Changing to a more economical car - Fiat Bravo or something else?

[Dr Zoidberg]

My PD140 Elegance Octavia is nearly three years old now and has done 70k and I'm considering changing it for something else.

It's not been without it's faults (new turbo plus 13 visits for creaky suspension) but on the whole it's been a pretty good car. For the next one I'm probably looking to lower my costs though.

In the time I've had it , it's depreciated by about £10.5k , had about £8 or 9k of fuel and I've spent £2300 on servicing , tax and insurance which works out at 31p a mile all in.

Not bad for a spacious car that goes well but I think I can do better.

Depreciation has been the killer , not least because second hand values have dropped more than people expected in the last 12 months. I have a preference for predictable costs rather than gambling on not needing expensive repairs so a long warranty appeals a lot.

One option is to simply keep my car for another 12 months which should lower the overall cost per mile as it won't depreciate as much as it has done.

The other option that's appealing to me is a Fiat Bravo because of the 5 year unlimited mileage warranty. I also just fancy a change after 150k miles in skodas over the last 6 years.

I've not got a final figure as the dealer I'd spoken to today couldn't find out exactly what cars were available as his link to Fiat's stock system was playing up , but I can get a new Bravo 1.6 TDI Eco Dynamic for about £12700 (£4k off list) or a bit more if there's ones with options.

I'd be able to run that for four or five years and still be covered by the warranty which fixes my costs and even if it was only worth 2k after 5 years that's depreciation of £2150 a year instead of £3500. It should also do more than 60mpg which saves me £500 a year at current fuel prices and costs £35 to tax. Add to that cheaper insurance and I reckon I'd be two grand a year better off which is a lot of extra disposable income.

Not much point in saving money if I don't like the car of course , but having driving one I'm very pleased with it. It's not as spacious as the octy inside or in the boot , but there's enough room for me. It's not as quick as the PD140 but didn't feel slow. It also feels very well screwed together and has some nice gadgets.

So , any thoughts?

What else is worth a look?

[richie]

Kia Pro Ceed?? Golf GT 140?? They were my other choises before getting the Octi.

[Dr Zoidberg]

Kia Pro Ceed?? Golf GT 140?? They were my other choises before getting the Octi.

I should go and have a look at the Kia , shouldn't I.

If it's something to run for five years then the end value is pretty irrellevant.

[Johnwg]

Prius ;-)

[Royston]

Nother vote for Kia Ceed. they hold their value better than other "cheap" cars due to the 7 year warranty. father in law has an estate and the inside is on a par with a Ford Focus or similar. Perfect car for an accountant like yourself!

[roo]

Kia also now have the Soul out. Not sure if it's your cup of tea.

You would probably get some good deals on a Vauxhall or Ford.

Chryslers or Dodges are probably quite cheap at the moment too.

Nissan Qashquai?

Hyundai i30?

[Blade404]

Father in-law had a ceed sw for the day and hated it (he normally drives a xsara picaso).. he much prefers my Focus.

After driving a Bravo for acouple of weeks I really don't have a good word for the car, one of the most noticeable things was the ride was much worse than my Focus ST.

[DaveI]

BMW 116d or a 118d? Drive the deal has the 116d at £14000 ish with £3300 off list, that's for the absolute poverty spec one mind.

Or an A3 TDi Sportback for £155000?

[Dr Zoidberg]

BMW 116d or a 118d? Drive the deal has the 116d at £14000 ish with £3300 off list, that's for the absolute poverty spec one mind.

Or an A3 TDi Sportback for £155000?

A BMW would certainly do the job for fuel economy , but it's even smaller than a Bravo which I think would rule it out. I'm not sure how the depreciation would work out but I suppose it could be a possibility

[Fitz323]

I've had several FIATS in my time and I couldn't falt the actual cars I had but the dealer network was terrible. I know they are trying to turn things around but i'm still on my old stilo forum and there are people still having loads of probs with the dealers. Alot of my mates really rate the diesel punto's they have bought tho. Especially the 150.

[Clunkclick]

Naah ! Type one Vw Transporter every time !

Every journey takes half as long. Just think of the saving !

[stevearcher]

What about nearly new? The initial depreciation hit has gone when you buy it so your loss over the next 3 to 5 years will be lower.

Had a look on motorpoint and you can pick up an 11k, 08 Astra 1.9CDTi 150 SRi for £10k, a Leon 2.0TDi Stylance on 08 with 13k for £11k, or a new delivery mile Focus 2.0 Titanium for £13k.

Or for big economy, how about a 58 reg, 7000 mile, Focus Econetic for £10300?

Only disadvantage is the warranty will be a bit shorter.

We bought a Chevrolet Lacetti from there in 2006 - 1 year old, 8k for £5600 - wasn't too bad a car (especially for the money) - traded it in a year later and got £4500 for it.

[Blade404]

I ran out of time earlier to list the other things wrong with the Bravo.. IMO of course

Rear visibility sucks

Feels cheap

Uncomfortable seats

Silly cornering lights that are useless due to the fat A pillar

The steer is vague and too light with a button to make it even lighter!

On the shining example I had the washer jets didn't work and neither did the trip comp, dealership didn't manage to fix them either.. the car had less than 1k on the clock when I picked it up. :thumbdwn:

As far as suggestions go.. I hear you can pick Saab's up pretty cheap..

[lfc958]

Fiat currently are the manufacturer with the lowest average co2 emmisions as they dont do a 4x4 or people carrier in their range. There are a Few other manufacturers using the Fiat diesel engine in their new small cars ( Ford Ka !! ) .

