Any car dealers can offer advice ?

I am about to change jobs - meaning I lose the company car (PHEV).

I’ll be travelling to & from London plus a few miles whilst there - so about 250 miles a week. So borderline whether diesel makes sense.

Ideally I’d like an auto that’s nippy rather than blisteringly fast & at least golf / focus sized.

I’ve seen some good lease offers on Volvo V40 for 12k pa which will total around £7.2k over 2 years. That’ll give peace of mind but I’m not sure I need a new car - so would consider a purchase of something (bigger / better) so long as I don’t lose more in depreciation than the above lease deal over 2 years.

I’d be happy for approved used with an additional (2nd) year warranty - which is exactly what I did previously when I bought E92 BMW 325i - which I loved & was utterly reliable - but the economy of 30mpg might not be ideal these days...

Whatever it is it needs to be bullet proof reliability as I’ll be doing this every week.
(hence my previous choice of the BMW straight 6)

Any pointers / advice gratefully received.

Thanks,

z

I'm not a dealer but the most reliable car I've owned in the last 12 years or so (aside from the current Audi A4 Avant 3.0TDI Quattro) was a Ford Focus 1.8TDCi. I used this for my daily commute and had a Range Rover for other uses. Unfortunately, the Focus was written off at 98k a few years ago but in that time the only thing to go wrong was a rear window mechanism (easily fixed for £11 with a kit purchased online rather than the £400 a Ford main dealer wanted to replace the whole mechanism). I had the ECU remapped by Angel Tuning and it was a quick small car ideal for commuting with amazing mpg - I think I averaged around 58mpg from memory. I'd have a look at main dealer used, look at 1.8 or the current 2.0 diesel options and keep the options sensible.

If you're doing that many miles it might be worth looking at a diesel Volvo S90.

Stoneacre Volvo will do the R Design for £8,235 over two years for petrol or £8,275 for the Momentum in Diesel. If you're doing that many miles you'll want something with comfy seats.

Both of these are about £500 per year more expensive than the V40 but you're going up into a car worth much more and that comes with radar cruise control and some autonomous driving up to 80mph as standard and all S90's are auto.

Source: leasing.com 12k miles 24 month term

Are you funding yourself? there is a very good thread on pistonheads,very active so the good deals are highlighted in short order.

Thanks for the suggestions so far.

I’ll be self funding - but getting IRAMR for the trips to & from London.

I‘ve just made the mistake of looking at used BMW135i ...

If I buy one with 40k on the clock for £15k & sell in 2 years after adding 24k...

...will it be worth around £7-8k...?

:unconscious:

z

Buy a 135i and the depreciation won't be the concern. The cost of petrol will!

Might be better off looking at a 330d or 335d?

My brother has just bought a second hand 140i which will do 30mpg if he’s not pushing too hard.

If the rumours of the new one series being front wheel drive are true then it’s probably going to be depreciation proof.

- - UPDATE - -

I’m going for a test drive in a M135i tomorrow ...

Man maths will be deployed...

Oops

Z

Quote:

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Originally Posted by zelig

- - UPDATE - -

I’m going for a test drive in a M135i tomorrow ...

Man maths will be deployed...

Oops

Z

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Good man!

If you want reliable pre-owned and 'nippy' but not blisteringly quick then take a look at Lexus IS's the 300h is good on fuel and has a decent turn of speed - it's also great in town and stop start traffic. if you want total peace of mind or have aural objections to the CVT style soundtrack of Lexus hybrids and don;t mind sacrificing a few MPG then the 250 is what you're after, avoid the diesel versions like the plague.
Lexus leases aren't great though so if you're looking at new it's probably not what you're after.

Man maths won.

A quick pootle up the M42 returned around 33mpg - good enough - even with a few 'give it the beans' it moments.

The example PCP deal had a predicted residual value of £5k in 4 years (after 12 k p.a.)
So (in man maths) it should be worth at least £8k in 2 years - assuming it depreciates quicker in the first 2 years...

That works out cheaper than the lease deals... & hopefully more fun.

I collect it next week :devilish:

z

What a car it'll be!

Indeed it is...

Collected it today...

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...e9fbab0631.jpg

Not really had a chance to play yet - but it was surprisingly comfortable and frugal on the leisurely jaunt down the M5 to home.

No doubt it’ll be less frugal the more fun I have.

z

Very nice!

- - - Updated - - -

Very nice!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by zelig

Indeed it is...

Collected it today...

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...e9fbab0631.jpg

Not really had a chance to play yet - but it was surprisingly comfortable and frugal on the leisurely jaunt down the M5 to home.

No doubt it’ll be less frugal the more fun I have.

z

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Nice destination for its first trip

https://www.wiltsglosstandard.co.uk/...onsive-gallery

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Gyp

Nice destination for its first trip

https://www.wiltsglosstandard.co.uk/...onsive-gallery

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:unconscious:

There were quite a few camper vans parked up...

z

I’ve got the 3 series version and according to the on board computers I’m getting around 28mpg, not that bad for half town, half motorway driving. On the motorway I do put it into ecopro mode, if I remember and as most now have cameras just put the cruise on.

Lovely thing.

Surprisingly quick too.