Kia Carens CRDi Auto - Used Car Question - Kia Carens vs Zafira

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Mon 27 Oct 2014 16:11
Kia Carens CRDi Auto - Used Car Question - Kia Carens vs Zafira - brightab

Hi All, First time poster on the look out for some information in buying a used car. I was looking to buy a used 7- seater car but am on a Budget of upto 5000 GBP and didnt want to go for a car over 6 years old; At this price the only 2 options seem to come up 1. Kia Carens 2. Vauxhall Zafia While i was initially looking at the Zafira and have found a model 2009 Exlusiv 1.6 Petrol thats has 56K miles on it ; recenly i have found a listing for a 2010 Kia Carens Diesel Automatic that run around 30K miles and seems to be an interesting choice As i have never owned a diesel before ; to help make my decision i wanted to get some feedback from experienced folks here as to - Servicing and Manitainence costs for the Kia Diesel Auto vs Zafira Petrol Manual - As the mileage on the Kia is low would that usually give me a trouble free ride as compared to the zafira ? - Any other factors i will need to consider before going for wither of them? My usuage will be light - between 5-8K miles per year and carrying usally a family of 4 (with the the occasional 7 passengers ) and mostly Urban / extra Urban roads.

(Edit - I've added a 7 before 'seater' in line 2 on the assumption that that's what you meant.)

Edited by Avant on 27/10/2014 at 18:02

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Mon 27 Oct 2014 16:26
Kia Carens CRDi Auto - Used Car Question - Kia Carens vs Zafira - skidpan

Kia diesels have a very good reputation as far as DPF issues go generally but unfortunately the old Carens was an exception.

Much as I love our Ceed CRDi I would say that if you are doing only a lowish mileage stay well clear.

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Mon 27 Oct 2014 17:48
Kia Carens CRDi Auto - Used Car Question - Kia Carens vs Zafira - John Boy

If skidpan has used an unfamiliar term (DPF), you can read about it here:

www.honestjohn.co.uk/faq/diesel-particulate-filter.../

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Mon 27 Oct 2014 18:03
Kia Carens CRDi Auto - Used Car Question - Kia Carens vs Zafira - Avant

If your mileage is going to be no higher than 8,000 a year, stick to petrol.

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Mon 27 Oct 2014 18:40
Kia Carens CRDi Auto - Used Car Question - Kia Carens vs Zafira - gordonbennet

You can get previous model Zafs from £10k brand new, 1.8's from £11k, and possibly cheaper still if you look carefully, so you don't want to be spending too much on an older one.

I'm against borrowing money, but the outgoing Zafs are serious bargains, worth thinking about upping the budget and getting a new one.

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Tue 28 Oct 2014 11:54
Kia Carens CRDi Auto - Used Car Question - Kia Carens vs Zafira - brightab

Thanks for your suggestions here

The zafira i have set my eyes on is a 59 plate (so just over 5 years old)

what are the typical problems with a zafirathat i can expect with a vehicle of this age ? (i know its dependnt on the previous owner but i just wanted to have a general idea)

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Tue 28 Oct 2014 12:35
Kia Carens CRDi Auto - Used Car Question - Kia Carens vs Zafira - John Boy

There's a Vauxhall forum which should give you some idea:

www.vauxhallownersnetwork.co.uk/index.php?forums/a.../

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Tue 28 Oct 2014 18:24
Kia Carens CRDi Auto - Used Car Question - Kia Carens vs Zafira - daveyK_UK

The petrol Zafiras are one of the more reliable GM cars.

I would say they are a serious bargain but I would go for a 1.8 petrol engine, the 1.6 is to sluggish in every day use, it will annoy you. I'm not on about top speed, I'm on about basic acceleration and this is where the 1.6 is poor. The 1.8 ( comes in 120 or 140 bhp ) is no rocket but it certainly drives better and has identical MPG in the real world.

Edited by daveyK_UK on 28/10/2014 at 18:26

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Wed 29 Oct 2014 11:29
Kia Carens CRDi Auto - Used Car Question - Kia Carens vs Zafira - oldtoffee

My son had a 1.6 petrol Zafira and I borrowed it a few times. It went better than I thought it should but I never drove it fully loaded so I guess the advice about some extra bhp is sound. He abused it for 6 years just fixing stuff when it needed so he had a new back box to the exhaust, new discs, new battery, couple of bulbs and the occasional oil and filter change only because I suggested it! Decent car the outgoing one now looks seriously good value for what it gives you.

Edited by oldtoffee on 29/10/2014 at 11:30

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Fri 31 Oct 2014 16:39
Kia Carens CRDi Auto - Used Car Question - Kia Carens vs Zafira - brightab

Thanks for all your feedback it was very useful (esp. not giving too much weightage for diesel cars given my low expected mileage)

I have found a Trader seller Toyota Corolla Verso (2009) plate ultimately, had a test drive of the car and it seems pretty ok for its age and has 56K miles on it

planning to get it inspected professionally and if the report is ok may consider it

I did read on some issues with teh MMT gearbox on the verso but as this is a manual (non-MMT) one i hope it should be fine

Edited by brightab on 31/10/2014 at 16:43

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