I would be looking at a private purchase at this end of the market. Anything at a dealer has a high probability of being valeted junk with a warranty not worth the paper its written on.

If you arn't going to be carrying passengers, and intend lowering the rear seats too for more room, then i'm going to suggest Forester up to 2008, model known as the SG5 or SG9, the square one, that square shape dictates to a square boot area.

We use the boot area alone in ours which gives plenty of room for our two cockers (one large male) and our female Viszla, we also sometimes put a whippet in there too when she comes to stay with us, the roof line is reasonably high and with the rear seats down the area is surprisingly large for a relatively small vehicle, more room than you would expect.

They are generally reliable but as with many cars try and avoid those which have lived in Scotland and the North due to excess salting causing underbody corrosion.

Not great on fuel it must be said due in no small way to the full time 4WD system.

Edited by gordonbennet on 07/04/2024 at 20:09

Thanks

I thought Subarus were expensive to fix and parts ?

I think I did look for a few but they were all rot boxes ?

If the heads need to come its an engine out job, spark plugs are 'awkward' but if you undo the two bottom engine mount bolts and jack the engine up it makes the job a lot easier, generally Japanese made cars are good to work on and these are built like cars used to be, ie bolts tend to come undone rather than sheering off, they are reliable and durable if serviced normally.

Friction materials and general aftermarket parts are quite standard and cheap enough, best avoiding the turbocharged models they tend to be more complicated and a drink problem as well as punitive VED rates.

Rust can be an issue (many, as with Landcruisers, started their lives in Scotland and like almost all cars from that area rust prematurely), ours doesn't have that problem but its a low mileage southern cars and i rustproof all our cars regularly.

here you are ebay 285774765866

Slightly over your budget but should accept an offer.

MOT history very good, might be worth asking for a few underbody pics (rear subframe area mostly) if you're at all interested...no its not mine:-) nor do i know of the car or seller.

If I had a gun to my head I'd buy the Volvo because I know the Hyundai is rusting.

Given the choice, I wouldn't buy the Volvo either because there is too much to go expensively wrong. Kind of depends on how long you want to keep it and how lucky you feel .

I once went to see an Alfa GTV described as 'perfect, no expense spared'. It had four different tyres, three of which were bald, the coolant tank was bone dry, the wing mirror was hanging off and the alarm went whilst driving. The guy went nuts when I said I wasn't going to buy it.

If I were you, I'd look at private sales within ten miles on Auto trader and eBay. £3k is next to nothing these days, so don't bother looking for a 'bargain', just something basic and honest.

Thanks for spending the time on that..I think you are right..

I dont need to overcomplicate things..stick to simple tried and tested petrol engines

Would you trust any of them ( based on what youve heard of course ) to take my family to cornwall once a year

I am guessing that the 1.6 zafira 'might' struggle with 4 adults and 3 dogs on board ?

thanks again

If you look at whatcar it says the Vauxhall Zafira has a very poor reliability record.. is that just one websites opinion or is it justified ?

As usual , honest sensible advice ..thanks

I saw you mentioned the galaxy, what about the s-max petrol is that worth a punt aswell ?

A work mate had the 2.5 S-Max, it's the five cylinder Volvo engine. Strong performer but very thirsty.

On Fords of this age then check the MOT history carefully for rust underneath.

What is the Astra's mileage? I think it would be my choice but check when the cambelt was done.

Assuming it's this Astra, it has quite a chequered MOT history. I would.want.to be certain that all the work that has been done (assuming it has actually been done - check the receipts) has resolved the issues rather than it being the case of the seller now deciding to cut their losses.

www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202403137501426

What a terrible ( could have been worse ) few days !

