Hi guys i need someones opinion guys asap

[kev mocko]

Hi folks as im currently unemployed (made Redundant) im looking to swap the 180 today mk1.Ive been offered two cars to basically do a swap today.My reason being im meant to be getting married in august aswell so im now looking to down size engine wise as if and when i find a new job i know im going to end up having to use the car daily for work as with my 180 i didnt need to' had a company car.Now my dilema being ive been offered a zr 1.4 03 plate standard on 87k for my 180 51 plate on 78k.Or a zs 120 in tb hatch which ive always liked too its modded slightly on coilovers with 102kmiles on 53 plate.Is the 120 going to be much better on fuel than my 180? as its not doing a great deal on fuel as a daily commuter car and m probs going to have to do a good bit of travelling for a new job as theres not much round where i live,What would you do as i pretty much am going to look at the zr but the build quality of them isnt as good as the zs and they rust a little on all the four arches compared to the zs.but the zs could do with a tb front wing as it has been scraped a little.Really dont know what to do as the zs has longer t&t on it aswell the zr has to be taxed and id have to tax it when my zs has 5 months tax aswell.What would you guys do as i dont want to make a big mistake.cheers guys kev.

[ZS]

Kev, I've been there and sold a 180 to save money with a smaller engined car... for me it was fasle economy and I am back in a 180 again :)

However out of the two cars you suggested I would say the ZR would be the better commuter (from a cost of running view point) and they are not that bad if you look after them... Regarding the tax, swap with yours but send your tax disc back to the DVLA and get a refund on the remaining time, then you will get a nice checque through the post in a few weeks :) might help a little bit :)

[Smokey]

Personally I'd keep the ZS 180. There's no hassle changing insurance (possible 'admin' charge). it's got the lowest mileage and you know it's issues (if it has any).

Better the devil you know. Drive the 180 sensibly to minimise fuel costs and when you are working, ok you wont have a courtesy car, but you will have an income to cove costs on the 180.

How gutted would you be if you swapped and in 2 months you spent 100's fixing issues they had?

Just my opinion though mate.

[kev mocko]

I know what youre saying smokey, just a daily commute in the 180 can be crippling,is there a big difference in mpg between the 180 & 120? Just weighing up my options really, i like zrs to look at but build quality theyre not as good,love my zs its got no issues, just i used it for two days sat in traffic doing a 20 mile commute each way to work and it cost me nearly £30 just stop start due to traffic, which shocked me really, thats whats kind of pushing me to sell poss as theres not much round where i live so ive broadened my options to having to hopefully travel to where the work is now but the fuel cost is always at the back of my mind watching the fuel gauge , dont really know what to do?

[sneekyparrot]

Personally m8 I would dump everything and forget the mg's. Go get yourself a small diesel car in the £30 tax bracket, something that does 40+ mpg and then when u get back on ur feet pick up another 180. They are always coming up on eBay cause people's cant afford £300 odd tax and high insurance/fuel bills.

Needs must and all that.

Just my 5 cents

Cheers

[peterzs]

Dont know about the mpg, but if you are thinking of having kiddies some time, the ZS will handle, prams, shopping kiddies seats etc, better than a ZR.

Know that may be some time off, but worth considering.

[Steves Cleenz]

This is my personal opinion but i dont think you will save much going from a 180 to a 120, the 180 has one of the most reliable engines, swap that for the 4 pot then the reliability goes out the window, if you want to save money you need to get a diesel like said above, my van does over 40 to the gallon i think the car is cheap tax unlike my van as its commercial

[peterzs]

Tax on the derv was £135 a year, last time I did mine.

[Steves Cleenz]

£220 on my van!!

[sneekyparrot]

£265 in zs but only pay £30 on the 308hdi and a good 50+mpg to go with it.

If u wanna save pennies the derv is the way to go :-)

[stamford]

Surely a 120 will get over 40mpg if driven well? If that were me I would either try the ZS 120 or a diesel version, if at all possible.

Otherwise go for another marque and go for a diesel, HDi, CDTi etc.

