New car choices. HELP!
- Thread starter jock156
- Start date
For that money Jock, I would highly recommend one of these:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202210110611053?model=Mazda3&make=Mazda&onesearchad=New&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&onesearchad=Used&radius=1500&aggregatedTrim=Sport%20Nav&year-from=2015&sort=relevance&fuel-type=Petrol&advertising-location=at_cars&include-delivery
The sport nav has all the kit, PDC front and rear and rear camera, Bose stereo, HUD, sat nav, auto everything, keyless entry and go and is a good little car to drive too. £30 RFL. I bought one exactly the same as the one in the link (even the same colour) and it's brilliant.
2L n/a petrol but detuned to 120bhp. 45-50mpg.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202210110611053?model=Mazda3&make=Mazda&onesearchad=New&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&onesearchad=Used&radius=1500&aggregatedTrim=Sport%20Nav&year-from=2015&sort=relevance&fuel-type=Petrol&advertising-location=at_cars&include-delivery
The sport nav has all the kit, PDC front and rear and rear camera, Bose stereo, HUD, sat nav, auto everything, keyless entry and go and is a good little car to drive too. £30 RFL. I bought one exactly the same as the one in the link (even the same colour) and it's brilliant.
2L n/a petrol but detuned to 120bhp. 45-50mpg.
Jock, looking at your wife's shortlist she obviously has taste, so ignore this input.Pondrew said:For that money Jock, I would highly recommend one of these:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202210110611053?model=Mazda3&make=Mazda&onesearchad=New&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&onesearchad=Used&radius=1500&aggregatedTrim=Sport%20Nav&year-from=2015&sort=relevance&fuel-type=Petrol&advertising-location=at_cars&include-delivery
The sport nav has all the kit, HUD, sat nav, auto everything, keyless entry and go and is a good little car to drive too. £30 RFL. I bought one exactly the same as the one in the link (even the same colour) and it's brilliant.
2L n/a petrol but detuned to 120bhp. 45-50mpg.
oke: 
Probably older than what you'll be looking at for that budget but Mrs Tidy bought a new R50 Mini One in 2003, got invited to the R56 launch and ordered her December 2006 Mini Cooper that she still has 60K miles later! It's a better car in every way, better ride, cheaper Road Tax and more economical, plus more fun to rag around when I got to drive it on my own!
The next generation F56 Minis had a 3 cylinder engine (other than the Cooper S). I had a Cooper as a courtesy car once and didn't like the engine much - it sounded like a diesel and was very high-geared so to get it moving I had to wring its neck!
I had a 2007 123d E87 for over 6 years and 80K miles and really liked it, but started reading about cam-chain issues on some N47 diesels so I sold it and bought my first Z4.
But then a diesel wouldn't suit the sort of use you describe. The petrol 4s can have problems, but that may not put you off!
Don't know anything about the other options but an Alfa Giulietta might be fun.
The next generation F56 Minis had a 3 cylinder engine (other than the Cooper S). I had a Cooper as a courtesy car once and didn't like the engine much - it sounded like a diesel and was very high-geared so to get it moving I had to wring its neck!
I had a 2007 123d E87 for over 6 years and 80K miles and really liked it, but started reading about cam-chain issues on some N47 diesels so I sold it and bought my first Z4.
But then a diesel wouldn't suit the sort of use you describe. The petrol 4s can have problems, but that may not put you off! Don't know anything about the other options but an Alfa Giulietta might be fun.
Pondrew said:For that money Jock, I would highly recommend one of these:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202210110611053?model=Mazda3&make=Mazda&onesearchad=New&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&onesearchad=Used&radius=1500&aggregatedTrim=Sport%20Nav&year-from=2015&sort=relevance&fuel-type=Petrol&advertising-location=at_cars&include-delivery
The sport nav has all the kit, PDC front and rear and rear camera, Bose stereo, HUD, sat nav, auto everything, keyless entry and go and is a good little car to drive too. £30 RFL. I bought one exactly the same as the one in the link (even the same colour) and it's brilliant.
2L n/a petrol but detuned to 120bhp. 45-50mpg.
Agreed we love our Mazdas.
