Which car would you buy?

zizu73

Hi there,

Thanks for reading. Apologies in advance but new to this forum. We want to buy a second hand car and want to spend no more than £7000. Ideally no older model than 2009 and max 50000 miles. Family car as we have a toddler. Is it realistic and if so what would you buy?

Thanks in advance.

Zizu

michaelvintner

Skoda Octavia. Found a 59 reg with less than 10,000 miles in the dealer network for £6999. It was the 1.4 engine which to put it mildly is a bit weak but it is a good size car for the money.

How about a Skoda Fabia, Kia Cee'd etc, etc, etc blah, blah, blah. You should have plenty of choice with £7000.

buscape

This. Not very MSE though!

These cars are probably more sensible:

Citroen C4
Fiat Bravo
Ford Focus
Ford Mondeo
Honda Civic
Mazda 6
Mazda 3
Mercedes A Class
Peugeot 308
Peugeot 407
Renault Megane
Seat Leon
Toyota Auris
Vauxhall Insignia
Volvo S40
Kia Ceed
Saab 9-3
Volkswagen Golf
Vauxhall Astra

forgotmyname

If your going to do lots of short journeys avoid diesels with a DPF.

They will clog up quickly, Requiring a long drive or a dealer to clean them too often.

I am a fan of mondeo's. Tons of them around and cheap for what you get.
Plenty of cars for £1000 less than your budget.

zizu73

Thanks everybody, very useful advice!

Yes we are going to do lots of short journeys. What's the best choice for that?

zizu73

buscape wrote: »

This. Not very MSE though!

These cars are probably more sensible:

Citroen C4
Fiat Bravo
Ford Focus
Ford Mondeo
Honda Civic
Mazda 6
Mazda 3
Mercedes A Class
Peugeot 308
Peugeot 407
Renault Megane
Seat Leon
Toyota Auris
Vauxhall Insignia
Volvo S40
Kia Ceed
Saab 9-3
Volkswagen Golf
Vauxhall Astra

Thanks for this. Noticed that most cars on the list are manual. Sorry I forgot to say that the preference is automatic as we will be driving in London.

buscape

Peugeot 308
Vauxhall Astra
Citroen C4
Ford Focus
Ford C-Max
Hyundai i30
Kia Ceed
Toyota Auris

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/search/used/cars/postcode/sw1y4sp/radius/30/maximum-mileage/up_to_60000_miles/sort/default/price-to/7000/transmission/automatic/maximum-age/up_to_3_years_old

jaydeeuk1

2009 will be most likely out of or nearing end of warranty (unless its kia/hyundai). Spend £1000 less and use that for any repairs that might come up, otherwise if you've stretched yourself on the car you'll struggle.

As said, go for a petrol.

spratley

Skoda Octavias are certainly very good, but I tried a 1.6 petrol recently and it was disappointingly slow & the boot space was smaller than I expected - though the estate version is much better in this regard. Mondeos are quite a bargain, I think, as there are so many on the secondhand market. I just bought a 58 plate 2.0 litre petrol Mondeo for £4500 (only 31k miles)! Goes very well (though could use a sixth gear) & has a vast boot. The diesels are much more sought after, so you are more likely to find a bargain in the petrol models. It also depends how much you know about cars/car buying - maybe look to spend £6k/6.5k and spend the rest on expert advice and a proper mechanical inspection of whatever car you decide on. Good Luck!

getmore4less

1.9 diesel Octavia DSG.

boot is huge nearly 560ltr not many get close to that estate is only a litle bit bigger(580) but more practical above the shelf.

If it has the false floor it can look smaller bu has a load of space under.

BiigDawg

firstly can I ask you what sort of size you want?

and does have to be a decent make too?