Advice on what new car to buy.

[alxndr]

Take reversing, most new cars have either reversing sensors to give you some audible indication if you get close to something, many now have a camera in the boot and a screen on the dash with reversing lines, so you can see exactly what you are doing as you reverse into a space. It starts working as soon as you put it into reverse. It's brilliant... makes reversing so much easier... why wouldn't you want it?

I'm convinced reversing/parking aids have a major part to play in the amount of people I see driving now who have absolutely no awareness of the size of their vehicle. People are becoming increasingly reliant on such things, and that's all well and good until they stop working. For years we rarely reversed into anything at work, then we got reversing cameras and reliable sensors... they went on the blink and people suddenly started complaining like mad and reversing into things instead of just looking in their mirrors like they'd done for decades previously.

I'm sure there's cars around with none of the above, but I don't know why you would choose one because most of these features are really good. Try them... I bet you'll wonder why you kept the old car for so long !

My favourite category of vehicle to drive is old vans without any of the mod cons. Air con I missed for a couple of months of the year, and electric windows on the rare occasion I wanted to talk to someone through the passenger window. There's something to be said for keeping it simple. I have a 2017 car, but if it wasn't for reliability and overall running costs I'd sell it for an old van (which I did have as a second vehicle for a while, and honestly preferred).

 

[MotCO]

Personally I have settled into buying used at about 2.5 years old, so a short warranty remaining to sort out any problems. This is much cheaper than new.

Is this still true today? The shortage of new cars has pushed second hand car prices up, sometimes over the price of a new car.

 

[david1212]

You have said you want new but as already posted do be aware of the current waiting list time. I would think again about used despite the current prices. While now 5+ years old if 16 or 66 plate £20 / 30 RFL instead of £150+.

Sadly all cars are bristling with electronics and sensors just to run without the addons.

I would keep to something very common so you can find a good local independent garage for both routine work, having experience of occasional jobs e.g. cambelt plus have seen most problems before. Also numerous sources for parts including breakers.

Given modern diesels have so many addons to meet emissions standards I would keep to petrol. MPG can be almost as good while currently petrol 10p+ less a litre.
Ford Focus 1.0 is one suggestion.
VAG seem to be over their issues of 10ish years ago so 1.0 VW, Seat or Skoda is another. The Rapid was never popular so while a larger car lower used pricing than the Fabia. The Seat Toledo was the same platform.

Toyota Yaris perhaps small for you so Corolla ? While higher upfront cost might a hybrid be cost effective long term ?

Kia Ceed an outsider if you can find an independant with experience and as as backup dealer fairly local.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Is this still true today? The shortage of new cars has pushed second hand car prices up, sometimes over the price of a new car.

Yes, there is a temporary blip because if you order a new car you'll likely be waiting months for it. Do check prices, but don't be taken by PCP, all you're paying off is the depreciation and you own nothing at the end.

 

[ChrisC]

However, the one modern piece of technology I can't live without is Apple CarPlay / Android Auto. If a car has one, it will have the other. This allows you to plug your smartphone into the car, and interact with it on the dashboard screen. It makes using a phone while driving safe, and it means you get a top notch navigation system built into the car for no extra cost. If you have a smart phone, I would still advise you to find a car that supports this. Most new cars do.

I’m not very technical but perhaps I’m doing something wrong. When I got a new car last year I opted out of having a very expensive built in SatNav because the car has Apple Car-Play. Most of the time I have no problems using the navigation systems with Apple Car-Play but on a few occasions when driving in a rural area I have lost all phone reception just in an area down country lanes when I needed SatNav.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I’m not very technical but perhaps I’m doing something wrong. When I got a new car last year I opted out of having a very expensive built in SatNav because the car has Apple Car-Play. Most of the time I have no problems using the navigation systems with Apple Car-Play but on a few occasions when driving in a rural area I have lost all phone reception just in an area down country lanes when I needed SatNav.

If you enable Waze or Google Maps when you have a signal, it will download the route (and roads adjacent to it) so you don't lose it if you lose signal. It is a bit annoying if you need to start out of signal, though.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 6 Apr 2022 ==

My favourite category of vehicle to drive is old vans without any of the mod cons. Air con I missed for a couple of months of the year, and electric windows on the rare occasion I wanted to talk to someone through the passenger window. There's something to be said for keeping it simple. I have a 2017 car, but if it wasn't for reliability and overall running costs I'd sell it for an old van (which I did have as a second vehicle for a while, and honestly preferred).

Problem with old vans is that they're likely to be banned from most cities before long, as they're almost all diesel and pre-Euro 6.

