Put me out of my car choosing misery

[Eddie Twadds]

Collective wisdom needed to stop me going around in ever decreasing circles - please!!

Having benefited from the Passat Alltrack and Volvo XC60 deals I am unable to find another suitable lease so looking to buy 2nd hand. Budget between £10,000 - £15,000 (although I am a tight northern monkey so less is better - £12,500 is the sweet spot); car allowance policy states under 5 years old; estate or similar MPV needed for two lanky teenagers; mileage 12,000 - 15,000 pa; auto a must (because lazy); as new as possible for warranty or AUC otherwise; better economy than 26.8 mpg (current XC60 T5); reasonable turn of performance (not E63 territory but able to keep up with the traffic )

My thoughts in order of current (NB subject to change daily) preference:

Kia Optima estate - looks OK but quite rare, loaded with trinkets, balance of 7 year warranty, interior looks like a Kia...
C-Max - had a couple of these (Mk1 and Mk2). Can get a fully loaded Titanium X in budget, Unsure of 1.5TDCi engine and autobox combo.
Peugeot 508 SW - leftfield choice but top spec looks nice. Reliability?
Merc E class - higher mileage to get a <5 year old car, so likely non AUC, bork factor looming.
BMW 5 series - higher mileage to get a <5 year old car, so likely non AUC, as above, bork.
Octavia Estate - pricey and tend to be higher mileage in the auto spec I want, out of warranty.
Passat Estate - solid, dependable....dull.
Mondeo - other than the 1.5 Ecoboost which I thought was a bit meh, I quite like them. Seem to hold their prices.

Any owner's comments or general PH comments about anything I've missed?

Finally, if you buy a Merc or BMW out of the AUC warranty scheme (via an indy dealer), can you get it back into the scheme?

Thanks

Martin

[Gareth1974]

Are you sure leasing isn’t the answer again? The C5 Aircross ticks lots of boxes and is a bargain for the top of the range model - really spacious, 180bhp auto.

https://leasing.com/independent-brokers/zenauto-li...

[Summit_Detailing]

XF Sport Brake 3.0d or E350 CDI would be what I'd go to test drive first, followed by 530d and A6 3.0d.

Providing they've been looked after in terms of servicing and maintenance there's no reason to think that either will throw you big bills.
I'd personally much rather a higher mileage 6cyl diesel over a newer, lower mileage 4cyl diesel.

I did exactly this last year going from a Skoda Superb to a Jaguar XF.

Happy hunting!

Cheers,

Chris

[kieranblenk]

Try a SEAT Leon Sport Tourer or a new shape Vauxhall Insignia, both are roomy and great value nearly new.

Alternatively, would a Suzuki Vitara S 1.4 Boosterjet be big enough?

[ZX10R NIN]

My first pick would be the 508 in GT spec the drivetrain is well proven as it's the same as the Mondeo except the Peugeot has a normal auto.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Mondeo's hold there money well in comparison to mainstream rivals but I can recommend the Vignale although it's over your sweet spot but for (I have one as a daily) me it's worth the extra.

Titanium with the XPack

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Vignale

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Insignia SRI VX Line You'll get a new shape 2018 model for 1k under your max.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Mazda6 Sport Nav 175

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[nickfrog]

To answer your question about warranty, if you buy the BMW Mondial warranty after the initial warranty or another BMW Mondial policy has elapsed you can't claim for the first 30 days.

[Eddie Twadds]

Excellent comments from the PH collective. Mazda 6 and Vignale now added to the list. Already following the white 508 on Autotrader - looks nice. Not sure I could drop £14k on an Insignia but I'll keep that one in mind.

[Eddie Twadds]

Thread resurrection alert! Car purchased was...........


...a Kia Optima ISG3 auto estate.

While driving anathema to many with its mighty 137bhp diesel and DSG box, it’s actually alright. Half leather, almost every trinket you could wish for and, as an AUC (just under 1 year old, 12,000 miles, so likely from Kia hire fleet) it gets the full 7 year warranty resinstated; which is nice.

Budget went up and cost me £15,750 with some month end haggling. Car really well presented by Arnold Clark Altrincham who were excellent to deal with. Still amazed that a car with a £27,000 list + paint can be nabbed for that money. Obviously in current climate it’ll be worth 50p next week...

Shame that the reason for the bigger car was a Holland roller coaster road trip in The Easter holidays. Virtual coastering from now on.

[ZX10R NIN]

Glad you got sorted OP it sounds like a nice car my brother is now on his second which he uses as a daily & they've both been faultless.

[MC Bodge]

Just to add

Eddie Twadds said:

Mondeo - other than the 1.5 Ecoboost which I thought was a bit meh, I quite like them. Seem to hold their prices.

I went for a Mondeo 1.5 Ecoboost.

The chassis and features are very good. The handling is much better than most and much better than early reviews suggested.

Whilst the engine isn't as good as the excellent VAG TSI petrol, and it drives more like a 2.2 n/a petrol than a turbo, it does perform well if you keep the revs up. Ford appear to have reduced the throttle response at small pedal angles, presumably for "emissions tests", but you do get used to it.