Advice on buying used car please

cruger

avantra wrote: »

Proof please.

OP ask for advice and as per usual one or two will try to help but the majority will try to slag, Mikey fair comment about the lost book of this example but this is just common sense, there are other out there, and they are capable of mega miles cheaply which is something you can't say about their later model 2006+
A new aircon compressor on these cars is around £100 for the part or £280 fitted by a specialist VAG indi, they do tend to fail as it is a service item (every two years) which many owners skip.

We have one bought with FSH on 90k in 2008 and so far done over a 100k in it, needed new alternator and few tyres so far.

Don't get yourself worked up mate it just a bit of banter. I know not all passat's are bad I just think (in my opinion) there are better Passat's for that money than the particular example you gave that's all I meant.

caevans

Hi again!
We have still been looking for a new car but not getting very far.
A friend of a friend works in a car dealership. They have a honda civic 05 with less than 20k on the clock. He will apparently be putting it up for sale for 5.5k but willing to sell it to us for 4k. Apparently in excellent condition.
It seems like a great deal but our budget was meant to be less than we sold our crv for (3.4k) so are we being stupid looking at a more expensive car? And I have read a few times on here that a car which hasn't done much in the way of mileage is as bad as a car that has a huge amount of miles, is that correct?
Thanks!

avantra

Depending on the type of journeys more than the amount on the odometer.
This is the previous shape Civic which apparently is better in many respects to the current model (mostly in regard to ergonomics and the fact that the old model had less electronics on board).

As these cars are loved by the blue rinse brigade you can see many with this kind of mileage for sale.
The price look reasonable but you can get others with slightly higher mileage (30k+) on Autotrader
The usual advice about getting her checked by a mechanic, especially the clutch, if it is a petrol Civic I think you should be ok with this lowish mileage as there is no turbo or other components (AFAIC) that can be too much affected by carbon build up.

It's got plenty of space for the passengers but I am not sure if you can fit the double buggy in the boot.

Weird_Nev

Honda Accord estates!
To be honest, with a 10 mile each way commute I would AVOID diesels! You get less for your money, and diesels don't even warm up in 10 miles especially if you get straight onto the motorway and then sit there for 10 miles in high airflow, low power... Add in Diesel Particulate filter problems, Expensive diesel turbo failures etc (especially around the £4k budget as cars are getting on and may be being sold due to problems) and I think you should err towards the proven tech of a petrol.

Here's a link to autotrader as an example of what your money will get you

So you have Hondas legendarily reliable petrol engines, really big boot, nice enough to drive, well specified cars. HSould be cheap to maintain so long as you buy a well cared for example. Don't be tempted by a cheap diesel accord, their 2.2 diesels are not reknowned for reliability.

You have to sacrifice perhaps 10 Mpg efficiency, but once you consider diesel is 8p/l more expensive, and that any diesel car will NOT be achieving optimum economy on the types of journey you describe, I think Petrol wins out, and an Accord would be a great car.

Think "whole term running costs" rather than trying to find the most Mpg possible on paper - cars rarely achieve that number, and diesels can leave you high and dry with a big repair bill.

caevans

Thanks Avantra and Weird Nev that's really helpful info.!
I had momentarily forgotten about needing to fit double buggy in boot! In saying that though we're looking for a car to run into ground so I guess the need for a huge boot will only be for the immediate future? And really my lazy toddler should be walking anyway ;-)

Weird_Nev

He he he. Kids need MORE stuff as they grow up, not less!

caevans

Damn! You may well be right about that!!!

avantra

Yeh, an estate was the best solution we found for two toddlers and enough space for their stuff and the Labrador, mind you not all estates have the same capacity (The Volvo V50 are a tad smaller inside).

If it is a relativity short journey than defo not a diesel for all the reasons above.
The Accord or Avensis petrol estate are good one and probably the best petrol estates at this price , other might be the Octavia petrol and the quiet hard to find Toyota Corolla Estate. Mitsubishi made an estate version of the Lancer few years ago which might fit your budget as well.