Peugeot 307 SW - Buying 2nd Hand Diesel - Appreciate mileage advice | Motoring discussion | Back Room Forum

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Thu 28 Feb 2013 18:58

Peugeot 307 SW - Buying 2nd Hand Diesel - Appreciate mileage advice - Benjo

Hi all, first time user and poster here - thank you in advance for any help you can give.

I'm not very knowledgable when it comes to cars and I've previously bought either new or second hand with under 30k on the clock.

I got screwed last time when buying a 2nd hand car so trying to be extremely vigilant this time.

Anyway I need to pick up a second hand car to get to my new job, budget is £2100 max but preferably I'd like to hit the £1600 - £1800 mark if possible.

My preferences are a Diesel engine and I've entered Peugeot 307 SW on the thread here as my Dad used to have one and I know it drove well.

Although I am open to all suggestions and as stated in the title I'm particularly interested to know what sort of mileage is too high to consider in cars like this.

For example I saw a dealer selling a 307 SW, 54 reg with 130k on the clock which did say it had a full service history. Is this sort of thing acceptable if it does have a full service history?

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2004-54Plate-PEUGEOT-307-SW-S-H...1

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Thu 28 Feb 2013 21:26

Peugeot 307 SW - Buying 2nd Hand Diesel - Appreciate mileage advice - Avant

With your budget, condition is more important than make or model. That said, French cars are a bit more of a gamble as tghey are more vulnerable to neglect or abuse by a previous owner. No doubt your Dad looked after his and didn't have problems.

Try to get a var with a full service history if at all possible: there's no need to be afraid of high-milers unless you're going to do a huge mileage yourself. You haven't said how long your commute is going to be, but unless your annual mileage will be 15,000 or more, you're better off with a petrol engine. Diesels when they go wrong go expensively wrong.

If still in doubt about make and model, think about a Ford (lots to choose from) or something Japanese.

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Fri 1 Mar 2013 11:41

Peugeot 307 SW - Buying 2nd Hand Diesel - Appreciate mileage advice - Benjo

Thank you very much for your reply Avant.

I was just browsing ebay and bearing in mind your advice you've completely changed my searches which were for Peugeot or Vauxhall diesels. The reason being, a car salesman once told me that you can expect 100k from a petrol engine and 200k from a diesel. He was trying to sell me a diesel at the time so maybe I shouldn't have taken much notice.

I take it this is not a good general rule?

I realise the importance of a full service history so thanks for reinforcing that.

I expect to be doing less then 15k a year as I always have done. My commute will range from 10-20 miles round trip.

I've adjusted my search to petrols both Ford and Japanese so I'll see what this brings.

Many thanks!

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Fri 1 Mar 2013 11:46

Peugeot 307 SW - Buying 2nd Hand Diesel - Appreciate mileage advice - mss1tw

The reason being, a car salesman once told me that you can expect 100k from a petrol engine and 200k from a diesel. He was trying to sell me a diesel at the time so maybe I shouldn't have taken much notice.
I take it this is not a good general rule?

I realise the importance of a full service history so thanks for reinforcing that.

It's loosely based on truth, but is so removed from real life as to be utterly useless advice.

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Fri 1 Mar 2013 11:48

Peugeot 307 SW - Buying 2nd Hand Diesel - Appreciate mileage advice - pd

If you don't need a diesel then a petrol like-for-like will be newer and lower mileage for your money as there is less demand.

At the moment, with a lot of people short of money, the entire country has decided that the car they need a a sensible diesel which does 50mpg but they only want to spend £2k, Therefore, the selection of cars in this sector is often pretty shoddy as there is very high demand for them.

Once upon a time the old saying about diesels going on longer than petrols was once true but not really anymore and in reality it is usually something else other than the engine giving out which kills most cars.

A boring and unfashionable Japanese petrol would probably be a good starting point but any cheap car can cost money to maintain.

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Fri 1 Mar 2013 14:37

Peugeot 307 SW - Buying 2nd Hand Diesel - Appreciate mileage advice - Andrew-T

Ignoring the diesel-petrol choice, there may be some value in taking less notice of the milage on the clock, and more of the number of owners. A succession of owners may mean either that the car has problems, or that they didn't intend keeping it for long and skimped on the servicing. Proof of regular servicing is important if you want to reduce your chance of getting 'screwed'.

And if you are in the <£2K bracket, then I presume you are not buying from a dealer - they look for £800 margin to cover the cost of any warranty repairs. You could try making an offer to buy 'as seen' ...

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Fri 1 Mar 2013 16:04

Peugeot 307 SW - Buying 2nd Hand Diesel - Appreciate mileage advice - Benjo

That is indeed something I have been looking at (number of owners) as I was aware that a higher number could be an indication of problems.

I have been looking at a few dealer cars in the makes that have been suggested but as you say, they hit the top end of my price range and are mostly overpriced.

I found this Vectra on ebay earlier today - www.ebay.co.uk/itm/300868553551?_trksid=p5197.c0.m...9

Seems to be a very good price and mileage and for the obvious reason that the warning light is on.

I rang the local vauxhall garage and enquired about the car, the lady there told me it had been in to have the struts replaced on Vauxhall recall and while it was in the owner paid for the BCM to be replaced. She also advised that additional work needed to be done and he had taken it elsewhere she believed.

I also contacted the owner on ebay and asked him to call me and when he did I asked what work had been done (without letting on I knew). He seemed honest enough and listed everything she had told me, I told him I would like to view it and would want to take it to the garage (Vauxhall) and pay £45 for them to run a 30 min diagnostic to check it.

He agreed to this on the phone and said I could go over tomorrow at 7pm, however, I just received a text saying if I want the car I have to buy it now and I buy it as is and he doesn't have time for it to go the garage and he doesn't sell dodgy cars as he's too honest.

Bearing in mind there's still 4 days on the ebay auction and I'd have been quicker than this, it seems a little suspicious there was a sudden change of mind and a follow up text.

Maybe I'll steer clear of this one!

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Fri 1 Mar 2013 17:57

Peugeot 307 SW - Buying 2nd Hand Diesel - Appreciate mileage advice - pd

In my experience the number of owners is not important unless is it excessive - e.g. 9 in 8 years or something similar.

Whether a 5-8 year old car has 1,2 or 4 owners never seems to bear any relationship to its condition. In fact, many one owner cars are horrible as people are all keen on a car when they first buy it and it is their pride and joy then for many it just becomes a workshorse and the lose interest and pretty much run it into the gound.

Lots of one owner cars I come across have lovely service history for 3 years, then they lose interest and don't service it for the next 40,000 miles and are sold with sludge for oil, bald tyres and metal on metal brakes.

Be realistic that cheap cars are cheap for a reason and you will have to spend money at some point.

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