The wife currently has a 2015 Citigo SE (60bhp/ps). It is on a PCP deal which runs TIL March next year i think.

 

Recently she has discussed the idea of maybe handing it back towards the end of the deal and possibly getting an older car for a few years, something which i myself did when i handed my mk3 Octy SE back and bought a mk2 vRS.

 

So, the cars she has mentioned are a BMW Mini, or possibly a Fiat 500, but also for years, she fancied a VW Beetle. We would be looking at around a 2010 plate for any of these and spend £3-4K for a used car that we felt was worth it.

 

I don’t really know much, if anything about the Fiat or Mini so any info from previous owners of these vehicles would be much appreciated. Also if she got a Mini i feel that the Diesel may still be the way to go, but am unsure of how economical the petrol ones are in the real world.

 

Finally, i have seen a VW beetle 1.9 tdi with leather and only two lady owners from new for a few grand. I understand that this is essentially a Golf, right? But is it still worth getting a diesel one? The petrol ones do not seem very economical at all, whereas the diesel one is and still has some grunt when needed.

 

Finally, i looked into a new deal on a Citigo with the 75ps engine and in SEL trim. Whilst more than she pays now, due to us not wanting to put much deposit in this time and finance rates not being zero, it still seems like a possibility for around £100 a month. 

 

I think she feels similar to me when i handed my mk3 back, in that, i have always hankered after a vRS but never really wanted to spend the cash on a pcp for one, so bought myself an older one, which a really, really like and don’t regret buying at all.

 

So, any advice on the used options i have mentioned would be very much appreciated.

 

 

Edited 23 May, 20188 yr by Guest
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45 minutes ago, roblatus said:

The wife currently has a 2015 Citigo SE (60bhp/ps). It is on a PCP deal which runs TIL March next year i think.

 

Recently she has discussed the idea of maybe handing it back towards the end of the deal and possibly getting an older car for a few years, something which i myself did when i handed my mk3 Octy SE back and bought a mk2 vRS.

 

So, the cars she has mentioned are a BMW Mini, or possibly a Fiat 500, but also for years, she fancied a VW Beetle. We would be looking at around a 2010 plate for any of these and spend £3-4K for a used car that we felt was worth it.

 

I don’t really know much, if anything about the Fiat or Mini so any info from previous owners of these vehicles would be much appreciated. Also if she got a Mini i feel that the Diesel may still be the way to go, but am unsure of how economical the petrol ones are in the real world.

 

Finally, i have seen a VW beetle 1.9 tdi with leather and only two lady owners from new for a few grand. I understand that this is essentially a Golf, right? But is it still worth getting a diesel one? The petrol ones do not seem very economical at all, whereas the diesel one is and still has some grunt when needed.

 

Finally, i looked into a new deal on a Citigo with the 75ps engine and in SEL trim. Whilst more than she pays now, due to us not wanting to put much deposit in this time and finance rates not being zero, it still seems like a possibility for around £100 a month. 

 

I think she feels similar to me when i handed my mk3 back, in that, i have always hankered after a vRS but never really wanted to spend the cash on a pcp for one, so bought myself an older one, which a really, really like and don’t regret buying at all.

 

So, any advice on the used options i have mentioned would be very much appreciated.

 

 

For information:

We run a 1600cc petrol Mini Cooper Roadster. This model is not turbocharged like the Cooper S.

The aerodynamics are good. On a trip to Germany last year we averaged a real 53mpg.

i live in a rural area and normal running means we get around 48mpg.

 

Good luck with the search.

 

The beetle is based on a mark 4 golf and as long as the 1.9tdi engine serviced it should give you no problems and strange as it seems I would have a beetle over the Golf.

 

Davy

I threw another option at her after reading some stuff here and there. 

 

A Renault Twingo RS 133. 

 

Sound like a lot of fun for not much money. 

Just remember that the older diesel engined car is the target of clean air campaigners with (perhaps) tax implications if not outright bans in certain locations.  Either way they should therefore be cheap.

Check out the 1.6 Petrol VW Beetles.

http://autotrader.co.uk 

41 minutes ago, Offski said:

Check out the 1.6 Petrol VW Beetles.

http://autotrader.co.uk 

 

I was wondering about the 1.6 petrol engines ones. But I thought the road tax was over £200 a year for these? Or am I mistaken?

£240.

But you might find they are very nice and well maintained.

What could a DPF cost you with a diesel.  Or any car needing parts or a Major Servicing doing,

OK maybe with a 1.9 TDI, stay away from a 2.0TDI Euro 5 that might have had the fix.

MINI's not that Economic.

So many choices, best go look around some Car Super Markets.

51 minutes ago, Offski said:

£240.

But you might find they are very nice and well maintained.

What could a DPF cost you with a diesel.  Or any car needing parts or a Major Servicing doing,

OK maybe with a 1.9 TDI, stay away from a 2.0TDI Euro 5 that might have had the fix.

MINI's not that Economic.

So many choices, best go look around some Car Super Markets.

Beg to differ Offski regarding the Mini, but, of course, it depends what model you buy and how you drive.

Obviously it depends on what model / engine for any £3,000 - £4,000 car you buy.

Which will be the most economical in annual costs for a MINI at that sort of money.  Fuel, VED, Servicing & Insurance?

 

EDIT.

