Looking for a reliable 2nd hand car

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Fri 30 Jan 2015 10:03
Looking for a reliable 2nd hand car - Razzy

I am after a bit of advice from you knowledgable chaps.

I am currently driving a 11 year old mazda 6 which hab been reliable enough during the last 4 years I have had it. It's getting to the point now where it needs a bit of work (suspension, new tyres) and old cars will generally be worse for reliability

I will be buying my car from BCA auctions as my father in law is a car trader. I have a budget of 4k which will get me a car which will normallty retail for 5-5.5k on autotrader.

I have been told to look to a diesel due to my mileage and that 85% of my driving is done on motorways/A-B roads. I currently do around 20k miles a year

I've always gone for cars that are not too common or that are 'unloved' and therefore have depreciated quicker. I was looking at the VW 2.0 diesel in the following 2 cars, as they seem to be cheaper than the equivalent VW

Seat Exeo and Mitsubishi Lancer.

The passat from 08 onwards always seems to be cheap on auctions too, it's got the 1.9PD engine, but I was told to avoid the ones in 2007-2009 as they use piezo rather than solenoid injectors? Not sure what that means exactly

Any advice?

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Fri 30 Jan 2015 10:28
Looking for a reliable 2nd hand car - RobJP

Problems with the VAG 2.0 diesel from before 2008/09 are well recognised. And for that sort of money, you'd be buying a car of that sort of age.

The 1.9 diesel is a far better engine, but the Passat of that era is a bit of a dog, reliability wise. HJ himself has described it as having one of the longest list of problems he has ever seen. If you go to here : www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/volkswagen/passat-20...d then you will see the, frankly horrific, list of reported faults.

Lastly, you say your FIL is in the motor trade. Might I suggest you ask him for some advice ?

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Fri 30 Jan 2015 19:14
Looking for a reliable 2nd hand car - Razzy

My Father in Law has been doing this sort of thing for 30 years so he's a little 'old school'

He's recommended a VAG car due to cheap parts and decent diesels, and is aware of the dodgy 2.0 PD units from around 2005-2007.

He recommended a Passat........

I know VAG cars are fairly average for reliability, but they make decent diesels dont they?

The other car I was considering was the civic with the 1.8 i-vtec. But it holds it value well for a petrol. For the same money I can get a golf diesel with similar mileage and of similar age

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Fri 30 Jan 2015 19:40
Looking for a reliable 2nd hand car - gordonbennet
The other car I was considering was the civic with the 1.8 i-vtec. But it holds it value well for a petrol. For the same money I can get a golf diesel with similar mileage and of similar age

Which tells you all you need to know.

If you actively seek models not favoured by the crowd, maybe a Magentis/Sonata or Accord, similar size to Passat.

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Tue 17 Feb 2015 20:45
Looking for a reliable 2nd hand car - Razzy

I like the Accord but it's difficult to come by one with less than 100k miles on auction.

My budget has increased slightly so i've narrowed the search down to the following 4 cars:

Volvo S40 2.0D. Can get an 10 plate with around 70k on the clock

Civic 2.2 CDTI. Can get a 10 plate with 90k on the clock

Seat Exeo 2.0 CR. Can get a 10 plate with 80k on the clock

Audi A4 1.9 115 PD. The last year this engine was available is 2007, can find some on auction with around 100k for around a grand less than the cars above.

Leaning towards the Civic or the Audi as neither have a DPF. Any opinions?

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Tue 17 Feb 2015 21:44
Looking for a reliable 2nd hand car - oldtoffee

I'd buy the Seat, an Audi A4 under the skin. The CR engine is much smoother than the 1.9PD although that has a reputation for potential big miles but only if it has been serviced on the nail with the correct PD spec oil every time.

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Wed 18 Feb 2015 12:26
Looking for a reliable 2nd hand car - balleballe

The Exeo doesnt seem to great for economy for some reason. This is from the Seat forum.

Same engine in other cars does better

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Wed 18 Feb 2015 13:15
Looking for a reliable 2nd hand car - slkfanboy

I cant say I really like the Passat. I have own one and it did have a nmber of faults during that fairly short time.

