Downsizing

P

pricilla

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I have a 04 Astra, which I bought for just under €22,000 last May.
The car is costing me a fortune in petrol, so now I'm thinking of going back down to a lower sized car. The Opel dealer says this is a mistake because it's awful to downgrade and it would end up costing me money.
VW dealer says that a new polo is €17,000, but wants €1500 with my car, for a new polo! That means I lost €6500 in one year! I was thinking of buying a 05 slightly used polo, but my dad went insane and said I'd be taking someone elses sh*t!
What should I do. In my mind I think I should get a smaller car, but in my heart I can't justify paying for a crappier car, only for it to drop in price as soon as I drive out the gate again.
 
If you sell your existing car privately then you are in a better position (cash) to downsize to the car you want.
 
Is the size of the car that important?

Your Astra is a nice car, and if it's a 1.4 petrol (most are) then in relative terms it's not that bad a guzzler of fuel.

Is your driving all in town? What's your annual mileage?

A new Polo (also a nice car btw) is a bit smaller and lighter and might have a smaller engine. It's fuel comsumption will probably be less, but not enormously so.

If economy is your aim, realistically buying a diesel must be the only answer.

If you sell the Astra now privately you will take a big hit. Trading it in will be worse probably.

Your Dad's comment is a bit confusing at best. Using his thinking even your 05 Astra is "somebody else's sh1t"! A rather condescending attitude.
 
It can be difficult downsizing if your car is bought on HP. You don't own it so you will have to go back to the garage who will then have to contact the finance company and do a deal with them to let you downsize. I would get estimates of the various costs to downsize - you may find you're better off just sticking with the car you've got.
 
pricilla said:
I was thinking of buying a 05 slightly used polo, but my dad went insane and said I'd be taking someone elses sh*t!
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I can't believe your Dads attitude! It's all well and good buying brand new cars when you can afford them. But it always makes more economical sense to buy a car that's one to two years old. You pay a more realistic price for car. With second hand cars you're not always buying someone elses sh*t. Some people like to change their car every year or two and they wouldn't drive the car into the ground.

Alot of new cars give their owners a sh*t load of grief so it's not just second hand cars that are a problem.
 
there is absolutely no way you can get a car that will cost less to run than a new 1.4 Astra.

OK a smaller engine will use less fuel and you will pay slightly less money (we're talking €100 per year) but as you are finding out you can't trade to a car worth less!

Is it really the petrol that you are having trouble paying? Do you have a large car loan? You might switch to diesel and save €300-€400 per year but the raod tax will be higher and servicing is more frequent.

My guess is that the car in general is costing to much and not just the petrol, which is the cost you see once per week.

You really need to sell the car and cut your losses. Any form of trading in etc will not save you much on fuel/running costs over a 1.4 Astra.
 
No dad meant that it may be dodgy if someone is trading in a 05 car so soon, he isn't like that. I had a total lemon of a car before and traded it in after 5 months, and I pity the person who got it because it should have been scrapped :eek:

Anyway, update on the situation, The Opel dealers said he'd give me a brand new top of the range Corsa, and the Ford dealer who was lovely said I can have a brand new fiesta, straight swap for both of these options.
I don't have a loan at all. I'm not mad on the Corsa, but I've never bought a ford, so I'm considering both.
I'll have to think about it over the weekend. My main problem is I'm just not that mad about my Astra, and I seem to be spending so much on fuel that it doesn't seem worth it. I really am spending loads, and had a 1lt before this and spent exactly half on fuel. I know petrol has gone up in price, but I'm starting to think there is something wrong with the car. I just want to get rid of it now.

So, Fiesta or Corsa??
 
Fiesta every time. Buy a 1.25 16valve Zetec with abs and a/c.

The engine is brilliant, and the handling spot on.

The Zetec package (loaded with kit) is relatively good value too.

The Corsa isn't even close.
 
pricilla said:
I really am spending loads, and had a 1lt before this and spent exactly half on fuel. I know petrol has gone up in price, but I'm starting to think there is something wrong with the car.
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What's your petrol consumption? How many MPG's?
 
I drove 130 miles yesterday and it cost me €20. That might not seem much but I've 20,000 miles on the clock in one year so it all adds up. My last little car, it would have cost about €10 for the same journey.
The ford dealer just phoned and said I might be better off with a 1.6 diesel Fiesta. But then the tax costs more. I'll have to think some more about it.
Seriously, thanks a million for all the advice :D
 
Are you sure you're not over judging because of increased fuel prices?

At the above rate you're probably getting around 31mpg (@€1.059 per litre of petrol) which although not fantastic really isn't awful either.

If you're doing 20,000 miles a year though you should definately consider a diesel. There's some fantastic options around that would even be reasonable from a tax and insurance point of view like the Renault and Fiat 1.5 or 1.3 litre diesel engines.

On your own figures you've probably spent around €3,000 on petrol alone to cover that 20,000 miles and you could easily knock more than a grand off that fuel bill with a switch to diesel.

It's a shame to sell a 1-year old car since whatever you do you're going to get screwed on the depreciation.

If you're financially aware enough to be paying close attention to your fuel costs would you not consider selling the car privately (to minimise your lose) and buy a slight older second-hand diesel car? You could buy a 2 or 3 year old skoda octavia and probably still come out with some cash after the deal.
 
I had an astra before trading to a corolla and the difference in fuel consumption is considerable. I put in €25 per week on average 200 miles a week but about every 4th week I can skip the petrol altogether. If I have additional milage any week ie dublin -100 miles return - I wouldn't normally have to put in any additional petrol, usually there is enough 'surplus' to do. I have an extra round trip this week of around 100 miles but there is more an enough petrol in the tank to cover this so next week I will just put in the €25 as usual. Clock says the averege consumption is 53mpg but of course I cant prove this.
 
pricilla said:
The ford dealer just phoned and said I might be better off with a 1.6 diesel Fiesta. But then the tax costs more. I'll have to think some more about it.
Seriously, thanks a million for all the advice :D
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Road tax is a tiny issue in relative terms. Your dealer is right however - that new 1.6 TDCI unit is excellent.

I'm running a similar (more powerful) version in a bigger car and regularly get well over 55 mpg.
 
pricilla said:
I have a 04 Astra, which I bought for just under €22,000 last May.
The car is costing me a fortune in petrol, so now I'm thinking of going back down to a lower sized car. The Opel dealer says this is a mistake because it's awful to downgrade and it would end up costing me money.
VW dealer says that a new polo is €17,000, but wants €1500 with my car, for a new polo! That means I lost €6500 in one year! I was thinking of buying a 05 slightly used polo, but my dad went insane and said I'd be taking someone elses sh*t!
What should I do. In my mind I think I should get a smaller car, but in my heart I can't justify paying for a crappier car, only for it to drop in price as soon as I drive out the gate again.
Click to expand...

You should be making decisions without worrying too much about your dads opininion at your age...shop around and in the end make your own decision ...and live with it..as we all do with our own decisions
 
Finding the new Astra a bit thirsty alright... it goes through the juice a lot quicker that the 02 model that I had...

I'm basing that off a 1.4 engine and 30 litres of petrol...
 
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