Economical cars - is a 12year old car worth 3 k ?

paris321

I've been searching for a peugeot sw estate 1.4HDI because of the low tax and good mpg, my current car is struggling to get 30pmg and is costing me to much.

The pugs seems to be like gold dust, i'm really struggling to find any in my budget that don't have 120k + miles on the clock. I've found one that only has 33k miles on the clock one owner fsh but its 3k which seems alot for a 12 year old car?

I don't know alot about cars and there value or am i better getting a newer car with more miles or an older car with less miles ?

z3phyr04

That's less than 3000 miles a year on a diesel. I'd steer clear. Is there anything wrong with the 120k+ cars or do you just dislike the number?

paris321

I've never brought a car with mileage over 60k so such a high number makes me nervous....Nothing wrong with the cars with the higher milage that i can tell for example i have seen same car with an 06 plate for around 2.5k but with 130k miles i just don't know what's better?

What makes you suspicious of a car with such low milage? Isn't it pretty hard to mess with the electric readings? or am i being naive?

OddballJamie

Completely agree with z3phyr04, low mileage diesels are more trouble than they are worth. I also hope it doesn't have a FAP filter like my previous 04 307 HDi 136 had.

z3phyr04

I'd be less worried about clocking (always worth checking paperwork and MOT history) and more about lack of use in a diesel. You may find if you keep searching plenty of reasonable cars with higher mileages that have had an easier life on the motorway than lower mileage cars that have spent most of their life pottering around town.

OddballJamie

paris321 the issue is with the engines, diesels are designed to be high milers, too many short journeys, not letting the engine warm up properly causes problems. The petrol/diesel threshold is about 12,000 miles a year so you will find most diesels will average about 15,000 a year. As long as they have been regularly serviced you shouldn't have too many problems.

Have you considered a Skoda? The old 1.9 engine is suppose to be very good.

ilikewatch

If I was looking to buy a relatively old diesel I would much rather go for something that had averaged 10-15K PA and had a comprehensive service history than a low mileage car that had been used for lots of short journeys.

If you're after a cheap (to buy and run) estate have you considered a Volvo V40? I've recently bought an S40 (the saloon version) following some advice here, I paid £500 for a 2002 car with 110K on the clock, tax is £135 PA and the 1.9 diesel is acheiving a combined cycle of over 40MPG. The only downside is the endless ribbing from my wife, friends, parents and colleagues about driving an old mans car...

forgotmyname

I looked at lots of cars with 60,000 - 80,000 miles on and they were less than perfect. And silly money.

Compare that to the 120,000 mile cars that i normally buy.

Bigger cars are cheaper to buy. But may not cost more to run.

206 1.4HDI estate?

2005 car here... for well under your budget,

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201303185822442/sort/default/usedcars/fuel-type/diesel/body-type/estate/engine-size-cars/1-4l_to_1-6l/maximum-age/up_to_10_years_old/maximum-mileage/up_to_100000_miles/model/206/make/peugeot/onesearchad/used/onesearchad/nearlynew/onesearchad/new/page/1/postcode/sw111aa/radius/1501?logcode=p

DianeM

Hi, just to let u know, I traded my 2.0 SW diesel 3 weeks ago which had 64k ( bought from new) 52 plate. Barely managed to get £1k for it. Nothing wrong with it, just a bit noisy and fancied a newer car as I had received some inheritance. This might give you an idea of what to haggle for when it comes to prices. The car I bought also had 64k miles but it's an Audi a3 and although a little concerned, I am informed that they run for miles..........

Lagoon

My car is 13 years old. Mileage is now around 60k, and was 30k when I purchased it three years ago. Excellent condition for its age, and well-maintained by previous owners and by me, but I wouldn't value it at anywhere near 3k now.

I paid 1.3k for it, and I'd say that with me doubling the use over three years I'd not ask for more than £800 maximum if I sold it on. Still, maybe it would be worth more.

Personally I think even with low mileage, over more than a decade there'll be wear and tear that puts the car at risk.

TradePro

DianeM wrote: »

but it's an Audi a3 and although a little concerned, I am informed that they run for miles..........