What Car Should I Buy? - A Weekly Megathread

Posted by AutoModerator@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 2 comments

Any posts pertaining to car buying suggestions or advice belong in this weekly megathread; do not post car-choosing questions in the main queue. A fresh thread will be posted every Monday and posts auto sorted by new. A few other subreddits worth checking out that will help your car buying experience are /r/WhatCarShouldIBuy, /r/UsedCars and /r/AskCarSales. www.everydaydriver.com may also be helpful.

Make/Model-specific questions should be asked on Make/Model-specific subreddits. Check the AutosNetwork for a complete list of those subreddits. Also check out our community-sourced Ultimate car buying wiki.

For those posting:

Please use the following template in your post.

Location: (Specify your country or region)

Price range: (Minimum-Maximum in your local currency)

Lease or Buy:

New or used:

Type of vehicle: (Truck, Car, Sports Car, Sedan, Crossover, SUV, Racecar, Luxury etc.)

Must haves: (4x4, AWD, Fuel efficient, Navigation, Turbo, V8, V6, Trunk space, Smooth ride, Leather etc.)

Desired transmission (auto/manual, etc):

Intended use: (Daily Driver, Family Car, Weekend Car, Track Toy, Project Car, Work Truck, Off-roading etc.)

Vehicles you've already considered:

Is this your 1st vehicle:

Do you need a Warranty:

Can you do Minor work on your own vehicle: (fluids, alternator, battery, brake pads etc)

Can you do Major work on your own vehicle: (engine and transmission, timing belt/chains, body work, suspension etc )

Additional Notes:

For those providing suggestions: Facts are ideal in this thread, especially when trying to help out a new car buyer. Please help out buyers with sources and reasoning for your suggestions.

For those asking for help, be sure to thank those who take the time to offer you advice (especially those who lead you to a purchase.) A follow up thank you and the knowledge that their advice led to a purchase is a very warm fuzzy feeling.

[-]

Watcher0fTheSkies@reddit

Location: France (near Geneva, Switzerland)

Price range: €16,000 – €25,000 (Ex-VAT / HT)

Lease or Buy: Buy

New or used: New

Type of vehicle: Car / Crossover

Must haves: Longevity for sustained highway cruising, some ground clearance for rough tracks, decent trunk space.

Desired transmission: Manual preferred (but automatic is ok too if it's decent)

Intended use:

Daily Use: I don't have a family; I occasionally carry passengers, but I mostly drive alone. I do almost zero city driving. My daily commute to work has exactly two traffic lights, and the rest is made of provincial/rural roads with speed limits between 70 and 90 km/h.
Long Trips: On top of my commute, I do a lot of highway driving. I drive the Pisa (Italy) to Geneva (Switzerland) route several times a year, plus various road trips in the summer. My yearly average is around 12,000 to 15,000 km (7.5k to 9.3k miles).
Mountains & Dirt Roads: I love going to the mountains on weekends. I don't need a 4x4, but I occasionally hit uneven roads or light unpaved/dirt tracks, so having a little bit of ground clearance would give me peace of mind.

Vehicles I am considering: * Ford Puma (1.0L EcoBoost MHEV - \~€20k HT)

Skoda Kamiq or VW Taigo (1.5 TSI DSG7 - \~€23k-24k HT)
Skoda Fabia Selection (1.5 TSI DSG7 - \~€20k HT)
Dacia Sandero Stepway (1.2 ECO-G LPG - \~€16k HT)

Vehicles I am excluding:

All Stellantis Group cars (Peugeot, Citroën, Fiat, Opel, etc.): Excluded due to the infamous "wet belt" (oil-bath timing belt) reliability issues.
Traditional/Boxy SUVs (Suzuki Vitara, Toyota Yaris Cross): Excluded because I really dislike the boxy SUV aesthetic.
Kia Stonic: I checked it out in person, but I found the seats incredibly uncomfortable.

Is this your 1st vehicle: Kinda. I inherited an old, heavily used Ford Fiesta from my family back in 2018 (1.4 TDI, 280,000 km of loyal service), but this will be the first car I buy myself. Do you need a Warranty: Yes (standard factory warranty is included anyway). Can you do Minor work on your own vehicle: I could, but I prefer not to. Can you do Major work on your own vehicle: Better not.

Additional Notes: Thanks to my contract with CERN, I have access to diplomatic sales, meaning I can buy a new car tax-free (Ex-VAT / Hors Taxe - HT) with direct manufacturer fleet discounts, which brings the final price down significantly depending on the brand.

My main dilemma is whether a modern 3-cylinder (like the Ford EcoBoost or Dacia ECO-G) can reliably survive 10 years of heavy highway road trips, or if I should spend the extra premium for a VAG 4-cylinder (1.5 TSI) for peace of mind.