Another what to buy

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Wed 5 Dec 2018 10:37
Another what to buy - DieselMan1966

I will be parting company with the Corsa at some point in the new year and I am considering the following

Skoda Fabia 2015 on, the Citroen C3 from 2014 - 16 in either petrol or diesel as my annual mileage is around 18-20,000 per annum

I've done some calculations and there's nothing to differentiate between the green and black pump price wise and I spend around £35 - 40 per week., I used the data from the real MPG on HJ for this

I would be considering the 90 - 120ps petrol engine models as I do some motorway driving

I would be keeping the car for around 3 years, and looking for a vehicle with around 15 - 20k on the clock.

I do find I am sitting quite low in the corsa, I have arthritis and I tend to 'roll' out of the car, I did have a look at the Fabia and found the driving position to be higher than the Corsa,

Do any members of this forum have any good or bad experiences of either the C3 or the Fabia, or should I be looking at a small SUV, for example the Ingis or S-Cross from Suzuki?

Edited by Avant on 05/12/2018 at 16:02

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Wed 5 Dec 2018 10:56
Another what to by - badbusdriver

Your mileage is such that diesel should certainly be considered. SLO seems to have had good service from a diesel Polo. I don't remember it's age though and so i'm unsure whether this is the same engine that would be in the Fabia. Skidpan has a 1.0 Fabia petrol and seems very happy with both it's performance and economy, but i'm not sure your budget would get you into one of those, more likely the older 1.2?.

The Suzuki's you mention are both reliable in petrol form, but i'm sure i have read that the diesel S-Cross (i think it is a Fiat engine, but not sure) is not that great. The Ignis, assuming you mean the current shape, is not available as a diesel, but is available as a hybrid. It is worth bearing in mind, given your mileage, it is a very small, tall and light car, so is likely to be badly affected by crosswinds on main roads or motorways. It is available as a 5 seater in the most basic trim, but should only really be considered a 4 seater due to the narrowness of the cabin. Having said that, it is surprisingly spacious for 4 and with a decent sized boot.

When i chose our most recent car, a Honda Jazz, the seat height was a fairly important consideration. Not sure how the Fabia compares in that respect, but the Jazz, in top of the range EX spec has height adjustment on both front seats.

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Wed 5 Dec 2018 12:01
Another what to by - skidpan

but i'm not sure your budget would get you into one of those,

As is normal on most queries of this type the OP has not given us a clue about their budget.

When i chose our most recent car, a Honda Jazz, the seat height was a fairly important consideration. Not sure how the Fabia compares in that respect, but the Jazz, in top of the range EX spec has height adjustment on both front seats.

Fabia has height adjust on both front seats.

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Wed 5 Dec 2018 12:18
Another what to by - Gibbo_Wirral

The OP doesn't mention where the 18000-20,000 miles will be driven either.

With a diesel I'd be thinking beyond whether its just on the motorway and towards factors like fuel price increases, punishing VED hikes, congestion charges and the like.

Edited by Gibbo_Wirral on 05/12/2018 at 12:19

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Wed 5 Dec 2018 16:00
Another what to by - DieselMan1966

The OP doesn't mention where the 18000-20,000 miles will be driven either.

With a diesel I'd be thinking beyond whether its just on the motorway and towards factors like fuel price increases, punishing VED hikes, congestion charges and the like.

.

Its 50/50 mix between town and motorway, so in that respect, it would need some serious number crunching

As to my budget, that would be around £120 per month over 3 years as this is what im currently paying, apologies as I thought it was in the original post.

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Wed 5 Dec 2018 16:06
Another what to by - skidpan

As to my budget, that would be around £120 per month over 3 years as this is what im currently paying, apologies as I thought it was in the original post.

Plus how much deposit? £4320 (probably £500 of that is interest) will not get you the car that you want.

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Wed 5 Dec 2018 16:16
Another what to by - DieselMan1966

As it will be a used car around the 2 year old mark, my current one would be the deposit, so working on that around 1K.

I did look at the Skoda website and configured a SE spec with the 90ps engine, I think it came out at around £200 per month, a little outside my budget

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Wed 5 Dec 2018 16:51
Another what to by - SLO76
£120 a month will only allow you to borrow around £5,500 over 48mths on a bank loan which is much cheaper than dealer finance and I doubt you’d get a decent deal on a PCP or lease thanks to your high mileage. Depends on how much deposit you have but I’m thinking you may have to reign in your ambitions a bit here or stump up more cash.,

On the subject of my wee Polo well it was bought as a commuter for swmbo with similar mileage invisioned and it has been a decent and very likeable little car but far from trouble free with numerous minor issues and a few more expensive items including EGR that were fixed for free by VW despite being out of warranty.

What I’d recommend depends very much on your overall budget and £120 a month over 3yrs doesn’t go very far I’m afraid unless there’s substantial deposit money.
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Wed 5 Dec 2018 16:19
Another what to buy - barney100

Someone I know has something approaching 400,000 miles in a Fabia petrol so that tells you a lot.

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Wed 5 Dec 2018 16:38
Another what to buy - DieselMan1966

Someone I know has something approaching 400,000 miles in a Fabia petrol so that tells you a lot.

Knew they were reliable!, I'll have a chat with our local agents in Durham in the next couple of weeks

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Wed 5 Dec 2018 17:02
Another what to buy - SLO76

Someone I know has something approaching 400,000 miles in a Fabia petrol so that tells you a lot.

Knew they were reliable!, I'll have a chat with our local agents in Durham in the next couple of weeks

Hold up! These can be good little cars but it very much depends on the engine and spec. The 1.2 3cyl is weak and known for a number of problems while the older 1.4 petrol can be longlived it requires a timing belt every 5yrs and is a bit flaccid to drive, fair enough considering it is based on a design from the 70’s. The pre 2015 diesels are bad for DPF and EGR problems and the later cars are out of budget without heavy miles. The early chain driven TSi petrols are bad for chain failure which kills the engine too but If you could afford a newer 1.0 TSi it is a good car but again out of budget. Work out your budget by going on your banks site and use their loan calculator, this is the cheapest way to finance any car other than manufacturer subsidised deals on new motors. PCP’s and leases won’t work for you as the annual mileage will rocket the payments - the advertised rates are typically on 6-8k p/a. Also where do you live roughly and I’m sure a few of us will look up options in your area. But no one you need to know what you can spend in total.
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