advice/opinions required - car for work. New plan

[mthompo]

Ok so i had a thread up before on leasing a car for £200 a month. i looked into it at the time and nothing floated my boat.

I bought the golf and thought that would do me for work, but im racking up 1000-1500 per month just in work never mind traveling to and from and running about at night. So with the golf having big miles on it i know its not going to keep up the pace.

So this is what i want your opinion on, do i go through the like of dfc and lease?

Do i just try and buy an ex demo on finance?

Or do a PCP deal on a car?

I understand that my £200 car allowance isnt going to cover it and i can add some money monthly to it just seeing what i would be best doing?

After a bit of homework £250-£300 seems to be more realistic with a deposit which i intend to sell golf anyway so shouldnt be an issue.

Car suggestions are welcome on this thread too - requirements are simple diesel good mpg ideally 5 door and medium size (vectra octavia etc) bluetooth and fairly nicely finished

 

[PeteMoore]

hyundai I40 tourer

 

['96dc2]

Would it not be cheaper to keep the golf and run it? No reason why you can't keep it going for another 100k, and if it blows, you'd be able to pick up and throw in an engine no bother.

Unless your just looking something newer?

 

[stevieturbo]

Surely a Golf can handle 1500 miles a month with ease ? I do that a week in my van.

 

[josh897]

was thinking the same as above, if your going to be putting an extr £600-1200 a year into the new one why not just run the golf into the ground as im sure the engines arent too costly to replace in comparison to what you could be paying into a new car?

 

[mthompo]

my car is my job, dont have a car **** hits the fan. Broke down on me few weeks back which resulted in new turbo pipe which had to be ordered from england, and new intercooler. On Wednesday intercooler **** the bed again was a faulty part granted and its replaced now but in them 3-4 days it was a big pain in the hole and had to borrow car for work as wife needed jeep and subaru away getting bodywork done.

So was thinking something new or a year old so i have warranty and reliably in it....

 

[mrloaf]

a golf can easily handle 2k a month - i've done that mileage for the last 8 years in mk4 and mk5 golf's , stick your £300 a month you'd be paying on finance away into a bank account and use that for the the maintenance/upkeep, i doubt you'd have many problems that would require extra money from your own pocket..

but if you want a new car... you want a new car

 

[Gavlar]

With the mileage your doing beware of any mileage limits on any deal you do take

 

[mthompo]

use do all remember my golf now has around 220k roughly on it with the clocking its had....

 

[mrloaf]

my car is my job, dont have a car **** hits the fan. Broke down on me few weeks back which resulted in new turbo pipe which had to be ordered from england, and new intercooler. On Wednesday intercooler **** the bed again was a faulty part granted and its replaced now but in them 3-4 days it was a big pain in the hole and had to borrow car for work as wife needed jeep and subaru away getting bodywork done.

So was thinking something new or a year old so i have warranty and reliably in it....

ah.. let you down recently, hard to have faith in a car on that run of luck... with the amount of vag garages and breakers in NI i would have thought parts would have came easier than England? maybe worth checking that out and give the car 1 last chance before blowing it down the road

 

[Alan_B]

My e46 330 on Lpg gobbled up 700 miles a week with ease. As said milage allowance on PCP isn't great.

 

[stevieturbo]

My van's 360k, and not even a reliable VW lol

If the vehicle is your work, and vital. A Warranty wont make any difference. The car might still break down, and unless that warranty also gives you a replacement vehicle....it really doesnt mean anything as far as downtime other than perhaps saving money.

In fact, tying yourself to a dealer warranty, with dealer repairs.....really...that wouldnt inspire confidence for reliability either. Just check that recent Porsche video posted where there was a string of problems that never got fixed


If the cost of the vehicle is tax deductible or whatever way that crap works. Maybe a lease hire deal might be best. That way if there is ever a problem, there should be immediate or at least very prompt resource to a replacement vehicle.

Or just run the cheap vehicle, and be prepared/budget to hire a replacement car at short notice if a problem does occur.
That way there is no downtime as far as work is concerned.

 

[Coog]

You can get hire cars for about £60 odd a week if you needed something to keep you going if the vw broke down.

 

[Mel]

You can get hire cars for about £60 odd a week if you needed something to keep you going if the vw broke down.

Exactly, if any of our vans/cars in work age away getting repaired we hire a vehicle, I always do a double take at the quote as so reasonable!!

 

[PeteMoore]

Flog the golf and get a b4 passat tdi.

It will never die. Ever.

 

[Dub_cub 89]

The 1.9 mk4 golf will be able to take all the miles you dare throw at it provided you keep on top of the maintenance and use quality parts. give it the full once over every 6 months if you're putting big miles on it, and where you detect a problem... A stitch in time saves unnecessary ball ache and expense. To put that sort of mileage on a new(ish) car regardless of how that car is paid for is a nice way to haemorrhage money IMO, and new cars (nice as they are) don't always mean trouble free motoring. If the car is only there to soak up the work mileage I'd change the approach to maintenance instead of the car itself, it'll work out a lot cheaper in the long run and save you £ to spend on a weekend toy.

