Car advice for Europe

[firstgear]

Hi all,

 

I hope there are people here with experience in the Europe. I am new in Europe and planning to buy a car.

I had few choices, VW Golf, Peugeot 308, Ford Focus. But some of my friends here are telling me these cars are unreliable in terms of electrical components and suggest me to go for Toyota or Mazda.

So I decided to go for Toyota Auris Hybrid (2014/2015). 

1) Is this a right choice?

2) In general, can a 10 year old hybrid battery handle another 5 years?

Thank you.

PS: I know the reliability of each car / battery is unique as to how it is taken care of by their owners. But I am only looking answers from average use cases.

[Supra_Natural]

On 6/30/2023 at 8:43 PM, firstgear said:

Hi all,

 

I hope there are people here with experience in the Europe. I am new in Europe and planning to buy a car.

I had few choices, VW Golf, Peugeot 308, Ford Focus. But some of my friends here are telling me these cars are unreliable in terms of electrical components and suggest me to go for Toyota or Mazda.

So I decided to go for Toyota Auris Hybrid (2014/2015). 

1) Is this a right choice?

2) In general, can a 10 year old hybrid battery handle another 5 years?

Thank you.

PS: I know the reliability of each car / battery is unique as to how it is taken care of by their owners. But I am only looking answers from average use cases.

If your friends giving you advice are living in Sri Lanka and not Europe, then their advice is basically useless. European cars like Volkswagens, Fords and Peugeots hold up much better over there for some reason than they do in Sri Lanka, which is why they are popular, or else the Japanese would end up dominating the sales charts as they do in most other places.

Japanese brands are likely to be reliable (depending on how well the specific car has been kept of course), but you should not have too many issues with any of the abovementioned euro brands either. Just make sure to get a car with service history, get it inspected properly, and you'll be fine. 

[iRage]

4 hours ago, Supra_Natural said:

European cars like Volkswagens, Fords and Peugeots hold up much better over there

This is strangely true....I sort of believe it has a lot to do with a good dealer network. Owners have easy access to a manufacturer backed dealer network and proper after sales service from them.  

[matroska]

1 hour ago, iRage said:

This is strangely true....I sort of believe it has a lot to do with a good dealer network. Owners have easy access to a manufacturer backed dealer network and proper after sales service from them.  

Plus the exorbitant prices for parts etc for euros in SL -(example this post )So beyond the first owner, euro's tend to be poorly maintained. Once they've gone to the 3rd/4th owner it's basically someone looking for a cheap car.  

Of course modern Jap's do not last as long as their ancestors did in the harsh Sri Lankan conditions. 

[firstgear]

On 7/20/2023 at 9:23 AM, Supra_Natural said:

If your friends giving you advice are living in Sri Lanka and not Europe, then their advice is basically useless. European cars like Volkswagens, Fords and Peugeots hold up much better over there for some reason than they do in Sri Lanka, which is why they are popular, or else the Japanese would end up dominating the sales charts as they do in most other places.

Japanese brands are likely to be reliable (depending on how well the specific car has been kept of course), but you should not have too many issues with any of the abovementioned euro brands either. Just make sure to get a car with service history, get it inspected properly, and you'll be fine. 

Thanks. I said 'my friends here' meaning here in Europe  

[Supra_Natural]

On 7/25/2023 at 12:14 AM, firstgear said:

Thanks. I said 'my friends here' meaning here in Europe  

That's honestly surprising. Are they Sri Lankan?

[firstgear]

7 hours ago, Supra_Natural said:

That's honestly surprising. Are they Sri Lankan?

Nope. Europeans. 
in fact, the sales staff at Toyota dealership also confirmed me the same when I asked that. I know that could be bias but they were not typical salespersons who promote what they sell; rather they just stand there in don’t care mode. 

[fiat fan]

Even in the yeehaw land, most people prefer jap cars. Specially Toyota. I work in the automotive industry. The corolla-camry-rav4 or nothing is etched deep in people. 
 

I would say enjoy the benefits of cheaper fun cars while in the western world. Life is too short to drive a jap econobox in Europe.

If you really want a jap,just get a mazda