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Buying a medium-sized family car - what would you recommend for £7.5k?
I'm looking for a second hand, medium-sized family car for a budget of around £7500. I plan to use an auction broker to find a good used example (2/3 years old) once I've chosen the model I'd like.
My shortlist is a Citroen C4 Picasso 1.6 EGS, Vauxhall Astra Estate 1.6 Techline or Toyota Verso 2.2D (all diesel). The vehicle needs to cope with a 300-mile round trip to see family at the weekend and long drives during the week. An essential requirement is a large, flat load area to carry my equipment as a touring musician.
My shortlist is a Citroen C4 Picasso 1.6 EGS, Vauxhall Astra Estate 1.6 Techline or Toyota Verso 2.2D (all diesel). The vehicle needs to cope with a 300-mile round trip to see family at the weekend and long drives during the week. An essential requirement is a large, flat load area to carry my equipment as a touring musician.
Asked on 7 December 2015 by MR C STANBURY
Answered by
Honest John
Citroen C4 Picasso 1.6 HDi EGS: Engine issues, awful automated manual transmission avoid
Vauxhall Astra Estate 1.6 Techline: I don't think you'll get the new 1.6 diesel engine for £7,500.
Toyota Verso 2.2D: Not a very nice engine. The 1.8i Valvematic with the Multidrive S automatic transmission is much better.
The best car with the PSA/Ford 1.6 HDi/TDCi is the Mazda 5 TS2, which I ran for a year and really liked for its combination of excellent steering, handling and ride comfort: www.honestjohn.co.uk/our-cars/mazda-5-16d-ts2/
Remember if using an auction broker you have to pre-commit to pay him for whatever car he sources for you. He is acting as your agent in sourcing the car, so you have no consumer rights against him.
Vauxhall Astra Estate 1.6 Techline: I don't think you'll get the new 1.6 diesel engine for £7,500.
Toyota Verso 2.2D: Not a very nice engine. The 1.8i Valvematic with the Multidrive S automatic transmission is much better.
The best car with the PSA/Ford 1.6 HDi/TDCi is the Mazda 5 TS2, which I ran for a year and really liked for its combination of excellent steering, handling and ride comfort: www.honestjohn.co.uk/our-cars/mazda-5-16d-ts2/
Remember if using an auction broker you have to pre-commit to pay him for whatever car he sources for you. He is acting as your agent in sourcing the car, so you have no consumer rights against him.
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Dear Honest John,
Please help me choose my next car. I would like it to have:
Please help me choose my next car. I would like it to have:
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