Changing car - options for a high mileage, load lugger?

GarethP

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Well, I lost the race to find a new car so SWMBO now has a shiny new BMW Mini convertible parked on the drive and I'm stuck getting the practical family motor!

Background

I have 2 teenage kids, 2 dogs and camping stuff and 2 x field hockey goalie kits to lug about so am probably looking for a large hatchback but more likely an estate or 4x4 shaped thing.

I cover approx 40k miles a year with work and personal. 90% will be motorways.

I live in the foothills of the Derbyshire peaks so 4x4 would be nice but we've managed with front wheel drive for the last few bad winters so not essential.

You'll notice the abundance of Vauxhalls, especially in my private history!! Reason - I had a mate who worked for a Vauxhall dealership and got me cracking prices and mates rates of finance and superb customer service - too good to miss - example the VX Zafira - 1 year old, 1,200 miles, £10k. My mate no longer works in the car trade so I'm a bit stuck looking at all the options as it's been ages since I really had to think about what car to get/strike a good deal!

Past Cars - Company
  • 1998 VX Astra 1.8 Petrol sport (company car) - OK nothing special
  • 2002 MG ZS 120+ Petrol h/b (company car) - lovely car to drive - just fell to bits!

Past Cars - Private (after changing employer)
  • 2003 (used) VX Signum 2.2 Diesel Elite Auto - Best car I've had so far - loved the toys and flexibility of load and passenger area - just a shame it was a 'Friday afternoon' car - started having repeated failure after it had come out of warrenty - I'd have another one today if they still made them
  • 2006 (new) VX Vectra Estate 1.8 Petrol SRi - Loved the size - this swallowed up anything you put in it - didn't like the petrol engine and subsequent rubbish fuel economy
  • 2007 (used) VX Zafira 1.8 Petrol Design - Loved the flexibility of space (and the price/value! at the time) but hated the driving position and 34mpg I used to get on the motorway
  • 2009 (used) VX Insignia 1.9 Estate CDTI SRi - biggest mistake I ever made - was expecting a nice fuel efficient version of the Vectra I had before - but got average fuel economy, rubbish load space, ate tyres...
  • 2011 (new) VX Astra 1.7 CDTi Excite h/b - OK. that's it - OK. kinda does what it says - 50+mpg 65k miles of complete uneventfullness... £30 road tax - I like that!!

Looking at traditional HP as 40k miles a year seems to rule out PCP type deals as the excess mileage charge is a killer from what I've seen - unless someone knows otherwise?

Requirements

  • Load lugging ability so Estate, 4x4 shape or large H/B
  • Diesel
  • I'd like to keep the road tax down (kinda got used to paying £30 per year!)
  • Would Like Bluetooth for phone
  • SatNav not important (use Brodit car clip and phone)
  • Finance - £20k new over 4 years or £15k used over 3
  • I've had enough Vauxhalls now I think!

So the options as I see them;

New

Would probably be looking at something like a Hyundai i30 or i40 estate. 5 year unlimited warranty, 20k miles service interval. Am I likely to be bored of it before 4 years is up? are they likely to hold up to 160k miles? I know it'll be worth next to nothing when I'm done...

Used

Something like a 2 year old Octavia/Superb/Yeti, Mondeo/Focus estate with 20k miles on it. Probably finance £15k over 3 years - need to watch service intervals - I liked the look of a Mitubishi ASX until I found out it had a 7.5k mile service interval - it'd be back for a service every other month!

Premium Used

3 or 4 year old BMW, C-Class Merc, Audi A4/A6 with probably 30-50k. As used, probably £15k over 3 years. Emissions and therefore road tax likely an issue? Out of warranty so can use local, reliable garage for servicing. Need to budget for unexpected repairs

The options make my head hurt!

Can anyone help? Give some advice?

Cheers
 
The i40 is plagued with faults, you'd be buying a timeshare, I'd avoid.

