Used car

Goudy

What about the Vauxhall Insignia estate.
The 2.0 CDTi is pretty hardy and frugal.
Though the oil pick up pipe seal is prone after a decent amount of miles, the fix won't bankrupt you.

It's a Vauxhall, so parts are cheap and readily available.
You'd probably shave a few quid of your insurance over things like the V70 and Superb as well.

Whatever you look at in this price range, you'd be more than likely stood in front of a ex mini cab, so keep your eyes open.  

facade

born_again said:

Arunmor said:

Many people don't want EVs!  They are only cheaper to run because of all the de facto subsidies they are still attracting.

What subsidies make them cheaper to run?

Mainly the fact that HMG haven't found an infallible/palatable way to charge duty on the electricity that we use charging from home, plus it is only VAT'd at 5% not 20%, which is effectively a subsidy, as HMG are missing out on £ gazillions in tax revenue.

WHEN that day comes, and it oh so definitely will, then there will be no cost advantage, so best to reap the benefits while the Good Times are still here. (It only needs The Will to do it with all the smart chargers and smart meters that can snitch you up- granny charging rules!)

I suspect Arunmor is referring to the tax advantages for business users and this cash bung to the poor finance companies who are losing out so much that they continue to finance them at a loss? which obviously don't concern private buyers of second hand cars.

BobbyMC82

Goudy said:

What about the Vauxhall Insignia estate.
The 2.0 CDTi is pretty hardy and frugal.
Though the oil pick up pipe seal is prone after a decent amount of miles, the fix won't bankrupt you.

It's a Vauxhall, so parts are cheap and readily available.
You'd probably shave a few quid of your insurance over things like the V70 and Superb as well.

Whatever you look at in this price range, you'd be more than likely stood in front of a ex mini cab, so keep your eyes open.  

I do have my eye on a couple of Insignia. one is the Bi turbo! that looks very aggressive/agreeable. Although must I've seen so far have moon and back miles on them.

Goudy

The bi turbo wouldn't be my choice for a bit of cheap, fussy free mileage.

The 1.6 CDTi puts out 134 bhp and 320 Nm of torque. A few years ago you'd have to look at 2.0 or 2.2's for that sort of power.
And if you aren't towing anything heavy with a full car, there's really no need for much more.

What about
2015 Blue Vauxhall Insignia 1.6 CDTi ecoFLEX Elite Nav Sports Tourer Euro 6 (s/s) 5dr for sale for £6,695 in Peterborough, Northamptonshire

Seems to have most boxes ticked. Low mileage, full service history, couple of owners, Nav, front and rear sensors, electric and heated seats, electric tailgate and so on.

Tax band B, what's that these days, £20 a year?

paul_c123

Vauxhall 1.6CDTi is on my "no buy" list, due to the complexity/cost of doing a timing chain change.

MattMattMattUK

Arunmor said:

Many people don't want EVs!  They are only cheaper to run because of all the de facto subsidies they are still attracting.

Many people do not, it does not make their want rational.
Nearly all of the subsidies are gone, they are cheaper to run because the fuel costs less than 2p a mile. 

MattMattMattUK

WellKnownSid said:

• Cheaper whole-house electricity prices that the rest are subsidising

The "rest" are not subsidising them, they take advantage of very cheap overnight generation or overgeneration at other times, the same as E7.

WellKnownSid said:

• Lower servicing costs (effectively subsidised by ICE cars)

They are cheaper to service because there are far fewer moving parts, they are not subsidised, they just need a lot less work doing.

WellKnownSid said:

• I am subsidising smokers for their NHS costs even though I don't smoke

The taxes on cigarettes on average generate more revenue than the overall cost of smoking to the NHS, they are subsiding you.

However the reality is that pretty much anyone on less than £40k a year is being subsidised and anyone on more than that is making a varying level of net contribution. 

paul_c123

White knights, the guy asked for some help choosing a used car, let's not make this ANOTHER EV rant.

Goudy

paul_c123 said:

Vauxhall 1.6CDTi is on my "no buy" list, due to the complexity/cost of doing a timing chain change

It's true there's no gasket to stop the oil draining away from the cam chain tensioner on the 1.6 CDTi when the engine is stopped, which means it can lack a bit of initial lubrication at start up.
0w20 oil is now recommended to help with this.

That may become a problem with lots of repeated cold starts and short tripping (something no modern diesel likes), but under normal use the chain and tensioner should be good for tens of thousands more miles if not more.

Plus, the thing will give you plenty of warning it needs attention, it'll rattle it's nuts off when the engine is cold.
That might be preferable to say a cam belt just snapping or a wet belt breaking up inside the engine which tend to happen with no warning what so ever.

paul_c123

At £6k, its going to be of the age its due replacement. Sure, you could carry on until its really bad, but..... anyway, its quite possible you'd struggle a lot to find a garage that wants to do it. For the OP.