£15,000 30 September 2019 at 4:10PM in Motoring 17 replies 1.3K views

Tom_The_Great_Sebastian

If that was your budget and you were looking to buy a used luxury car/SUV with reasonable MPG at a car auction what make/model would you look for and could expect for that budget ?

Don't need anything too big - just a couple of old fogeys looking for something to drive off into the sunset.



Thanks for all suggestions in advance.

AdrianC

I wouldn't buy at auction, to start with. You don't get much opportunity to properly check the car, the pressure to buy something is too high, and with Joe Public buyer's premium rates, they aren't going to be that cheap, either.

Buy on condition, and on whether it ticks your boxes, not on badge.

Brilley

..how many miles do you intend to do?....ie may be a factor in whether you go petrol or diesel? ALso "how big" as SUV come in all sizes now?

For reliability possibly Honda CRV (big and not very economical if petrol..but OK if Diesel)
Small SUV - Seat Arona - 1.0 ltr petrol economical and practical.
Ford Kuga (lots of kit for the money) / Nissan Quashki (NB Some reliability issues).
Audi Q3 (may be older for £15k), BMW X1..but nobody will let you lout at junctions, Kia Soul (stopped making them now)...

MX5 ...OK not exactly an SUV but probably more smiles per mile than any other car assuming you can get in and out of it OK ...or a CX5 if you can't

Which best buys showing Honda, Subaru, Kia Sportage. (Join Which if you are not a member for an initial subscription of a £1 for a couple of weeks then cancel if you want to check for the current best cars)

As a starter for 10 go onto Autotrader and set up a search on "any SUV", between £14k and 16K, MPG 40+mpg, post 2017 currently shows over 4000 vehicles?

..and as per the good advice, I would never spend £15k on an auction car. Go for a (reputable? assuming you can find one), dealer and get a warranty.

MX5huggy

I would use it as a deposit on a Kia eNero.

seatbeltnoob

AdrianC wrote: »

I wouldn't buy at auction, to start with. You don't get much opportunity to properly check the car, the pressure to buy something is too high, and with Joe Public buyer's premium rates, they aren't going to be that cheap, either.

Buy on condition, and on whether it ticks your boxes, not on badge.

I agree, auction is a gamble, it works for traders, they will buy several cars on auction, they might make good profit on a few cars, break even on A few, make a loss on a couple, make a windfall on one. But on average it works for them.

As a member of the public, just wanted to buy one car. It's a risk, you might be unlucky and buy a car that's worth less than what you bid for and require work to get it to good nick.


Public buyer fees are huge, 15K is a lot to throw at a car - I'd want some consumer protection on that, I would rather pay £16.5K on that same car that I test drove, checked history and have consumer protection than take a chance and get it off auction for £15K.

parking_question_chap

Lexus GS 450h 3.5
45mpg and £150 road tax in some luxury.

jimbo6977

Genuinely luxurious, genuinely small cars are like hen's teeth - no-one makes them because they couldn't charge enough money to generate sufficient margin.

I'd forget the auctions and go for a pre-registered Ssangyong Tivoli Ultimate, which you can pick up for less than £16k from a franchised dealer. The only thing longer than the list of kit is the warranty.

AdrianC

jimbo6977 wrote: »

Genuinely luxurious, genuinely small cars are like hen's teeth - no-one makes them because they couldn't charge enough money to generate sufficient margin.

There have been various attempts over the years, from VdP badge-engineering in the days of BL through to the Aston Cygnet...

Ssangyong Tivoli Ultimate
The only thing longer than the list of kit is the [STRIKE]warranty[/STRIKE] badge.

FTFY

Smellyonion

Have a look at the infiniti Q30 which is essentially a mercedes GLA (but better looking) for around 5k cheaper than the comparable merc!


I got a 20k 2017, 4x4, 2.2 DCT for 12k (its all Mercedes from engine, chassis, switch gear, key etc.)


Avoid the French engines and you are laughing.


The infinitis are a real bargain at the moment since their departure from the UK but still have the backing from Nissan.

hollie.weimeraner

Mazda MX5 roadster, Mercedes SLK or CLK.

GDB2222

I have almost always driven convertibles.

I've had an MX5, and that was lovely. My present car is a Volvo C70, which is a pretty luxurious 4 seater convertible, and you'll struggle to spend as much as £15k on one.