These are worth a look too and nippy enough to embrace quite a few alternates.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202209039390261?model=Mazda2&price-to=12000&include-delivery-option=on&onesearchad=New&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&onesearchad=Used&make=Mazda&radius=1500&sort=year-desc&advertising-location=at_cars&min-engine-power=100&postcode=pl124ty&page=1
Can you stretch the budget a bit?
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202209149759418?model=i3&make=BMW&onesearchad=New&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&onesearchad=Used&radius=1501&sort=relevance&advertising-location=at_cars&price-to=15000&include-delivery-option=on&postcode=ph336sd&page=1&percentVehiclePriceDeposit=true
Absolutely brilliant little cars, great fun to drive, zero tax, very cheap servicing (don't go to BMW!) and decent range (about 120 miles easily). Kevlar body shell so no car park dings to worry about, my wife's had hers 6 years now and still adores it. Faster to 40 than a Z4M too...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202209149759418?model=i3&make=BMW&onesearchad=New&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&onesearchad=Used&radius=1501&sort=relevance&advertising-location=at_cars&price-to=15000&include-delivery-option=on&postcode=ph336sd&page=1&percentVehiclePriceDeposit=true
Absolutely brilliant little cars, great fun to drive, zero tax, very cheap servicing (don't go to BMW!) and decent range (about 120 miles easily). Kevlar body shell so no car park dings to worry about, my wife's had hers 6 years now and still adores it. Faster to 40 than a Z4M too...
[ref]jock156[/ref], what car is your wife getting rid of? What she's currently used to will make a difference.
I have had two Minis - 2007 R56 Cooper S and currently a 2018 F56 JCW. I have also had two BMW 1 Series - 2007 123d Coupe and a 2016 M135i 3-door hatch. The Minis are fun, but both 1 Series were objectively much better cars and a lot more comfortable on any sort of longer journey.
I have had two Minis - 2007 R56 Cooper S and currently a 2018 F56 JCW. I have also had two BMW 1 Series - 2007 123d Coupe and a 2016 M135i 3-door hatch. The Minis are fun, but both 1 Series were objectively much better cars and a lot more comfortable on any sort of longer journey.
We’ve got Grand Vitara (from new) which we needed with 3 young kids and all the paraphernalia that entails. Now time to downsize
We haven’t driven any on the list other than the Merc. We both like the 1 series, BUT, I’ve heard stories about the turbos going around the 100K mark
We haven’t driven any on the list other than the Merc. We both like the 1 series, BUT, I’ve heard stories about the turbos going around the 100K mark
jock156 said:
I wouldn't know - never had one to that mileage. If it's a common problem, suggest you cost up the fix then either put the money to one side or go BMW Approved Used and extend the warranty, whatever is the more economical choice. We all know that water pumps die on Z4s but we suck it up and deal with it one way or another - unless it's a completely uneconomical repair and frequent failure, I wouldn't let it put me off completely.
My brothers got a relatively new JCW Clubman and it’s a really nice car. Quick, practical and is feels like a quality product inside. A perfect daily for someone who wants a bit of speed so I would imagine the countryman is pretty similar in those respects.
jock156 said:
A big nope from me. It has a 1.6 twin-scroll turbo engine, not the 2.0 B48 of the second gen car - also found in the F56 hatch (such as my JCW). I'm assuming that this is broadly accurate: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mini_Countryman
I'd guess that the 1.6 I4 is the same as the one in the R56 Cooper S / JCW that had a lot of issues, particularly timing chain problems. I believe that later cars were supposedly better (I had a 2007 R56 and the timing chain needed doing) but either way I would want the 2.0 engine.
Regarding the car in general, I had a loan Countryman when my JCW was in for some warranty work. I disliked it - felt like a van to me. It wasn't a JCW version, though.
M1k3yC said:
Yeah, it’s the latest version. Thinking about it, he had a Cooper S before that which had a fairly serious issue with the engine. No idea on engine code, model year or even what went wrong :lol: Might have been a chain problem.
An old boss of mine had a Cooper S hatch some years ago (previous generation I think) and that also had fairly hefty issues.
On reflection, don’t buy a mini unless it’s the latest and greatest!
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