| Focus's are good cars. I got my tdci as 6 months old back in 04 and have had minimal problems with it. Still going well after 120k miles. |
Car buying deals and advice • Page 5
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robc84 15,553 posts
Seen 2 weeks ago
Registered 9 years ago -
Not-a-reviewer 7,686 posts
Seen 4 days ago
Registered 7 years agoFocuses are good, not exciting but reliable and decent to drive. -
Jeepers 16,616 posts
Seen 35 minutes ago
Registered 16 years agoYeah I think I'm going to be trading "fun" for "loads of room for inevitable shite that comes with a baby".
Which is sad. -
Jeepers 16,616 posts
Seen 35 minutes ago
Registered 16 years ago@nickthegun
Thanks Nick. I'll add that to Googling list. Appreciate it. -
boo 13,901 posts
Seen 20 hours ago
Registered 18 years agoOur S-Max is awesome, but possibly larger than you need. We've also got a Hyundai i10, and while it's a 5 door, it's probably smaller than you'll require, especially if you're looking at two sproglets.
I've been really impressed with it though, so maybe consider an i20 or i30. Not a lot of badge kudos, but it's been reliable (one spark plug issue in 5 years, fixed under warranty), cheap to run, cheap to tax & insure, loads of equipment for the money, fun to drive and very well put together.
We've had both the S-Max and the i10 from new in 2009 and will go down the large + small again when we change, and I'll definitely look at a Hyundai again when we do.
Mrs Boo has just pointed out though - I'm a bit sad when it comes to looking after our cars - plastic sheeting if I'm going to the tip, muddy shoes go in the boot and most importantly - we don't have children. So they might not look as pristine if they'd had a bit more 'real life' chucked at them! -
Jeepers 16,616 posts
Seen 35 minutes ago
Registered 16 years ago@boo
Thanks boo. Big help. I'll look at Hyundai as well.
This is all becoming a lot more difficult. Every idea I send to Mrs Jeepers is met with with a plaintive text saying "What about this one?" and a link to a Fiat 500.gif)
Never thought I'd be the sensible, practical one... -
elstoof 28,125 posts
Seen 4 minutes ago
Registered 16 years agoFiat 500 with a baby?
Hahahahaha -
Jeepers 16,616 posts
Seen 35 minutes ago
Registered 16 years agoelstoof wrote:
I think she's wanting to put it in the boot.
Fiat 500 with a baby?
Hahahahaha -
elstoof 28,125 posts
Seen 4 minutes ago
Registered 16 years agoStrap it to the roof, boots not big enough. -
elstoof 28,125 posts
Seen 4 minutes ago
Registered 16 years agoBut yeah, think of the most space you'll possibly need with a baby, then double it, and add a bit more on top too. I thought a hatchback would be big enough for city living, we manage but it's a squeeze. Next car will be an estate. -
retro74 3,798 posts
Seen 23 hours ago
Registered 13 years ago@Pierre2k just going back to this he should 1 million percent get a 911
Left field option would be a GTR, I would not consider anything else. There is a reason they win more awards than anything else -
I'm not quite sure what happened between the 80s and nowadays, but my dad took three kids of varying ages, his wife and luggage on a holiday for a week in a Renault 5. Because it was our family car. -
Jeepers 16,616 posts
Seen 35 minutes ago
Registered 16 years agoKids are fat nowadays. -
elstoof 28,125 posts
Seen 4 minutes ago
Registered 16 years agoIn the 80s we crawled around the car with seat belts off, bags piled on everyone's laps, cars had space saving tin foil panels and if you crashed everyone died. Now we've got impact protection, child seats that fill the entire rear bench and no one wants bags stuffed around them because fuck that shit, I'm watching iPad. -
Tetsuo_Shima 194 posts
Seen 22 hours ago
Registered 13 years ago@Jeepers
It's maybe a slightly unconventional and less fashionable approach (it was for me when it was suggested to me), but you should seriously consider a Volkswagen Golf Plus. I would suggest a straight-up Golf, but you pay a premium for that badge and its reputation, and that model of car specifically. However, Plus Golfs are a less common choice, probably because they are slightly taller, boxier and less sporty, but it has had the advantage of making them more affordable when compared to the 'normal' Golf.
They might be less stylish and look a tad stuffier (only a wee bit,mind), but you can still get a young one with a 2.0TDI under the bonnet and a brilliant spec list for well within your price range there. I looked at one last year, 4 grand for one with only 15k on the clock, 2.0TDI and all that swish looking GPS stuff in the cabin. The only reason I didn't end up buying it was, even though it is tardis-like on the inside, I am an exceptionally tall gentleman and I found the driver's seat wouldn't go back quite far enough for me. If not for that unfortunate niggle I would be sitting in a Golf Plus today (as it turns out, I'm sitting in a Mondeo today. Who knew?).
