Purchasing a new car

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WGT

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Unfortunately my 09 Ford Focus has reached the end of the line.
Timing belt went. Got in second hand in 2013 for 10k and it has served me well all told.
We have 2 kids who need to be ferried around.
Wife has a 171 Peugot so bottom line is I need a car also.
I do very little mileage, maybe 6k a year.

Question
1. Garage man keeps saying Kia and Hyundai are ultra-reliable. He rarely gets them in to be fixed.
He says Petrol is best.
Have also heard good reports on Toyotas and my brother drives an Audi which he says is ultra-reliable too.
2. Fortunately I do some funds and no debt (no mortgage even), so could splash out,
But to me a Car is a potential way to burn money. Would much prefer to spend on holiday.

So have to put my thinking cap on and have a look.

Any suggestions.

In Parallel I'm going to do some googling, but no doubt there will be a lot of vested interests on the various websites.
 
Do you have a driveway where you could charge an electric? If so you could look at something like a 2-3 year old Kia eNiro (or sister car Hyundai Kona) - decent bit of space for carrying the kids around, 400km+ range and you’d have the remainder of the 7 year warranty. Super reliable car and being electric it’s got a fair bit of get-up-and-go so is fun to drive.
 
Zenith63 said:
Do you have a driveway where you could charge an electric? If so you could look at something like a 2-3 year old Kia eNiro (or sister car Hyundai Kona) - decent bit of space for carrying the kids around, 400km+ range and you’d have the remainder of the 7 year warranty. Super reliable car and being electric it’s got a fair bit of get-up-and-go so is fun to drive.
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Thanks for the suggestion.
Yes we do have a driveway. I see a neighbour with the kit. Does something have to be installed on the side of the house?
Will have a look. By the way, the local and independent garage man, also as well as singing the praises of Kia and Hyundi said that Electric Cars are to be avoided. He has a friend who has a garage full of Electrics and can't sell them. :)
Then again, the garage man is only one opinion.
Could it be a good option because their value is falling due to consumer sentiment?
 
I'd be of the opinion that cars these days are generally reliable, yes you do hear a few horror stories but not what it used to be like last century
We've two Nissans, an 07' and a 131' that have never given us a bit of trouble so would recommend Nissan as another brand
I would agree with @Zenith63 in sofar as, if you're a low milage, mainly short journeys an EV might be the way to go for a second car
It might cost more to set up initially but after that it should be a lot cheaper to run compared to a petrol car
 
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I bought an electric, Nissan Leaf, recently and couldn't recommend them enough.

I have no kit, I just plug it in every night into a 3 pin socket. I have never used a public charger, I couldn't be bothered with all that faffing about. It costs me 1:30 to do 100km whereas my old VW Passat cost 12:20. So the fuel is almost free. I would trust a full charge to do a 180km round trip with windscreen wipers and heater going, but not more.

I suspect it will last a long time as there is a lot less to go wrong with an electric car, no gearbox etc.

The battery will eventually fail, replacing it seems to be very realistic. I suspect these electric cars may have a significantly longer lifespan than current petrol/diesel models.
 
I’d go for electric too, a lot of old time mechanics don’t know what to do with them because there’s very little maintenance, my oh does 20k Kim’s per year in one and costs about 600 in fuel costs, could be less if we had an more friendly EV tariff,cheap tax and maintenance too

Definitely do not buy diesel,way more likely to give trouble in my experience , especially if low mileage
 
Mechanics hate electric cars because there is less money to be made maintaining them. If, as they claim, they can't rid of them, then there will be great value to be had. However, I know someone who bought a 2nd had approved used BMW electric and they were selling like hotcakes. Models were appearing (imported from the Uk maybe, I don't know) and then selling very quickly. If you aren't doing long journeys, you could charge up using a standard power outlet but a proper home charger is the way forward.
 