Sorry, 1.4 & 1.6 Petrol manual MINI's look not bad, availability and VED.

My experience is of the Early Auto's that were disappointing.

Edited 24 May, 20188 yr by Offski

If she doesn't get a new Citigo. I feel the best thing could be a Mini Diesel. Road tax is still cheap on these. She does a mixture of milage. Maybe 30 mile work commute but also motorway and a road milage when she is ferrying my son to athletics meets around the south west.  

Does the 1.9 TDI in the beetle have a dpf? 

 

I assume it won't even be euro 5 as my vRS ?

The ultimate wife car appears to be the Honda CRV.

I've known many families with them all loved deeply the wives and respected as a decent car by the husbands.

Not the cheapest to run but if looked after pretty bombproof and handy in winter.

 

2 minutes ago, Aspman said:

The ultimate wife car appears to be the Honda CRV.

I've known many families with them all loved deeply the wives and respected as a decent car by the husbands.

Not the cheapest to run but if looked after pretty bombproof and handy in winter.

 

I do know that she liked the CRV. But am unsure of what age/engine etc we could get for the budget. Thanks for the tip.  

11 minutes ago, roblatus said:

I do know that she liked the CRV. But am unsure of what age/engine etc we could get for the budget. Thanks for the tip.  

 

Would be quite old but they tend to be coddled and last well.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201805236792887

 

Mileage isn't an issue i the condition is good. I had an accord for a couple of years with the 2.2d, Honda offered me a 3yr unlimited mileage warranty on the car when it was 4yr old with 70k on the clock for £250. Gave me a lot of confidence in the car. Not exciting but very comfy and well put together.

Edited 24 May, 20188 yr by Aspman

My wife had a BMW Mini Cooper S. It was fun to drive for short distances but any kind of distance and the hard suspension made it very uncomfortable. The build quality wasn’t anything special either with signs of wear in a short period of time. Servicing was also expensive even by BMW standards. The killer was the oil consumption with 1ltr over 500 miles been acceptable before it was classed as a warranty problem. 

She replaced it with a BMW e82 1 Series coupe, which is night and day in quality, servicing and running costs over the Mini. 

A mate has a Fiat 500 sport and he loves it. Yes, I did say he. Yes, we’ve all taken the Mick, even his girlfriend. It’s a nippy little car around town and that’s what he likes about it. The sport refers to the styling rather than anything to do with performance. He’s had it two years and even though he doesn’t look after cars it’s wearing well and no issues. 

No experience with VW Beetle other than I used to see one regular on my commute. The young woman driving around it was very pretty and looked cool in it. I always let her out of the junction just to see her smile. Not sure if that qualifies as an opinion on the car. 

Fiat 500's are brilliant little cars, with the later ones having the suspension settings from the ford KA that was based on it ( they made them ride and handle better).

 

My sister in law has one and loves it, hers is well kitted out with leather,aircon and all the bells and whistle's; it the 1.4 16 valve engine which 100bhp, very nippy around town and has enough guts for some spirited driving on good fast A & B road's and cruises quite well on the motorway.

 

It's a 59 registered car and cost my brother just under £3k a year ago, and with me being an MOT tester/technicain it cots him the price of parts to service/repair it. 

GF didn't like a 500 when she drove it, she said it was terrifying in a side wind.

6 minutes ago, Aspman said:

GF didn't like a 500 when she drove it, she said it was terrifying in a side wind.

 

Stay away from a Toyota Aygo then!  Work have them for pool cars and they are truly awful especially on the motorway!

Edited 24 May, 20188 yr by hwr1983

Some food stuff here. Thanks to everyone. 

 

It would seem she is pretty adamant that she wants a mini. I think a diesel one would be best but will look into road tax etc for petrol. She won't be getting, and doesn't want a cooper s. She isn't even fussed about alloys. Lol. So even a one diesel would be good enough. Seems like there's plenty to choose for £3-4k.  So will keep an eye out. 

 

I assume that on an older one I can service it myself without having to go to BMW?

You can service it yourself and guides on YouTube for resetting the computer service schedule. 

Be careful when checking the spec as most things are optional on the base price. 

It does appear that there's a huge range of prices. From 57 plate all the way to 60 plates with all sorts of mileage and spec. Lol. 

I usually buy based on condition of the car as I feel it's easier to replace mechanical things yourself than carry out bodywork repairs. So mileage isn't a problem within reason. Certainly sub 100k should be possible and a good service history is important too I guess. Need to find out about timing belts on the 1.6 diesel too. 

Iirc, isnt the 1.6lump in the(older) mini the same PSA lump as per the mk2 focus, c4, mazda3, etc

Edited 24 May, 20188 yr by mac11irl

Just now, mac11irl said:

Iirc, isnt the 1.6lump in the(older) mini the same PSA lump as per the mk2 focys, c4, etc

I believe that is the case. The newer ones have a BMW power plant in there. 

 

A colleague had the PSA engine in his cooper and said it was very good for the time he had the vehicle. 

7 hours ago, Aspman said:

GF didn't like a 500 when she drove it, she said it was terrifying in a side wind.

 

Mrs Goldfinger and myself test drove a Fiat 500 a few months ago, one with the canvas roof. With the roof open the wing mirrors vibrated that much you couldn't see out of them, shut the roof and the vibrations stopped, very strange.   Did we buy one.......NO.