Alternatives might be a Focus (cheap but fall apart a bit), Astra (but even more fall-ier, apart-erer) or something left-field like a Hyundai i30 (good reputation) or a Civic. Actually, a Honda Jazz might be another good alternative; basic and boxy but with plenty of room and reliable as they come, if you can afford to bear that 'over-50s-day-out-to-the-coast' image that come along with it. -
Jeepers 16,616 posts
Seen 35 minutes ago
Registered 16 years ago@Tetsuo_Shima
That's really massively helpful - thanks fella. I'll definitely look into the Golf Plus - I don't think I've any hope of getting a sexy car anyway so might as well just suck up that fact
Thanks again. -
nickthegun 87,711 posts
Seen 5 hours ago
Registered 16 years agoIf you are looking at a golf pus, check out the seat altea. Same car in a Spanish frock. -
DaM 17,729 posts
Seen 5 hours ago
Registered 20 years agoPES_Fanboy wrote:
Car seats - when we were young, there was one small baby seat, that you were kicked out of when the next one came along.
I'm not quite sure what happened between the 80s and nowadays, but my dad took three kids of varying ages, his wife and luggage on a holiday for a week in a Renault 5. Because it was our family car.
Now they all legally require seats or at least boosters till they get to a certain height. We needed 3 seats at one point, there were few cars that could fit 3 across.
Plus on holiday as a boy, we used to be just about touching the car roof, we were piled on top of sleeping bags, luggage etc.
Edited by DaM at 14:58:03 25-04-2015 -
elstoof 28,125 posts
Seen 4 minutes ago
Registered 16 years agoSkoda Yeti is massive inside, you can get 4 people, luggage and 3 complete bicycles in the boot comfortably. -
Decided against changing in the end.
The Ford had too high mileage compared to it's age and there was some messing about from the seller so I passed on it.
The Nissan really ticked all the boxes and the deal looked really good, so I said ok, except when I sat down to apply for it, it turned out to be a 4 year deal rather than 3 which they didn't tell us at the start so there was no bonus or practical side to changing now.
A damn shame as the one I was looking at was a cracking car that I'd have loved to get my hands on. -
The last 2 family cars have been awful. Both have been turbo diesels and this isnt lost on me, they just arent great for short journeys and we dont get much chance to properly give it a good run out.
Im looking at a petrol car this time, no turbo and have my eye on a qashqai. Anyone had any experience with them? -
elstoof 28,125 posts
Seen 4 minutes ago
Registered 16 years agoQashqais are good, see also the Skoda Yeti. Bags of room and cheap to run. -
No yetis in my price range. The qashqai I am looking at is 2007, 67k miles and 4.5k quid. -
I've a 2015 Qashqai ntec+, though mines the 1.5 Diesel rather than petrol as it was tax free.
The Qashqai is a nice vehicle and you can't go too far wrong with them, though the lower spec versions can feel a bit sparse.
The ix35 isn't a bad motor either, had one of those for a while though it does look a tad dated inside these days. -
motti82 3,324 posts
Seen 7 days ago
Registered 15 years agoWe've got a Skoda Yeti, cracking car to drive, tons of room, decent insurance (below group 15) and ultimately a VW in all but badge and a lot cheaper. -
ibenam 3,507 posts
Seen 5 hours ago
Registered 14 years ago@Pinky_Floyd I just sold our Qasqai 57 plate at 68k miles for £5.5k.
It's a great car and does 30mpg in urban traffic.
If you are going to get one then get the Tekna spec becaase you get the sat nav, leather seats and heated seats. -
@ibenam Good to know. -
mothercruncher 19,474 posts
Seen 6 hours ago
Registered 15 years agoI've an NTEC Qashqai as the family car. In truth I find it hard to love. OK interior but typically Japanese with a plasticy feel. It's better than Nissan have done before but not on a par with mid range European cars. The boot doesn't open as high as other SUV's/estates so I'm constantly banging my head on it and it's surprisingly small, with a not terribly practical "window" to load things through, and it's high up.
You sit very high - a criticism with all of these cars to be fair- but, worst of all, it pitches into corners as you drive. Once there it corners very well for a big car but the suspension needs more initial tautness.
It's fine, looks good with the styling and big alloys etc, does 50-60mpg all day and is packed with gadgets, but in future I'll go for a more sporty estate I can chuck through corners with a bit more poise I think. Christ, the Qashqai is way behind the basic Focus Estate chassis' handling I drove for years before. Are Seat Exeo's cheap enough yet? A well specced Audi A4 essentially. -
mothercruncher 19,474 posts
Seen 6 hours ago
Registered 15 years agoI'm really hankering after a classic mini.
Main car for comfort, motorway driving, family stuffs, then a little mini for a bit of Sunday blatting.
Has anyone owned one? I don't mind a bit of tinkering under the bonnet, perhaps a bit of tuning etc but it worries me that that might be a good thing since they rust like crazy. A 50 year old engine/gearbox deign, a body that was never galvanised and seemingly built to trap mud and moisture all over the place. Really fancy one, but are they an endless, expensive conveyor belt of fixes if you want to properly maintain them? -
In 1985 I had a 1979 Clubman or a Mini 1100 (memory has gone). Drove the shit out of it everyday for years. Hardly had anything to do to it. I replaced the brake pipes on it one weekend, out on the street. We had high kerbs and you could use them like a jack 
There was hardly anything complicated to the engine either. Biggest pain was a leaking door seal that I never managed to fix properly.
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There was hardly anything complicated to the engine either. Biggest pain was a leaking door seal that I never managed to fix properly. Sometimes posts may contain links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. For more information, go here.
