New Small 'family' Car

[iCraig]

Right just thought I'd ask this on here cos you lot are a knowledgeable bunch.
My Brother is in the market for getting a new car to replace his 2001 VW Golf, which is beginning to turn into a money pit with him just paying out £600+ for a service and repair and for a 5 year old, 50k car its just not on. And it seems to be getting alot of electrical gremlins recently too.

So he has been looking at new cars around the same size as the golf, he wants new so he will have the piece of mind of the 3 year warranty, also being the first owner means he can treat it well and service it how it should, something which you don't get with a used car and also he wants finance and he is very interested in PCP.

He doesn't do a major amount of miles and keeps his cars in great condition so PCP will be a good idea for him as he wants to change his cars every 2 years anyway.

My basic question is what should he go for, so far he has test driven a Ford Focus, which he liked and a new Honda Civic which he loved.

So which have people owned, what did they like, what didn't they like, was it reliable etc etc?

Thanks In Advance,

Craig

[Whosthedaddy]

From all accounts the new Civic is head and shoulders above the competition.

My Type R rocks, parts and servicing for Honda is cheapish, easily accesible and bulletprodf
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Current : MSX 125 Past : CBR 900RR Monkeybike : c50 LAC : ZXR750 H2 : FZR600 : ZX7R P3 : YW100 : TRX850: Trophy 900 T309 : GSXR 600 L0: Monkeybike : XJ6S Whosthedaddy

[ash t]

Ford focus, common as they are, are brilliant cars.

My mum did 60k miles in hers without a single slight problem at all. They shift aswell.

They are comfortable, reliable, and arent ugly like most cars you see thesedays!


My
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When You're Starting To Choke, Take Some Pills With Your Coke, Its Hyserical

[Villers]

The ford focus is a very popular choice, not just popular sales wise but its also popular with the critics.

The honda civic is a very good car too, and should hold its value well.

The only comment on the vauxhall is that they tend to lose value very quick and have a track record of not being knocked together very well. Three people at work have returned their brand new vectras and requested a full refund due to 'unfixable, but weve fixed it this time honest' problems.

Another was selling his 12 month old vectra he'd bought for £21K for £10,300 as this was 'more than the dealer offered on trade in'.

Hope this helps a little bit!
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RS125 > CBR6 > SV650S > ZX636R > GSX1300RZ Hayabusa > 06 RSVR Mille ≥ Sv1000s somehow
'You came on your own, thats how you'll leave'

[Whosthedaddy]

As a little thing to be aware of is that Honda DO NOT do deals with the prices of their cars

Ford / Vauxhall / Renault / Peogeut etc all do 'cash back' and money off, ergo good deals, however, they depreciate like anything


Its swings and roundabouts with cars (and bikes for that matter)
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Current : MSX 125 Past : CBR 900RR Monkeybike : c50 LAC : ZXR750 H2 : FZR600 : ZX7R P3 : YW100 : TRX850: Trophy 900 T309 : GSXR 600 L0: Monkeybike : XJ6S Whosthedaddy

[TOM M]

[mrchips]

Focus or Civic are worth considering. Is he after a petrol or diesel?
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Northern Irish? www.nibikers.com

[iCraig]

Thanks for the feedback so far.

And to answer the above question he is after a Petrol, something with decent fuel economy like a 1.4 etc.

[Villers]

[Whosthedaddy]

[craigie b]

Japanese reliability is legendary as is the honda name. The civic would be the car of choice for me if it was to be brand new...Focus's are common as much anyway