Jumpy Guy
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| posted on 26/7/04 at 01:29 PM |
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suggestions for company car...
im now having to consider new company cars- and im looking for suggestions and opinions from you lot!
So, i have approx 20k to spend, looking for a hatch or estate type thingy, either poky petrol,, or good diesel.
needs five doors, and needless to say reliable etc
suggestions so far - SEAT Leon Cupra Diesel, Alpha 147 Diesel....
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stephen_gusterson
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| posted on 26/7/04 at 01:39 PM |
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get a bmw 320d touring ES model. Its 21,700 quid tho....... I have one.
If your company does it on leasing value, it could work out cheaper, cos it has a 5 year free serving deal at the moment.
My car is on 100k, 4 years, and costs 388 a month, inc maint.
150hp and 0-60 in 9 secs
its euro 4 and so low in tax
drives really nicely - pulls 2,800 rpm in 6th at 100mph and good for 134.
the 318 petrol has low emissions and is 20,750 in touring guise
atb
steve
[Edited on 26/7/04 by stephen_gusterson]
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nick205
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| posted on 26/7/04 at 01:43 PM |
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Jumpy,
I have a Leon Cupra TDi 150bhp and can heartily recommend it. It's pretty swift and the ecomony is excellent as is the handling (IMO). Also
has a good sized boot as well.
It does eat front tyres quite badly though, this sets almost shot and they've only done about 7k.
Cheers
Nick
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N*E*R*D
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| posted on 26/7/04 at 02:33 PM |
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How about a Civic type S
it is a Type R with 5 doors and has a massive boot.
J
"Good Bad I'm the guy with the gun"
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stephen_gusterson
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| posted on 26/7/04 at 03:00 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by N*E*R*D
How about a Civic type S
it is a Type R with 5 doors and has a massive boot.
J
erm
no its not quite
a type R has a 0-60 in about 6.8 secs
the type S is a lot slower at about 10 secs and doesnt have the nice 2.0 litre vtech 8000 rpm beasite.
I know, I was considering one and had 2 test drives in an R. Great fun, but like a go cart. Not good for long journeys
atb
steve
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dave1888
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| posted on 26/7/04 at 03:26 PM |
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Golf gt-tdi (cos i like them)
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zilspeed
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| posted on 26/7/04 at 03:39 PM |
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When I was doing this recently I considered the following.
1) I want comfy
2) I want economical - around 40mpg average.
3) I want tractability - that means Turbodiesel to still get the economy. I also want it to go a bit when prodded .
4) I'd like 4wd because - well I just do.
5) I want it to be a good tow car because of the locost. I much prefer towing that to the track. I might break it.
I put all of the above into the mix and ended up with a Volkswagen Passat TDI 130 4motion. Reasonably brisk, very grunty engine (229lb/ft @ 1900rpm )
. 6 Speed gearbox. All the toys you could need inc aircon, 6 airbags, 6 Cd changer, blah blah blah. It's very soothing when it needs to be and
effectively brisk when that's needed as well. A bonus is that on todays run of mixed driving I got 47mpg.
These are a whisker under 19 grand for an SE - 15" alloys and comfy rather than sporty seats in this spec.
I believe it is around 400 quid a month on a 36 month / 63,000 mile maintained lease with releif vehicle if required.
HTH.
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dave1888
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| posted on 26/7/04 at 03:59 PM |
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Has your Passat got seats in it then McStig 
[Edited on 26/7/04 by dave1888]
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stephen_gusterson
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| posted on 26/7/04 at 04:07 PM |
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dont forget he needs an estate......
mate had a 1.8 t petrol for 3 years.... big car inside, but boring as fcuk...........
atb
steve
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phelpsa
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| posted on 26/7/04 at 04:08 PM |
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How about a new Subaru Impreza WRX Estate. My dad got a brand new WRX saloon for £17500, way faster than the civic type R and has 5-doors.
230 lb/ft @ 3500RPM, 17" alloys, full time 4WD, 0-60 5.9 secs and can still average 35 mpg on the daily comute. + subarus are known for their
reliability and customer service (ours was very good).
If that doesn't suit you, I agree with zilspeed, take the Passat.
