Car advice, whats it worth?

[Andeh13]

Sounds like I am being difficult & believe me I am as open minded about this as possible but im still not massively convinced.

That BMW 2.0D is £160 more to insure, as well as more expensive servicing (i presume) though it is slightly cheaper on tax & faster. The spec list still doesn't have anything on the C5's though, and I still much prefer the interior & exterior styling of the C5. I am still having second thoughts about spending so much on the Citroen though, its a real shame it wasn't released a year older. Would bring it nicely into mid budget!

That 330D is something else, though there must be some sort of mistake in it!

[GoNz0]

before you buy a Citroen check out how comfy the chairs are in the service area, also find the crappest micro car they have, imagine it worn out as your going to spend most of your time in that while yours is in for the same repairs to be done over and over until you lose all your hair through stress. check out the responce times for your local aa or rac (the choice is yours) and set the number to speed dial.

if you don't believe me go to your local dealers and wander into the service dept and ask the people sat there looking rather pissed off.

i thought it was bad luck with the van i have but each time i'm in there i find someone else with a story to tell of the poor quality and utter inibility of the staff to resolve a issue with the cars they sell.

[dave87]

Actually, that 330d might not be that out in terms of pricing:

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1691317.htm

[Andeh13]

330d insurance is scary!

Reliability wise I'm not too worried, it did very well in JDpower's survey for family cars:

[dave87]

330d insurance is scary!

Really?

I'm guessing you are 22/23 with 5 years NCB? It shouldn't be that bad for a moderately quick saloon as it is...?

[Andeh13]

Yep 22 with 5 years NCB. Cheapest I could find was £1200 with Admiral, same setup as C5/3 series.

[dave87]

Yep 22 with 5 years NCB. Cheapest I could find was £1200 with Admiral, same setup as C5/3 series.

Same as I paid for my Civic 2.2 iCTDi at age 20 with 3 years NCB, so I'd say a bit of a bargain

[eshrules]

hmm, now you guys are making it very difficult!

What is it about the C5 people are so against? I am curious as I felt that with the badge prices would be lower for the kit level, despite Citroen having pulled some pretty impressive cars out, thereby making it good value for money?

Still open for ideas! Especially individual models!

edit:
Ruled out the Octavia vRS. The kit level it comes with is disappointing imo.
Audi A4 is the same as the Skoda, the kit levels are poor & looking at quite high mileage. I also despise the interior...and finally my dad has one!
BMW is the same high milage for the price range, and im still hesitant about the ride & kit it comes with.
Mazda 6 is very rare for the price range.

I think we need to clarify what you're meaning by 'kit' dude? I've sat in one of those Vrs and they seemed like a pretty well kitted car to me, inbuilt satnav isn't a must considering a tomtom can be picked up for £100 nowadays.

what exactly are the other cars missing that the C5 has?

If it were me (and it's not) I'd happily trade a little bit of kit in return for better reliability and performance.

RE the mazda 6 - I was looking at one of these a year and a half ago, in the £7>8k range and I found loads of decent examples? Rust isn't your friend with those though.

[mycarsavw]

BMW 3 series - Compact Exec.

Citroen C5 - Large/Mid Family car.

You need to lay out what you want this car to do, then find a car to fit that bill, not find a car then compare it to the C5.

If I had to have a Citroen it'd be a C6.

[Andeh13]

The majority of the use will be driving from Crawley (South of London) to Peterborough to see my daughter at the weekend. Every couple of weekends ill be taking her for the weekend to see my relatives. Ill be looking at around 350miles round trip when I see her (every weekend/every other weekend), then theres commuting too work but that's fairly irrelevant.

Twice a year ill also be driving to Italy (via ski slopes) to visit parents, first few times ill be treating the car as a van bringing back stuff that has been in storage for a few years (all my stuff went into storage when my parents moved abroad & its all been shipped out there). Ultimately I plan on keeping this car for several years (had my saxo for 5!) and will have my own family

The main main main point of the car is too make my life easier & make the long journeys more bearable. I have enough reasons not to want to go over with ex having a new bf (which im still not so sure about) so its anything that makes it easier for me. I would rather pay the money to make it easier then save money (even if it is £1000s) and loose the enthusiasm of seeing my daughter regularly.

