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Buying Advice

4K views 30 replies 14 participants last post by  clowesa 
#1 ·
Hi All

Looking at buying a second car to supplement our family car, 4 of us, 2 adults and children of 10 and 12. Car will be used for suburban trolling around, shops,train station and the odd 20 to 30 minute motorway trip. Looking at a 5 door car, don't really want to spend a fortune. Test drove an Up today, take up we originally scheduled was not available so ended up with a high up. Really impressed (kids still want a Fiat 500!) , plan to try the 60 ps version as well as that's what I had originally thought of buying. After looking at spec think it would be a white move Up 5 door with Nav and speakers. Couple of questions

Discounts ?
60 vs 75 ? Is it worth the £1445 extra (net £1255 after the Nav)
The Skoda looks £1k cheaper like for like ?

Thanks

Eggy
 
#2 ·
Hi

Im sure any discounts offered are dealer specific, dependent on timing and how much you are spending, whether it's a cash purchase etc etc. Discounts are not huge, but you could try and get an ex demo, but obviously you can't choose spec.

Can't really comment on the difference between the engine size as I have only driven the 75, not the 60

Good luck with your choice,

And yes the Skoda is cheaper, but it's a Skoda at the end of the day, I know when my kids were 10 and 12, they would have rather walked, but they have been raised in VWs. And IMO it doesn't look as good inside or out. But each to their own Edited by: bugbabe34
 
#3 ·
Thanks for that

Cash buyer and yup there's a degree of badge snobbishness but we'll keep it until it drops so I guess it's much of a muchness.

I thought it was great fun, so much so that it made me think I'd use it far more than I originally thought, think I'll take the 60 PS out and see how it gets on up some hills

Thanks for the feedback
 
#4 ·
I was a cash buyer and purchased an up! black with sunroof, spare wheel, but I had a trade in. I got my trade in up by £250 and £100 off when I added on the sunroof, on my request and £100 off the Gap insurance, when I then cancelled, the extra £100 discount remained


I know discounts aren't huge with order books busy and long lead times. Do shop around dealers though and play one off against the other. It's the extras they can throw in that makes a difference. I didn't do this and wish I had as my dealer wasn't great Edited by: bugbabe34
 
#5 ·
Thanks for the tips, good idea as I'm pretty flexible and have plenty of dealers locally. The dealer I spoke to today mentioned that they had 5 doors in their order book so maybe I can pick up one of those pre orders and get a little extra on the spec front that way.

I'll let you know how I get on,
 
#6 ·
Have your kids been in the back of both cars?

Just out of curiosity I sat in the back of my up! yesterday and was surprised how much room there was back there (I'm 6ft+ if you wondered). All the grace of a duck on ice getting in and out mind!

I'm personally not one for 5 doors on small cars but I think you'd need 'em if the back seats will get regular use.

People who've seen my posts might already know I'm not a fan of the 500 at all but I can't even imagine the arguments two kids will have on who sits in the front of one and how tiresome getting in and out of the back of a small car would get pretty quickly.

More realistically it'd be Panda vs 5dr up! vs 5dr Seat Mii vs 5dr Skoda Citigo. I know which one I'd pick but I guess you would to!
 
#7 ·
Yup we all sat in it today, I'm just over 5'7" and my wife is smaller, plenty of room for us it's the children I worry about! Plus school kit dtc. My wife's family are Italian she has fond memories of her Uncle driving her around in a proper cinque and the girls just think they're "cute", but I know what I'd rather run for 10 years !

5 door is slightly roomier for headroom apparently, but still plenty of room for the girls,agree the 3 door looks better but long term practicality I think the 5 door is the one for us.
 
#8 ·
Hi Eggy41, I have a 5 door on order and looked closely at the Citigo too but decided on the up! because:
1.Although a bit more expensive, residuals are expected to be better, so won't cost more in the long run
2.I think the up! loks better
3.Some of the detailing and finishing touches on the up! are nicer
So overall I came to the conclusion it is more desirable and worth the extra.

Margins are tight and witing lists quite long, so discounts difficult to achieve - even websites are offering c.£100 - so it seems to be a case of trying to get some extras thrown in.

As far as order times are concerned, it looks as though mine will be delivered in about seven weeks - I think they started a new list with the 5 door, so waiting time shorter than 3 door - at the moment!

PS have driven both 59 and 74 BHP - main differnence is at higher revs so your preference will probably depend on your typical journeys and the way you drive.
 
#9 ·
If you are after a cheap and roomy car (although not a lot of luggage space for four) then the Skoda is the way to go.

Same car as the VW with the VW being prettier to some eyes. Sadly badge snobbery is evident on here at times which is silly really as these are just cheap and cheerful (albeit good) cars that we are talking about.

We were not impressed with the 60PS on a very long hill but others think it is ok.

Re:kids. If they are contributing to the purchase they get a say. If not they don't. Call me old fashioned if you want!
 
#11 ·
I parked next to a Citigo today. To me it just doesn't look as good as the up. I though the interior looked a bit dull and functional too, but I agree you get a lot of car for your money, esp with the higher spec models.I ordered an up partly because the skoda wasn't yet available. Turns out I could have got one sooner!
 
#12 ·
As far as I know the interior of the Skoda and Seat cars is identical to certain versions of the Up.

Discount? Unlikely, apart from a few hundred pounds maybe, at least for an Up given demand. It is conceivable that demand for the Skoda/Seat variants is less, so discounts are more likely. Isnt there a free Maps and More equivalent offer on from Skoda/Seat?

