Thanks for all the replies . I'm not necessarily after an amazing deal I just want a decent car at a decent price.

So are you saying if there's no trade in there's a better chance of a deal.

I've just got back from looking at 64plate grand picasso average mileage 2litre diesel , exclusive £8500 with a similar search on auto trader it seems on the cheap side. They would give me £300 for my car , £100 if list price and regas Aircon which seemed weak. The car drove nicely , some paint issues stone chips etc and iffy rear alloys ( only on the rear ) but not beyond what I would expect for 6 years old.

As for what we are looking for reliability would be nice , I prefer the diesel for the torque especially for where I live in North Norfolk ( near Norwich ) having gone from an old diesel with torque to an old petrol no torque I miss my torque , I'm now used to mpv's and the practicality they give with room for the kids and a decent boot. As for distance to travel to get a car I would rather it close to Norwich.

Again thanks for the help

Yes-it's all about homework. I always believe if you've done that -then the salesman is the one who makes the first move, not the customer.

Another point-always have a good look at a hi-spec vehicle as opposed to a standard version. you get all the specialist toys second hand that would have cost a fortune new,

And--avoid goodies that add to dealer profit like body care products, paintwork guarantees and 2/3 year servicing deals all of which are migrating from new to second hand sales these days.

The trade guides were originally predicting a 5-10% fall but in actual fact they have revised most models UP this month.

Dealer's are short on stock and there is very little coming through the usual sources so just at the moment there is no motivation whatsoever for them to drop prices. Demand is strong and they can't replace what they sell.

Again thanks for the replies.

Just looked at the what car thing , it all make general sense although when he checks out a car and goes back and forth checking brakes and stuff looking for a smell, what's the smell. I'm assuming clutch.

As for Citroen reliability I know what you mean but what other choice is best for the price .the picasso I looked at today was nice and kit on it was great but not really needed as such I'm looking at a selection spec tomorrow from a main dealer. I'm not so keen on an SUV would prefer mpv.

Again thanks for the tips

thank you so much for the help.

SLO thanks for the suggestions . And the citroen was the one I looked at and as you say about spec, engine etc it was nice especially the torque ( so nice to drive with torque ) but was not to keen on the gear stick , it felt clunky. I checked it against a picasso 1.6 diesel today 2 years younger 20k miles less still had what i thought was a short throw on the stick but felt nicer so not so keen on the 2.0 yesterday. not so keen on the 1.6 today for different reasons.

As for your suggestions I've looked at all those cars before covid and ruled most of them out mainly to small a boot for our needs on the tuscon, kuga, how ever the b***** fly in the ointment is the zafira as a car the zafira meets our needs on all fronts apart from what I believe is a crap diesel I did briefly consider the 1.4 as I have tried it in a mokka in a courtesy car and thought the engine ok but not the mokka itself but I did wonder what the 1.4 would be like in the bigger zaf. Is the zaf any good with reliability

again thanks so much for the help

PSA electrics are no worse than anyone else's and better than some (particularly some German marques I can think of). Obviously they can have issues but so can every other type of car.

Edited by pd on 04/06/2020 at 09:33

Kind of what I thought with Citroen but I have no idea what's the best way to go. As I said above I don't understand this concept of a 1.4 petrol with higher tax being the same a a diesel which is cheaper to tax and better fuel economy over a period of at least 7 years apart from the increased possibility of X amount of trips to get it fixed because it a diesel \ Citroen

This is where it eventually boils down to you. How much of a risk do you feel it is buying diesel?, buying a Citroen?. How lucky do you feel?. Also, it is one thing considering the reliability of a 5 year old Citroen but you seem to be intending to run it for 7 years, by which time the car will be 12 year old Citroen!. Also it comes down to whether or not you are prepared to compromise on what you want for better long term prospects, because unless you actually need a car like the Grand picasso, it is a personal choice based on what you like from a car.

Regarding the road tax. Yes, £180 isn't to be sniffed at, but in the grand scheme of things, over the course of a year, that is only £15 per month.

The fuel costs for the examples you give mean the Zaf would use around £360 more over 10k miles. So yes that is mounting up!. But, because the modern diesel is so complicated, should anything big go wrong, it will undoubtably wipe out that savings and quite a bit more!.

Going back to the issue of compromise. You have said you like the Grand Picasso, at least in part, due to the big boot. Assuming that you don't actually need 7 seats, that boot has a volume of 645 litres (with the 3rd row folded). Earlier, SLO posted a link to a Honda Civic hatchback. These have a decent sized boot for a car of that type at 477 litres, but there is also an estate version. This has a boot capacity of 624 litres, only a little less than the Grand Picasso in 5 seat mode. In addition, as mentioned earlier, it seems to be much more reliable than most modern diesels (Honda's are generally amongst the most reliable cars on the road anyway), it has exceptional efficiency, comfort and refinment.

But like i said at the start, ultimately this is your decision!.