I'd choose a Superb estate from your list, if the best blend of reliability and cost. I favour the Mondeo MK4 (owner!) but not sure how the favour past 100K.
 
Not sure on price, probably over your budget, but the 3-series is now available in 4 wheel drive guise, the 320xd and 330xd.
 
The i40 is plagued with faults, you'd be buying a timeshare, I'd avoid.

I'd choose a Superb estate from your list, if the best blend of reliability and cost. I favour the Mondeo MK4 (owner!) but not sure how the favour past 100K.

Thanks for the steer clear. I want the warranty to be peace of mind, not a crutch!
 
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Not sure on price, probably over your budget, but the 3-series is now available in 4 wheel drive guise, the 320xd and 330xd.

Will keep a look out but I think you are right, probably out of my budget just at the moment.

Think I will pop to a skoda dealer over the bank holiday. Just noticed that the new octavia is out shortly, might be some deals on a pre-reg one...
 
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UPDATE: well, against DVD-man's advice :rolleyes: I went and got a an i40 Premium 136 PS Bluedrive estate, albeit 9 months old (ex-AVIS) for a touch over £15k (£12k saving on new!!!).

After some investigation it would appear that faults were all immediately obvious on purchase or soon afterwards so my thinking was someone else would hvae had them and got them fixed!!

So far 12k miles of uneventful driving at approx 55mpg :)
 
We had a loan i40 Bluedrive estate, and I liked it.
If I was being picky I would say there was a heck-of-a-lot of tyre noise, but that was about it.
Maybe a different brand of tyre would cure that.
And the small wheels spolied the lovely styling a bit, but that goes for any efficienct model.
My efficient dynamics 3-series looked pish on tiny wheels as well.
 
That would be my only real nit pick. But with a 70dB hearing loss in both ears I just turn my hearing aids down!

Small wheels/big tyres = cheap!
 
I too like the look of the i40 but after reading a forum about them put me well off.

good to hear that you seem to have a good one too.
 
(Now I'm not on my phone I can write a bit more)

If it's the same forum I visit, after a while it's obvious that the real moaner is a single troll who, despite only getting 35-40mpg refuses to believe that his driving style is not economical or to take it to a dealer to look at... and greets every new user with 'Hi - do you know you've bought a lemon?' and constantly spends his time comparing the i40 to Audi's, Mercs and BMWs!

Other issues seem to be either early, 1st batch, 2012 cars or incompetent dealers. Luckily my dealer was recommended to me independently by two different friends who don't know each other...

But, so far, so good.

It has some nice toys - reversing camera is handy for car parks - full length sunroof is nice. Dash looks good - "infotainment" system is a bit rubbish, based on Windows CE I believe!! but ipod input, usb and aux. Bluetooth to my phone for music streaming and calls. Seats are comfortable - especially good as I seem to be spending about 25-30 hours a week behind the wheel at the moment! Boot takes everything I can throw at it and cleans up easily after being abused by two muddied up Springer Spaniels after a good long forest ramble! Built in dog guard too! Plenty of room in the back as well so kids are happy...

Sor far 20k service has cost me £262, which is a bit pricey. I have a local independent who can do this for me, using Hyundai parts so as not to invalidate the warranty, for about half that... I have a developing issue I think with one of the front parking sensors which sometimes doesn't turn off - but that seems to have rectified itself at the moment - I think there's water getting in to it.

So, so far a happy bunny - I recommend it worth a look to any cost concious driver - may not be worth it new as they aren't cheap in comparison to Mondeos and Insignias - but year old, used? definitely... and the warranty is transferable...
 