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KIA have had a few niggling recalls but the warranty is good. I drive a Toyota hybrid and find them excellent although there is a known fault with the Hybird battery but they swapped mine out for free. For 6k a year, a Yaris would be good but Toyota 2nd hand tend to be a bit more expensive as they hold their value reasonably well
 
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Hello,

I went half way, and bought a hybrid recently, having been in a big petrol engine car for many years.

While I haven't totally been persuaded by sole battery powered cars, I am attracted to the efficiency and the greener contribution to the environment. Cheaper motor tax and likely cheaper fuel (particularly if you get solar panels) just cannot be ignored.

I bought a near new secondhand BMW hybrid, though also looked closely at Toyota. Much was down to personal choice, both are very reliable, as are the other makes that you've mentioned (though you can get unlucky with a car, regardless of make).

Start by asking yourself what kind of annual mileage you do and if a lot of it is shorter trips. The more short trips you do, the more a hybrid is probably the way to go, if you aren't ready to fully commit to an electric car.
 
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I got a Honda Fit last year, petrol hybrid. I do local mileage, running the parents around to appointments and occasional trips to ikea… the hatchback is useful for that. The seats fold all sorts of useful ways for zimmer frames and wheelchairs and the oldies find it easy to get in and out of.

I should track mileage but I do know that I’ve only filled it up a handful of times. Far less than my old mini.
Most days it does maybe 10 k. According to the car when newly filled theres about 600 in the tank,
 
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I am in nearly the exact same scenario, although my trusty vintage model hasn't given up the ghost just yet.

The only thing that concerns me about EVs is the cost of battery replacements. Someone told me this can be up to €15,000 for a new battery for some EVs, is this true? Anyone any real world experience of battery replacements and the costs etc.? 15k seems alot to me.
 
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candyman said:
The only thing that concerns me about EVs is the cost of battery replacements. Someone told me this can be up to €15,000 for a new battery for some EVs, is this true? Anyone any real world experience of battery replacements and the costs etc.?
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That would be about the cost to replace an entire battery yes, however the answer to your second question is that you’re unlikely to find anybody with real world experience of paying that because it is so exceedingly rare. Data suggests it is less common than needing to replace a petrol/diesel engine, which nobody (other than Land Rover Freelander buyers) gives a second thought to.

The situations where it tends to happen more frequently are very hot climates (no danger of that for us), early model EVs (eg. 2011 Nissan Leafs) and design/manufacturing faults which tend to be discovered early (typical bath tub curve) so are covered by the long warranties EVs come with.
 
Thanks all for your very kind and informed responses.
Also looked at Brendan Burgess' post comparing HP, Loan and PCP

PCP 0% looks like a very attractive way to fund it.
Although I'm thinking if I have 25k cash, might as well just buy the car is cash.
Better than having the 36 monthly repayments of about e350

What do people think?
 
Ruffian said:
What about insurance cover on EVs ? More expensive? Full EVs versus hybrids?
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My insurance didn’t change for a similarly priced electric vs. petrol/diesel and I understand that is the norm.

If you have a driveway to charge an EV and the cost and range are suitable for you, then I see little reason for going with a hybrid - why maintain the thousands of extra components a petrol/diesel engine requires if you don’t need them.
 
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MrEarl said:
The more short trips you do, the more a hybrid is probably the way to go, if you aren't ready to fully commit to an electric car.
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Beat me to it. A car with enough electric range to do local hops and with an ICE for longer journeys where it gets opportunities to go into re-gen for the batteries and a 3-pin charger when at home. Plus lower road-tax. I pay €169/qtr on my 1.4 ICE.
 
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Doing 6k per year, I would go for a small petrol car.
Hyundai i10 would be my choice.
Your annual fuel cost would be approx 600 euro.
Minimal servicing cost.
Tax 200 euro per year.
Cheap insurance category.
 
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S class said:
Doing 6k per year, I would go for a small petrol car.
Hyundai i10 would be my choice.
Your annual fuel cost would be approx 600 euro.
Minimal servicing cost.
Click to expand...
Would you go new car?
Does the size of the engine matter?
I do drive on the M50 2 or 3 days a week.
 
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