Hi,

I have a Volvo S60 2002 model which I like a lot, however it is 14 years old and certainly not the latest in safety value is probably only about £1000, also the wife doesn't like using it as it's a saloon and too difficult to get the kids in the back, which it is as I've tried...sore back

I also have a 2004 Ford Cmax which I hate with a passion and if I could I’d like to hit it with something hard, like a tank… however it’s probably worth £1800 as it’s only got 50k on it.

Now I’ve been considering buying a much newer model of Volvo maybe trading both or one in these cars for one which is around 3-4 years old since I now have 2 young kids to think about and I’d like to have a car which is really safely orientated a modern V60 would be ideal (I’m not a fan of Audi though they do make good cars). Cars I have been seeing are around £15k.

So I don’t have much money to play with even if I sell/trade in both cars, certainly don’t want to lease a car, don’t want to get a loan from the bank (found that costs a fortune in the end) but could happily (if that’s the right word) absorb about £300 a month to pay it off.

Initial view would not be too encouraging but what would you recommend? I could go for a much higher repayment but Aberdeen is currently suffering a major downturn so not keen on taking much debt.

Any ideas? Thanks in advance.



[Edited on 13/7/16 by Mr Whippy]

Crikey.i thought Aberdeen was booming at the moment!

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Originally posted by daniel mason
Crikey.i thought Aberdeen was booming at the moment!

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Originally posted by Mr Whippy

So I don’t have much money to play with even if I sell/trade in both cars, certainly don’t want to lease a car, don’t want to get a loan from the bank (found that costs a fortune in the end) but could happily (if that’s the right word) absorb about £300 a month to pay it off.

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Originally posted by Slimy38

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Originally posted by Mr Whippy

So I don’t have much money to play with even if I sell/trade in both cars, certainly don’t want to lease a car, don’t want to get a loan from the bank (found that costs a fortune in the end) but could happily (if that’s the right word) absorb about £300 a month to pay it off.

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Are you sure you want to discount a bank loan? At the moment bank loans are next to nothing due to the interest rates. A quick calculation using this;

http://www1.firstdirect.com/1/2/personal-loans

A 15K loan over 4.5 years is about £300 a month for a total repayment of 16.5K. I would be amazed if you could get car finance that cheap.

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What he said ^ loan rates are lower than they have been for years. Certainly cheaper than car finance.

My bank are currently offering 3.2
% Apr on bank loans.

I bought my Jeep on an interest free credit card. After two years I tarted over to another card for 1.9% which gave me another two years. I'll pay it off and then start it rolling on another car soon.

Cheaper than a loan by far, just have to remember to pay of at least the minimum and swap it over once the interest free period ends.

Try the comparison sites for loans, you'd be surprised at who is offering loans these days, when we bought my Mrs car, Sainsbury's came out cheapest, £15K over 3 years has cost us sub £400, and £425...odd / month.

But, don't apply to several companies to check for yourself, they will do credit checks, too many checks effect your credit score negatively, so in the end you won't get such a good rate.

well my bank load for the last car loan was 22.10% APR which when I looked at it again I thought was nuts so just moved it onto a interest free card instead, saved over a 1k

I don't reckon Audi nearly as much as I used to they are really too close to the absolute cutting edge of electronic technology on the other hand Volvo are not far behind everything is on the CAN Bus.

Personal experience has shown Audi cars to be good - they're from VAG who (IMHO) know how to make cars. I had a Volvo V50 1.6D Drive (Ford Focus) for a while (11 plate). The V50 (whilst economical) was a naff car for me - too small and fiddly inside - a Focus would probably have been better and cheaper too. As above if you have the self discipline then 0% or low rate credit cards can work well.

The other issue that I have to say pains me with cars is depreciation. Sure paying more for a newer car can keep the garage bills down, but factor the depreciation you incur and it makes the higher outlay less attractive.

I have a different opinion of VAG cars - my daughter had a VW Golf GTi Mk4 that she left with me when she went to Australia. In the few months I looked after it the glove compartment lock failed (I had to strip the dash to free it) and the driver-side window fell into the door (that needed the door taken to pieces). Both were due to the use of inadequate plastic parts. These, plus a few other faults, were very well known for this model of the Golf - as an example, if you need VW parts you normally have to order them from dealers, but the door window repair kits were off the shelf!

Now it could be said that these were problems with the Mk4 Golf - but the later Skoda and Seat models based on that car had EXACTLY the same problems. So much for good VW engineering.

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Originally posted by David Jenkins
I have a different opinion of VAG cars - my daughter had a VW Golf GTi Mk4 that she left with me when she went to Australia. In the few months I looked after it the glove compartment lock failed (I had to strip the dash to free it) and the driver-side window fell into the door (that needed the door taken to pieces). Both were due to the use of inadequate plastic parts. These, plus a few other faults, were very well known for this model of the Golf - as an example, if you need VW parts you normally have to order them from dealers, but the door window repair kits were off the shelf!

Now it could be said that these were problems with the Mk4 Golf - but the later Skoda and Seat models based on that car had EXACTLY the same problems. So much for good VW engineering.