For what it's worth, we have run several Hyundais in our family.
They were cheap compared to the competition, but no longer are
They haven't gone wrong
The warranty is long and for that reason I would have them serviced within the dealer network to avoid arguments and retain manufacturer's goodwill if you have a major problem
Having said all that, the servicing is pricey (although dealers are open to haggle and prices do vary)
Parts are expensive
Not particularly economical

Having said all that, I remain a Ford guy at heart. I ran Vauxhall for very many years during my working life. Astra, Cavalier, Senator. High mileage, cheap to service, comfy, pretty reliable. I had a top notch dealer nearby. The reliability dropped as the GM profits declined. The dealer went bust. I returned to Ford. Again, I have a good dealer nearby and the service manager, lo and behold, is the guy that was the service manager at the Vauxhall dealer. We speak the same tongue and I can rely on him to do the business and avoid any unnecessary work

I run a Focus Estate at the moment. I bought it new in Nov 2012 with a pretty substantial discount. To date it has been back to the dealer once only, for its annual service which cost £109 including 12 months full AA breakdown service with At Home and recovery through Europe. Because our mileage is not high now I've bought petrol this time bearing in mind the up to 8p extra to buy a litre of diesel in this part of the world

The car is practical, comfy and dynamically on the road as good if not better than the 2 BMW3 and 1 BMW 5 I have owned. It is cheap to service, half the cost of the Volvo V70 and V50 I have owned immediately prior to buying the Ford

If I was buying a new car now I'd be tempted to try Mondeo Estate. They are well sorted, dynamically fantastic, reliable, cheap to service and, because of the sales rep/Mondeo Man image, cheap to buy. Haggle for a demonstrator or pre reg

However, I'm sure you'll be happy with the Hyundai and wish you all the best with it. Just remember to ring round a couple of dealers for servicing price comparisons. We find it quite easy to haggle north of £50 off a service as dealers will price match and are keen to keep the business. They need to keep the workshop busy and they have a problem in that the cars tend not to go wrong and therefore repair work can be thin on the ground
 
Show me a car forum that wouldn't put you off any car.
I don't know what you drive, but I bet I could find umpteen forum moans about them.
Oh yeah they are the place for problems and they are usually sans praise I agree, it was just the level of faults, the repeat faults that shocked me (seam welds not complete so car leaking from the floorpan)

I drive a Mondeo Mk4, they have some niggles, I've been fairly lucky with mines.
 
And to illustrate the flip side, the Ford Fiesta we had from 2009-2012 was a badly built piece of nonsense.
Needed new pulley bearings at 16000 miles (Ford charging me £70 for the belts, as they aren't covered), the door seals kept popping off and a heater duct literally fell off from under the dash into the passenger footwell one day.
Oh, the 15 spoke Titanium alloy wheel, used on several models, buckled easily too (common fault, do a Google search)

The only fault I can give our Hyundai IX35 is the paint on the alloys could be thicker.
Servicing is quite pricey though, for a car with a 1.6 petrol engine.
First service was over £200 and I've been warned the second one will be even dearer.
I may tell the dealer to erf-orf and get an independent to do it (using Hyundai parts).
 
Hi Gareth,

I'm interested to find out how the i40 performs over the next few months.

I'm a company car driver toying with the idea of opting out in April. I too need a load lugging diesel and do about 30k miles pa. been reading the Hyundai forums but have found the reading worrying with reference to the water ingress and other common faults and long waits for parts on warrant claims.

Thinking of getting something around 12 months old and keeping for 5 years so the warranty would get me into my final year of ownership.

My vehicle allowance is £390 a month so 15k is the max to run, insure and maintain on this monthly allowance. Hence looking for a lugger with 5 year warranty and free breakdown cover.

Feel free to PM me any help or advice you can give with this potential purchase.

Andy
 
Hi Andy,

You can see my recent car history in the first post so you know what I am comparing the i40 against.

I'm nearly 4 months in to ownership now and everything seems to be OK -apart from this intermittent fault with a front parking sensor.

My gut feeling currently is that this will be OK for the 3 years I have it financed over and then the other year to take me to the end of the warranty - gut feeling after a few months has usually been accurate for the previous cars!!

Time will tell if I get bored of it before then!!

On paper, at least currently, it does seem to be the perfect choice for a high mileage, cost concious, ex-company car driver...
 

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