First time car buyer: advice needed

ToxicBunny said:
Well to be fair, I can always look at my car... it burns through the first half a tank in 200kms. and the last half in 400kms (according to the fuel gauge that is), so they're not the greatest way of measuring really.
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And this is the case for almost every car I’ve ever driven which is why I’ve objected against it as a measure.
 
Shauno87 said:
Hi all. I am a first-time car buyer and I have seen a few options but I can't really decide. Ideally I would like a low mileage used vehicle and my budget is +/- R250k. I will be using it for short trips in town and one long-distance trip every 3 months. I'm not fussy about performance but I would like something with a decent engine, exterior and interior.

Options that I have seen thus far include:
- 2017 Polo 1.0 tsi, 40 000km, R199 999.
- 2017 Polo 1.0 tsi, 8 000km, R239 000.
- 2018 Yaris 1.5 XS, 8 000km, R239 000
- 2017 i20 1.2, 20 000km, R209 000.
- 2017 Mazda 3 1.6 dynamic, 37 000km, R247 000.
- 2017 Golf 7 1.0 tsi, 26 000km, R255 000 (used rental)

As can be seen, I am quite keen on a B-segment hatch. 2018 Fiesta is an option too, I just haven't seen or driven one. I am skeptical about VW because of their high-risk status, but the VW salesman assured me that they are only high risk for hi-jacking and not theft. I don't know if that was supposed to make me feel better.

Please share your advice and also let me know of other suggestions which could fit my needs. I'm not looking for all the bells and whistles but they would be nice if in budget.
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Why not get a new Stepway, with a service plan and Warranty and keep the 50k change?
 
UrBaN963 said:
Well given that I filled the tank before I left JHB, and arrived back with it on half a tank, I think the answer is relatively clear, no? Sure, I didn't refill the tank to get an exact measurement, because I figured I would be discussing this with logical humans, didn't anticipate talking to you about it. You really are making this far more complex than necessary. If you asked someone in JHB whether they thought half a tank of fuel to PTA and back in a normal car is good, they'd laugh at you. Because it isn't.
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Look you did 332km in a 900cc, if you're saying it used half a tank that means it would be 6.7, sorry I had the two mixed around :-)
 
SauRoNZA said:
No it’s not clear.

A fuel gauge is unfortunately not an accurate measure. You would need multiple fuel ups to achieve accuracy.

Resetting the onboard computer is a much more logical option.

And you are the one completely devoid of logic here. You have no concrete numbers for anything but amazingly draw conclusions for it.

For all we know on this Renault the reserve only kicks it when it reaches zero on the gauge.
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Alright buddy, think this debate has run it's course. In my experience, the car was inefficient. In your experience (you don't have one) it isn't.

Lets end it there, as this will go in circles. Only one of us has actually driven the vehicle, had an experience with it, been able to form an opinion based on user experience which extends past claims on a webpage. So we will take your theory and my experience and agree there is data lacking to form an objective conclusion.
 
UrBaN963 said:
Would recommend driving the Clio before considering. The small engine has literally no power when not in the turbo range. Pulls nicely when the turbo kicks in, but you have to drive it that way at which point your fuel economy is ****. I drove one for the day when I wanted to buy one, highly doubt I’ll ever buy a small-capacity turbo engine.
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Owned a 1.2 Turbo, that thing was a rocket ship. But the 900cc Turbo is a gem too.
 
UrBaN963 said:
No, the trip is to PTA and back, 116KM total.
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I've corrected, oh I thought you'd gone far into PTA like passed Rosslyn side. Also Fourways isn't JHB ;-). Though my original calculation would stand closer then, but unless you sat in traffic for a few hours that doesn't seem right.
 
ToxicBunny said:
Ok so you're saying it used 22l of fuel for 116kms? Given that the tank is only 45l.

Somehow those numbers don't stack up to reality, period.
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I'm saying that was my experience with the vehicle. I'm not saying that is everyone's experience or that the car is terrible, or that all Clio's perform that way.

My point was he should drive it and check it out for himself. The numbers don't make sense, I agree with you. After the car was returned, the dealer asked how far we'd gone because we'd used a ton of juice. I don't have an exact figure for that as I didn't do the refuel. But the mere fact that I noticed it, followed by his remark, given the relatively short distance travelled, is enough of a red-flag for it to stick in my mind and feel I should mention it.
 
The only way to measure fuel consumption is L/100km or km/L. That's just how it works.
 
UrBaN963 said:
I'm saying that was my experience with the vehicle. I'm not saying that is everyone's experience or that the car is terrible, or that all Clio's perform that way.

