new car for the Mrs...

Soldato
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My wife kindly had her car written off last week. Luckily they accepted liability so its moving pretty quickly, accident management company have sorted her a corsa, which we have for 7 days after the cheque arrives, so we need to move quickly.

got 2-3k to spend. Spec is - not too big, HAS TO BE AUTO (auto only licence), needs to be 5 door really as we have our first child on the way, and it needs to be good on fuel as she drives 45-50 miles a day round trip.

Her last car was a micra which she liked, but she understands she needs something a little bigger (I hope), pending test drives...

Needing to be an auto limits choices somewhat, and budget wont cover a DSG I wouldn't have thought.. Which auto's are reliable/not too bad on juice?

Thoughts so far are...

Honda jazz 1.4 CVT-7 (? over auto box reliability, and a bit gutless?)
mk1 Focus auto (rubbish on fuel apparently)
merc A170 diesel (not the most reliable after a quick google?)
Theres a few pre-DSG VAG diesels (a3's/golf etc...) in budget, what are the boxes like?

Budget really doesn't seem to stretch that far with the auto criteria added. :(

What you got!?
 
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Caporegime
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Are you going to post anything useful... ever?

In answer to the OP, the CVT in the Jazz is foul, not just from the perspective of someone who prefers a manual, but compared to other cheap autos.

The VAG auto of the era is smooth enough and doesn't seem to have reliability problems on the whole.
 
Soldato
OP
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Are you going to post anything useful... ever?

In answer to the OP, the CVT in the Jazz is foul, not just from the perspective of someone who prefers a manual, but compared to other cheap autos.

The VAG auto of the era is smooth enough and doesn't seem to have reliability problems on the whole.

I wanted to avoid the jazz if possible, but it just seemed to tick boxes (without having driven one) so if the auto box is rubbish then that solves that one!

All the vag diesels in price range seem to be 100hp models which is pants, but better than a gutless jazz I suppose! starting to wonder if its worth pushing the budget, its a slippery slope!


god it is dull (but all the cars are I suppose, I have got the clubsport on the drive so I wont cry too much). but a 1.8 petrol in a heavy car is going to be slow AND rubbish on fuel surely?
 
Soldato
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Good call on the ebay classifieds.. bit more on there.

A3 or golf 1.9 old auto can be had around budget with highish mileage, 2.0 diesel DSG's aren't much more...

Less to go wrong on the 1.9? anyone got experience with the non dsg auto's....

some new shape focus 1.6 petrol auto's in range
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif.../radius/100/page/2/postcode/cw114hg?logcode=p

Anyone got any experience of the box, not heard great things bout ford auto boxes!
 
Soldato
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The VAG slushbox is fine, just avoid the cvt which although quite nice in use is terribly unreliable - don't think this went into the Golf or A3 anyway.

1.9 tdi is a safer bet than an early 2 litre
 
Associate
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18 Sep 2008
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Maybe something like a Skoda Fabia 1.9tdi.

Not the most exciting but a good car. I have an 05 which i bought from a dealer last year for under 3k with a years warranty. Would be worth checking the dealers websites for used cars as i got a bargain as they wanted rid of it to clear space for new cars.

Edit.

No idea about the auto for them though
 
Soldato
OP
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I think a 1.9 tdi will be less likely to go wrong! plenty around with moon mileage, so if the auto boxes last well then we should be onto a winner!

Fabia's and polo's dont do auto's on the diesels, so it golf or A3 by the looks of things, unless I can convince her that an octavia isn't mych bigger (Which it isn't, but this is woman logic, its a saloon, so it must be bigger!)

Most seem to be 100's, Is it worth trying to find a 130? heard the economy is actually better...
 
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Soldato
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Ford Fiesta 1.6 Style 5dr Auto [Climate] Hatchback 2007 £2995 (auto trader) ;)

Can't see a 1.6 fiesta being that good on fuel? And unless the auto box has changed there not the most reliable. (Her last car was an 02 fiesta, auto box failed at 55k miles!)

I'm currently trying to convince her that. 320d isn't too big.... If that fails its a golf or a3 1.9tdi...

Apart from swirl flaps (which ill remove) and ur usual BMW bushes etc... The 320d's are ok? Auto box should be ok if it's the same as the 330d one its pretty un-stressed?
 
Soldato
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[TW]Fox;23731446 said:
A 320d auto is about the last thing you want going by your criteria.

What, back doors, boot big enough for a pushchair and good on fuel? 3 out of 3 surely? I think she'll think its too big but its worth a shot! Plenty of estates in budget to! Lol that would be perfect but I doubt she'd drive it.

Only thing still putting me off the 1.9 golfs is that ther all 100's because the box isn't rated for the torque of the 130's (unless its an estate for some reason????) and that the economy seems to suffer massively unless people are exaggerating...
 
Soldato
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Can't see a 1.6 fiesta being that good on fuel? And unless the auto box has changed there not the most reliable. (Her last car was an 02 fiesta, auto box failed at 55k miles!)

My missus has a 5 door 1.4 fiesta diesel, its still going strong with 75k on the clock and no issues apart from the normal wear and tear.

But going from a petrol to a diesel does see a sharp spike in the price. :(
 
Man of Honour
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What, back doors, boot big enough for a pushchair and good on fuel? 3 out of 3 surely?

You are forgetting the fact it's old, not particularly reliable and not particularly cheap to fix. You seem to be wanting low running costs - hence the requirement for fuel economy - but on an older car reliability and non-fuel running costs can be what makes the difference between a cheap to run car and an expensive to run car.

Plus the autoboxes in the 3 Series have a very high likelyhood of needing work at pretty much exactly the same age/mileage as all the cheap ones are now at.
 
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