R130k budget: compare these 4 cars or suggest an alternative, please

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Edwe

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I'm in the market for a second hand car to replace my e46 318i. Looking to spend ~R130k or less in December or maybe I'll wait until early 2016 if there's a compelling reason. I'm looking for some suggestions based on the followng.

Requirements:
  • Leather or faux-leather seats (material seats freak me out in a nails-on-chalkboard sort of way; it's not just an aesthetic issue)
  • Climate control
  • Modern sound system (factory-fitted MP3 player, preferably with bluetooth or at least USB/aux support and average sound quality)
  • Above average safety rating
  • Four doors, but doesn't need to be massive in the back
  • At least 70kW/t PTW
  • Cheap to maintain i.t.o. failures and mandatory services (relative to my current car) for the next 5+ years

What I see on gumtree now which looks appealing:


  • 2010 VOLVO S40 2.0 R-DESIGN @ ~80 000km, ~ R129 000 + Bal of 5 year/100 000km warranty
  • 2010 Honda Civic 1.8VXI @~80 000km, ~ R130 000 no warranty
  • 2009 Honda Accord 2.0 @~100 000km, ~ R130 000 no warranty
  • 2009 BMW 320i Exclusive @~110 000km, ~ R139 000 no warranty

My heart really wants another BMW, but my head says it's not a sane option. The most practical choice is probably the Civic, but I find the S40 more appealing. Any suggestions or personal experience?
 
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TehStranger

TehStranger

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Honda Accord, R130,000 might be able to see you in an 8th generation 2.4L (I'd avoid the 2L, it's ever so slightly gutless). The alternative could be go for a low mileage, mint example 7th generation Accord (like I have) for slightly less than your budget and keep the leftover aside in case anything goes wrong (not that much will, it only has two common issues that can be sorted quite cheaply).

Otherwise you could probably find a decent A4 that meets you requirements, judging by the DTM posted by PostmanPot in the Audi thread.

Personally I think it's too early to be shopping if you're only planning on pulling the trigger in December.
 
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TJ99

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At least 70kW/g PTW
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The average car weighs around 1.5 tonnes or 1 500 000 g and there aren't that many cars out there producing 105 million kW. In fact there are none. I don't think the USS Enterprise's warp drive even does that. The closest is probably a Veyron but that's a little out of your budget, and a teensy bit short at 746kW only.

If however you made a massive typo and meant tonnes, out of the 4 I'd say get the Accord.
 
P

pboy

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i'd go for the civic.

the 2L accord is a bit thirstier than the 2.4 accord even( in town driving ). if u can get a 2.4 then thats another story.. coz thats the best of the lot.

The civic 1.8 hits the sweet spot though from your above short list.


the others are a waste of time and money. seriously.
 
K

Kix

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Having owned a Volvo S40 2.0.

Go for that. The most comfortable of all the cars mentioned. Extremely reliable and very cheap to maintain.

The 2.0 comes with a cam chain, so no expensive cambelt services.

Also the prettiest with the R design pack.

Go drive it and then decide.
 
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Edwe

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TJ99 said:
The average car weighs around 1.5 tonnes or 1 500 000 g and there aren't that many cars out there producing 105 million kW. In fact there are none. I don't think the USS Enterprise's warp drive even does that. The closest is probably a Veyron but that's a little out of your budget, and a teensy bit short at 746kW only.

If however you made a massive typo and meant tonnes, out of the 4 I'd say get the Accord.
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Whoops! I meant kW/t. No idea why I typed /g.

Thanks for all the advice. Is the S40 really that cheap to service? I have been given conflicting accounts by people who have owned both Honda and Volvo vehicles. From AA reports, I can deduce that both are very reliable, but it's not so clear to me what typical service costs are and how much the cars cost to repair when major failures occur. Does anyone have a good source for this?

Honestly, I like the Volvo more, but if it is significantly more expensive to run, well that's a deal breaker for me, and I would probably go test drive the Civic and Accord and then decide.

Additional info: I plan to drive the car until it falls apart, so resale value is of zero concern.
 
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Kix

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Honda service costs, especially on the Accord will not be less than the Volvo.

I use a local Volvo Specialist for servicing and the most expensive service on our S40 2.0 was R1.6k IIRC.

Front shocks were R2950 for the pair.

Goodyear Excellence Tyres were R850 each.

A friend bumped a pavement with the car and we needed to replace the right rear wheel bearing - total cost R3000.
 
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Masataka

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Wouldn't take the Volvo purely because there are better options, and I wouldn't take the E90 320i since those engines give issues. In the BMW range, you should be able to pick up an E90 323i or 325i within your price range - the engines are far more reliable, more power (obviously) and will return the same, if not better consumption than the 320i.

Avoid older turbo models like the Audi or VW unless you're willing to budget for the 100k km belt change or turbo failures - if you're willing to treat the car well, they may be a viable option i.e. getting the car up to temp before using all the boost, and cooling down the turbo before parking.
 
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Edwe

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Masataka said:
Wouldn't take the Volvo purely because there are better options, and I wouldn't take the E90 320i since those engines give issues. In the BMW range, you should be able to pick up an E90 323i or 325i within your price range - the engines are far more reliable, more power (obviously) and will return the same, if not better consumption than the 320i.

Avoid older turbo models like the Audi or VW unless you're willing to budget for the 100k km belt change or turbo failures - if you're willing to treat the car well, they may be a viable option i.e. getting the car up to temp before using all the boost, and cooling down the turbo before parking.
Click to expand...

Hi where do you see 323i/325i E90s for sub-140k? Remember I am in the Western Cape. Cars are a bit more expensive than in Gauteng.
 
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DoodleBug

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Edwe said:
  • 2010 VOLVO S40 2.0 R-DESIGN @ ~80 000km, ~ R129 000 + Bal of 5 year/100 000km warranty
  • 2010 Honda Civic 1.8VXI @~80 000km, ~ R130 000 no warranty
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One of these.
Younger and lower mileage than the others. Why pay the same for a car that's older and has more miles on the clock?

The Volvo has the comfort of a 5 year/100 000km warranty? But your looking to buy in December or next year means that 5 year warranty would have expired....(T&Cs say whatever comes first)

Personally I'd get the 2010 Honda Civic 1.8VXI @~80 000km, ~ R130 000 no warranty and take out a motor extender plan from hollard or someone.

It's good looking, comfortable, has the reliability reputation of Honda and will probably hold it's value better than the Volvo in SA.
 
I

irBosOtter

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Expensive for that Volvo, you can buy my 2009 VOLVO S40 T5 R-DESIGN for that price, 94000km's on clock...

Advertised it a year ago for R120 000 while still under motorplan/warranty, but had no takers so decided to keep it, there's a reason they say "Volvo for life"... cause you can't get rid of it once you bought it
 
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