In the process.. of looking for a new car..

So I have been saving up for and in the process of looking for a new car for a while now…

And what a process it has been..

I managed to save some money and then I drove my car – Ruby – into the pillar in the basement at work (see expensive parking incident). I did not want to claim for insurance for two reasons:

• My excess was about the same as the damage
• I did not want to ruin my 5 year claim free run especially if I am planning on moving over to new insurance

So I paid cash for the repairs – over R5000. My sister did give me some money towards this though for which I am really grateful  <3

Then the guy I wanted to sell my car to – a groom from the previous stable yard where Amber was stabled – started hassling me about selling the car to him but he only wanted to pay R17000 for it. I said that was too little and managed to negotiate him up a bit. At the point I then made up my mind to try get a new car by September… This September.. September 2013.

So that prompted to me to start looking seriously… with intent… I researched car websites for second hand cars – mainly Mazda’s and Fords – and was a tad disappointed/shocked at the prices for second hand cars..
I then started looking at what new cars were available in the same kind price range + R2000 odd…

I ended up looking at the Nissan Juke and the Ford Fiesta. I looked at specs for both cars and then looked at specific models. Nissan Juke 1.6 Acenta (Entry level) Ford Fiesta 1.6 TDCI Trend – found a special price for this one at Eagle Ford in Bramley.

Fuel efficiency on the Fiesta is the best though. 3,7 litres per 100kms

Last weekend I then went to test drive the Nissan Juke. It was super cute and fun to drive! My dad also gave it a spin. Then back to reality They then worked out the repayments for me – it was over R3000 p/m even with a deposit. And the things that bugged me was the small boot and the steel wheels – no mags and the fuel efficiency or lack thereof – 6.9 litres per 100km was the killer…

At the dealership I then decided we should go to Cassy’s in Benoni and look at the Ford Fiesta. The sales guy showed us the 1.4 Trend (Petrol) and I was pretty disappointed 🙁 Tacky plastic interior, no fold in mirrors, also with a space save spare wheel… They didn’t have a 1.6 TDCI for me to test drive. They getting one this week so should be able to drive it by the weekend though.. #holding thumbs

I also sat in a Mazda 1.6 Active with a high fuel efficiency 6.9 per 100km but that had keyless entry, leather seats, 16″ mags, folding mirrors and rain sensors on the windscreen – on special with a saving of R50000 – so more or less the same price as the Fiesta in the end but the fuel consumption is an issue.. So will have to give this one a skip too…

Waiting to see how the test drive goes on the weekend.. and take it from there…

If anyone has any advice to dispense on this.. I am keen to listen 🙂