Help me choose from these used MPV cars please :-)

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
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Mon 27 Feb 2023 20:39
Help me choose from these used MPV cars please :-) - Nanny C

Hi. I am after an MPV petrol car with cavernous carrying space after seats have been folded down flat.

It'll have to be an old model from 2005-ish looking at Auto Trader prices on my budget (£4,500, and prices are more ridiculous in the South West)

Bearing in mind the early models I'll have to go for, which would you choose from these please?

Ford S-Max

Ford Galaxy

Citroen C4 Grand Picasso

VW Sharan

Seat Alhambra (I can't locate any though)

Kia Sportage

Or early:

Berlingo Multispace

Peugeot Partner Tepee

Renault Kangoo

Please shout up if you think of other cars that will suit, in my price range. (Though an estate won't give me the inner height I'd like)

Mileage isn't too much of a worry, as long as there's great service history.

Thank you

Edited by Nanny C on 27/02/2023 at 20:46

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Mon 27 Feb 2023 21:24
Help me choose from these used MPV cars please :-) - Adampr

Do you mean a Kia Sportage? It's a not overly huge SUV. There is a Kia Carens, a sort of mid size MPV, and there used to be a other bigger one that's name escapes me.

If I needed the room, I would probably go for a Galaxy just because they're easy to get parts for. A few years back, they were the same thing as a Sharan and Alhambra so any of the three would do.

If I didn't need all of the room, probably a Berlingo. I have friends with Kangoos, though, and they love them. As mentioned in another thread recently, don't forget the Fiat Doblo too.

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Mon 27 Feb 2023 22:51
Help me choose from these used MPV cars please :-) - Nanny C

Thank you.

I've been looking for two days solid, and there's nothing for sale down here through trade, except Zafira's.

It's good to have a list on the go of what's the best bang for my buck, and looks like a good drive up country is in order.

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Mon 27 Feb 2023 23:00
Help me choose from these used MPV cars please :-) - Adampr

Whereabouts are you? I can tell you there's nothing cheap between Bristol and Exeter, so you may be better off saving the cost.of fuel!

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Tue 28 Feb 2023 07:07
Help me choose from these used MPV cars please :-) - Nanny C

I'm in Torbay. It's shocking isn't it. I search within an 50-60 mile radius and I'm trapped with the stupid prices.

There's no cars of the type I want anywhere here. There's one in Plymouth 40 miles away, but very expensive. Other than that, there's some old Zafira's locally for my money, but I'm avoiding those.

I'm so angry, as my car was written off no-fault, and I'm scuppered.

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Tue 28 Feb 2023 08:11
Help me choose from these used MPV cars please :-) - John F

I'm so angry, as my car was written off no-fault, and I'm scuppered.

If not your fault, the third party should restore you to the position you were in. How badly is it 'written off'? Similar thing happened to Mrs F some years ago when a local farmer damaged her carefully maintained but low value old Focus. His insurance company tried to 'write it off' and give her the 'market value'. I insisted on a repair and was prepared to sue him for it.

I think some people buy back their written off vehicles and repair them tmemselves. Have you thought about either of these ideas?

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Tue 28 Feb 2023 22:16
Help me choose from these used MPV cars please :-) - Nanny C

Hi again.

My car is very low value due to age, and the repairs quotes for insurers are coming out at almost the cars' worth.

There is a cheaper option for repairs and I have a seperate quote for that, such as just making it MOT roadworthy (which by sods law runs out in 3 weeks time) but my worry is, if anything has happened structurally.

It's such a pity, as it's such a reliable car.

My fear now, is I'll buy a pot of poo money pit, but same time, if I keep the mine, more could be wrong with it than is known.

My car doesn't look too bad actually on glancing at it, but the other car's rear end was a mess. It was quite a hit by them.

Theirs is a new-ish motorbility car, so they'll be covered well under the scheme with no real loss.

Edited by Nanny C on 28/02/2023 at 22:17

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Tue 28 Feb 2023 13:41
Help me choose from these used MPV cars please :-) - Warning

I managed to sell my fathers 2006 Zafira 1.6, for £3,000 it only had 45,000 miles on it (in 2022). Great condition. Matter of timing. I had a for sale poster on the window and the guys at the hand car wash thought it was only worth £500. Glad proved everyone wrong!.

I just saw a few ads for Zafira's and many have 'dirty' seats.

Do try Facebook market place for ads, as it is free to list, better value the autotrader. Gumtree is another option. Anywhere else?

