Advice between two used Hyundai Tucson: 2 more years or double mileage?

CogitoBcn

I plan to upgrade my old 14 y.o. Citroen C3 for a car slightly bigger and more reliable and I've found two Hyundai Tucson for what it seems a good price.

Both are "Hyundai Tucson 2.0L CRTD CDX", both have had two previous owners, booth look in quite good conservation and both prices are around £2500, their main differences are:

1) 115.000 mi and 12 years (2007)
2) 65.000 mi and 14 years (2005)

The next week I will test them, but assuming that they "feel" similar, what is your advice?

Being totally a rocky it seemed obvious to me that the low mileage should be better, but after hours reading online it seems that sometimes older and annual mileage far below average can be also risky. So, now I'm doubting about what seems better.

PS: If it helps, I drive less than 2000 miles a year, so what worries me is not as much its life expectancy but finding myself with an expensive reparation and the resale value in 2 or 3 years (yes, I'm optimistic )

thanks in advance

Craig1981

what are the service histories for both? have you checked the MOTs online to see the recent mileage done on them year by year and any previous advisories etc?

https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-history

vehicle one could have done 85k by 1st owner up to 2013, and only done 30k in last 6 years
vehicle 2 could be opposite...

daveyjp

Why that car? What does it offer over any other £2,500 car? For 2000 miles a year is model important?

marlot

Buy based on condition, not age or mileage. Check out the service history. Check out the MOT history (online, free). Crawl underneath and check for rust.


But for 2,000 miles a year I'd recommend a petrol.


Don't forget that the kia sportage is essentially the same car - maybe gives you more choice.

Arklight

Just buy on condition, especially at that age. The odometer tells you next to nothing about how a car of that age has been used over its decade-plus-some length of life.

You can get some good discounts on newish high mileage cars because the previous fleet owner has already taken the hit on the depreciation caused by cruising up and down the motorway for hours every day. But on that age and price it's 6 of one and half a dozen of another.

System

The low mileage one will show up a load of issues when you actually go to use it. I'd expect a clutch, suspension and brakes to be on the to be done soon list as it is nearing the 70-80k range when all that lot tends to happen, especially in a low miler car.

My lad fell for that "low mileage is best mileage", last year got a 2006 Pug 307 with 70,000 miles on. He got it from a friend of mine who had his own car sales place and my friend had had to put a replacement engine in as the bottom end had gone, the engine being from a similar age 307 with double the mileage on and that's been problem free - did have new clutch, cambelt, waterpump, tensioner put on it. He's had it 10 months, its had to have both front wheel bearings done, the exhaust needs completely replacing as its rusted through. The wheel bearings packed up the first long run he went on, going to work and back it was fine but on the way to Disneyland Paris they started to make themselves known, by the time he'd driven the 500 miles back they were very loud, they failed quite quickly. It now also has ABS issues.

Tokk

There's always risks buying older (10+ Y/O) cars.

General condition, work done (as an indicator therefore of possible work due), regularity of servicing... There's things to look for to mitigate risks as much as possible, but there will still be risks.

One typical (and very useful) piece of advice you should be getting is to go and look at manufacturer specific forums - if there are Hyundai owners boards, the opinions there of what to watch out for would be worth hearing (with the obvious caveat that some rose-tinting may be present).

My personal view is that I'd be wary of buying an older car from a maker whose star has risen significantly - Hyundai, generally, seems to be much much better regarded than it used to be... Maybe it's just me but I'd be wary of prices being inflated by the current value of the brand Vs what it was when the car was made...


Out of interest... What's wrong with your Citroen?
Does it need retiring or have you just decided you want something bigger?
In general, with cars this age, knowing the history intimately is a key to success - if you've had your car a while and know it's been well cared for then it has a natural advantage over something equally old with an unknown history.

CogitoBcn

Wow, I didn't expect some much advice, I really appreciate it!

Craig1981 wrote: »

what are the service histories for both? have you checked the MOTs online to see the recent mileage done on them year by year and any previous advisories etc?

I have not seen it yet, I planed to go tomorrow to check them but I wanted to know what was the preference in the years/milleaga balance. Yes, yesterday I paid for this info...