Did you look at the Grande punto range, they seem a decent size, My local fiat dealer also does Kia, there was a Pro Ceed sport tdi, which looked extremely well specced out.

[Dr Zoidberg]

I ran out of time earlier to list the other things wrong with the Bravo.. IMO of course

Rear visibility sucks

Feels cheap

Uncomfortable seats

Silly cornering lights that are useless due to the fat A pillar

The steer is vague and too light with a button to make it even lighter!

On the shining example I had the washer jets didn't work and neither did the trip comp, dealership didn't manage to fix them either.. the car had less than 1k on the clock when I picked it up. :thumbdwn:

As far as suggestions go.. I hear you can pick Saab's up pretty cheap..

Visibility - not great but not abysmal.

Cheap feeling? Nope. It all felt plenty solid enough.

The seats were fine for me and I went out in the daylight so didn't notice anything about the lights. Worst case they will just be pointless so it's no great loss.

The steering is lighter than my octavia but not unpleasantly so like my GF's punto.

The idea of a Saab with a big discount does appeal but I suspect that over three or four years it would still lose a hell of a lot of money , especially if Saab collapse and the warranty is useless and parts are hard to get.

A year or two old 9-3 cabrio would be good fun.

[sharkrider]

I'm very happy with my GPS, they are also covered by the 5 year unlimited miles warrenty, but I haven't had much done to mine in the 75k its covered in the last 2 years..... happy

[Mike Wrightson]

Kia Ceed definately worth a look, also consider the Hyundai i30, which is basically exactly the same car, gets a couple of extra toys. Both have a 140bhp TDi sitting at the top of the range.

[trundlenut]

I ran out of time earlier to list the other things wrong with the Bravo.. IMO of course

Rear visibility sucks

Feels cheap

Uncomfortable seats

Silly cornering lights that are useless due to the fat A pillar

The steer is vague and too light with a button to make it even lighter!

On the shining example I had the washer jets didn't work and neither did the trip comp, dealership didn't manage to fix them either.. the car had less than 1k on the clock when I picked it up. :thumbdwn:

As far as suggestions go.. I hear you can pick Saab's up pretty cheap..

I'm glad I'm not the only who finds fiat seat are rubbish. I used to find they were realy unsupportive, not good when you are doing long trips like I tend to do.

Another vote the Ceed from me. My sister has one and has not had any problems with hers (apart from a chav in a fiesta reversing into it). Got the space too - she bought when she found out she was having twins!

[sms]

i would look at the kia ceed, must admit the adverts ahve tempted me to get rid of this car and one that will have a warranty on it for the whole ownership that i would intend to have either this or my next car for.

[richie]

Prius ;-)

Get out!!

[anonymouse]

Son has KIA ProCeed, now done about 10k

Gets very good fuel consumption (45 to 50, mostly 6 days a week to and from work journey of around 15 miles, 9 of which are motorway - but he does just cruise) and is well pleased with it.

[Burnsey]

Have I got this right. You want to spend £10k on a new(ish) car to save yourself money?

What's your octavia worth at the moment? I'd probably run it into the ground, maybe another year or two which will cost less than the depn on anything else, since the last 12m have been crazy in the depn stakes, so I would keep it for another year just to smooth off the depn curve. But if you really need to justify a car for 5 years then a kia isn't a bad shout, but neither is a vauxhall, ford or skoda bought 12-18m old.

[Dr Zoidberg]

Have I got this right. You want to spend £10k on a new(ish) car to save yourself money?

Yep.

I get a car allowance instead of a company car so I'm expected to run a new(-ish) vehicle of a certain size - I can't just pocket the cash and run a banger.

With that in mind I'm trying to pick one that I can run for four or more years that will be as economical as possible. Over 4 years a 13k Bravo would potentially save me 7k or more compared to another Octavia like my current one which is a big difference.

[ScoobyChris]

Had a look at the Kia Cee'd when I was looking to chop in the Mondeo as the lengthy warranty was quite appealing. However, it was a car that seriously lacked any soul or character and I couldn't see myself keeping it for a week, let alone 5 years

Had a nose around a new Bravo while my car was in for its service and it seemed quite a nice place to be with lots of kit, nice driving position, surprisingly roomy and comfy seats, although I didn't drive it so I'm not sure if it has the same silly light steering as the Grande Punto I drove. In terms of Fiat quality, my Panda is a smidge over a year old and has 25k miles on it and I've not had anything fall off, break or let me down (touches wood). Main dealer servicing seems far cheaper than my experiences of other brands and I use Pewshams in Chippenham (which is also Fiat Supasaver) as they bend over backwards to accommodate my strange requests and make sure I'm happy with everything.

Vauxhall currently seem to be doing a lot of good deals at the moment and a colleague at work got 50% off the list of a brand new Astra 1.6 and then a "loyalty" discount on top of that, so they may be worth a look as a cost-effective alternative.

Chris

[Aspman]

If you're not fussy you could pick up a nearly new Vectra 150 derv cheap as chips.

What about a used Toyota Auris diesel. They have the T180 which is a hell of an engine for a car that size. It should last your 5 years ok. The old Avensis was well screwed together if hideously ugly.

The Renault/Nissan 1.5dci is a very economical engine, I did 70k over 4 years in a diesel Clio with no engine problems (the rest of the car was disintegrating) Trade in wasn't bad for it either after that time.

Nothing wrong with Fiats if you get a good one, if you get a Monday car.....

Might be worth looking at the Hyundai i30, I think that is the same platform as the Ceed and has a 5 year warranty.