New (or used) car - £26k budget

Edward D'Amato · 16 Jun 2020 at 19:52

Hi there - i had posted a similar thread a while back but circumstances have slightly changed since then.

I'm debating with myself (and trying to find something that convinces me of which way to go) as to whether to buy new or used. One of the options is to buy used from the UK and ship the vehicle year (it's a pretty standard practice here; Brexit permitting).

- My budget is around £26k (max.; £22k would be ideal);
- I live in Malta; so no long drives in motorways; average about 10k miles/year;
- No family (or plans for one soon) so no need for anything too big;

So far I've test-driven the new Peugeot 208 (didn't like the feel) and the new Ford Puma ST Line (which is by far the favourite so far).

With such a budget, should I go new? Why/why not?

Illuminist · 16 Jun 2020 at 20:03

Honda civic 2018 either the 1.0 or there is a 1.5 petrol turbo or diesel 1.6.
The new polo is pretty good as would be a second hand recent golf.
Reason, reliable, fun and easy to get fixed, very good mileage

Fusion · 16 Jun 2020 at 20:08

With Maltese weather? Get a convertible!

Deleted member 77746 · 16 Jun 2020 at 20:09

Edward D'Amato said:
Hi there - i had posted a similar thread a while back but circumstances have slightly changed since then.

So you back under a new name? This is your first post under this nick. Where you banned?

Edward D'Amato · 16 Jun 2020 at 20:25

Fusion said:
With Maltese weather? Get a convertible!

It's not as glamorous as one might think.

Edward D'Amato · 16 Jun 2020 at 20:26

mrbell1984 said:
So you back under a new name? This is your first post under this nick. Where you banned?

No - this was my original post: https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/threads/buying-a-second-hand-car-7k.18825159/#post-31954068 - not sure why it's under my own name now.

tom_nieto · 16 Jun 2020 at 22:19

Fusion said:
With Maltese weather? Get a convertible!

This every day of the week!

Dr House · 16 Jun 2020 at 22:23

Are you nuts. 26k, Live in Malta, no family and you want a 208.

Dr House · 16 Jun 2020 at 22:25

It may cost a bit more to run but your 208 will be worth 15k less in 3 years. This will hold value much getter. Total Cost of ownership will probably be much lower with the Porsche.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202003278775663

Deleted member 77746 · 16 Jun 2020 at 22:25

Dr House said:
Are you nuts. 26k, Live in Malta, no family and you want a 208.

Dr House said:
I just found a great car on Auto Trader:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202003278775663

£644 a month for that? WTF

coupe69 · 16 Jun 2020 at 22:50

I'd probably go for something like this for that budget https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202003128314584

No idea why you'd want either of the cars you've already mentioned? I would also never buy brand new due to the depreciation you suffer just by driving it off of the forecourt, let somebody else incur the initial hit.

[TW]Fox · 16 Jun 2020 at 22:53

Keep suggesting cars for sale over a thousand miles and several countries away from where he lives guys, I'm sure it'll come in handy.

coupe69 · 16 Jun 2020 at 22:56

[TW]Fox said:
Keep suggesting cars for sale over a thousand miles and several countries away from where he lives guys, I'm sure it'll come in handy.

Edward D'Amato said:
I'm debating with myself (and trying to find something that convinces me of which way to go) as to whether to buy new or used. One of the options is to buy used from the UK and ship the vehicle year (it's a pretty standard practice here; Brexit permitting).

Edward D'Amato · 16 Jun 2020 at 23:03

coupe69 said:
I'd probably go for something like this for that budget https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202003128314584

No idea why you'd want either of the cars you've already mentioned? I would also never buy brand new due to the depreciation you suffer just by driving it off of the forecourt, let somebody else incur the initial hit.

That looks appealing but I'm looking for something with lower CO2 emissions as something like that will cost around 5k to just register it here.

I looked at the Peugeot and Ford as they seemed decent; good economy and good specs. I've discarded the Peugeot as an option as I didn't quite like the interor space. Besides being new; what's wrong with considering the Puma?

coupe69 · 16 Jun 2020 at 23:23

Edward D'Amato said:
That looks appealing but I'm looking for something with lower CO2 emissions as something like that will cost around 5k to just register it here.

I looked at the Peugeot and Ford as they seemed decent; good economy and good specs. I've discarded the Peugeot as an option as I didn't quite like the interor space. Besides being new; what's wrong with considering the Puma?

There's nothing wrong with the Puma per say, they review reasonably well and I'm sure for some it would be hunky dory, but for me it just doesn't float my boat. It's another generic mini suv type car that I just cannot get excited about. For your budget you can get some wonderful cars which are far more exciting and involving to drive with the only downside being they'll cost a little more to run. What would be the highest CO2 emmisions you could stomach to pay for?

Edward D'Amato · 16 Jun 2020 at 23:28

coupe69 said:
There's nothing wrong with the Puma per say, they review reasonably well and I'm sure for some it would be hunky dory, but for me it just doesn't float my boat. It's another generic mini suv type car that I just cannot get excited about. For your budget you can get some wonderful cars which are far more exciting and involving to drive with the only downside being they'll cost a little more to run. What would be the highest CO2 emmisions you could stomach to pay for?

That makes sense.

So as an idea, a 2018 Honda Civic 1.5 Turbo at around 128 CO2 (g/km) would cost about £3.3k to register, which is probably the most I could do.

coupe69 · 16 Jun 2020 at 23:36

An almost new Ford Fiesta ST3 is only 136 G/km and they're decently under budget giving you a little more to spend to register. Great cars to drive, small and fairly economical https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202003198588215

jigger · 17 Jun 2020 at 00:26

Thread screams MX-5 to me. Maybe a 1.5?

mccarf · 17 Jun 2020 at 03:19

Edward D'Amato said:
That makes sense.

So as an idea, a 2018 Honda Civic 1.5 Turbo at around 128 CO2 (g/km) would cost about £3.3k to register, which is probably the most I could do.

That will be a great car. You should get many years of happy motoring out of a civic.

Out of interest have you compared the price you'd pay for a UK car against a Maltese car? Only reason I ask is because some cars on a Malta website don't seem awfully priced when you factor in them being already registered and much less hassle. Just for example I found this Kia ceed:
https://www.maltapark.com/item/details/8420159

Then looked for a similar model with similar miles and spec in the UK and this was the cheapest below 10k miles:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202002117201098?atmobcid=soc3

sja360 · 17 Jun 2020 at 03:48

Is the condition of Maltese cars or their upkeep different (ie no annual mot)
As the above poster said, why not just get a decent second hand 2-3 year old car in country for probably 15-20k?