Looking for Advice on 3 types of Cars

E

EllaC

Registered User
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I'd appreciate advice on the following cars:

Opel Astra Convertible 1.6

Renault Megane Convertible (Soft top version)

Mazda MX5
 
Presume you mean cars from 2003 and earlier in each case as the soft top megane is gone since 2003.

Mazda
Plus - best looking and best driving of the 3. Japanese so should be reliable.
Minus - Most expensive and least space

Renault
Plus - more space than mazda and probably cheapest of the 3
Minus - French so high probability of breakdown especially small stuff such as electrics, trim falling off etc

Opel
Plus - more reliable than renault and cheaper & more spacious than mazda
minus - bit bland looking (IMO)


I would reckon the mazda is the best, but if space is important then the Astra wins out. Note that these cars have an irregular depriciation pattern, the most significant depreciation each year will happen at the end of the summer.
 
EllaC said:
I'd appreciate advice on the following cars:

Opel Astra Convertible 1.6

Renault Megane Convertible (Soft top version)

Mazda MX5
Click to expand...

Opel cars - meh!

Renault Megane (the new one) looks great but it's a french car and as such it's unreliable (especially the electrics).
Renaults look great (the Laguna for instance) but they're sh*te.

Mazda MX5 is not everyone's cup of tea, but personally there's no contest between these three cars. The mazda wins hands down. Not only does it look great but it IS a great car. Fantastically reliable too and good to drive.

Check out the car-by-car breakdown on http://www.honestjohn.co.uk to see what they say about it.

Also check out http://www.topgear.com to see their view on it.
 
I have a different mazda and I have to say that I havn't had a days problem with it, great car.
 
I'd also go for the mazda, it's considered the best of its type irrespective of price, there a new model out at the end of the year so either wait til then for the new one or for knock on discounts on older models or if you have to buy now look for a discount based on this fact.
 
While agreeing with Soy's excellent summary above, bear in mind that if you are considering driving your convertible on Irish roads, two major factors that are especially important are comfort and safety.

On smoother UK roads, the Mazda MX5 probably would be the car of choice though I would agree that it's not everybody's cup of tea! On Irish roads, the Renault Megane's suspension and better safety rating probably would make it the best option of the three.

However, if you are driving your convertible predominantly in Dublin, security would have to be your main consideration. I don't have any expertise on the seciurity features of any of these cars but would suspect the at MX5 is probably beloved of joyriders.
 
I bought an MX5 last year and I love it so much!!

It looks good, it sounds good and I haven't had a bit of bother with it (except for someone crashing into the back of it on the M1 but there was more damage to me than the car!).

I wouldn't drive anything else.

My car has both the usual soft top and an additional hard top that I use in the winter (even though the soft top would be fine - I just think the hard top looks better).

Of the 3 cars you mention, the mx5 is the only sports car - the others are just wannabes!!
 
Meant to add that you should be careful driving with the top down on a day like yesterday - I have the strangest streaks of sunburn down my left arm where I forgot to apply suncream!
 
Cahir

What year did you buy and have you had any problems coping with lack of boot space?
 
I bought a 99 (was looking at that and a 01 but the 99 had the extra hard top and less miles so that won!).

The boot is tiny but I've coped - admittedly by using the front passenger seat too at times. Only once have I had to borrow someone elses car for space and that was when I moved into my new house and was buying a shower door.

I travel a fair bit with work and the boots been fine for luggage, work stuff etc.

Take one for a test drive and you'll never look back!
If you're going for a second hand one try to haggle the price down as there's a new model coming out next year.
 

how much did the 99 one cost ya Cahir if you dont mind me asking. Am looking around for one at the minute...

also was it 1.6 petrol?
 
candyman said:
how much did the 99 one cost ya Cahir if you dont mind me asking. Am looking around for one at the minute...

also was it 1.6 petrol?
Click to expand...


I paid about €15,000 (almost 2 years ago) and it was a 1.6 petrol. I don't think they included the extra cost of the hardtop (compared to other ones I was looking at). As far as I remember the initial price was about €16,000 but I haggled the dealer down. I also traded in my own car and haggled up the price he was giving me for that
 
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