Buying a used car- warranty’s/main dealerships/advice! Horsebox towing

moneysavingseeker

Hi all,

I am needing to swap my current ford focus for something that will tow a minimum of 2 ton (horsebox). I am looking for some advice on what you would do in my situation.

My current car has no outstanding finance and is worth £10,600 part exchange. I know I could maybe get a bit more on the private market but am looking at part exchanging as we are a one car family so can’t really be without a car whilst selling privately then arranging a purchase. I plan on taking out a personal loan and dipping into some savings to come up with a total budget of £25,000. The loan repayments will be £190 a month over 5 years so I will ideally need a car that will last me at least 5 years doing approx 13,000 miles a year. The car needs to deal with regular 30 min commutes through the countryside and bypass roads. Very occasional city driving, weekends away in the U.K. and also towing a 17hh horse and horsebox a few times a month (combined weight of 1680kg. All tack/water etc will be in the car). 

As this is quite a lot of money to spend (for me it is anyway!!) I do want to have a car that I feel looks nice and I enjoy to drive. Looks aren’t everything but I do really like the look of SUVs that can tow- a discovery sport/ Jaguar f-pace would be an absolute dream. For £25000 I can get a 2018 model with less than 40,000 miles on the clock and a 12 month warranty. 

However my FIL (who is very against Jaguar landrover due to the common knowledge that they can be unreliable) is convinced we should be going for something more like a VW Tiguan, which for £25k we could get something similar age/mileage but with a 2 year warranty from a main dealer, and in his mind would be a much more reliable purchase. Could possibly find one a year or two newer but still would be similar mileage. He thinks it is worth spending more on what is essentially a cheaper car (on the local dealership market) as the warranty is worth having for 2 years- but I am arguing that we would be overpaying for the extra year and would also not have a car I am particularly fussed about. 

I guess my question is what would you do if you were me? Dream car with 12 months warranty and (possible) reliability issues, or VW Tiguan with 24 months warranty. Both same price/age/mileage.

Thoughts on the cars I have mentioned? Or, would you be considering something else entirely? 

I appreciate we are all quite hard up at the moment so apologies if this comes across as insensitive. We are a dual income household with 1 car and purchased our first house last January (with a mortgage), so can now afford to spend on a car we like, but can’t stretch to buying new. No children currently which also helps!

Grumpy_chap

I'd go with the dream.  It's that or a life-time of "if only" regrets.

If you don't go for the Disco Sport / F-Pace, then rather than a Tiguan, I'd be considering a more "meaty" alternative such as Land Cruiser.

moneysavingseeker said:

Hi all,

I am needing to swap my current ford focus for something that will tow a minimum of 2 ton (horsebox). I am looking for some advice on what you would do in my situation.

My current car has no outstanding finance and is worth £10,600 part exchange. I know I could maybe get a bit more on the private market but am looking at part exchanging as we are a one car family so can’t really be without a car whilst selling privately then arranging a purchase. I plan on taking out a personal loan and dipping into some savings to come up with a total budget of £25,000. The loan repayments will be £190 a month over 5 years so I will ideally need a car that will last me at least 5 years doing approx 13,000 miles a year. The car needs to deal with regular 30 min commutes through the countryside and bypass roads. Very occasional city driving, weekends away in the U.K. and also towing a 17hh horse and horsebox a few times a month (combined weight of 1680kg. All tack/water etc will be in the car). 

As this is quite a lot of money to spend (for me it is anyway!!) I do want to have a car that I feel looks nice and I enjoy to drive. Looks aren’t everything but I do really like the look of SUVs that can tow- a discovery sport/ Jaguar f-pace would be an absolute dream. For £25000 I can get a 2018 model with less than 40,000 miles on the clock and a 12 month warranty. 

However my FIL (who is very against Jaguar landrover due to the common knowledge that they can be unreliable) is convinced we should be going for something more like a VW Tiguan, which for £25k we could get something similar age/mileage but with a 2 year warranty from a main dealer, and in his mind would be a much more reliable purchase. Could possibly find one a year or two newer but still would be similar mileage. He thinks it is worth spending more on what is essentially a cheaper car (on the local dealership market) as the warranty is worth having for 2 years- but I am arguing that we would be overpaying for the extra year and would also not have a car I am particularly fussed about. 

I guess my question is what would you do if you were me? Dream car with 12 months warranty and (possible) reliability issues, or VW Tiguan with 24 months warranty. Both same price/age/mileage.

Thoughts on the cars I have mentioned? Or, would you be considering something else entirely? 

I appreciate we are all quite hard up at the moment so apologies if this comes across as insensitive. We are a dual income household with 1 car and purchased our first house last January (with a mortgage), so can now afford to spend on a car we like, but can’t stretch to buying new. No children currently which also helps!

SaverRate

Do JLR offer warranty extension? If thats your worry check it covers everything you need it to then go for the dream with the warranty extension

born_again

Does any manufacture offer a warranty on a 5 year old car? Other than the 3rd party (more holes than a colander type)

What about Kia Sportage or Hyundai Tucson 
Kia 7 year warranty (so long as serviced in line with Kia & you have the stamped service book) Hyundai 5 year.

£25K will get you a 1 year old Sportage Gen 5 Latest model.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202305237677111?advertising-location=at_cars&include-delivery-option=on&make=Kia&model=Sportage&page=1&postcode=ls212ay&price-from=20000&price-to=25000&fromsra

Same with Tucson

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202305117261031?advertising-location=at_cars&include-delivery-option=on&make=Hyundai&model=TUCSON&postcode=ls212ay&price-from=20000&price-to=25000&sort=relevance&fromsra