Also one thing to be aware of. Most insurers will accept car No Claims Bonus for a van. But very, very few will go the other way. I had to do this a few years back and it cost me a fortune extra to find one that did (Budget, who were anything but).

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 6 Apr 2022 ==

Power steering is another unnecessary gimmick.

I learnt on non-PAS cars (a Pug 105 and then a Corsa) and have driven a Series 3 Landy that certainly built muscles. But to me PAS is a revelation in making cars just, well, nice to drive, and if you could get one without it I'd still pay extra for it.

The modern feature I do find utterly pointless (as they are less functional) is electronic handbrakes.

 

[The Ham]

Also one thing to be aware of. Most insurers will accept car No Claims Bonus for a van. But very, very few will go the other way. I had to do this a few years back and it cost me a fortune extra to find one that did (Budget, who were anything but).

Although it depends on your insurer, when my wife became the main policy holder there was very little difference in the cost with/without a no claims bonus, however being able to put that there had been no claims and had been driving (both) for a number of years obviously helped on that.

Another provider was actually cheaper (without a no claims bonus) than Direct Line who would have honoured her no claims bonus from our joint policy.

I don't know if it's just me, but it's often been the case that once you've got a good deal with an insurer they tend to be hard to beat (sometimes £20 cheaper, I don't know about now, but it used to be a fair amount of hassle to get the no claims bonus certificate, so often didn't bother) until you change cars and then someone is until you change again (and we tend to keep our cars for over 5 years at a time).

I learnt on non-PAS cars (a Pug 105 and then a Corsa) and have driven a Series 3 Landy that certainly built muscles. But to me PAS is a revelation in making cars just, well, nice to drive, and if you could get one without it I'd still pay extra for it.

The modern feature I do find utterly pointless (as they are less functional) is electronic handbrakes.

Many companies have dropped electronic handbrakes as they are so university hated.

 

[skyhigh]

Power steering is another unnecessary gimmick.

In your opinion. I'm quite happy with it!!

 

[DustyBin]

Unless youve got the 1.0l like me and am soon going to need to fork out on the 10 year /100k mile wet belt change that was never designed to be changed

But I love my 2013 focus, 540 ish miles on a full tank, I've never had any problems. Been to Devon and back in a day, chesterfield, Nottingham, does it all with ease. No touchscreens etc,

I would recommend, if it wasn't for the expensive timing belt change

Ah the dreaded 1.0 wet belt change! Other than that though it’s a great little engine, my mother is on her second (Focus then C-Max).

It’s worth noting that the EcoBoost name has been applied to a number of completely unrelated engines over the years, although the 1.0 is often thought of as the EcoBoost. Even the 2.3 in my Focus is an EcoBoost, although it makes a mockery of the “Eco” moniker!

 

[Grumpy Git]

I'm waiting for some dinosaur to post that electric starters are too gimmicky, (to put the top hat on this thread).

 

[Bletchleyite]

it used to be a fair amount of hassle to get the no claims bonus certificate

Very much changed now. The renewal notice is considered sufficient, and many companies don't ask for it at all, they either take your word for it or check with the previous insurer themselves which they can get from the MID.

Many companies have dropped electronic handbrakes as they are so university hated.

I just can't see a single benefit of them nor a single problem with a manual, cable controlled one. It's simple, it works and they barely ever fail. And you can pull off against them doing a steep hill start if you need to, without any sort of technological gimmickry.

I similarly see no point in electronic boot releases. If you're pressing a touchpad, you can press a button. There is a point in some of those features e.g. "wave your foot under the car to open it if your hands are full", but not the simple press button ones.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 7 Apr 2022 ==

Ah the dreaded 1.0 wet belt change! Other than that though it’s a great little engine, my mother is on her second (Focus then C-Max).

It’s worth noting that the EcoBoost name has been applied to a number of completely unrelated engines over the years, although the 1.0 is often thought of as the EcoBoost. Even the 2.3 in my Focus is an EcoBoost, although it makes a mockery of the “Eco” moniker!

I think the "EcoBoost" brand is just a generic one for Ford's turbocharged petrols, isn't it? The boost referring to the turbo boost.

I hate cambelts. Chain-driven engines are far better, no need to change that in the average car's life. It's very much a "buy cheap, buy twice" type issue in a way.

 

[Mojo]

This thread has come at a fairly opportune moment as I’m also looking to replace my car. It’s the only car I’ve ever owned or indeed driven, excluding hire cars abroad or my work/driving instructor’s car (passed my test in 2007 and bought the car off my mum about 4 years ago), but I dropped it in the garage this morning as it won’t go into second gear. Fearing the worst and I’ve said if it costs too much I won’t repair it and will just cope until a replacement car is sourced.