My point was he should drive it and check it out for himself. The numbers don't make sense, I agree with you. After the car was returned, the dealer asked how far we'd gone because we'd used a ton of juice. I don't have an exact figure for that as I didn't do the refuel. But the mere fact that I noticed it, followed by his remark, given the relatively short distance travelled, is enough of a red-flag for it to stick in my mind and feel I should mention it.
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The problem is, you must have been driving it like an absolute madman and at the redline almost permanently to achieve such horrible fuel consumption, or the vehicle you test drove was broken... those are literally the only two ways you would have achieved such a **** fuel consumption from the 900cc motor.
 
ToxicBunny said:
The problem is, you must have been driving it like an absolute madman and at the redline almost permanently to achieve such horrible fuel consumption, or the vehicle you test drove was broken... those are literally the only two ways you would have achieved such a **** fuel consumption from the 900cc motor.
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I wasn't driving like a **** though I did test the engine a few times - I was curious after all. Engine seemed and sounded fine, there wasn't anything noticeably wrong with it though I'm not familiar with it as an engine.
 
Shauno87 said:
Hi all. I am a first-time car buyer and I have seen a few options but I can't really decide. Ideally I would like a low mileage used vehicle and my budget is +/- R250k. I will be using it for short trips in town and one long-distance trip every 3 months. I'm not fussy about performance but I would like something with a decent engine, exterior and interior.

Options that I have seen thus far include:
- 2017 Polo 1.0 tsi, 40 000km, R199 999.
- 2017 Polo 1.0 tsi, 8 000km, R239 000.
- 2018 Yaris 1.5 XS, 8 000km, R239 000
- 2017 i20 1.2, 20 000km, R209 000.
- 2017 Mazda 3 1.6 dynamic, 37 000km, R247 000.
- 2017 Golf 7 1.0 tsi, 26 000km, R255 000 (used rental)

As can be seen, I am quite keen on a B-segment hatch. 2018 Fiesta is an option too, I just haven't seen or driven one. I am skeptical about VW because of their high-risk status, but the VW salesman assured me that they are only high risk for hi-jacking and not theft. I don't know if that was supposed to make me feel better.

Please share your advice and also let me know of other suggestions which could fit my needs. I'm not looking for all the bells and whistles but they would be nice if in budget.
Click to expand...

I would also look at the Opel Astra https://www.cars.co.za/for-sale/use...y-5-Door-Eastern-Cape-Port-Elizabeth/4176458/

Preferable I would get this model https://www.cars.co.za/for-sale/used/2017-Opel-Astra-1.4T-Sport-5-Door-Gauteng-Sandton/3608416/ if you can get someone to look at it for you in JHB or you go up yourself.
 
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OP, your 1st car should never be a good car. I suggest, take R20k and buy yourself a barely running, not really sure you're gonna make that 3 month long distance klapped out, 19voetsek Beetle, Pity Golf or Opeel Kadette and drive it for 6 months minimum. After that, it doesn't matter what you drive, it'll be awesome and you'll appreciate it more.
 
SauRoNZA said:
And this is the case for almost every car I’ve ever driven which is why I’ve objected against it as a measure.
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It's exactly the opposite of just about every car I've driven. First half of the tank seems to give much more range than the last half. Shape of the fuel tank, I guess.
 
UrBaN963 said:
Alright buddy, think this debate has run it's course. In my experience, the car was inefficient. In your experience (you don't have one) it isn't.

Lets end it there, as this will go in circles. Only one of us has actually driven the vehicle, had an experience with it, been able to form an opinion based on user experience which extends past claims on a webpage. So we will take your theory and my experience and agree there is data lacking to form an objective conclusion.
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Experience does not trump hard data in numbers.

Your hard data is lacking.

Numbers on the website are irrelevant but contain more facts that your statements.
 
SykomantiS said:
It's exactly the opposite of just about every car I've driven. First half of the tank seems to give much more range than the last half. Shape of the fuel tank, I guess.
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Only cars that do that in my experience are VW's (and related brands) as they use an average to indicate fuel instead of an actual float value.

Shape of the tank should technically not be an issue on any modern car with a digital fuel sensor.

If you are in the habit of overfilling cars past the click then I would imagine it would behave the same as most have a static "full" value that you would surpass if you overfill it making it seem like the first half lasts much longer as it only starts counting when it hits it's full float value.
 
SauRoNZA said:
Experience does not trump hard data in numbers.

Your hard data is lacking.

Numbers on the website are irrelevant but contain more facts that your statements.
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Experience, when discussing anecdotal happenings, is actually fairly relevant. I made mention multiple times now that this was my experience in a specific vehicle and that results may vary.
 
Shauno87 said:
I quite like the design of these vehicles. Reminds me of the new Yaris.
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Also the variants of the Astra's above have traffic sign detection, auto emergency braking, lane keep assist and forward collision alert.
 
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