Used A3 Vs Touran Vs Focus

Rosa_Damascena

Of the 3 I would go with VW, although as others have said, you won't get much for your budget. Fords are very popular down these parts (because of the number of people who have ties with the plant in Dagenham) but if you don't get a company discount I can't see the attraction.

I would go Toyota or Nissan. Both are v reliable makes.

Savvy_Sue

baser999 said:

No idea where you’ll be driving but you may also need to consider ULEZ and similar charges 

Handily, you can check out ULEZ and other cities currently with clean air zones here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/driving-in-a-clean-air-zone

If you're sure you're never going near one, then there may be non-compliant vehicles available, BUT I think they're likely to spread rather than contract!

smallzoo2

Thanks..we rarely drive in any city normally just small towns and villages but thx

Mildly_Miffed

Remember, though, that at £2500 you're looking around mid-late 00s.

All petrol cars from 2004/5 onwards are London ULEZ compliant - but were rarely bought new back then, because of the big incentives for diesel via cheap VED.

So there's low supply but higher demand. That puts prices up. Even if you don't drive into London, other potential buyers do, especially if you're anywhere near the SE.

At that end of the market, the question isn't so much "What model should I be looking at?" but "What actual cars are available around me right now, and which is the least knackered?"

delcbr

Iam going to give you some real world truth here that will upset people becuase people don’t like anyone saying their car is. It good after spending a lot of money on them. Iam a car enthusiast having owned a variety of cars and worked on them and knowing many people that have owned cars too. 

Don't bother with diesel because the money you’re saving in mpg gets obliterated when the DPF or EGR valve needs replaced and you’re into hundreads of pounds for repairs. Putting emissions equipment onto diesels killed their reliability and increased maintenance costs. Plus need to be newer than 2016 to drive in lez zones in the city. good when running right but plagued with many problems such as injectors and dual mass flywheel and clutch needing Replaced.

The most reliable car is a Honda civic Petrol. 

Volkswagen and Audi will give you many problems.

The focus out of the 3 is what I’d choose,

Forget German cars they are absolute money pits German build quality/reliability is a long running myth from the 80’s.

if you must get a German car then i would get one with many receipts and invoices for work carried out and servicing. Ignore stamped service books they are  useless without the paperwork to back the stamped service book up.

if the seller says the car hasn’t needed anything in his time owning it that’s alarm bells chances are there will be repairs and servicing due that you’re not aware of. or if they’ve owned it for a short period that’s not a good sign either might be unreliable.

Good rule of thumb if you don’t know what to look for then check all 4 tyres are they good brands or well known brands Michelins, continental, pirelli, Dunlop etc not weird names and plenty of tread that’s a good indication the owner takes care of their car and spends money on it when needed. 4 Michelins but all needing replaced soon isn’t good indication especially if he hasn’t owned the car long so avoiding replacing them.

Download an app called vehicle smart it’s free and type in the reg of the car you’re looking to buy check it’s mot history you want to See plenty of red for fails that’s right because it means repairs are getting Carried out. If you see greens and oranges and never a red someone’s putting it through it’s mot without getting repairs done. It’s actually hard for a car to pass an mot it always needs something. If it’s all green in the time he’s owned it it means he knows someone passing it every time.

to summaries avoid Germans and diesels. 
woudl touch Mazda either or Suzuki they don’t see to last long before they fail on corrosion.

I have heard good things about Hyundai and Kia.

Mildly_Miffed

The focus out of the 3 is what I’d choose,

Forget German cars they are absolute money pits German build quality/reliability is a long running myth from the 80’s.

How is a Ford Focus not a "German car"?

Ford Europe are based in Koln, where most engineering was done. 
Most Mk2 Focuses were built in Saarlouis.
Yes, some were built in Spain - likewise many Mk2 A3 were built in Belgium or Hungary.