Craig1981 wrote: »

gov . uk / check-mot-history

I had no idea that the Government offered this info with no cost, thanks very much!

Craig1981 wrote: »

vehicle one could have done 85k by 1st owner up to 2013, and only done 30k in last 6 years vehicle 2 could be opposite...

In your example, what would be worse?
The first car has a rather constant average of 8.000-9.000 miles per year. The second one has an average of 3.000-4.000 miles per year during almost all his life, *except* the in 2017 change of owner, jumps up to 10.000 miles and then it's put on sale. (?)

daveyjp wrote: »

Why that car? What does it offer over any other £2,500 car? For 2000 miles a year is model important?

You are right, the honest answer is just that: 1) it's sold near home, 2) the price fits in my budget, 3) it looks nice and feels more solid thn my current C3. As I told you I'm a motor ignorant ... :P

marlot wrote: »

Buy based on condition, not age or mileage. Check out the service history. Check out the MOT history (online, free). Crawl underneath and check for rust.

Yes, it has sense that the service history is the main point, but being clueles about what to search when I look at the papers ... What should I look? Oil changes every 10.000-20.000 miles? if has had any big part replacement?

marlot wrote: »

But for 2,000 miles a year I'd recommend a petrol.

Thanks, I didn't know that diesels were most expensive, I don't even "choose" the fuel, they were just the ones I found in the dealers of my town.

marlot wrote: »

Don't forget that the kia sportage is essentially the same car - maybe gives you more choice.

I didn't know that model, I've checked and you are right that it's almost identical, and as I'm in Wales and there is not so much offer as I see in London and England, it's a good tip, thanks!

Arklight wrote: »

Just buy on condition, especially at that age. The odometer tells you next to nothing about how a car of that age has been used over its decade-plus-some length of life.

Yes, but not sure if I'm able to sense "condition", once they are washed and cleaned, and I don't see dents or scratches I don't know what else to look for, maybe rustm as Marlot said.

CogitoBcn

Tarambor wrote: »

The low mileage one will show up a load of issues when you actually go to use it. I'd expect a clutch, suspension and brakes to be on the to be done soon list as it is nearing the 70-80k range when all that lot tends to happen, especially in a low miler car.

You are spot on, 4 months ago I had to replace the cludge of my C3, it has 81.000 miles.

Tokk wrote: »

General condition, work done (as an indicator therefore of possible work due), regularity of servicing... There's things to look for to mitigate risks as much as possible, but there will still be risks.

Yes, I accept that, the price of a used car is low enough for not worrying too much, it's just that in front of two choice I don't like just to flip a coin, I prefer *having the feeling* that I'm choosing rationally and minimazing risks.

Tokk wrote: »

One typical (and very useful) piece of advice you should be getting is to go and look at manufacturer specific forums - if there are Hyundai owners boards, the opinions there of what to watch out for would be worth hearing (with the obvious caveat that some rose-tinting may be present).

Yes, I also found review of owners and buyers of used cars that seemed happy enough with this model. So first I choose with the eyes, then I check if this model has given good results and it's not faulty.

Tokk wrote: »

Out of interest... What's wrong with your Citroen?
Does it need retiring or have you just decided you want something bigger?

A bit of each. It's a bit too small to load the weekly shopping or big parcels. It feels to weak to drive at more than 60 mph, and I don't feel confident to drive it through the motorway or making trips of more than 30 miles, ... <:)
Finnally, last december the clutch broke and it was the event that make me start looking for a replacement, I hope that I will feel more confident to make small trips (50-100 miles) with a more solid/robust car that doesn't start rattling over 50 mph.


Thanks, now I have homework with your tips, really usefull.

Robisere

Check Autotrader, use this as a guide and put your own postcode in, this is based upon my postcode:


https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-search?sort=price-asc&radius=1500&postcode=ln118lx&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&make=HYUNDAI&model=TUCSON&price-from=500&page=5

agrinnall

The general consensus is that you need to be doing something in the region of 15-20,000+ miles a year to make a diesel the sensible option. If you're only doing 2,000 miles you'll be in a for a world of problems. I don't know whether there is a petrol Tucson at that price but there are many other cars that would be suitable for your needs so you would do well to cast your net a bit wider.