A Mondeo is smooth and bigger. Due to size less mpg I guess. If realiabity is you key requirement then any Jap. car is going to be a better bet.

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Wed 18 Feb 2015 20:51
Looking for a reliable 2nd hand car - daveyK_UK

I would avoid a Passat, to many problems.

I would go for the Civic, it will still have good re-sale value in a few years time.

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Wed 18 Feb 2015 21:52
Looking for a reliable 2nd hand car - balleballe

I would avoid a Passat, to many problems.

I would go for the Civic, it will still have good re-sale value in a few years time.

Got my eye on a Civic but not sure due to the high mileage? it's a 2011 plate I-CDTI. The last of the ones with no DPF

It's had one owner, Full honda Service History (9 Stamps at 12.5 k intervals)

Only problem is that it's got 114k miles on the clock. I drive around 20k a year and intend to keep the car till it goes bang.

I havent seen many of these past 200k and being Common Rail surely the injectors will need to be replaced at some very expensive point?

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Wed 18 Feb 2015 22:02
Looking for a reliable 2nd hand car - daveyK_UK

Have you checked out the Honda civic owners forum?

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Wed 18 Feb 2015 22:12
Looking for a reliable 2nd hand car - Razzy

I wouldnt be comfortable buying a car with nearly 120k on the clock. It will be worth close to nothing in a couple of years when it has 160k on it.

I've looked on the civic forum - just seems like people arguing about whether petrol of diesel is best. Then you get the threads about the clutch issues, then you get the threads about remaps etc... Not much else on those forums

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Wed 18 Feb 2015 23:13
Looking for a reliable 2nd hand car - Andrew-T

I wouldnt be comfortable buying a car with nearly 120k on the clock. It will be worth close to nothing in a couple of years when it has 160k on it.

Surely if you buy at 120K you won't be paying much more than close to nothing, and your depreciation will be slight? Running costs may be more tho.

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Wed 18 Feb 2015 23:24
Looking for a reliable 2nd hand car - Razzy

A 4 year old civic with 120k miles will be around 4.5-5k

A 6 year old civic with 160k miles will be worth around £2k

That's 1.5k depreciation annually

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Thu 19 Feb 2015 09:44
Looking for a reliable 2nd hand car - Andrew-T

A 4 year old civic with 120k miles will be around 4.5-5k. A 6 year old civic with 160k miles will be worth around £2k

So that suggests (a) the cars last well and (b) demand exceeds supply. You may have to bite the bullet. I wouldn't buy a car with 6-digit mileage.

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Wed 18 Feb 2015 23:22
Looking for a reliable 2nd hand car - daveyK_UK

I would suggest that was a good sign.

If you go on the Insignia forum, its endless pages of various faults.

If the honda forum is full of petrol vs diesel and re-map option threads, it would suggest not alot goes wrong.

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Thu 19 Feb 2015 12:04
Looking for a reliable 2nd hand car - meldrew

What's wrong with a tidy 3 Series BMW? Nice to drive and I think the bodywork is galvanised from the waist down to keep the rust at bay. A lot I people I know have older ones because they cannot find a good reason to get rid.

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Thu 19 Feb 2015 14:15
Looking for a reliable 2nd hand car - madf

Oldest son bought a 50 k miles 2004 BMW 318i. It's been fairly fault free in 4 years.

Bills avearge £700 a year for servicing and tyres etc...

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Thu 19 Feb 2015 18:00
Looking for a reliable 2nd hand car - Andrew-T

Bills average £700 a year for servicing and tyres etc...

If that is all you get for your £700 I would think it expensive. Depends how many miles covered, of course, but even so ...

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Thu 19 Feb 2015 19:27
Looking for a reliable 2nd hand car - Razzy

What's wrong with a tidy 3 Series BMW? Nice to drive and I think the bodywork is galvanised from the waist down to keep the rust at bay. A lot I people I know have older ones because they cannot find a good reason to get rid.

I wouldn't mind a 3 series, especially one with red leather but there's two issues with buying one of them;

Most on auction have the stupid long life service plan. 20k mile services dont cut it for a car which is already known to have a dodgy timing chain.

They also hold their value well so I wont get a decent one within budget

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