Who'd have thought that northern feilds would look like soft, southern feilds eh?

Dumb question #2312

We're getting close to choosing something but one thing I can't get any agreement on from the people around me is what's an acceptable mileage for a used car.

All the cars we're looking at are 5yrs old or more and the figure I've come up with is less than 50k (ideally less than 40k) for a petrol but for a diesel I've no idea: everyone says something different. Any ideas?

If you are selling a car 20k per annum is fine for modern engines. If you are buying 10k a year is about spot on 😉

The golden rule is regular oil changes and maintanence- like clockwork.

Multipla.

Next question

I STILL think the Berlingo. Why? The kids, kit that comes with them. Its big, cheapy secondhand and a fun practical economical vehicle. Plus- you dont have to worry about kids swinging their doors open into traffic or in carparks etc (sliding door).

Estates are good but are still saloons with a big boot tacked on. Go and test drive one with all your kids along!

The trouble is that we have a v.short space in the front of the house but we still want to park on it rather than on the road. A Berlingo would give us 3cm clearance each side which, for a new driver (and my missus who should pass her test by Feb) is a bit tight.

I might double (treble) check the measurements tho.

Understand but I'm thinking of your family and all the kit that comes with them. Even with A.N.Other car- you will still really struggle to open and shut the doors comfortably- plus you'll end up with chunks out of the doors.

My drive is circa 5cm each side (concrete posts) and I STILL managed to graze the side reversing out. Its sods law- early morning, tired, winter.

My subaru Forester is big enough for me, missus, bike and one dog. When our first comes along we wont have enough room in the Forester. Three kids, kit and bike- I'd go for something bigger like a van-based car. Low insurance and highly practical 😀

All the best.

Cheers. At the moment a Mitsubishi Colt is looking fairly good..

My vote would be for a Zafira (bacause I've got one). Ideal with 3 kids as you can fit a couple of their mates with the additional 2 seats up – stops them bickering – or 2 in the middle and 1 in the back – again to stop bickering.

I've got the 2.0 DTI ('03 plate diesel) huge amount of room for bikes and stuff with the back seat down, hits 90mph on motorways with no problem (not much left after that though), 40+ mpg, cheap servicing and parts interior hasn't fallen apart yet despite the best intentions of the kids.

One thing to be aware of – the spare sits under the rear of the car in an unlocked cage so depending upon where you live they do have a habit of getting nicked.

Not exactly a "driver's car" though.

bbA

Cheers. At the moment a Mitsubishi Colt is looking fairly good..

I test drove two of these when I first passed as well- the engine choice is critical. One of the petrols I drove was zippy, the other lethargic but I cant remember which was which!

Ta – 1.1 gets v.good write up from lots of places (honestjohn.co.uk and Top Gear bimonthly car guide mag off the top of my head) and happily that's the one for sale – only 18K on the clock too. Strong contender 🙂

Zafira was a thought but wouldn't fit on our mini-drive.

£500 banger to find out what you really need, how bothered you are for fixing stuff yourself and to not give a damn about bumps and scrapes

will get you almost any 90's hatchback, mark 2 golf gtd or driver would be my choice

timber- agree but ..in winter and with kids. Well I wouldnt!

Heathenwoods – my sister used to have a Mitsubishi (Shogun Pinin) and servicing costs/spare parts were horrendous.
I don't know how important this is to you, but it might be worth ringing a Mitsi dealer & asking how much a minor/major service is for a Colt.

My sis had the car as a company car, so didn't actually end up paying but a standard service used to come out at about £400 from the main dealer. Probably a lot less I guess from an independent garage.

Something to bear in mind though, perhaps?

Edit – just to add a couple more to the list. Have you looked at the Renault Modus or the Nissan Note, yet?

Renault Modus

We had one as our second choice but were a bit thrown by tales of electronic/electric faults that have just begun emerging.

I don't know how important this is to you, but it might be worth ringing a Mitsi dealer & asking how much a minor/major service is for a Colt.

£130 at a main and the one we bought yesterday (this one) was given a minor service by the dealer. Very nippy, nimble and versatile. Rear seats are foldable in multiple directions or removable making for a lot of bike space 🙂

Thanks to everyone for their help and advice (here and on the thread about the possibly dodgy motor – which turned out to be the dealers' innocent mistake. He'd sent off for reg plates with his garage name on, had two renaults and mixed up their reg plates)