Choosing a new used car

My trusty Clio has served me well but my daily long journey to work leaves me longing for a slightly more comfortable ride with less cabin noise so I can appreciate my music at reasonable levels with one airbag (at the least) for my own protection. Not that I’m a bad driver you see, I’m not, but there are plenty of nutters zooming down the A5 narrowly avoiding taking the front off my car.

I’ve been thinking about an automobile upgrade for some time now. In this article I hope to weigh up the pros and cons of each of the cars up for consideration in the ’small family’ class. I’ll be adding to this page as more information comes to light but maybe you could help me out here…

I’m primarily looking at cars in the ’small family’ class because I want a little more space for things like shopping, bikes, tents and general space consuming things like dead bodies.

I’m not ruling out old cars either but since safety is a fairly important issue I’m more likely to go for something built in the last ten years at least.

My priorities in order of importance are:

1. Low costs
2. Reliability
3. Safety
4. Performance
5. Comfort
6. Security
7. Image

If money was no object I’d go for either a VW Golf or an Audi A3. Money however is an object and I’m looking to spend no more than £4000 at the most! We’re looking at a figure more akin to £3000 though. My budget can just about get me a VW Golf mark 3 but the A3 is out of the question. So, the Golf is the favourite but let’s take a look at the competition (some are a little out of the price league at the moment but are not unrealistic if I procrastinate for a few more years!:

• VW Bora
• Vauxhall Astra
• Ford Focus
• Ford Escort
• Peugeot 306
• Peugeot 307
• Seat Leon
• Honda Civic
• Toyota Corolla
• Rover 400
• Renault Megane

Yep, I realise that there are more in the class but I’m just not aware enough to consider then at this stage. It’s up to you to convince me.

So far aside from the Golf I’ve only put serious consideration into the Astra (cheap running costs, cheap to buy), Focus (same reasons plus great performace and drive), 306 (apparently an amazing drive, not too expensive to buy) and the Seat Leon (amazing drive and great build quality). I can’t afford a Leon at the moment so it’s a toss up between the others. However, none of them are the classic VW Golf. Anyway, below are headings for each of the cars I think I should seriously consider with a few notes by each. Maybe you lot can post some comments so I can compile a decent amout of data to convince me on what to buy. Maybe you own one of the cars mentioned? Maybe you have owned one but sold it because it was a load of rubbish… Let me know.

VW Golf (mark 3)

Pros:

• Well built
• Reliable
• Retains value

Cons:

• Dated
• Expensive to buy

VW Golf (mark 4)

Pros:

• Well built
• Reliable
• Retains value

Cons:

• Dated
• Expensive to buy

Vauxhall Astra

Pros:

• Well built
• Reliable
• Cheap running costs

Cons:

• Boring looks
• It’s a Vauxhall

Ford Focus

Pros:

• Well built
• Reliable
• Retains value
• Low running costs

Cons:

• Not as cutting edge to look at as once was
• Expensive to buy

Ford Escort

Pros:

• Cheap as chips
• Reliable
• Low running costs

Cons:

• Dated and dull
• Not amazingly safe

Seat Leon

Pros:

• Well built
• Reliable
• Retains value

Cons:

• Dated
• Expensive to buy

Now, over to you…