Car suggestions?

octatonic

Looking for some help.

We need get a car in Geneva and I don't want to go overboard on price or spec.
Looking at the equivalent of £15k in local currency but things are expensive here.

A 2015 1 series BMW with 80k on the clock is 20k fr (£17k).

So thinking maybe a Golf, or perhaps something like a Ford Focus or Honda Civic.
Any other suggestions?

stickyfiddle

I've had my Golf almost 7 years now and it's been fantastic throughout. 

strtdv

Golf or Civic (with a VTEC engine) would be my pick. Neither will be terribly exciting, but perfectly competent and should be reliable enough.

The Focus is better to drive, but you've got the bike for that, and the Focus has a pretty bad infotainment system (sync 2 doesn't support Android Auto/Apple Carplay either), and terrible side and rear visibility with large blind spots.

I'd get a reasonably nicely specced Golf (GT trim with satnav ideally but Match trim with satnav would be fine too) as my pick.

I'm assuming you want a manual, I wouldn't drive a Ford Powershift, the Civic torque converter isn't great, and even the DSG in the Golf is a dry plate system rather than the wet plate box found in the GTI/GTD/R

EricTheWeary

I'd have imagined that people popped over the border into France to buy used cars? 
I was watching something about buying vehicles in Germany and apparently they tend to be obsessive about maintenance there so used vehicles aren't necessarily cheap but they tend to be of a very high standard. I expect the reverse is true of France where cars are cheap but have been used for driving across ploughed fields. 

Anyway, my Civic has not been faultless but the dealer warranty covered everything with no quibble. Probably about £3k of work if I'd had to source it myself so I've been happy with Honda as a company. The driving position on the Civic is a bit 'sporty' and not ideal for city driving is the downside but they have clever use of space so you can out more stuff in than you'd think. 

octatonic

strtdv said:

Golf or Civic (with a VTEC engine) would be my pick. Neither will be terribly exciting, but perfectly competent and should be reliable enough.

The Focus is better to drive, but you've got the bike for that, and the Focus has a pretty bad infotainment system (sync 2 doesn't support Android Auto/Apple Carplay either), and terrible side and rear visibility with large blind spots.

I'd get a reasonably nicely specced Golf (GT trim with satnav ideally but Match trim with satnav would be fine too) as my pick.

I'm assuming you want a manual, I wouldn't drive a Ford Powershift, the Civic torque converter isn't great, and even the DSG in the Golf is a dry plate system rather than the wet plate box found in the GTI/GTD/R

This is for Mrs Oct.
She wants an auto and we are looking at at least 12 months old.
It needs to be reliable and ideally some sort of warranty, as I am only here part of the time.

I've found a couple of Golfs: 
https://en.comparis.ch/carfinder/marktplatz/details/show/26141199
That is one that I don't mind the spec of- I'd want to get it for closer to 20k though.

octatonic

EricTheWeary said:

I'd have imagined that people popped over the border into France to buy used cars? 

You have to pay VAT if you do that if you haven't owned it for more than 6 months.

exocet

Seat Leon 1.4 TSi - reasonable size (I get my amps / guitars  + PA bins to fit inside).

Very economical, quite nippy performance (version vary but mine is 140 BHP).

The "FR" version is better though....more powerful plus has fully independent rear suspension...something that really baffled me when I got mine because fully independent suspension was present on all Ford Focus models from the 1990's onwards....

EricTheWeary

octatonic said:

EricTheWeary said:

I'd have imagined that people popped over the border into France to buy used cars? 

You have to pay VAT if you do that if you haven't owned it for more than 6 months.

Ahh, although a quick google suggests it is possible to reclaim the VAT (wether that’s  current/ really doable I don’t know). Used/ dealer warranties not necessarily applicable outside France so you might not be able to use a Swiss garage for servicing,etc, anyway. 

Well, that was my best suggestion gone. 

Musicwolf

In the UK most of the major brands offer approved used vehicle schemes where low mileage and ex-demo vehicles are moved about thereby giving you a large pool to choose from.  When I finished work, and so lost my company car, I got a top spec Ford Focus (manual), 7 months old with less than 5,000 miles on the clock, for £20k (new it would have been closer to £27k).  Remainder of the Ford warranty transferred to me.

£15k in the UK would get you something nice (I know as we're looking for Mrs Musicwolf's next vehicle).  Unfortunately Mrs Musicwolf seems to be setting her sights higher than just 'nice'.

