Changing from a Focus

ATiRubyfan · 26 Dec 2020 at 23:40

I work in the City and my car stays sat on my driveway all week. It only gets used when I take a trip to the supermarket or when I jump on the motorway to see family in Southend.

I drive a 2007 2L Focus and I absolutely love it. The 2L helps it accelerate rapidly to 70mph and the car flies on the motorway. Now, road tax is over £300 and the 'combined' mpg is 35.
I am thinking of getting a newer car and have eyes on a 2010 Audi A3 hatchback ( £165 + 43mpg )and a 2010 BMW 318i business edition ( £205 + 43mpg ). Both are around the £5k mark.

Now, there are some things you should know about me. I have an automatic only license and I cannot do parallel parking. I learnt it with great effort before I passed but I prefer not to do in a residential street as a car comes up behind me and I take too long.

Should I get the Audi or the BMW? And, is either the same size as my Focus?

HoneyBadger · 26 Dec 2020 at 23:47

Why don’t you go drive each one and see which you prefer?

wedrum · 26 Dec 2020 at 23:59

Screams Mclaren f1 to me

floatindolphin · 27 Dec 2020 at 00:03

Bugatti Veyron, only choice really

ATiRubyfan · 27 Dec 2020 at 00:27

Is the BMW the same size as the focus? Measurements off the net say it's only 8 inches longer.

rodenal · 27 Dec 2020 at 01:04

Internally they feel much the same sort of size but externally a bit longer - if you're genuinely nervous about parking etc then you might also find a saloon body style quite a change as you need to allow for the boot that you can't actually see.

Having said that almost all newer cars have at the very least rear parking sensors. I wouldn't personally buy either of your listed cars (your money could about get you into a 2014ish on Leon for example which is vastly a more modern design than either) as both are based on cars released a number of years before (the A3 in particular feels utterly ancient inside now), don't have a particularly good reliability record and tend to be pretty poorly specced due to being lower rung engined models. Ultimately you like what you like but go into it eyes open.

chaparral · 27 Dec 2020 at 01:51

If you absolutely love the focus so much why not just buy a newer model of the focus ?

mccarf · 27 Dec 2020 at 03:34

Is it worth spending £5k on something that barely does any journeys? Especially as the cost of running them seems quite important to you, you'd just be swapping a bit of tax and fuel savings for depreciation. If it's about money then stick with what you have.

Wolfman Jack · 27 Dec 2020 at 07:14

Why not get a newer model with the Auto Park feature?

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202012046774046?atmobcid=soc3

2004typer · 27 Dec 2020 at 08:21

mccarf said:
Is it worth spending £5k on something that barely does any journeys? Especially as the cost of running them seems quite important to you, you'd just be swapping a bit of tax and fuel savings for depreciation. If it's about money then stick with what you have.

I'd agree with this if as above it's only a money saving exercise, the absolute cost of the newer car will drain more of your money vs the amount you pay more in tax and fuel cost.

But if you want something newer and shinier and savings are not the absolute aim then go for it - it's great treating yourself every once in a while.

Clarkey · 27 Dec 2020 at 10:11

Wolfman Jack said:
Why not get a newer model with the Auto Park feature?

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202012046774046?atmobcid=soc3

If the Ford system is anything like the Toyota/Lexus/BMW systems I've had then it's completely useless in reality, 100% gimmick.

wesley · 27 Dec 2020 at 10:50

I recommend £40k BMW X1 2.0d M Sport

mollymoo · 27 Dec 2020 at 11:14

Clarkey said:
If the Ford system is anything like the Toyota/Lexus/BMW systems I've had then it's completely useless in reality, 100% gimmick.

It actually works really well, I've used it for some really tight spaces without an issue.

tom_nieto · 27 Dec 2020 at 12:33

I don’t see what you’re gaining by upgrading a car that you absolutely love for another completely unknown 10 year old car that hardly gets used.

If it’s money saving that you’re after (VED features prominently in the original post), then the £135 saving between the A3 and your current focus will take 37 years to be realised if you’re spending £5,000 on a new car.

I agree with previous posts that if you love your focus and want a new car, I’d buy a newer focus. The latest model really is excellent to drive. I would buy neither BMW, nor Audi at this budget.

ATiRubyfan · 27 Dec 2020 at 16:09

rodenal said:
Internally they feel much the same sort of size but externally a bit longer - if you're genuinely nervous about parking etc then you might also find a saloon body style quite a change as you need to allow for the boot that you can't actually see.

Having said that almost all newer cars have at the very least rear parking sensors. I wouldn't personally buy either of your listed cars (your money could about get you into a 2014ish on Leon for example which is vastly a more modern design than either) as both are based on cars released a number of years before (the A3 in particular feels utterly ancient inside now), don't have a particularly good reliability record and tend to be pretty poorly specced due to being lower rung engined models. Ultimately you like what you like but go into it eyes open.

My Focus has parking sesnsors and I will install sensors on the new car as well if it doesn't have them.

chaparral said:
If you absolutely love the focus so much why not just buy a newer model of the focus ?

My budget is 5k. Ford stopped doing 2L models after 2009 from what I can see. Only C-Max, Convertibles and Mondeos beyond 2009 have 2L engines.

mccarf said:
Is it worth spending £5k on something that barely does any journeys? Especially as the cost of running them seems quite important to you, you'd just be swapping a bit of tax and fuel savings for depreciation. If it's about money then stick with what you have.

tom_nieto said:
I don’t see what you’re gaining by upgrading a car that you absolutely love for another completely unknown 10 year old car that hardly gets used.

If it’s money saving that you’re after (VED features prominently in the original post), then the £135 saving between the A3 and your current focus will take 37 years to be realised if you’re spending £5,000 on a new car.

I agree with previous posts that if you love your focus and want a new car, I’d buy a newer focus. The latest model really is excellent to drive. I would buy neither BMW, nor Audi at this budget.

I guess I am looking for a small upgrade, one that will not burn my wallet in this COVID and unemployment era. 2009 2L Focuses are selling for 4k. So, I thought why not a 2010 Audi or a BMW instead for 5k.

ATiRubyfan · 27 Dec 2020 at 16:11

Wolfman Jack said:
Why not get a newer model with the Auto Park feature?

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202012046774046?atmobcid=soc3

Manual.

tom_nieto · 27 Dec 2020 at 16:22

Save your wallet and keep your current car.

LeeUK · 27 Dec 2020 at 16:26

Don't get a MK3 Focus, they leak water in the back that collects in the spare wheel well and eventually leaks into the rear passenger foot wells and turns your whole car damp and mouldy.

But the Auto Park feature really does work, here's the first time I used it and I would have never been able to park in that space by myself.

rodenal · 27 Dec 2020 at 19:53

The leak mentioned above is about a 30 minute fix, bumper off and clear out some vents - most owners have probably already done it!

Also the 2 litre issue is a non issue, you just buy a 1
5/1.6 turbo petrol instead which will be significantly more swift feeling than the existing na 2 litre petrol. However, I wouldn't buy a pre sync 2 focus now (2014ish) and I'm not sure £5k actually buys a decent 1.6 turbo. Same problem as a lot of the newer alternativd models really, just a little bit out of the price range (grand or so probably).

LeeUK · 27 Dec 2020 at 20:06

rodenal said:
The leak mentioned above is about a 30 minute fix, bumper off and clear out some vents - most owners have probably already done it!

It's a bit more than that! Behind the vents are insulation material which will be sodden wet and will need pulling out and either dried off or discarded. Then the vents need putting back on and sealed around the edges with silicone but even then this will eventually fail and you'll be flooded again.