Car for in and around 18K

nkay1985

Alright lads,

My father is looking to change his car so I thought I'd see if any of you gurus have any advice.

He's currently got a '04 Xsara with around 60k miles on the clock. There's a problem with the locking system where it will lock and unlock at random times etc. He was looking to change anyway so has decided to change without getting this fixed. So this kind of confines him to buying from a dealer.

So what's he looking for? The work he's planning to be doing involves a fair bit of driving so he wants something safe, reliable and efficient (don't we all). He's been offered between €3,000 and €4,500 for his car when looking at some options locally. He's going to add cash to this to bring it up to €17k - €18k. He wants to move three years at the least but would obviously prefer a '08.

What do you reckon are his best options?

I'd appreciate any help you can give.
NKay.

EPM

Petrol/Diesel? What size car does he need?

If he wants something similar in size a Focus diesel or a Kia Ceed diesel would be good options. Ceed will have a longer warranty. Should easily get 09's in both

nkay1985

EPM wrote: »

Petrol/Diesel? What size car does he need?

If he wants something similar in size a Focus diesel or a Kia Ceed diesel would be good options. Ceed will have a longer warranty. Should easily get 09's in both

I think he'd prefer a diesel for the fuel economy and, if he was getting a '08, the potentially lower tax. I don't think size is a huge issue but he would typically drive saloons.

EPM

Sell the Xsara privately. Consider a Focus Econetic from UK. Friend bought one through a dealer here with 6k on the clock, 08, decent spec for under €15k. €104 roadtax a year, 1.6 110 bhp diesel engine. Would imagine a bit of looking around would get one a bit lower than that

nkay1985

EPM wrote: »

Sell the Xsara privately. Consider a Focus Econetic from UK. Friend bought one through a dealer here with 6k on the clock, 08, decent spec for under €15k. €104 roadtax a year, 1.6 110 bhp diesel engine. Would imagine a bit of looking around would get one a bit lower than that

I don't think he wants the hassle of selling it privately tbh. And I wonder would the electrical problems not turn a lot of people off?

That does seem like a decent car though.

Anybody got other suggestions?

bazz26

Bring the Xsara to an auto electrician to examin the locking problem, it may not be as big a problem to put right as you think. Either that or allow for it in the selling price of the car. Buying the new car with no trade-in will allow you to negotitate the best possible cash deal on the car. You can then afford to let the Xsara go privately cheaply.

As to what car to go for well if he was generally happy with the Xsara then maybe the new C5 HDi is worth considering:

http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=200951196222824
http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=200948196024480
http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=200950196152537

If he still wants to trade up then he may get a better cost to change price from a Citroen dealer for the Xsara against a C5.

nkay1985

bazz26 wrote: »

Bring the Xsara to an auto electrician to examin the locking problem, it may not be as big a problem to put right as you think. Either that or allow for it in the selling price of the car. Buying the new car with no trade-in will allow you to negotitate the best possible cash deal on the car. You can then afford to let the Xsara go privately cheaply.

As to what car to go for well if he was generally happy with the Xsara then maybe the new C5 HDi is worth considering:

http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=200951196222824
http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=200948196024480
http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=200950196152537

If he still wants to trade up then he may get a better cost to change price from a Citroen dealer for the Xsara against a C5.

That sounds like good advice to me; whether he'll take it or not is another thing.

On the issue of a private sale though, I wonder how much you could realistically get. And how much you could get off the sticker price of a car by offering cash only.

That C5 looks a decent option alright. He was actually looking at the second one you linked to but it already has electrical problems (issues with the lights and central locking) so that's very much a case of once bitten, twice shy. But I'd imagine it's not a widespread problem and that he's just been unlucky.

OldmanMondeo

I had the same problem on a 04 Xsara van with the central locking. It was the boot release relay which caused the problem. Hope that helps.