OK, here's my story. Until the end of 2019 I ran a valiant old diesel x-type. I took it in for work to be done and found that corrosion had taken a terminal hold. Casting around, I decided on a Suzuki Baleno 1.0 turbo as a replacement.

Some I looked at had no or a dubious service history. i decided to go for a 'used approved' - lured in by the advertising which promised selected cars 'checked, checked and checked again' and a seamless buying experience (including finance). What I got turned out to be something different.

First, as far as the selection of 'used approved' cars is concerned, it appears that the manufacturer has no say in this matter. Dealers can market any car as 'used approved' provided (presumably) they are within certain age and mileage limits. Nobody representing the manufacturer carries out quality checks. Suzuki UK will push you back to the dealer (even wrongly) if there are problems.

Second, presumably the dealer pays to advertise the car on the national manufacturer's website as a 'used approved'.

Third, the Suzuki 'used approved' warranty is in fact provided by Allianz Insurance (not Suzuki uk) and presumably the dealer buys this

Fourth, the finance is provided by 'Suzuki Financial Services Ltd' which is nothing to do with Suzuki but is in fact a trading entity of Lloyds Banking Group/Black horse Finance, etc. (LBG was fined £64m in June 2020 for failing to deal with customers fairly).

So, far from a 'seamless' experience you are, in fact, dealing as usual with a dealer, a finance company and a warranty company. my experience suggests that buying a 'used approved' provides no advantage whatsoever.

One thing I don’t understand about approved used is why you don’t get the balance of the manufacturer’s warranty if that would be longer than the usual 12 months offering. If I buy a car that’s 6 months old, I want more than 12 months’ peace of mind.

I’m having to play the long game here as she doesn’t want to give up her beloved A3 cabrio. We have an A4 Avant and the cabrio and when I can no longer drive it seems pointless to run 2 cars. We need a load lugger, which the A4 fulfils par excellence and her cabrio is for fun days out. Her view is that she can drive either according to the purpose of the excursion, whereas my view is that the A4 is worth £15/16K (and falling) which could be usefully deployed elsewhere. Moreover, expensive things are starting to go wrong, for example the brake servo is due to be replaced shorty, fortunately covered under my extended warranty.

My view is that a mid-size SUV would be a reasonable compromise to replace both cars and whilst I’m not a fan of SUVs, I quite like the looks of the XC40 and I have yet to read an adverse review of it - everybody is raving about it! I looked over one last year while I was negotiating a V60 and I was amazed by the load carrying capacity, so it would replace the A4 in that respect. As much as SWMBO likes her Audi, she doesn’t like Audi suspension and the Volvo has a softer set-up, so I think she could be tempted by that, as well as the general comfort that Volvo interiors deliver - yes, we’re at that stage of life!

So it’s very early days in the long game and details like the touch screen are way down the line. I’ve noted the fuel consumption (one of the reasons I’m not so keen on SUVs) and with just one car I’d be buying all the fuel, so I’ve taken a view on that. At the moment I’ve pointed out XC40s when we’re out and about and asked in a false casual way “What do you think of that car then?” to which the response is a casual shrug of the shoulders. I think the most positive response so far is “Not sure I could get into that”, SWMBO being short of stature.

If anybody is interested I could, ORB style, give progress reports on the campaign to replace the Audis with a single car. I suspect, however, it might be a lengthy read.

I have looked at the Q2. I know Avant has one and speaks very highly of it. However, I just don’t like the look of it. I saw an SQ2 the other day, a brave attempt to make the Q2 better looking, but it’s still not the car I want to spend serious money on.

The Sportage, on the other hand, I would consider as a cheaper alternative to the XC40. But as I won’t be driving whatever we end up with, the decision won’t be mine alone.

To me approved used implies a vehicle that's not much over 3 years old and with average miles or fewer. Would expect a dealer provided warranty not something where you need to claim on insurance and goodwill with any initial problems/faults.

Current Fabia fitted that model. The Roomster was a bit older and 70k+ miles but full dealer history and two years warranty which paid for a faulty window winder and a replacement EGR valve. Latter was nearly a grand retail.

Out of 30 car purchases only one was from a main dealer. My brother used to work in the motor trade and told me not to trust dealers, consequently all bar three cars, the rest have been bought privately.