Getting a new car

[atrull]

avoid ford always

had a mondeo in france a month ago and it was nowhere near as good to drive as any accord, let alone a rwd lexus or beemer, or 4wd a4

[Butuz]

My mates just been given an 06 Mondeo (1.8 i think) and he is suitably unimpressed.

I havent driven it yet but he says it drives like a gutless fat barge. Mind you he is used to a Mini Cooper i suppose...

I think with the focus and mondeo's - its the TDCI or bust. The 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0 are gutless uninspiring engines.

Butuz

[Nemeliza]

A4, S-Line body looks alot better if you can stretch it.

[Fox]

avoid ford always

had a mondeo in france a month ago and it was nowhere near as good to drive as any accord, let alone a rwd lexus or beemer, or 4wd a4

Firstly a 4wd A4? In this budget? It will be FWD. If the budget was big enough to allow for Quattro A4's and 6 cylinder 3 Series my posts in this thread would be totally different. Lets not get too carried away here guys.

Secondly, not as good to drive as any Accord? I know different people have different tastes but thats hard to believe. I'd understand if you preffered the interior, liked the styling, found the quality better but nothing in its class is a better drivers car.

I just have a thing against base model, base spec cars. It just smacks of badge snobbery to go for a low end car with a posh badge over a high end car with a not so desireable badge.

Mazda6, Honda Accord, 407, Mondeo, all will get you better car for your money.

If you had £25k then sure, get a nice 3 Series, specc'd up, it'll be a wonderful car. But you dont, you have 318 money which is just enough to allow you to join all the sheep with their 15" wheels, poverty spec bumpers and badges on the back saying 'I'm happy to drive a low end car becuase it says BMW on it'

The reason I chose the Mondeo to bring up in this thread was not becuase I consider it to be the best choice, but simply becuase its the best way of illustrating the point I was trying to make as I know the most about its specification. Substitute Mondeo for any of its rivals and the point remains the same.

Do you have the option to buy a used vehicle?

If so, look at a 54 plate BMW 330d Sport with leather. A proper BMW - all the car you could ever want, and more. Simply amazing.

[5lab]

oooo..... a lot of feedback...


Jon A: the A4 would be either 1.8 or 2.0 (not sure which one) model, which doesn't give enough ooomph for my liking, and personally I do find it slightly on the ugly side.


schmunk: yeah, I'm taking that into consideration, thanks.


Fox: I know what you mean about the 1.8 engine in the BMW, I'll have a word with the agency again soon and see how much a price diff would it be for a 320.

i think the a4 now has the option of the golf-gti derived 2l turbo (200bhp)

[Funkstar]

Had a thought this afternoon, what about an A3 Sportback? I spec'ed one out a while ago for my Dad and it was about £4k less than the equivelant A4. The 2L Turbo FSI was what i was after a while ago until i decided to keep my Golf for a few more years and save myself a few hundred a month.

[Proplus]

Had a thought this afternoon, what about an A3 Sportback? I spec'ed one out a while ago for my Dad and it was about £4k less than the equivelant A4. The 2L Turbo FSI was what i was after a while ago until i decided to keep my Golf for a few more years and save myself a few hundred a month.

Bit too small for my liking, if you consider I currently drive a 3.0 litre Toyota Camry GLX.

[Funkstar]

Can't be that much smaller than a BMW 318 though can it?

[Fox]

Yes, its 1 Series sized not 3 Series size.

Also the price difference isnt THAT great - An A4 2.0 SE is approx £20222, whereas an A3 Sportback is barely £400 cheaper at list price.

[BenW]

Going back to mondeos the TDCi and V6 models are certainly not gutless. I'll admit i'm only 17 and not yet driving (Passed my theory today Whoo!) but dads got a Mk3 V6 Zetec S Auto and its plently fast enough, went in the TDCi as well which was as fast as the V6 but it was still a diesel. He went for the V6 because he gets all fuel paid by his company and its a smoother engine but otherwise it would have been the TDCi.

So i think i'd go with what fox says, look at the cheaper cars. You might even find you can have built in sat-nav at reasonable cost

[Funkstar]

Yes, its 1 Series sized not 3 Series size.

Also the price difference isnt THAT great - An A4 2.0 SE is approx £20222, whereas an A3 Sportback is barely £400 cheaper at list price.

A3 sure looks a lot bigger than a 1 Series. Guess my memory is rubbish with the price differences then. happens

[Proplus]

The A3 looks like the same size as one of those Astra which the GTE made 'famous'

Sat-Nav is not a must, as I have an Ipaq with Tom Tom kit already.

Apparently, I might be able to get a discount, as the company is right next to my restaurant, and if I do, I'll get extras with the discounted part.......maybe leather seats.

[5lab]

what about the other obvious options?

caddy bls, saab 9-3, volvo s40, signums aren't bad either.. you might even get a poverty spec 300c??

all worth looking at, although, as its a company car, i'd always take the alfa - you dont have to pay for repairs

[99Flake]

Sorry but it has to be the Lexus here. It will be by far and away the most reliable, it looks the nicest in my opinion, will come better specced than the Audi or BMW (Lexus don't know what an options list is) and according to the motoring press is at least as good as the 3 series, if not better. Oh yeah and Lexus Sat Nav is the best system out there, has been for years.

[schmunk]

[Butuz]

I've said it before and I'll say it again - you can't go wrong with a jap car.

I'll buy nothing else now after the last two!

Butuz