The price of used cars is astronomical at the moment; my Mum bought a secondhand Toyota Yaris (17 plate) last year and an equivalent car now is selling for more than what she paid for it! A work colleague of mine also bought a secondhand Mini end of last year and someone drove into the back of him at some traffic lights, writing the car off. The insurance paid out more than what it cost him to buy.

I decided I’m reluctant to spend so much money without a long term guarantee so also considering new. Have looked so far at the Dacia Sondero and Stepway, Kia Picanto and Hyundai i10. If anything I’d get the Kia over the others due to the longer warranty, but haven’t booked any test drives yet. Dacia is about £1k cheaper than the others.

Been to a few garages and also looking on the web, the entry level spec used cars (post 2018 with low mileage) for all three seem to be going for about £7-8k, whereas brand new I could get it for £12-£14k.

 

[DustyBin]

I think the "EcoBoost" brand is just a generic one for Ford's turbocharged petrols, isn't it? The boost referring to the turbo boost.

Yes, although the 1.0 is synonymous with the name and is what many people think of when they hear “EcoBoost”.

I hate cambelts. Chain-driven engines are far better, no need to change that in the average car's life. It's very much a "buy cheap, buy twice" type issue in a way.

Belts are fine, they’re generally easy to change it’s just that in the case of the 1.0 EcoBoost they’re a pain. There have been plenty of chain driven engines with issues, Vauxhall’s 1.0 Ecotec was/is notorious for early chain failure (I’ve seen thicker chains around peoples necks!).

 

[bspahh]

I just can't see a single benefit of them nor a single problem with a manual, cable controlled one. It's simple, it works and they barely ever fail. And you can pull off against them doing a steep hill start if you need to, without any sort of technological gimmickry.

I read somewhere that said that with rear drum brakes a manual handbrake was easy to set up, but with rear disk brakes you can't just use the brake pads on the disk, as it would cause uneven wear. That means you need a separate mechanism for the parking brake. I don't remember a clamour from users to get rid of a cable controlled hand brake, so I assume that its cheaper for manufacturers to have an electric one. You could always have an electronic parking brake which is controlled with a hand lever.

 

[richw]

Anything basic should not have a touchscreen, KIA/Hyundai seem to be the best of the bunch at the moment (plus have the best warranties), My step-mum has had both a Mk.1 facelift Kia 'Ceed and recently a 2018 Hyundai Ioniq and they were exceolent vehicles.

I have a 2018 Hyundai i10 1.0. Very basic but has the bits I want such as Bluetooth and usb connectivity and cruise control.
I’m seeing around 65mpg. No issues to report in my ownership.

 

[railwaytrack]

Thank you for all your further replies. It is very helpful. I am no expert when it comes to cars so it is very useful to hear everyone else views and suggestions.

I hadn't realised just how rare the Skoda Estelle was these days. I had presumed my car would be worth nothing (maybe £100 if i am lucky) as nobody would want a knackered fourtyfour year old car. But from the sounds of it i might be able to sell it for a lot more than i had expected.

I shall definitely take some test drives of the vehicles that have been mentioned. It seems the Dacia Sandero might work well as that was mentioned a few times so i will take a test drive of that. I suppose the best way to see which car is best one for me is to get test drives of various different cars and see what i like. I will try to take test drives of various different cars to make sure i try a wide selection before making my final choice. Also i do not necessarily need a brand new car. I was planning on buying a brand new car but i am happy to buy a car that is a few years old if that suits me better.

Maybe it might be worth even seeing if i could rent or borrow a newer car for a week or so and just see what it is like to drive and get used to using it.

I think what NoRoute said is probably right. All of these newer features probably do make driving a lot easier and better. It is just that it is so different and unfamiliar to what i have been driving for all these years so it would take a while to get used to. I think if someone was to make the opposite switch (go from driving a modern car to a Skoda Estelle or any similar aged car) than it would probably be a lot harder for them. As pdq mentioned any new car i buy is going to be light years different to my Skoda Estelle so anything will take a while to get used to. But at least i am hoping for something that is a bit more traditional and basic so it will still have a bit of familiarity at least.

 

[bspahh]

Thank you for all your further replies. It is very helpful. I am no expert when it comes to cars so it is very useful to hear everyone else views and suggestions.

I hadn't realised just how rare the Skoda Estelle was these days. I had presumed my car would be worth nothing (maybe £100 if i am lucky) as nobody would want a knackered fourtyfour year old car. But from the sounds of it i might be able to sell it for a lot more than i had expected.

