Some input!

Bob1981

Have been looking around for a car for the last month and narrowed it down to the below. Any thoughts appreciated..

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Peugeot/307/ZENITH-1/201115202038969/advert?channel=CARS

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Nissan/Almera/1.5-SXE-/201114201945004/advert?channel=CARS

EPM

Buy a Focus instead. Vastly better car than either of those two.

Bob1981

The focus is good but unfortunately I cannot find a low mileage focus within my budget. Also have been driving a fiesta for the last 2 years and fancy something other than a Ford. Thanks though.

kerten

you will hear 307s are problematic but one you are looking at is a facelift model and most of the issues were solved with facelift.

IMO,

if you are after reliability almera is less problematic for sure.

307 has more comfortable suspension and better looking interior than almera

Almera has stiffer suspension and lower seating position that give more sporty driving feeling

engine power and fuel economy wise I don't think there is a lot of difference.

if you want something comfortable go for 307

if you want to drive fast at backroads almera is better than 307

drive both and decide !

kev250

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1816783

I would prefer this 307 for about the same money, fully spec's, diesel

Bob1981

Yea I would agree with your post 100%. My main criteria is quite simple 1. Reliability 2. Low Mileage. The almera wins out in reliability and the 307 in mileage. I have to say the 307 felt a better drive but I am worried about their problematic history. But there is a years warranty with the 307.

Bob1981

kev250 wrote: »

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1816783

I would prefer this 307 for about the same money, fully spec's, diesel

Very nice spec and it's a diesel which I've never owned one of before. I know diesels have a rep for doing more miles but my low mileage criteria rules out anything over 60k(that's just me!)

EPM

Low mileage isn't the be all and end all. There are plenty of low mileage wrecks out there. A full service history is essential. I wouldn't immediately turn down a higher mileage car that had been properly cared for.

What's your budget and annual mileage?

Bob1981

EPM wrote: »

Low mileage isn't the be all and end all. There are plenty of low mileage wrecks out there. A full service history is essential. I wouldn't immediately turn down a higher mileage car that had been properly cared for.

What's your budget and annual mileage?

Fully understand where you are coming from and would always insist on service history. My budget is 3.5k - 4k plus by 03 fiesta with 36k miles on the clock which I think gives me another 2.5k. Annual mileage about 6k miles.

bazz26

307s are hit and miss, the run out models should be reliable but I would not take the chance on one. Almeras are very outdated even back in 2006 and have problems with timing chains.

Have a look at the Mazda 3, very little goes wrong with them:
http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=201028198791037

Also if you are not doing more than 20k miles a year then don't even think about a diesel. Modern diesels are not very reliable and parts that do go wrong tend to be expensive to replace.

Bob1981

bazz26 wrote: »

307s are hit and miss, the run out models should be reliable but I would not take the chance on one. Almeras are very outdated even back in 2006 and have problems with timing chains.

Have a look at the Mazda 3, very little goes wrong with them:
http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=201028198791037

Also if you are not doing more than 20k miles a year then don't even think about a diesel. Modern diesels are not very reliable and parts that do go wrong tend to be expensive to replace.

Mazda 3 is a very nice car, bit close to the 60k for my liking but worth a look for sure.

bazz26

Bob1981 wrote: »

Mazda 3 is a very nice car, bit close to the 60k for my liking but worth a look for sure.

Cars don't automatically fall apart when they reach a certain mileage. My father has a car with over 200k miles on it that has been looked after since new and has had no trouble with it. It's how a car was driven, not how far it was driven.