Spacious, economical diesel €7.5k - 9k max

toby2111

Sold my 07 kia ceed diesel, great car but want something a bit bigger. Have a 2 year old toddler and missus due in 2 weeks but not in a major panic to buy as we have her car to get around. Budget is from €7500 to €8500 but could possibly squeeze €9000 if it was a great deal. Do a fair bit of driving so ideally would like an economical diesel,comfortable(have bad back), spacious (decent boot space), reliable and not with big mileage(ideally under 60k miles) . Would hope to get 09 or newer. So a roomy hatch, saloon or estate,1.4 -2.0 litre seem to be best options. Had a quick look on various sites, seems to be Opel/Vauxhall estates (09 or 10) or Renaults (meganes/laguna) that may suit. Heard Renault reliability not great but that may have improved. Not sure if Opel/vauxhall much better? Obviously buying private might get me a newer car so am open to that. Have a mate who could check out a car before buying.
Any recommendations?

bazz26

I think you need to be a bit more realistic here and revise some of your criteria. A 09 diesel car is 6 years old so chances are it's bound to have more than 60k miles on it. Anything with lower mileage I'd be dubious of with a full service history to prove it and anything genuine tends to command good money.

Laguna is probably the best value out there given your budget:

http://www.driving.ie/used-cars/Renault/Laguna/DYNAMIQUE-DCI/201401229848914/

toby2111

Yeh,I know I may not get what I want but only started looking. Saw these-
Astra estate- http://www.carsireland.ie/detail.php?ad_id=1198366&r=s.php%3Fd%3D6000%26e%3D10000%26i%3D70000%26ot%3Dm%26f%3D2%26nx%3D12%26nn%3D6%26b%3D3%26yn%3D2009%26yx%3D2014%26pp%3D50%26g%3D0

Megane http://www.carsireland.ie/detail.php?ad_id=1238813&r=s.php%3Fd%3D6000%26e%3D10000%26i%3D70000%26ot%3Dm%26f%3D2%26nx%3D12%26nn%3D6%26b%3D3%26yn%3D2009%26yx%3D2014%26pp%3D50%26g%3D0

Grand megane http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/2010-renault-grand-megane-1-5-dci-diesel-73k/9007086?offset=6

Newer Astra http://www.driving.ie/used-cars/Opel/Astra/1.7-CDTI/613256713847080/
As I said,in no major panic just yet so I'll keep looking around. Feel free to recommend anybody!

drunkmonkey

Are you going for reg plate over quality if your going to be doing a lot of driving in it? A 07 520d estate versus a 09 Megane, I'd bet a lot of chaps here would forsake the reg for the experience.
C5 seems like another one to look at if your willing to chance a French car, something like this
http://cars.donedeal.ie/view/8370594 Citroen C5 Vtr HDI
I'm sure there's loads more c5's out there but they'd have a lot more space than an Astra.

gooner99

Another newer ceed/i30 estate?

toby2111

I dont do mad mileage,maybe 15k to 20k km per year. Found my last kia diesel economical so thats why I'm leaning towards diesel again. Would like 09 onwards to get cheaper road tax. I'm not a badge snob but dont want an ugly lump of crap either!I'll check out the C5 but are French cars unreliable?And I'll look for ceed/i30 estates but havent seen any yet in my budget.

drunkmonkey

I don't think the French made a decent car since the 205 GTI but maybe that's just me, the Hyundai seem in around your budget but I really question the size of the boot in the models your looking at, I'm not sure your going to have enough space.

toby2111

Just thought the Astra/Megane Estate might have enough space.Its just to fit a buggy and a few things.Thought all estates would have room!A roomy hatch or saloon would do either.I'm no car expert but am nervous about French cars,havent heard great reports. But thats why I posted here-to get opinions from those who are more knowledgeable than me!

drunkmonkey

How about an Avensis estate or hatchback? Couldn't really go wrong with a Toyota, skoda superb would be another one.

I'd avoid the French but I do like the look of the c5 and it's got buckets of room, I'm in the same boat as you need to change for more space and I know the likes of the Astra or an i30 isn't big enough. I've a 5 series and the boot will swallow a fair amount and I can't imagine the Astra holding a lot more.

toby2111

Would love an Avensis and Superbs look huge.....but my budget wont allow.Unless its got big mileage maybe. I'll keep on looking around and see whats out there. May have to buy private,doubt I'd get a good deal in a garage.

toby2111

Had a quick look at hatchbacks, saw these - http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/opel/vectra/used-2009-opel-vectra-1-9-cdti-ex-monaghan-fpa-134414225154465810

and http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/renault/laguna/used-2009-renault-laguna-3-1-5-dc-dublin-fpa-147614251471394930

Not sure about this Octavia http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/skoda/octavia/used-2009-skoda-octavia-ambiente-limerick-fpa-201511231643057 Price seems too low.