Having spent the last 30 years working in automotive I'd say that Golf and Civic are both expensive for what they are.  Have a look at Skoda (part of the VW group but a lot more car for your money).

zedhex

A few years ago when I used to live in Switzerland, my father-in-law always bought his cars in Germany. He had to wait six months to take delivery, because there was an obscure Swiss law that meant he could pay less tax if he already owned the car for minimum period of time overseas. Not sure if that loophole has been closed though.

strtdv

If it's for Mrs Octatonic then definitely not the ford, probably the golf as first choice.
My wife loves hers, bought it used in 2016 and has given no issues (hers is a GTD).

It's easy to drive and park, it's comfortable, and it beats the ford and Honda for fuel economy too

Emp_Fab

MX5 or a lime green Veloster.

octatonic

Emp_Fab said:

MX5 or a lime green Veloster.

Neither a good option to get up a mountain come ski season.

the_jaffa

Skoda Octa(tonic)via?

There’s a 4x4 option too. 

octatonic

Geneva is a tricky city to park in.
I looked at sedans and crossovers but honestly a small or compact car is just easier.
So I don't think I'd go larger than a Golf.
A Polo is probably a smarter car for getting around the city.

badlydrawnbanjo

octatonic said:

Looking for some help.

We need get a car in Geneva and I don't want to go overboard on price or spec.
Looking at the equivalent of £15k in local currency but things are expensive here.

A 2015 1 series BMW with 80k on the clock is 20k fr (£17k).

So thinking maybe a Golf, or perhaps something like a Ford Focus or Honda Civic.
Any other suggestions?

£17k for a 2015 1 series! I have currently have a 2017 218i with 75,000 miles as my company car but have ordered a new one so it needs to go. I got a quote from We buy any car this week for £5,500

octatonic

badlydrawnbanjo said:

octatonic said:

Looking for some help.

We need get a car in Geneva and I don't want to go overboard on price or spec.
Looking at the equivalent of £15k in local currency but things are expensive here.

A 2015 1 series BMW with 80k on the clock is 20k fr (£17k).

So thinking maybe a Golf, or perhaps something like a Ford Focus or Honda Civic.
Any other suggestions?

£17k for a 2015 1 series! I have currently have a 2017 218i with 75,000 miles as my company car but have ordered a new one so it needs to go. I got a quote from We buy any car this week for £5,500

Yes, Switzerland is expensive.
But people here earn a lot more than what they earn in the UK.
The average wage in Switzerland is 124k CHF (£105k).

Deadman

I've just bought a melbourne red 67 plate M140i shadow edition. Because I always hankered after your M135i, Jim.

Not much help I know, just can't believe how much they are out there!

octatonic

Deadman said:

I've just bought a melbourne red 67 plate M140i shadow edition. Because I always hankered after your M135i, Jim.

Not much help I know, just can't believe how much they are out there!

How is the M140i?

Yeah it is expensive here.
In comparison to Singapore cars here feel cheap.
I bought a Porsche Macan in the UK when I moved back to the UK- a £60k car specced up- but I test drove them in Singapore.

In Singapore that car is 300k SGD (£150k) for the base model, and you then need to pay road tax which is 10 years up front, at least 40k but could be as high as 100k- it changes year to year.
You can also only finance 70% of the car.
Oh and after 10 years you need to crush or export the car.

Deadman

Yeah. I remember you getting the Macan. Incredible motor. The prices there are just insane!

The M140 is rapid. I actually went for the manual as I got bored of my auto. Feels like I made the right choice. It's got Pro nav, HK stereo and adaptive suspension as standard. LCI2 has digital dash too. I'm getting a stage 1 remap in a few weeks which will take it from 340 to 420 (ish) BHP. Don't judge me  

octatonic

Deadman said:

Yeah. I remember you getting the Macan. Incredible motor. The prices there are just insane!

The M140 is rapid. I actually went for the manual as I got bored of my auto. Feels like I made the right choice. It's got Pro nav, HK stereo and adaptive suspension as standard. LCI2 has digital dash too. I'm getting a stage 1 remap in a few weeks which will take it from 340 to 420 (ish) BHP. Don't judge me  

Wow- that is a lot of power for a car that doesn't have a limited slip diff.
My M135i was extremely tail happy.
Don't bin it.