Renault Megane or alternative...

xebec

Have been considering buying a new/second hand car, family have always had Renaults and I like the styling of the newer models so was an obvious place to start. Looking for some opinions on what might be a good choice based on what I've looked at so far... Budget is up to about €12k.

This is my first car to own myself, will be used for moderate mileage mainly motorway and some around Dublin.

First thought was a second hand Clio as it's small and efficient, but looking at the price of a new one I can get a base model 3-door within my price range handily enough. Having test-driven one it was nice but not exactly going to blow anyone away!

I love the styling of the latest Megane (particularly the coupe, but not adverse to 5-door) and when I've driven them previously they've been a delight to drive. Seeing some 09 models with decent spec (much higher than Clio - cruise control, alloys, leather etc.) for around my budget (e.g. this). What would be considered high mileage for a 3 year old Megane?

Basically what I'm wondering is:
- any opinions on new Clio vs secondhand Megane?
- anything in particular I should be looking out for buying these?
- what other would you put forward?

..... less than 10,000 miles/annum isn't high miles

xebec

RoverJames wrote: »

..... less than 10,000 miles/annum isn't high miles

Sorry, open question not necessarily related to that car... Have seen another circa 50k miles, guessing that's not particularly high either? As I said, first time owning my own car so not sure how to consider the mileage on a second hand...

cadaliac

Take a yearly average of 12k miles a year.

Anything over 60k miles in 3 years would be high. Some times this is no bad thing, i.e. company car with an impeccable and documented service history.

Other people can get a car, skip the service and trade the car every 2 to 3 years. These are the ones to watch out for.

As for the Clio v S.Hand Megane, well I would take the bigger car personally but that is a matter of personal taste.

Matthewjohn

Would pick used over new as clio has been out almost 6 years but the megane has only been out 3 years so the design is newer. Also consider Ford Focus and Vw Golf