The only thing about that Zafira, is someone stole the spare tyre from underneath the car and it does not have bluetooth / 3.5mm jack.

Zafiras have always been good value.

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Tue 28 Feb 2023 22:40
Help me choose from these used MPV cars please :-) - Nanny C

Thanks for the reply.

I've avoided Zafira's because of the four recalls from 2007 onwards models.

I did see one local ad and the car looked really decent, but there is no Vauxhall customer careline anymore to give reg details to, just to check an owner had all recall work done.

(I'd seen online that letters from Vauxhall that should have gone out to each owner, but not all had them, and then there's other blunders regarding informing, ie once cars are sold to new owners, the trail for contact is lost)

Knowing I'd got to check with main dealers for info on every car before even going to view, just made me think it's best to avoid the car altogether.

They always appear first in 'lowest price' in MPV search lists, which is damned annoying, as I'm sure there's loads of them there perfectly fine in this regard. I'm just so unlucky, that I daren't take the gamble.

I did have a look on Marketplace, there's few traders - I'm only buying from them so I can have a 3 month warranty (some give 6 months) - dearer route this way I know, but I'm a lady viewing alone unfortunately :-(

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Tue 28 Feb 2023 22:48
Help me choose from these used MPV cars please :-) - Adampr

If you check the MOT online, there's an option to also check for outstanding recalls. Safety only, I think.

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Tue 28 Feb 2023 23:33
Help me choose from these used MPV cars please :-) - Nanny C

If you check the MOT online, there's an option to also check for outstanding recalls. Safety only, I think.

Hi and thanks. I just did that on a random Zafira reg, and it stated on the .gov MOT page:

"No outstanding safety recalls found
This information is provided by the vehicle manufacturer.

If you think the information is wrong, contact the vehicle manufacturer's dealership. Please do not contact the DVSA, as we are not able to change the recall status"

I'm not sure this gives me faith when 235,000 cars were recalled, as there's a risk of these cars slipping through the net over 4 recalls.

Without bad luck, I'd have no luck, and as much as I want to be cremated when my days are done, I'd rather it wasn't in my car :-p

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Wed 1 Mar 2023 08:05
Help me choose from these used MPV cars please :-) - veloceman
Not at MPV but fairly spacious.
How about a Dacia Logan?
Decent sized estate, you could get a 15/16 Reg around your budget. Bound to cheaper to run and maintain than a 15+ yr old MPV.
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Wed 1 Mar 2023 08:20
Help me choose from these used MPV cars please :-) - badbusdriver

If you check the MOT online, there's an option to also check for outstanding recalls. Safety only, I think.

Hi and thanks. I just did that on a random Zafira reg, and it stated on the .gov MOT page:

"No outstanding safety recalls found
This information is provided by the vehicle manufacturer.

If you think the information is wrong, contact the vehicle manufacturer's dealership. Please do not contact the DVSA, as we are not able to change the recall status"

I'm not sure this gives me faith when 235,000 cars were recalled, as there's a risk of these cars slipping through the net over 4 recalls.


There is no reason to suspect or assume the recall has not been done. The info provided by the manufacturer will be based on the chassis number, reg number, or both. And the recall work would not have cost the owner a penny, only the potential inconvenience of being without their car for however long it took to do the work (though I'd imagine the offer a loan car would have been on offer if needed).

So basically you are asking yourself how many people, after Vauxhall having been in touch notifying them of whatever safety risk the recall was about, would have actually said, "No thanks, I'll take my chances (and I don't actually like my spouse and kids very much anyway)".

Also, and I'm not 100% sure on this, I'd have thought if by some unimaginably unlikely fluke, you did end up with a Zaf' which has not had the recall work done, Vauxhall would still be obliged to do the work now.

One last thing, if you got in touch with your nearest Vauxhall dealer with the reg/chassis (or both) number, I'm sure they would be able to confirm whether or not the work has been done.

Without bad luck, I'd have no luck

John Lee Hooker fan?

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Wed 1 Mar 2023 11:07
Help me choose from these used MPV cars please :-) - pd

My choice would be S-Max or Galaxy. Basically the same car but S-Max has less headroom in the back.

Zafira is OK and cheap but arguably cheap for a reason. The Zafira "Tourer" which is the newer generation is much better than the previous.

All will have high mileages and to a degree be a gamble. I'm afraid £4k doesn't buy you anywhere near as much car as it once did and motoring is a lot more expensive in general.

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