Is it worth me buying a new shape old Zafira from auction?

[Emeye]

We urgently need a 7 seater family battle bus for my gf to drive.

I can get a 2006/2007 Zafira 1.6 Design/Club from a dealer with 20/30kish miles and 6 month tax and 3 months warranty for £5k.

Are auction prices low enough to make it worth my while visiting BCA Manchester on Tuesday to bid on one of the 20ish Zafiras going through, or will I be wasting my time once I consider the private buyer's fee etc

i.e. can I get the same car for significantly less or a newer car with possibly some remaining manufacturers warranty for the same £5k?

If I am saving £1k it's worth it - £500 pound I'm not so sure.

Any place I can find the recent auction selling prices?


Cheers.

Edited by Emeye on Sunday 9th January 20:42

Edited by Emeye on Monday 10th January 00:17

[Emeye]

I know it's not the most exciting topic for a sun night, but anyone?

[littleandy0410]

Not a fan of the Zafira myself, my dad's 56 reg 1.6 is awful, and can't comment on auction prices.

Have you considered a Mazda5? Apparently a Ford C-Max underneath, and 7 seater for a reasonable price. Rear sliding doors would be handy in car parks too.

ETA: Just looked, and they are nowhere near as cheap as the Zafira, so I'll just shut up!

Edited by littleandy0410 on Sunday 9th January 22:27

[hbwold]

It probably isn't worth it if you are buying as a private individual, as the auction commission will be around £350. I think the Zafira's book/cap around £4-4.5k in that trim with roughly that mileage, so for the extra few hundred quid I would advise buying through a dealer, maybe they can knock a bit off the price?

Also you would have to tax the car from the auction, which if it is a motability car (lots of them are) needs to be done at the DVLA with appropriate insurance. Also there is the risk that you buy a car through auction that needs work, either mechanical or cosmetic which if often hard to tell at auctions.

[bassanclan]

Is this the sort of thing you were thinking?

2006 - VAUXHALL - ZAFIRA - DF06FFT
ICLUB [AC] - 1.6L - 5DR ESTATE
39k miles

Cap Clean
£4,250
Cap Average
£3,800
Cap Retail
£5,850

2007 - VAUXHALL - ZAFIRA - PJ57HRZ
ILIFE [AC] - 1.6L - 5DR ESTATE
19k miles

Cap Clean
£5,625
Cap Average
£5,125
Cap Retail
£7,200

Both Manheim Manchester (i'm guessing that's near you) 13/1/2011

Typical fee is going to be £350 + £26 DVLA fee

[EDLT]

No, it is never worth buying a Zafira.

[bassanclan]

The manheim average price for an 07 1.6 club with an average of 26k miles is £4425.

Once you've added on the premium, your time and the risk of not test driving no warranty etc is it really worth it?

[CampDavid]

Buyers premium on a £1900 car, including the DVLA fee was £300 on the nose. I'd guess that you'll be on for closer to £400 as a fee.

On the plus side, you've got a choice of 20 to pick from, you should save a little and you get to see the car in pre sale condition, thus giving you a clue as to where it came from

[Emeye]

Apart from the enjoyment and possible satisfaction of buying from auction, it may not be worth it then.

I know the Zafira ain't the greatest car but it'll do the job and they are cheap. We would love a mazda5 but they are too rare to find a bargain. Before Xmas mainstealers were knocking them out for £6k for a decent 06/07 but they now seem to be in short supply and prices have firmed up.

[GreatGranny]

Go for the 1.8 if you can, they are worth the extra over the 1.6. They have 140bhp compared to 105. It makes a huge difference especially when full laden.

Also I don't think its worth going to the Auction for the sake of a few quid.

[Crafty_]

1.6 is poverty spec, don't do it. 1.8 at the least or go for a diesel.

[Emeye]

Crafty_ said:

1.6 is poverty spec, don't do it. 1.8 at the least or go for a diesel.

I see what you're saying, but this car will do about 6 miles a day of school runs and a couple of shopping trips a week if that.

I have found a couple of 1.8s so will take a look, but not sure they are worth the extra insurance and fuel economy.

[slipstream 1985]

great seat design/ layout

[Emeye]

slipstream 1985 said:

great seat design/ layout

It's not bad, until you compare it to something like a Mazda5 of Corolla Verso where all the 3 rear seats slide and move independently.

The limitation I found on the Zafira is the 2 rear most seats can only be lifted or retracted by pushing the whole rear bench forward - not too much of a hardship, unless you have kiddy seats fitted on the middle row which will then all meed to be shifted!

It is roomier than the Mazda5/Verso/Touran with more leg room in the rear most seats.

And cheaper!

Edited by Emeye on Monday 10th January 23:03

[Somnophore]

I'd be wondering why they were at auction, if they were any good condition wise they would be being sold through a dealer, in my experience auctions of domestic cars are used by dealers to bin off cars they don't think are good enough to sell. It's not as if it's a rare car so shouldn't be hard to sell, so why auction it for less than dealer price?

[VeeFour]

I seem to get Zafiras whenever I need a hire car - I think Europcar consider a poverty spec. MPV to be 'mid sized' and an appropriate replacement for a Passat / 3-series etc.

Always a 1.6 petrol, too - never had a diesel.

Bloody awful, gutless, horrible to drive, evil handing, badly equipped heaps of junk with stupid indicators.

Had a similar vintage C-Max diesel on Jersey, it was massively better. Just avoid the 1.6TDCI which is absolutely gutless.

[littleandy0410]

Somnophore said:

I'd be wondering why they were at auction, if they were any good condition wise they would be being sold through a dealer, in my experience auctions of domestic cars are used by dealers to bin off cars they don't think are good enough to sell. It's not as if it's a rare car so shouldn't be hard to sell, so why auction it for less than dealer price?

As hbworld said above, a lot of the Zafiras and the like that go through auction are motability cars, once they have reach the end of the motability life. My dad bought his Zafira from a Vauxhall main dealer, and it was re-registered as PLG by them. He was advised by the dealer that it had been motability before his ownership.

[Emeye]

Well I did it. After pissing around driving for miles around only to be disappointed I found a boring basic 1.6i Expression, 4 miles away at a local dealer. 2 careful disabled owners! It has got air con, 7 seats and a cd played. It doesn't need much else for the school run. I could have bought something else that drove better looked better etc etc but that would have meant more expensive to buy run and insure. As long as the missus is happy I am! Best thing is it means more money for MY new car!

Edited by Emeye on Tuesday 11th January 20:58