General Chat

Our car is getting on a bit and was recently involved in a small mishap (and no, I wasn't driving :-)) and we are currently waiting to see whether the insurance will fix it or declare it a write-off! :-( :-(

With the worst in mind I have just been browsing Google for ideas. With the exception of Renault, none of the websites give any measurements, so please can someone out there help.

We need a 5-door hatchback, like a VW Polo or Golf, but not too big!! The rear seats must fold flat and the front seat recline enough to be nearly flat. The vital measurement is the length from inside the rear window to the top of the dashboard just inside the windscreen. It needs to be at least 9ft (just under 3metres).

So that OH doesn't have to walk round the local carpark measuring all suitable looking cars (looking suspicious :-|) please could some kind soul with a car like this measure it for me?

Inexpensive Mondeo mk 3 ez n cheap to fix low insurance bags of room.
Best bet are the automatics which go on for ever - the clutch is an expensive weak point. Best engine 2.0l 1600 not really up for it.
The rear seats can either be folded forward simples style or full into the knee space and there you go big flat floor pretend u r a Volvo but less road footprint. It will take a set of Bebo shelving which a Golf won't get anywhere near doing.
The Focus will do much the same on a 1600 engine but won't have the load space you want.
Of course you can always just hire white van man when in need .....
Renault Laguna has really flaky electrics expensive to fix. Older Focus flaky electrics too.

Thank you Rollo. We have had Ford cars before and I hadn't thought of the Mondeo. No way do I want an automatic though!!

As for white-van man - the load isn't heavy, just long!!

take a look at a Micra - they never fail you, they're small and economical

Thank you Ann. I've driven a Micra, but I don't think it would be long enough for our current requirements.

The 2.0l mk3 manual ( 5 gears) is a nice drive and the only real expensive weak point is the clutch which costs > £ 500 to replace. Therefore look for a proper service history. The clutch will last to about 70 000 miles.
The other thing to look out for is the suspension where the bushes have a tendency to fail. Replace with neoprene. Handling should be tight and precise without any knocking noises over bumps. Any tendency to wallow around look elsewhere. Properly serviced the engine will go twice around the clock.

Never fit cheap Chinese tyres. If these are fitted add £ 400 for proper replacements to the cost.

The upper range models are best buy used 'cos they are less brutalised and have toys such as electric seat ( a boon for bad backs ), AC ( essential in London ) and heated windscreens ( safety factor ).
They are amazingly cheap 'cos (a) mk4 has replaced it (b) nul fashion points.

Anyway you can def get 9ft in as long as you don't want a passenger as well.

The passenger gets relegated to the back in our current car! We don't have to fold the seats flat although we would have to in most of the ones I have looked at.

I bought a new 1.4 TSI Golf Match DSG (automatic) petrol engine last year.
Got to say I am well pleased with it! Much more economic to run than both my old Renault Modus 1.4 or my wife's Ford C Max, in fact it is as faster off the mark than the C Max and that was a 2 litre petrol auto.

Other cars I looked at that fall into the same bracket were the Seat, Mazda 3, Ford Focus and the Skoda, all worth looking at, but as soon as I tried the Golf I was sold!

Just been out with the tape....................
To paraphrase Jaws, "You're gonna need a bigger car" 9ft is a big ask for a normal hatchback. from windscreen to windscreen the golf is about 2 inches short of 9ft at the longest part towards the sides of the car you will loose another 3 inches or so.
You would get a 9ft length of timber or pipe into the foot-well I should think but not a wide board.

The Polo which is smaller will be no use.

Thank you Mayfield, that is very useful infomation.

To update, the assessor came this morning and the car is a write-off. The insurance handle everything, including arranging for a low-loader to take it away, fixing up a hire car for 21 days and also they have an arrangement with one of our local dealers for what they call a replacement car service. The dealer will ring us to find out what we want and then we take it from there. The money from the insurance is meant as a down-payment on the replacement car.

All very organised and fairly worry-free.

My niece has a new car supplied on a personal hire contract . She just forks out around £ 250 / month and that's it. If she goes over the milage limit then there is a fee per mile. After 3 years she gets a new replacement and so on.

Like that her motor cannot spring nasty financial surprises and she always haas a decent set of wheels.

Dunno about 9ft into a Focus or Golf though. One of ny rellies makes snooker tables and accessories including very long bridge cues! Just a thought,