Assuming you can do a deal.

[Cally180]

Go for a £30 tax type of car, that's what I would do, Clio 1.3 diesel or something similar or I would sell the mg and buy a cheep older car 1.2 and run that till dies.

[stamford]

Don't buy a nasp diesel, it will kill you!

[Dan1971]

ZS.

[talkingcars]

You wont save that much in cash on fuel - for acurate real world figures have a look at www.fuelly.com .

I would wait until your insurance is due and if you still want to swap you can do it at insurance time.

[Noobrider]

the 120 isnt a huge saving on petrol compared to the 180 but the long term running costs of the 4 pots to the V6 "may" end up being much more.. headgaskets are prone. As per previous posts, either keep the 180 or go for a cheap diesel.

[Sonic_160zr]

Ive got a 160 and a 180. The 160 is supposed to be the best out of the 4 pots for fuel on combined jouneys and on a good long journey I can get 35+ MPG. The insurance is nearly double that of the 180 and the tax is only £20 cheaper. As for the HG, there not as prone as people like to make out. and if they do fail and they are replaced properly then they will out last the car. Even if it did go its still going to be cheaper than the cam belt change service on the 180, unless you can do it yourself.


I would say stick with the car you have, the ZS is not too bad on fuel if you can resist the temptation to rev it and only granny shift.





Cheers,
Matt

[Supercharged_Z]

yeah once you change cars you will be surprised at how little difference it may cost. say you get 50 miles to a tank more a week.

50 miles x 52 weeks = 2600 miles

300 miles to a tank on a 180

/ 300
=8.66

so that's 8 tanks better of over a year

a tank is what 70 quid?

70 * 8 = £560.

you could lose that in buying the wrong car quite easy, or the car having a failure where as the 180 might now.

Ok its not a given and yes in principle you will save money but i think you will be surprised at how little it is over a period of itme

[Sonic_160zr]

yeah once you change cars you will be surprised at how little difference it may cost. say you get 50 miles to a tank more a week.

50 miles x 52 weeks = 2600 miles

300 miles to a tank on a 180

/ 300
=8.66

so that's 8 tanks better of over a year

a tank is what 70 quid?

70 * 8 = £560.

you could lose that in buying the wrong car quite easy, or the car having a failure where as the 180 might now.

Ok its not a given and yes in principle you will save money but i think you will be surprised at how little it is over a period of itme


This^^^^.

Unless you can find your self something that's going to be 45/50 + mpg in the real world. Stick with the v6.



Cheers,
Matt

[Supercharged_Z]

also that calculation is done at doing 300 miles a week which is 15600 miles a year probably a little over average. if you do less miles the difference drops and more miles obviously raises.

say you do 10000 miles

10000 miles /52 = 192 miles a week

10000 / 300 miles to a tank = 33.33 tanks a year

33.33 tanks at 70 quid a tank = £2333.1 per year in fuel

now on a car that gets 350 miles to a tank

10000 miles /52 = 192 miles a week

10000 / 350 miles to a tank = 28.57 tanks a year

28.57 tanks at 70 quid a tank = £1999.99 per year in fuel

saving you only £333 and driving you insane with a 4 pot engine that could be likely to have hgf at any time

[kev mocko]

Hi folks i had a look at the zs 120 i decided to keep my 180,I just couldnt let it go,first impressions worried me quite a bit as theres nothing wrong with my car just my circumstances job wise,i opened the bonnet to a filthy engine,the owner said the head had been done 3k miles ago but no proof of this.i checked oil seemed ok but the header tank and expansion tank really put me off,it was thick with mayo'.he said it hadnt been flushed properly which looked a little more than that to me,wing all dented in and the roof lining and all pillars been botched with black suede which was all hanging off,the car itself looked nice but not for me as i know mine is reliable and a straight car.So ive decided to keep my baby and see what jobs come along now.The only thing i want to do is maybe swap my bk299s for a set of white straights i really like them.and eventually lower it on springs.just glad common sense provailed in the end.

[bowthruster]

Wise choice mate.Something will turn up.