Buying a new car

[bethcutler13]

we have a little ford focus we bought for £800 and it's been pretty reliable but we are just about to move house and have a fair bit of money left over (I was lucky to inherit of my father) so have a small mortgage and some spending money left. I'm so torn on how much to spend, I would like to get a reliable family car with a low mileage and more space.
I love Audis I think they look great and a fair few of my family own them and say they are very reliable and economical.
However the Volvo we are thinking about is REALLY cheap to run, cheaper to buy but not as "nice" as the Audi. I don't think it will run for as long due to having a smaller engine though.
Very boring, sorry.
Just don't know whether to buy a cheap to run car that is very "normal" looking but cheaper to buy or whether to spend a bit more and buy something a bit nicer and not as economical.
Sensible brain and *i want nice things brain are battling with each other!
How much would you spend on a family car?

Running costs are one thing. Insurance and resale value might be worth checking out before making a decision. As it happens I drive an A3 and I really like it. I have it on a long-term lease which means any maintenance costs are covered

With Audi you are really paying for the brand - you need to decide what that's worth to you.

Unless you have a serious amount to spend, I'd go for something from the Far East - Toyota, Honda etc as they are very reliable and come with lots of extras.

Seat and Audi are both made by the same people and are the same quality, but Seat doesn't have the same branding so they are cheaper.

I have just looked at all this and ordered a contract hire car, brand new, far less than finance.

I weighed up exactly what you describe I ended up with a car that is large, high spec but low on 'brand perception' ( I would say it is a mid range type reliable brand). The higher end luxury brand car that i looked at would cost nearly 10k more.

I think you have to really ask yourself what you want -image/presentation or function more flexibility within your finances. I know how many more holidays and short breaks we can go on by not committing to higher monthly payments.

I'm done with buying what people think I should have. Im trying my best to live an intentional life in a vacuous consumerist society.