Adam
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mackie
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| posted on 26/7/04 at 05:32 PM |
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Not sure how much it costs but the Honda Accord 2.2 CTDI (or some order of those letters) Executive Estate. Fantastic engine, great handling, huuuge
boot, slightly ugly compared to a Passat TDI but much more refined. The saloon looks better but is obviously not quite as practical.
Guy at my work is paying just a shade over £400 a month with maintenance for a fully specced saloon with leather, dual zone climate and satnav.
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zilspeed
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| posted on 26/7/04 at 07:11 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by dave1888
Has your Passat got seats in it then McStig
[Edited on 26/7/04 by dave1888]
That was below the belt !!
I reckon if I move the pedals in the Locost, I might squeeze a seat in there.
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stephen_gusterson
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| posted on 26/7/04 at 07:56 PM |
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a guy at work has one - wrx sportswagon
on his 'daily commute' of 70 miles total, he barely gets 24mpg - as you will tend to use the performance.
Its quite small inside - not at all roomy. The estate bits tiny too.
Once you are used to the performance, all you are left with is an ugly car you wouldnt touch with a barge pole if it did ten seconds, that has a worse
quality interior than a hyundai accent.
0-60 is good, the rest of the car is tacky
atb
steve
quote:
Originally posted by phelpsa
How about a new Subaru Impreza WRX Estate. My dad got a brand new WRX saloon for £17500, way faster than the civic type R and has 5-doors.
230 lb/ft @ 3500RPM, 17" alloys, full time 4WD, 0-60 5.9 secs and can still average 35 mpg on the daily comute. + subarus are known for their
reliability and customer service (ours was very good).
If that doesn't suit you, I agree with zilspeed, take the Passat.
Adam
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Jumpy Guy
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| posted on 27/7/04 at 09:23 AM |
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Just found a local place that'll do chip upgrades on the SEAT/VAG diesels-
from 150-185 bhp , amd 22% extra torque.
that may have some slight bearing....
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stephen_gusterson
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| posted on 27/7/04 at 09:51 AM |
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the bearing is likely to be that your company sacks you cos you modified a car that wasnt yours, and invalidated the warranty.
When I test drove a merc c class coupe auto, the salesman said that no one uses the manual gear change feature when they lend the car out for an
overnight test. They can download the info from the car.
chipping a diesel may be noticed by the diagnstics kit when your car goes in for a service, which will be told to the lease co that the guarantee is
void, which will then come back to your company.
I dont think you have a good plan there.....
atb
steve
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Jumpy Guy
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| posted on 27/7/04 at 10:21 AM |
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not sure Steve, the chipping company absolutely states that you cant determine the work thats been done, even by Main dealer diagnostics.
Anyone on here been caught?
i know that my boss had a lease RS4 for three years, and it was chipped and remapped. Had main dealer, full maintenance lease, and was never
mentioned, never caught.
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stephen_gusterson
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| posted on 27/7/04 at 10:24 AM |
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in the words of mandy rice davis
'they would say that wouldnt they'
i wonder if mark allason can cast light........
ive always suspected that in a high cost claim, the insurance assesor would pull the car apart to check for any non std parts. 22% extra than the
insurance co insured would I think leave you with no insurance.
Plus you are still modding a lease car that doesnt belong to you...
atb
steve
[Edited on 27/7/04 by stephen_gusterson]
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zilspeed
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| posted on 27/7/04 at 04:31 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Jumpy Guy
not sure Steve, the chipping company absolutely states that you cant determine the work thats been done, even by Main dealer diagnostics.
Anyone on here been caught?
i know that my boss had a lease RS4 for three years, and it was chipped and remapped. Had main dealer, full maintenance lease, and was never
mentioned, never caught.
I considered it briefly - very briefly before considering the ramifications.
What If I were 'caught' ?
What if I had a shunt ?
Do I really need more grunt ?
Do I have any right to modify soemone else's car ?
Didn't do it - who needs more than 229lb/ft of torque for getting to work ?
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theconrodkid
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| posted on 27/7/04 at 05:01 PM |
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these cars can tell the dealer what you had for breakfast so i doubt you,d get away with it if an engine prob say occured under warranty
who cares who wins
pass the pork pies
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