Kit wise a lot of it is just the sheer amount of kit the C5 comes with. Im esp after Cruise/speed limiter (M25 & average speed cameras...), traction/stability control, half leather, dual climate control, diesel (though anything which does high MPG, 45+), CD/MP3, 2+ iso fix for child seats.

Stuff the C5 has that i quite like is elec folding & heated mirrors, auto lights & wipers, tyre pressure sensors, semi-active suspension, full elec front seats, massively comfy & effortless power.

[dave87]

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1591948.htm


1995cc Diesel, Manual.

Metallic Black.
Insurance Group:14,
Full Black leather interior,
CD player, (more than likely to do mp3 - or have an iPod kit installed - minimal cost)
heated seats,
climate control,
multifunctional steering wheel
front fog lights,
Rear parking sensors,
alloy wheels,
Cruise control,
FSH,
immaculate condition.

Runflat tyres - so it'll have TPM.
177bhp - effortless.

[eshrules]

I think this exercise may be a waste of time imho.

If you've got your mind set on a C5, you won't find a car with as many toys. It's a similar trend to Renault.

Load the car full of electronic gizmos to entice buyers, who cares if it all goes wrong a year outside of the warranty - that's what garages are for, right?

£13k on a C5 is financial suicide imho, the 3 series above (although I dislike the 3's) would be a far sounder investment and just as comfortable to drive.

The 'trim' you've listed is pretty much standard on the cars mentioned through this thread, cruise control isn't all it's cracked up to be though - might be worth a test drive for that.

[Andeh13]

Whilst I understand the concern over the C5 (Citroen reputation isn't an insignificant thing) the JDpower survey results seem to be positive (only marginally behind BMW & Audi) and with 18 months warranty behind it, the reliability isn't a major worry for me. I am keen on the cruise control/speed limiter though, with the M25 being covered in cameras and with it being the first 30miles/last 30miles of my journey i think it will be all too easy to be caught out, esp if im tired/mind is elsewhere.

I am still unsure about spending more then £12,000, so im going to use that as my revised budget. I will head over to a BMW garage today and see if they have any approved used cars i can have a look over. I am still sceptical over the suspension but will enquire about a test drive, is it the SE only that has the softer suspension?

Thanks for all the input guys, very very gratefull!

[mycarsavw]

<facepalm>

If the sole purpose of this car is to keep you in contact with your daughter, reliability should be the number one priority.

From experience (via my line of work, not personal!), there is nothing worse than being told your father is coming to visit only to find out he can't make it because he's broken down/forgotten/etc

[Guy]

Kit wise a lot of it is just the sheer amount of kit the C5 comes with. Im esp after Cruise/speed limiter (M25 & average speed cameras...), traction/stability control, half leather, dual climate control, diesel (though anything which does high MPG, 45+), CD/MP3, 2+ iso fix for child seats.

Stuff the C5 has that i quite like is elec folding & heated mirrors, auto lights & wipers, tyre pressure sensors, semi-active suspension, full elec front seats, massively comfy & effortless power.

Thats not what I would call a massive spec list given the price of cars your looking at.

My 9 year old 5 series, has cruise control, traction control, front + rear parking sensors, full leather, dual climate, 6 disk changer (mp3 compatable)/steering wheel controls/'pro' sound system, auto lights + wipers, Xenon's, 'pro navigation', heated mirrors (folding were an optional extra), auto dimming rear view mirror, and prob a few other things I have missed off as well.
Only thing I don't think it has is ISO fix, but I imagine that is due to the age of the car, and ISO fix being a relatively new thing?
Oh its a diesel, and does 45+ all day everyday as well, and has more than 136/173 bhp to show for it

If your planing on keeping it long term, warranty is irrelvant surely, as after 18 months is up, then its going to have to be out of your own pocket. Its French, so all those high tech fancy electronics, well in 4 years time do you really want to be footing the bill, because they've gone kaput?

When I get back, I'll have a proper look in the classifieds, and report back with a few ideas

[usxhe190]

I also agree with the others and I think a BMW or an Audi is pretty good for the budget.

Between BMW and Audi, I think Audi A6 would be the best choice. Good quality car. Lots of room. Servicing is similar to a VW. Parts a little more but its good quality stuff.