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Originally posted by Mr Whippy
well my bank load for the last car loan was 22.10% APR which when I looked at it again I thought was nuts so just moved it onto a interest free card instead, saved over a 1k

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Originally posted by Slimy38

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Originally posted by David Jenkins
I have a different opinion of VAG cars - my daughter had a VW Golf GTi Mk4 that she left with me when she went to Australia. In the few months I looked after it the glove compartment lock failed (I had to strip the dash to free it) and the driver-side window fell into the door (that needed the door taken to pieces). Both were due to the use of inadequate plastic parts. These, plus a few other faults, were very well known for this model of the Golf - as an example, if you need VW parts you normally have to order them from dealers, but the door window repair kits were off the shelf!

Now it could be said that these were problems with the Mk4 Golf - but the later Skoda and Seat models based on that car had EXACTLY the same problems. So much for good VW engineering.

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Oddly enough, that's why I highly rate VAG. There is a very specific set of faults that apply to all cars in the range, and they all have a (usually cheap) solution. I have had other cars that have had issues, and I seem to just throw money at them until they get sold.

Having said that, I've been looking at common issues with Volvo's... and I can't find any!! There's a few niggly things, but it does sound like Volvo are maintaining their bulletproof reputation.

I still quite fancy an 850 T5 estate, perhaps in white with a roof rack... you know, just to make people look twice when I approach them at speed...

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The window problem on the Golf took several days of research, followed by a full day of work. It was not trivial! The root cause of the problem was slamming the door with the window down - insufficient support for the glass when not closed. The kit of parts to fix the problem had 1 key difference - the brackets that supported the glass were metal, instead of the original plastic (about 20g of metal - they were small parts). So subsequent Seat and Skoda owners still had a problem that VW could have fixed for just a few pence per car. I don't call that good problem solving practice.

The cause of the glove compartment failure was them using a plastic peg as a lock mechanism pivot - it wears out after a few years (post warranty, of course).

I didn't have the other common problem - a leak in the rear screen washer fills the rear foot-well with water... VW never fixed that problem either, and it also arose in the Seat and Skoda cars cloned off the Mk4 Golf..

It worth looking out for cars in the "wrong" dealership. IE if you want a Volvo look to see if any other car dealers have taken them in PX generally they just seem to want to get anything that isn't their brand off the forecourt.

Our local Ford Dealer group also run a lease scheme and in Jan/Feb each year they get in loads of non-Fords that have been returned after a 2 or 3 years lease. They just seem to want to get them sold ASAP, very low prices and keen to do a deal to get them gone. We got a 3 year old Passat for £4k less than a similar spec car was being sold for at the VW dealership across the road.

They also had loads of 3 Series, lots Seats and Skodas, various Land Rovers and a few Volvos

[Edited on 14/7/16 by Doctor Derek Doctors]

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Originally posted by nick205
First off I'd agree VAG cars (lots of them) have known faults (as do most cars), but VAGs use of the same components on nearly all their cars generally make the faults quite easy to fix yourself (if you're that way inclined). For example the rear wiper arm had to be replaced on my 57 plate Passat. £15 VAG part and 15 mins work on the drive - easy and it worked.

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Originally posted by mcerd1

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Originally posted by nick205
First off I'd agree VAG cars (lots of them) have known faults (as do most cars), but VAGs use of the same components on nearly all their cars generally make the faults quite easy to fix yourself (if you're that way inclined). For example the rear wiper arm had to be replaced on my 57 plate Passat. £15 VAG part and 15 mins work on the drive - easy and it worked.

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my problem with the common VAG faults is mostly that they are so common that they have an off the shelf 'fix' - yet they keep making new cars with the same faults !


VAG fault I've found add to the list:

plastic water pump impellers on the 1.9D at about the 57 plate age (replacement ones are metal - as was the old one when they used this same basic engine in the 90's)

cracked plastic trim around the windscreen letting water in the fuse box of a 57 plate passat and the earth connections to the engine corroded away to nothing

hard plastic corrugated hose for windscreen washers that cracks and leaks everywhere (59plate polo)

stupid electric handbrakes - although this does seem to be all makes these days




[Edited on 14/7/2016 by mcerd1]

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Originally posted by nick205
Had (and favour) the electric handbrake - IMHO better than a bulky lever in the centre console - more room for storage (and cup holders). Give it a few years and they'll be on all cars I think.

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re costs of cars and ways to pay for them, as another poster touched on, depreciation is the key.

a £29k Mondeo is worth not a huge amount after 3 years 45,000miles, whereas a 35k or 40k Merc, BMW, maybe audi if you pick the right model, has a much better resale value. If you want some idea of the cars that hold value, look at contract hire pricing. on similar mileage a mondeo and 5 series BMW are same monthly payments, similar money deposit and in real world terms, similar mpg (based on diesels) but you get to drive around in a car that wont rattle and pi55 you off for 80000miles as opposed to 18000 with the ford. Based on real experience as my wife has a mondeo.

work out what you want to spend and then look at monthly costs, certain models of BM merc Volvo are really well priced, just ignore the topline prices as the residuals are so good

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Originally posted by mcerd1
and to cap it off - I hate the delay between pressing the button and it activating

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Originally posted by garyo

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Originally posted by mcerd1
and to cap it off - I hate the delay between pressing the button and it activating

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And to cap that off... on half the makes you need a main dealer computer to change the rear pads so that the controller can be recalibrated to the new thickness

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