To buy a new car..

[poppyflower1803]

Hi,

Not sure if I'm on right topic, however I need help on whether to buy a new car at the moment or not! So need real life experiences with costs etc as opposed to fuel cost calculators on the internet! Car I currently have is a 1.2 litre petrol VW Polo 2003, obviously small engine means fuel costs are cheaper but I am now starting to commute about 60miles a day there and back (around 30 each way) and have obviously started using more petrol. I have a 7month old daughter and would like a bigger car to feel safer, however most are diesel which I know is more fuel efficient for longer journeys. The car I'm looking at is a Nissan qashqai 1.5l diesel.

People with similar cars/engines, how much are you paying for petrol? Are diesels worth it- I know environmentally they are abysmal and will be outlawed soon but I cannot afford a hybrid, or alternatively do I stick with a petrol engine?

Any input is much appreciated! X

@reigatecastle

Yikes, that's presumptuous!! I could be an HGV driver for all you know 😅 but I get your point, just wanted to think about a bigger car for a multitude of reasons that may be beneficial to our family.

And was not saying I was definitely going for diesel, I know how poor they are for the environment, but have heard about good fuel economy if driven in the right conditions so wanted peoples opinions and views on that fact as well as their costs with the rising costs to see if it was worth it.

Any recommendations for small cars?

I can't afford a hybrid outright sadly and don't want to use finance if I can avoid it. Budget being around £5000-£6000 for a new car and that's at a push.

Petrol Jazz. Will be 7/8 years old but you will get at least another 7/8 out of it.

If you can wait 12/18 months op the market will be flooded with PCPs handed back and this will bring 2nd hand prices down considerably.

Be very careful buying a diesel from 2013-2015, there are still lots of Diesel Gate cars out there with serious issues. My old VW golf was the cheapest to run car Ive ever had, very zippy too.

On Diesel Gate - any car that had the emissions software update 'fix' will constantly get clogged dpf's, they werent designed to run like that.

Second this. Need to look at the official test score for car safety. Small cars can be safe too.
www.euroncap.com/en

SUV is very anti social. Diesel is very polluting and more costly to repair.
There is a new car premium. If you are cost conscious and want a newish car, a 1-3yo car can be better value for money.

Another factor against diesel is the current price which is 26p a litre more around my way

Apart from the cost of used cars at the moment makes it near impossible for me to buy a newer model of 1-3 years...

My car does have a good safety rating, but because of its age, mechanically is not very safe at the moment. im not actually looking at in particular SUVs, the Nissan qashqai was just a car that I liked the looked of, fitted our needs and was in the price range with some luxuries included in the model.

Im looking for any slightly bigger car, preferably petrol that can accommodate our needs but due to the chip shortage at the moment, supermini hatchbacks are going for around £4000 and that's from about 2010 onwards! (in my area anyway)

I am aware of the cost of fuel and that was why I posted in the cost of living, to find out if it was worth it. I was already erring on the side of caution with diesel due to what I already knew about it.

In general the comments on here are quite rude- I am not trying to be polluting, an anti-social driver, a bad driver covering for my sins or anything of the like, I simply liked a model and wondered how much people with similar models were spending on their cars so not many of the comments here were particularly helpful and more often accusations!

And to conclude, research does suggest SUVs are safer in a crash for the passangers, and diesel is less polluting if the engine is maintained properly and a newer engine, however if it is pumping out black sh*t from the exhaust then yes, that is terrible.

If anyone is following this thread, I have opted not to buy a new car at the moment anyway but to keep a look out on the second hand market and dealerships until one is worth my money and time with the right specs for our needs.

Thanks everyone for the input :)

Hi OP, good luck with finding a car. I just came onto your thread to mention that if you work as a Civil Servant or are in the public sector if you join Boundless then you can benefit from partner discounts. I bought a BMW through them years ago and I just had a look and they had a new Qashqa Acentra Premium 160 XTRONIC for 25.9K instead of 31.7k - not familiar with the make but it is a Qashqa.

SUVs are so overrated. They have small boots compared to equivalent size saloons/estates and you have to lift your children into their seats. Whereas in most regular cars children can get straight into their car seat from the pavement.

Thank you so much for the recommendation! I work in education so will see :)

I have noticed some suvs looking as if they have small boots. We just installed a car seat in my parents Rav 4 and blimey it is much higher up than my polo! 🤣