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Buying a family car for £4000

I am looking to buy a reliable and spacious (the main driver is a six footer) family car for £4000, which is cheap to run and tax. I would refer an estate or MPV, but a hatch with a big enough boot could also work.

We've seen a few Renault Megane/Scenics and Citroen Xsara Picasso in our price range, is there a reason there are so many available, all having hit 80,000 miles?

Asked on 29 May 2014 by Cardense

Answered by Honest John
The Xsara Picasso is now sorely missed, but the 1.6HDI is not as reliable as the much older 2.0HDI was. The reason these cars are being sold at 80,000 miles is that's when the big trouble starts. On a £4000 budget, probably best to suffer the poorer economy but gain the greater reliability of a Ford C-Max 1.8i.
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