I decided on a a touran.. so found one on autotrader I thought was ok for the money, not too far away and I was about to put a very small deposit on as he said he had 5 people waiting when I received a reply on a fb group I was in about him and that the same car has been advertised for over a month and someone had gone to see it..surprise the MOT wasnt too bad from December 2023 but since then there were a list of faults as long as your arm not mentioned on the advert !.. he was well known... ah well strike that one

Then a saw a dealer advert , MOT seemed very good, less than £3k for a 1.9tdi touran. Dealer seemed nice and said he would deliver it for a small charge ( it was 150 miles away )..so I stupidly put a £95 deposit ( supposedly refundable ) down and then a few hours later he said he would charge £350 delivery !.. anyway I politely said I wanted to cancel the sale and now he says he told me the deposit was not refundable and basically I can twizzle. So lost £95 pounds

People on various groups have been really nice suggesting estates for my dogs but the ones suggested all have quite low boots. It would be unfair to have the dogs in anything less than 76cm height

..and I really think ( with the exception of maybe the 1.9tdi pd engine of the VW Passat ) I need to stick to petrol

..so back to the drawing board.. looking at Zafira, Focus Estate,Passat Estate, Astra Estates now to see what I can find

Truly baffled as to why you'd be considering a Kangoo with a wheelchair ramp, cant see that being very comfortable for the dogs?

The Carens is the one I linked ten days ago!. The one owner Zafira I linked is also still for sale (so the price may be negotiable)

The 308SW is gone, but I'd be avoiding that anyway under the assumption that it would have the troublesome 1.6 "Prince" engine.

Cant help also noticing that most of these are being sold by dealers, which is to be avoided if possible at this price point due to them looking to make a profit out of a cheap car. Take that C-Max for example, dealer is selling it for £1800, how much do you think they paid for it as a trade in?. It is pretty scruffy looking and you can't check MOT history due to plates being covered.

Speaking of which, have you looked up the MOT histories of these cars (those that you can anyway)?

The kangoo was more on principle.. are they ok

They are fairly simple, basic and fundamentally sound, If memory serves, the n/a 1.6 petrol was only offered as an auto, manual choices would have been 1.2 or 1.4 petrol. But the main problem is going to be finding one which hasn't been adapted for carrying a wheelchair user. Same applies to the first generation (up to 2008) Citroen Berlingo and Peugeot Partner which, with the n/a 1.4 and 1.6 petrol engines, are fine (if basic) choices. We actually got a new Peugeot Partner as a family car in 2002 and loved it. I would have went for the 1.9 diesel (which is a legend in terms of reliability and longevity) but they didn't have in stock, so we got the 1.4 petrol instead.

Yes the Carens and Zafira are the ones linked, they are still for sale and for obvious reasons I was wondering why ?

Well first, ten days isn't actually that long so no reason to be suspicious. But in the case of the Zafira, the price is above average, probably the seller is trying his luck because of the low miles (for its age), MOT history and it being one owner car. But the kind of buyer looking for something like that (an ageing MPV rather than an SUV/Crossover) is going to be looking for a bargain rather than necessarily the best example they can find.

Re dealers, my wife and I went to two private sellers ( a zafira and focus, not on the list ) and the adverts they posted were mainly lies when we went to see the cars so just a but reticent thats all

With regards to any cars for sale, (unless the car was located very locally) I wouldn't even go to see it without having seen a good selection of pictures and had checked its MOT history. Not sure what kind of lies you are talking about but something like "condition" is vague and very much open to interpretation, that is why you check the MOT history, to ee if there is anything lurking which should alarm you (as opposed to faded and/or mismatched paint, dents ((within reason)) and a dirty interior).

When it comes to dealers of low priced cars, as mentioned, they are trying to turn a profit out of automotive dross they will have bought at auction or taken as trade in. They will offer you some kind of warranty which, in reality, isn't worth the paper it is printed on.

There is a well worn cliche when it comes to used car salesmen:

1, All car salesmen are liars

2, All car salesmen are liars

3, See points 1 and 2

;-)

It's fairly common for 'private' sellers to be traders trying to get out of their legal responsibilities. Gumtree and Marketplace are rammed full of them. It used to be standing advice to call and ask about 'the car' to weed them out, but it's much harder when it's online. Marketplace is pretty easy - just see if they have any.other cars for sale as a starter.

Sometimes it's worth checking things like the local paper or shop windows for cars being sold by people who aren't quite in the current century. If you know a good independent garage, they sometimes know if someone's looking to sell. In my village, the indie garage does all the repairs for one of our local traders so is able to give background on all their cars.