 

[mthompo]

The 1.9 mk4 golf will be able to take all the miles you dare throw at it provided you keep on top of the maintenance and use quality parts. give it the full once over every 6 months if you're putting big miles on it, and where you detect a problem... A stitch in time saves unnecessary ball ache and expense. To put that sort of mileage on a new(ish) car regardless of how that car is paid for is a nice way to haemorrhage money IMO, and new cars (nice as they are) don't always mean trouble free motoring. If the car is only there to soak up the work mileage I'd change the approach to maintenance instead of the car itself, it'll work out a lot cheaper in the long run and save you £ to spend on a weekend toy.

Nothing to do with approach to maintance I service it every 6k and it gets once over at same time whatever it needs it gets. Same as all my cars just pissed me off last couple of weeks

 

[Dub_cub 89]

Fair enough. I reckon It's just going through its stroppy adolescent phase, it'll settle down again no doubt, it can be a pain when something goes wrong and leaves you without wheels but as said above it's not too expensive to hire something to pull you out if you're stuck. I'd stick up a vote on this thread and see what the RMS folk think of your predicament

 

[Cartunes]

www.nationwidevehiclecontracts.co.uk
Personal lease at that mileage will mean you are stuck to Fiesta size car - but it can just about be done. I get 50mpg from my little Fez 1.0 that I use for work

 

[Gambit]

a turbo pipe & intercooler aint really big mechanical failures when you put it into context. dmf, injectors, fuel pumps etc all become more of an issue in more modern diesels imo if you change the golf

 

[stevieturbo]

a turbo pipe & intercooler aint really big mechanical failures when you put it into context. dmf, injectors, fuel pumps etc all become more of an issue in more modern diesels imo if you change the golf

Plus dont think it's that uncommon with some of the VAG stuff. Especially with those stupid clips they use that always leak.

 

[56oval]

Leasing or contract hire is not that cheap in the grand scheme of things, but if you run a business it can work out beneficial from a corporation tax perspective but bear in mind you will be paying your own tax (p11d) as it will be classed as a benefit in kind from your company, this link will explain it in lamens terms.
http://www.parkers.co.uk/company-cars/news-and-advice/tax-advice/What-is-P11D/

We lease hire, and i did a lot of homework before we chose, you could have a focus zetec s with nav 1.6tdci (115) for around 200-220+vat a month ( up to 20k miles), but be careful when you you look at all the options, dont spec the car, take the model with what it comes with, otherwise it ramps the price. Look at the deal in full, remember you may think you are paying a 12,24, or 36 month contract, you arent, you will see the deals typically advertised as 3 x24 or 3 x 36, this means 3 months upfront, some lease companies depending on the vehicle want as much as 7 months up front, factor that 3 month upfront into your total cost plus your p11d payment and spread it over the term of the lease, thats what you are actually paying per month + vat, do your homework, its a minefield out there. A new golf tdi se will set you back over £300 a month.

 

[BobSpounge]

a turbo pipe & intercooler aint really big mechanical failures when you put it into context. dmf, injectors, fuel pumps etc all become more of an issue in more modern diesels imo if you change the golf

^^^^ 100%

How many horror story's have you heard about problems with modern diesels. Maybe most of them are OK, but you are not going to get guaranteed reliability with a new motor, albeit you may get a courtesy car if a new motor broke down it's still a pain in the ass and you could be wasting a good bit of time running back and forward to the dealership if its a problematic car. Believe me, I've been there with a company car.

I'd stick with the golf and chuck a few quid at it now and then. Since christmas I've chucked nearly £1000 into mine, ALL fluids changed, new shocks, springs, bushes all round, new calipers, discs and pads, new heater plugs, thermostat, coolant temp sensor, Injectors cleaned with a good dose of liquimoly and their behaviour checked on vagcom. Now a good bit of that stuff was still servicable but at the end of the day had over 100k of wear and tear worth changing in my book.

I know mine could break down tomorrow, intercooler pipes etc like you have had, but that's motoring for you.

The engine in your golf will be fit for another 200k if looked after.

 

[surprising_skoda]

my car is my job, dont have a car **** hits the fan.

Buy a second one. They aren't dear. My mum needs a car for her job(s), so she has two in the drive at all times. Peugeot 1.4hdi that goes on the smell of it and a 2000 BMW 528i with FSH that I bought her for £600 as a spare. Not exactly a bank buster and always safe.

So was thinking something new or a year old so i have warranty and reliably in it....

LOL. New cars are NOT reliable. At ALL.

use do all remember my golf now has around 220k roughly on it with the clocking its had....

I do those miles in a BMW 540i with 177k that gets 18mpg.

There's nothing more reliable than a mid-90s direct injection diesel. Get yourself a 406 1.9dt or a Passat tdi as mentioned, put them into the corner, run the golf into the ground. Sorted.

 

[Dub_cub 89]

I wouldn't even bother with a spare car if it's only going to be sitting in the driveway until an emergency tbh, worst thing you can do to a car (I'm speaking from experience). just keep around £6-700 aside incase you have to buy an old runabout to keep you motoring, and as said above, go and find yourself any mid 90s diesel that drives half reasonable, should be plenty of choice even with a modest budget.