Renault Laguna 3 Prestige advice

pug_

I'm not much of a car person, so I'm hoping someone can let me know if the car I'm looking at is a reasonable buy or not.

It's a 2008 Renault Laguna 3 Prestige 1.5 Diesel with aprox 40,000 miles on the clock. 6 speed gearbox, Aircon, aloy wheels, half leather interior, bluetooth, loads of other gizmos I'm not that into like some kind of electronic handbrake, and rain sensors.

I was well impressed when I took it for a test drive, it was very responsive for a 1.5 liter engine. Fuel wise the dealer reckoned about 60 miles to the gallon, but they all seem to say that . Low tax rate too which is a bonus.

Price wise I reckon we could get it for 14,500 based on asking price.

As for what I'm looking for all I need is something economical to run for reasonable money that's comfortable, has space to cart a family of 4 around the country visiting relatives at weekends. Most importantly though I'm looking for something reliable.

My primary focus before I saw this was a Skoda octavia, I reckon I could pick up a decent enough 09 for the money I'd be willing to spend, but for a couple of grand less and for what seems like a higher spec in a better looking car with reasonable mileage this one has me tempted.

EPM

The Octavia is in a class lower so in comfort terms alone the Laguna is a better car.

Mahuga

If the Laguna had a different name and slightly better styling it would be a much bigger seller. There is a lot to like about the car you are looking at. Great equipment, low running costs, improved reliability, it's cheap because the legacy of the previous unreliable Laguna is hard to shake off. If you like the car then go for it, very hard to see you being disappointed. 60mpg won't happen but 50mpg should be achievable.

Given that Lagunas can be hard to shift I would be going in low with your first offer, but the Prestige is a good spec and the dealer knows will can sell it, eventually.

The only downsides are rear legroom is not great (it's hard to get you feet under the front seats) and the boot is not huge for a family of four.

Another one to consider is the C5, Laguna qualities in a tastier package, also a lot of car for the money.

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Citroen/C5/1.6-DIES/201109201474736/advert?channel=CARS&featuredListingClickThru=true

pburns

I drove once and I have to say...it exceeded expectations...

I remember reading at the time how Renault threw the kitchen sink at sorting reliability, did a massive amount of development testing in different climates. Interior quite nice in a non-VW kinda way.

Bad reputation (low residuals) + vastly improved quality could equal a good s/h bargain...

pug_

Thanks for the replies. I forgot to say the car it's self is an estate, so room in the boot shouldn't be a problem there.

That Citroen looks nice too, maybe I'm crazy but this whole French car reliability thing is a little off putting. It feels a bit like a lottery, you could be lucky and get something great that never gives a bit of bother, or you could be spending half your time waiting for a garage to fix something else that's wrong. Might well be a misconception, actually probably is one, but it's a hard thing to shake.