding-urea-to-clean-diesel-cars-can-i-just-pee-in-the-tank-2011-5?IR=T


Yea I've done a bit of research and my budget won't reach into the mk3 models (unless I bought one with 100k+ miles on the clock.

The honest truth is that we do very little city driving and tend to drive out of London on drives which are 1-3 hours (to go visit family etc) so it makes me think that the DPF shouldn't be a problem but makes me a little wary of buying one especially when you can't know what previous owners were doing. What's the point in buying a car in budget if you have to then fork out 1k to repair?
Reply 17
I can comment on buying cars with dpf 2nd hand but I agree your driving shouldn't cause problems with dpf.

As long as you drive long enough to get the engine hot you're generally ok in my experience.

Pity you can't get a mk3 but the mk2 is still a decent car. Certainly the taxi drivers seem to think so anyway.
Reply 18
Original post by ichak
I can comment on buying cars with dpf 2nd hand but I agree your driving shouldn't cause problems with dpf.

As long as you drive long enough to get the engine hot you're generally ok in my experience.

Pity you can't get a mk3 but the mk2 is still a decent car. Certainly the taxi drivers seem to think so anyway.


I have a friend who knows he's cars so I'll take him with me when looking. He can then see if DPF 2nd hand will be an issue or not. The car has the full service history etc so might help with that concern.

Yea shame there's such a big jump in price to the mk3. Had the same problem with the Seat Toledo.
Original post by Zerforax
So I posted an earlier thread about a Seat Toledo but managed to do a bit more research and visited a few more car dealerships over the weekend to help work out what I want.

We've decided our budget is £8,000 and want to buy a car below that price.

Having looked at the various cars, our preference is a large saloon/hatchback style. The models which fell within this are:

Skoda Octavia
Seat Toledo
Mazda 6
Ford Mondeo

Volkswagen Passat
Toyota Avensis
BMW 3 series
Audi A6

So that should give a frame of reference for the size of the car we're looking at.
I have to admit that I didn't like the Toyota Avensis due to the shape/set-up in the drivers seat - seemed very boxed in to me.
Also I don't think I can find a Seat Toledo within budget as they only seem to have been released in the past year or so. When looking on Autotrader, all the Toledo's seem to be £10k+

I've split the above as the bottom set are the more expensive/luxury brands and therefore significantly more expensive than their counterparts in the first list.

I know some compromises will need to be made when picking a car so my questions are as following:

- considering my budget, is it worth buying one of the expensive brands?
- should the focus be on spec/extras or on age/mileage of the car?
- the car will only really get used once/twice a month but generally it will be used for long motorway journeys: typically 130-160 miles each way so what should my focus be on?


Tl;dr - what car should I buy?!


You've got a great list of cars, I'd personally choose between the Skoda and the Mazda for its value for money, and if i'd refine it a bit further I'd go in for the Skoda, for its reliable and studry diesel engines.


Recently, i came across carspring.co.uk which is an online dealership. They sell cars online, which saves time and hassel and offer 14 day money back guarantee if you're not satisfied.

Hope this is helpful to you :smile:

Cheers!

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