I too was taken aback at the space in the back after reading the Which magazine statement that the back is cramped. It isnt.
 
#13 ·
What car did a comparison between the panda and mii 5 door.....couple of months ago, they mii climbed the steps, dropped its flies and p****d all over the panda on every front inc space.
 
#14 ·
Leif said:
As far as I know the interior of the Skoda and Seat cars is identical to certain versions of the Up.

Discount? Unlikely, apart from a few hundred pounds maybe, at least for an Up given demand. It is conceivable that demand for the Skoda/Seat variants is less, so discounts are more likely. Isnt there a free Maps and More equivalent offer on from Skoda/Seat?

I too was taken aback at the space in the back after reading the Which magazine statement that the back is cramped. It isnt.
Discounts pretty much go hand-in-hand with margins, and there isn't much to play with on an Up! Now if you were to order a Phaeton you'd probably get your Up thrown in for free
 
#15 ·
I love my up! And would not swap for skoda branding is everything, in a few years which is going to be easier to sell and get the best price? Yes skoda is cheaper but resale would eat that differance
 
#16 ·
The curve at the bottom of the rear windows on the 3 door one differs it from the Seat and the Skoda and I really like that look...

I test drove the 60ps, but bought the 75ps. the 60 seemed fine, but prefer the bigger one :)
 
#17 ·
spud said:
I love my up! And would not swap for skoda branding is everything, in a few years which is going to be easier to sell and get the best price? Yes skoda is cheaper but resale would eat that differance
It will be interesting to see. Certainly you can get a 1 or 2 year old Peugeot 107 (older one) at a huge discount from new, whereas a similar Toyota Aygo costs far more. Almost the same car ... Nearly bought a 1 year old Peugeot 107 with lots of extras for £6.5K. Glad I didn't.
 
#18 ·
Interestingly perceived branding advantage (in this case Toyota) does not appear to play much of a part with the Aygo/107/C1 according to this article:

<b style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; ">http://tinyurl.com/6vf3bhb[/b]





Edited by: VWXYZ
 
#19 ·
Agree with a lot of these comments (thanks for the input) my wife and I both agree the Up is the better looking of the 3 varieties. The eldest daughter can buy her own 500 when it comes to it ! I'm sure we'll win her round in time.
I looked at the same Internet broker we bought our main car from, £75 cheaper, so yes I guess it's a matter of trying to squeeze as many freebies as you can out of them.

Think I'll try the 60 and then decide from there, has anyone done a poll on here of what engine people bought? I wonder how many people end up upgrading?
 
#20 ·
VWXYZ said:
Interestingly perceived branding advantage (in this case Toyota) does not appear to play much of a part with the Aygo/107/C1 according to this article:

<b style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; ">http://tinyurl.com/6vf3bhb[/b]

I always wonder when I see claims that car X is worth £Y after 3 years. I am no convinced you can buy at the prices they suggest. And what new prices do they use? I looked for a used Toyota Aygo at dealers such as Trade Sales. I could not find an Aygo, but loads of 1 year old Pugs at about £6.5K including air con and other niceties. And there were loads of new Peugeot 107's at substantial discounts. Loads of Fiat Pandas too. I could have had a brand new Ford Fiesta for £8,300, RRP about £9,500. There are new Ford Ka's for £6,995 on the road. When the end of year looms, dealers often sell pre-registered cars at little or no profit to get the manufacturers year end bonus. And brokers such as DriveTheDeal source some cars at huge discounts.

I do think these depreciation guides are too simplistic. I still think the Up/Citigo/Mii is the best car in its class if only for giving 60+mpg with good motorway handling and good space for 4. (Are these people having a "I can think of a sillier name than you matey, oh yes I can" competition?)
 
#21 ·
I drove the 60PS for test drive, but brought the 75PS, can only really tell the difference slightly when going up hill and at high speeds, but as you seem to be mainly wanting to use it for round town trips, I would see that it wouldnt make much of a difference.
 
#22 ·
Thanks Gemma, yup suburban runs will be the bulk of the journeys but I did fnd my self thinking I could use this an awful lot, got back in our family S-Max and it felt like a tank!

I think I'll aim for a 60 if I'm happy after a test drive and if I can squeeze a deal on a 75 I might be tempted, we intend to keep it for years (I can see it being n the family for 10 years plus) so might be worth spending a bit more

Funny how I posted a similar question recently on the Porsche Cayman forum, didn't get one answer, small car owners are friendlier
 
#23 ·
we up owners are a friendly bunch, well we try to be :)

and I agree, if you think youll be keeping it for upto 10 years, then the extra money for the 75PS might be worth it, but see what you feel after the test drive.
 
#24 ·
If you are keeping for 10 years, then it is probably worth loading it up
 
#25 ·
Hi Again All

Drove the 60 today and I think we'll go for the 75, so the spec will be .......

5 door high up, white, sound pack, sports pack.

List price is. £11,430 I can get that spec for £11,300 via a web broker (who I've used before) so what do we think out there, any room for further discounts? Plan to rin round a few dealers before going back to the original

Thanks in advance
 
#26 ·
If you're doing mainly suburban driving I'd definitely go for the Bluemotion. It will more than pay for itself in 10 years. I'd also get the sensor pack, for the cruise control. I think both options are very reasonable if you have the cash. And if you want top spec a lot cheaper I think the Citigo would save you £1000. I would certainly have considered it if it had been available back in March when I ordered my up!

Happy choosing!
 
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