Suggestions for 12-14k budget?

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spinal_tap

Registered User
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Anyone got any suggestions for her indoors within a budget of 12-14k and perhaps pros/cons of the following cars:

Requirements:
Engine not over 1.6.
Generally prefers hatchbacks.
NOT a 3 door.
Must be room for baby seat in back.
Reliable, so not French, Spanish, Italian (no O/T arguments please!!)

Already she likes:

Focus (preferably h/b),
2005/6 shape Corolla (again preferably h/b),
new Astra (pref. h/b)
Mazda 3 (saloon)
Passat

I spotted a nice 05 Vectra h/b at the weekend, but would 1.6 be underpowered?? — I don’t see it reviewed on HonestJohn.

Any other suggestions/pointers?
 
Caveat said:
Mmmm. Overpriced. Not reliable enough. Lacking in spec. Gutless in basic form.
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Lol...I forgot there was a massive anti-Golf sentiment on this site!
1.6 isn't basic, they're extremely comfortable, solid to drive...I've two in the past and had zero issues outside normal servicing/timing belt/tyre replacement. Plus the most recent survey I saw (JD Powell?) mentioned nothing of reliability issues. I'm coming to the conclusion that people who can't afford certain things love slagging them off...or else there's just misinformation being spread by dealers. This may in fact be the case as I was in a multi-marque dealership recently and a rather aggressive Mazda salesman was disparaging about other marques in the gargage (VW, Audi, Mercedes)
People need to remember salesmen selling lesser brands such as Mazda will generally say anything to get the larger commissions that lower cost lower quality cars will yield.
Personally I wouldn't be seen dead in a Mazda of any kind. That is just a personal opinion.
 
Andy Doof said:
Lol...I forgot there was a massive anti-Golf sentiment on this site!
1.6 isn't basic, they're extremely comfortable, solid to drive
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Won't argue with the solid or comfortable - isn't 1.4 the basic model?
I could be wrong.

For me, it has nothing to do with affordability - I just want value for my car & I don't think a Golf represents value.

With respect, it doesn't matter that you personally had no issues - statistically, it is just not a particularly reliable car and that's what matters.

Check [broken link removed] I'm not saying a Golf is very unreliable or anything - it's just not reliable enough for me and certainly not as reliable as VW or their fans claim.
 
Caveat said:
Won't argue with the solid or comfortable - isn't 1.4 the basic model?
I could be wrong.
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Sorry, I misunderstood...1.4 is the basic model but the OP was talking abiout getting a 1.6. The 1.4 is a touch underpowered but a 1.6 5 Door Sportsline would be a nice car.
 

I drive an Audi so I'm not taking a position against VW stable brands. Mazda are excellent cars, well built, totally reliable and great to drive. From an engineering point of view they are better than VW in almost every way.
I had a Passat and hated it, I would drive a Ford or Mazda ahead of a VW any day.
I agree that the Focus or Mazda 3 are the best options.
Audi are overpriced (mine was second hand) and Merc’s are amongst the most unreliable cars being made at the moment. VW are boring (Golf’s are over priced and have a low standard spec) so the salesman may have been spot on.
 
Ford Focus or Opel Astra would be my choice. You should be able to just about bag an '05 for that money. The Mk5 Golf is a good car but is very overpriced on the used market and all Irish models come with absolutely poverty spec. They don't even have aircon as standard...
 
Any chance you thought about the skoda fabia or octavia. How many childern have you got ? If its just the one, For the min Octavia would have loads of boot space go for the elegance model if you could, would be on par give or take a badge with the comfortline of volkswagon, Not as expensive and all vw parts as told to me by vw rep who supplies skoda dealers. Come across 3 vw dealers wont take a honda as trade in but will take skoda so they cant be that bad. They come in 1.4 petrol and are fairly nippy motors. The elegance model has air con as standard. I looked at buying that range of car 2 weeks ago but was a bit tight on space (I felt) for me and my bunch of 3, as i was getting rid of a seven seater and going back to a 5. You could be up to a 05 for that price range
 
Thanks for replies.

I had ruled out the Golf myself, think they're overpriced for what you get, but they aren't a bad car.

Fago - I love the Octavia, but she said she doesn't want one. Great value for money. Probably badge snobbery on her part!

I notice nobody has any opinions on the 05 1.6 Vectra ???
 
spinal_tap said:
I notice nobody has any opinions on the 05 1.6 Vectra ???
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Exactly - I have no opinion on it either way. For that reason, personally, I wouldn't consider it. It's reliability would be a bit suspect for my liking too.
 

Have you thought about a 1.8 mazda 6 - nice car, very reliable, drives well.. Know its over the 1.6 mark, but worth a look IMO
 
spinal_tap said:
I notice nobody has any opinions on the 05 1.6 Vectra ???
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That's because it's a bag of ****e. It also sits in the Passat/Mondeo class rather than the Golf/Focus, the 1.6 engine is rubbish and struggles with the car's weight. I forgot to mention the Octavia aswell, they are based on the Golf but have a much, much bigger boot and are alot better value. They ain't a looker though, and idiots still look down their noses at the Skoda badge.
 
Pique318 said:
Seat Leon ? Love them and VW parts too so reliability should be OK...
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VW are less reliable than Nissan, Toyota, Ford or most of the other mass market makers. My A4 is nowhere near as relaible as my old Mondeo.
 
From Honestjohn.co.uk about the old shape Leon
"Joint second top of 2002 Which reliability survey; came out 99% fault free; 67 cars surveyed. Joint 3rd top make in 2002 'Which?' reliability survey cars 2000 - 2002"
" Leon 20VTs HIGHLY RECOMMENDED."
 

I was just making the point that VW and it's stable of brands trade on a reputation that they don't deserve, a survey of 67 owners not withstanding. I owned a Passat (yawn) and now own an Audi so I’m not rubbishing the whole lot of them (though the Passat was a mistake).
 
Sorry! It wasn't aimed at you or anyone at all. I was just saying that people in general still regard Skoda as a skip on wheels.
 
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