I don't know that I trust the numbers, but this site says you might have one of 5 Skoda Estelles that are still taxed in the UK

How Many Left?

How Many Left. See how many cars of any make and model are left on Britain's roads.

www.howmanyleft.co.uk

I remember going to the Motor Show at the NEC in 1978. The Skoda stand was happy to let 11 year olds sit in all their cars.

You could get this one

for £5995 from eBay

 

[LSWR Cavalier]

Since you have been satisfied with an old Skoda, you could look at younger Skodas. They are very like audis and volkswagens. Except for the price.

 

[Grumpy Git]

I don't know that I trust the numbers, but this site says you might have one of 5 Skoda Estelles that are still taxed in the UK

How Many Left?

How Many Left. See how many cars of any make and model are left on Britain's roads.

www.howmanyleft.co.uk

I remember going to the Motor Show at the NEC in 1978. The Skoda stand was happy to let 11 year olds sit in all their cars.

You could get this one

for £5995 from eBay

£5,990 overpriced.

I'd suggest either Kia or Hyundai with a petrol engine as others have already suggested.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Since you have been satisfied with an old Skoda, you could look at younger Skodas. They are very like audis and volkswagens. Except for the price.

Good point. The Fabia is probably the equivalent in size.

 

[mmh]

Skoda Octavias are also very reliable "old fashioned" saloon style cars. There's a reason they're very popular with taxi and private hire companies.

 

[Grumpy Git]

There's a reason they're very popular with taxi and private hire companies.

... which means the chances of sourcing a half-decent one are non-existent.

 

[Mojo]

I had presumed my car would be worth nothing (maybe £100 if i am lucky) as nobody would want a knackered fourtyfour year old car. But from the sounds of it i might be able to sell it for a lot more than i had expected.

Not sure how much it's worth to sell it privately, but if you are interested in a Kia, I went into a local dealership this afternoon and he said Kia are doing a national "scrappage scheme" offer whereby they give you £1,750 new Picanto or Rio, or £2,250 off a Kia Stonic if you give them your old car that was registered before June 2015. He said the only restriction was that it must still roll forwards and not be insurance Cat A or B!

 

[mmh]

... which means the chances of sourcing a half-decent one are non-existent.

Most when they've been run into the ground (which is actually very difficult), it'll be that they're tatty inside and maybe a few dents. The ones that aren't worth fixing will have been scrapped.

Find a privately owned one...

I'd go for a 10-15 year old second hand car, one lovingly treated by its elder owner. A Nissan or Mazda, perhaps. In my experience you'll scrap the car eventually due to an expensive welding, but the engines just go on forever.

 

[Non Multi]

Not sure how much it's worth to sell it privately, but if you are interested in a Kia, I went into a local dealership this afternoon and he said Kia are doing a national "scrappage scheme" offer whereby they give you £1,750 new Picanto or Rio, or £2,250 off a Kia Stonic if you give them your old car that was registered before June 2015. He said the only restriction was that it must still roll forwards and not be insurance Cat A or B!

The Estelle is a classic car now, all classics, even ropey 'project cars' have value to the right collectors. Perfect vehicle to turn up to in the annual 'Festival of the Unexceptional'. Tidy Eastern-bloc cars are easily worth way more than that trade-in offer, as demonstrated by that eBay listing earlier in this thread.

 

[railwaytrack]

I don't really trust the accuracy of that How Many Left site. I am not sure where they get their data from. I have just looked up some other new and old cars on it and some of the numbers that are shown really just do not seem accurate. For an example the website claims here - https://www.howmanyleft.co.uk/vehicle/skoda_octavia - there are only 314 licensed (plus 143 SORN cars) Skoda Octavia cars currently on the road. There is no way that is accurate. For example just recently i counted 12 of them just sitting in one taxi rank. I would say there are over 10000 (probably even much higher) Skoda Octavia cars currently on the road. So for that reason i am not sure how accurate the claim of there being just 5 of the Skoda Estelle cars left is. There is certainly under 100 and probably under 50 but it might be a bit higher than just 5 cars.

I think i shall definitely have a look at some newer Skoda cars too as LSWR Cavalier and Bletchleyite mentioned. I see the Skoda Fabia has been mentioned a few times in this thread so i shall have a look at that. I think any new car will be very different to my current Skoda Estelle but it might be nice to get a car from the same manufacturer considering my current car from them has lasted me so long.

Also as mmh mentioned i think the Skoda Octavia is definitely worth looking at. I was speaking to a few people at work yesterday about new cars and two of them have Skoda Octavia cars and both spoke very highly of them and said they were great cars that they had no issues with. Considering that so many taxis use them they must be good cars. There must be a reason so many taxi drivers choose them. They seem to be reliable.

