What car for €3000?

E

ericsson

Registered User
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175
Hi all,

My OH and I are looking to get a second car. Currently have a fiesta (2010) so looking to get something bigger for the second car. Budget of in or around €3,000. Have been looking on donedeal, CBG and Carzone but finding it really difficult to pick.
Was initially thinking of an Opel Vectra but a friend is currently having some trouble with hers. I think the Honda Accord is lovely but the engine size would cost a fortune on tax. For my money I was thinking I could get perhaps an 05 Focus or an 04 Avensis. What do people think of these and what would be the better buy? Also how much would you expect these to go for?
I know the Octavia and the mondeo would be similar, however I just don't like the styling of either. Also with regards to engine size what should I go for? I don't do much milage, just city driving to and from work really. I owned a 1.4 focus before and found it quite underpowered. Also would it make sense to go for a petrol or Diesel engine?

So many questions...
Thanks in advance.
 
People like modern diesels because the gov has made them tax attractive.
But they are not suited to city driving, they are also very 'advanced' and this can bring big repair bills.

I would recommend you stick to a mid sized car 1.4/1.6 petrol.

Octavia would be smaller than Mondeo, but it does have a nice big boot....

The Avensis will be 2 sizes up from a Fiesta, and will be nice and room, should be reliable, and also comes with a 1.6. For me, that would be an acceptable 'safe' option.

Here are loads to choose from:

[broken link removed]
 
Hello,

If possible, I would try and buy a German manufacturer - the likes of a VW, Audi or perhaps something from their family like a Seat or Skoda. In my mind, they don't give anything like the trouble of Italian or French cars (of old) and parts are cheaper to get than those for many Asian cars, if and when needed or at least thats my experience.

If you are buying "for cash" then perhaps also explore the options with regards to buying a car in the UK and bringing it into Ireland - while tax will need to be paid, I am led to believe it is a fairly straight forward process and you will often pick up a car which has been better looked after and perhaps with more extras than you will in Ireland.
 
MrEarl said:
If possible, I would try and buy a German manufacturer - the likes of a VW, Audi or perhaps something from their family like a Seat or Skoda. In my mind, they don't give anything like the trouble of Italian or French cars (of old) and parts are cheaper to get than those for many Asian cars, if and when needed or at least thats my experience.
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It never ceases to amaze me how the myth of all things German being inherently more reliable seems to stick, no matter how much evidence there is to the contrary. As a complete generalisation it may have some merit, but for specific makes and models it could lead to a very expensive mistake, and an individual purchase is specific rather than general. Try and Google "VW reliability" for example, and see does it live up to the reputation for reliability.

You can’t generalise from one person’s experience. However, specific German makes and models have very poor reliability records, and the myth still persists.

For the record, my own experience is in terms of reliability is BMW average to good, VW terrible, Fiat outstanding and Renault disastrous.

To the OP: I find whatcar.co.uk very useful in giving good buying information on 2nd hand cars, with honestjohn.co.uk useful for reliability information (based on evidence).

One thing to note on the power of the myth: it defintely affects pricing, with all German cars tending to hold their value more than others. If you're buying 2nd hand though, this is less of an issue.

 
ang1170 said:
It never ceases to amaze me how the myth of all things German being inherently more reliable seems to stick, no matter how much evidence there is to the contrary.
Click to expand...

Agree completely with that. Along with Honest John's site, check out the UK [broken link removed] for overall reliability ratings and average repair costs. There are also buying guides for some makes/models. Audi are amongst the most unreliable cars on the market, and cost more to maintain than others. Volkswagon don't fare much better.

Japanese models feature heavily in the Top 100 most reliable cars, as has been the case for quite a while now. How about a Mazda 6?
 
I agree on the reliability myth of German cars. Audi and BMW are great to drive but not very reliable and expensive to fix. VW are just as unreliable and aren't that great to drive. Citroen rank highly on reliability indexes but the expensive to fix. The current generation of Korean cars are excellent (better than most of their competitors) but the older ones aren't so good. Ford and Toyota are, in my experience, the best mid prices cars with Ford being nicer to drive. I would never buy an Opel.
 
Guns N Roses said:
I'm sure many VW Golf drivers would disagree with you. MK6 Golf is the best car I've ever driven.
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Have you driven a BMW or Audi or Aston Martin or Porsche or Merc?

I drive a lot of hire cars and try to get a different one every time to break the boredom. I would rate the Golf behind the A3, Focus and Hyundai i30 and on par with the Mazda 3 and Subaru Impreza. They are all great cars but none of them would qualify as "the best car I have ever driven".

The Golf is an excellent car but I just don't find it an engaging drive, not relative to the A3 or the new Focus. I find that issue with all VW's but I've never driven a GTi or any other higher performance model.
I also find it's styling old fashioned and boring.
 
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