I will certainly check out that Kia offer they have as £1,750 or £2,250 sounds good. That might well be more than i could make selling it privately but i am not too sure. I shall have a look at the Picanto/Rio/Stonic and see what i think of them.

One thing i worry about is if cars are less reliable these days than older cars. Cars used to be so simple and basic that there was not much that could go wrong with them other than basic issues that could easily be fixed. But now with so many features, cruise control, power steering, built in sat nav, touchscreen controls, parking aids, air conditioning, all these electrics, sensors, all sorts of other features, etc, it just means that there is more stuff that can break and cause problems. So that is another reason i was looking for a simple car or at least a car that has a good reliability record. But i don't have any experience driving newer cars so maybe a lot of them do work fine without any issues.

There are just so many cars these days so it can be so hard to make a decision on which one to buy. Especially if you are not an expert when it comes to cars. There are so many to choose from. I will look in to all of the cars that have been mentioned in this thread and try to get test drives of all of them. I think that is the best way to see which one suits me best. It might take me a while but i think it is best to have a look at many different cars rather than rushing.

 

[Gloster]

I am not sure if modern cars are less reliable than older ones were when they were new. My feeling is that they are probably more reliable, but if they do go wrong they are more likely to require the attentions of an expert. The days when you could solve most problems with a kick and a bit of wire after a quick look at an oil-stained Haynes manual are gone.

 

[hst43102]

I don't really trust the accuracy of that How Many Left site. I am not sure where they get their data from. I have just looked up some other new and old cars on it and some of the numbers that are shown really just do not seem accurate. For an example the website claims here - https://www.howmanyleft.co.uk/vehicle/skoda_octavia - there are only 314 licensed (plus 143 SORN cars) Skoda Octavia cars currently on the road. There is no way that is accurate. For example just recently i counted 12 of them just sitting in one taxi rank. I would say there are over 10000 (probably even much higher) Skoda Octavia cars currently on the road. So for that reason i am not sure how accurate the claim of there being just 5 of the Skoda Estelle cars left is. There is certainly under 100 and probably under 50 but it might be a bit higher than just 5 cars.

Problem with that site is that the models are then split by trim level, engine etc - you had selected the Skoda Octavias that didn't have a trim level or engine specified. Here's the total data for the Skoda Octavia - 232,105 seems a lot more accurate than 314! I think the data comes directly from the DVLA so it should be fairly accurate.
For the Skoda Estelle, it lists 5 registered and 32 on SORN. I think you've got a very, very rare car - congratulations for keeping it going 44 years!

 

[cactustwirly]

Very much changed now. The renewal notice is considered sufficient, and many companies don't ask for it at all, they either take your word for it or check with the previous insurer themselves which they can get from the MID.



I just can't see a single benefit of them nor a single problem with a manual, cable controlled one. It's simple, it works and they barely ever fail. And you can pull off against them doing a steep hill start if you need to, without any sort of technological gimmickry.

I similarly see no point in electronic boot releases. If you're pressing a touchpad, you can press a button. There is a point in some of those features e.g. "wave your foot under the car to open it if your hands are full", but not the simple press button ones.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 7 Apr 2022 ==



I think the "EcoBoost" brand is just a generic one for Ford's turbocharged petrols, isn't it? The boost referring to the turbo boost.

I hate cambelts. Chain-driven engines are far better, no need to change that in the average car's life. It's very much a "buy cheap, buy twice" type issue in a way.

Well if your car has hill start assist you don't need to hold it on the handbrake.

Hahahaha I just spat out my coffee at your timing chain comment.
Belts are a lot cheaper to replace than chains, only a few hundred quid. Timing chains often need changing at great expense.
Feel free to read up about BMW N47 engines if you don't believe me!

 

[bspahh]

Well if your car has hill start assist you don't need to hold it on the handbrake.

I once drove a Peugeot car with an electronic handbrake and hill start assist. I had parked in a hotel underground car park, which had a curved, narrow, steep ramp to get out. I drove up to the barrier, next to a ticket machine, only to find that there were two, and the ticket machine that would read my ticket was now out of reach, 1m behind me. I was too close to open a door and get out.

The electronic handbrake and hill start assistance didn't let me roll back down the ramp, and I didn't have time to read the manual to see how to turn them off. Instead, I had to accelerate in reverse, down the narrow, steep, curved ramp.

I don't remember if I had a collision damage waiver on the insurance. If I didn't, I was travelling for work, so it would have been my work credit card that would have taken the pain. Even so, it put me off them, at least for a hire car, that I want to be able to drive without reading the manual.