AMKC

How about a Mazda 6 estate. Looks like a lovely car. A bit more mileage than you would have liked but might not be a bad thing. Should be more worried if the mileage seemed very low for such a car.

http://www.autotrader.ie/browse-used-cars/mazda/mazda6/used-2008-mazda-mazda6-2-0-ts2-0-kilkenny-fpa-201507230906617

Or maybe something like this

Grand Megane which looks lovely

http://www.autotrader.ie/browse-used-cars/renault/megane/used-2010-renault-megane-1-5-dci-wexford-fpa-98514150928434570?SOURCE_ID=SOURCE_ID_FPA_FROM_FEAT_LIST

or this Audi

http://www.autotrader.ie/browse-used-cars/audi/a4/used-2007-audi-a4-estate-2004-antrim-fpa-139614232763087250

or maybe a Volvo

http://www.autotrader.ie/browse-used-cars/volvo/v50/used-2008-volvo-v50-v50-2-0-d-se-mayo-fpa-201512231904126

Although I think the space in them might not be that good really. You could look at a Volvo V70 also.

Lots of choice.

toby2111

Thanks for that. Would like mileage a bit lower, possibly 80k miles or less. There's a few on donedeal, mostly UK imports, so I might check some of them out. I'll keep looking around the other sites also.

toby2111

Took a grand megane estate for a spin yesterday, nice car, comfortable, quite nippy but felt the back seats had little headroom. The Fluence looks to have more room in the back. What are people's opinions of it? Seeing plenty of them on the roads and there's a few for sale online also. They look spacious, are economical but still wondering if they have reliability problems?

AMKC

If it was me I would have the Grand Megane myself think it looks better and as there is not as many of them on the road as the Fluence it should have a better resale value too. They are basically the same car except one is an estate the other a saloon and they are built in different factories I think. There is lots of Fluence,s about as you said yourself so they most not have too many problems. I have not heard of any major faults on them. I think French cars are made a lot better these days.

toby2111

True, the grand megane estates are a nicer looking car but the passenger headroom is not great. I sat in the back and my head was nearly touching the roof and I'm only 5' 10! There is a lot more fluences on the road, not as nice looking but seem to have more room which is what I'd like.

Triangla

http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/volkswagen/passat/used-2008-volkswagen-passat-passa-leitrim-fpa-201511231790891

A nicely priced VW Passat above if you fancy a trip to Leitrim.

toby2111

Mileage is very suspect. Says new engine and new gearbox yet only 40k miles........ Think I'll pass.

AMKC

toby2111 wrote: »

True, the grand megane estates are a nicer looking car but the passenger headroom is not great. I sat in the back and my head was nearly touching the roof and I'm only 5' 10! There is a lot more fluences on the road, not as nice looking but seem to have more room which is what I'd like.

Maybe better getting a Fluence then. Have you looked at any MK III Laguna,s they are nice inside not the biggest car in its class but a nice car and classy in its own way too. Someone around here has a top of the range one with the four wheel steer and twin exhausts and it looks really good. Space in the back of the MK II for headroom was not the best do.Am not sure what its like in the MK II do.

tomred81

I have the laguna III, coupe version, great car, haven't had a single problem. The laguna II was apparently very troublesome so they improved on their reliability. I'll probably go for a fluence next.

naughtysmurf

If it helps your decision, our 11 reg Fluence sailed through the nct this morning with 107k on the clock, it has a full main dealer on time service history, not one days bother with the car

toby2111

Yeh, think I'll have a look at a fluence tomorrow.
Naughtysmurf - what's the headroom like in the back of your fluence? Is it better than the grand megane estate?

naughtysmurf

It's fine, young lad is 5'11" no issues in the back for him, I'm a short arse so doesn't affect me

toby2111

Thanks for that. Is it a nice comfy car? I'll be doing a mixture of motorway driving and town driving.

naughtysmurf

yeah, always found Renault very comfortable though, been at least one in the driveway since 2000, take one for a test yourself, pretty frugal on fuel too, I know a lot on here dis Renault but overall I've had good experiences with them over the last 15 years, our Fluence does mainly motorway miles which I'd say helps

toby2111

Good to hear.Yeh, I havent read great things about French cars in the past but it seems thats changing. The 5 year warranty is a sign of Renaults confidence in their cars I suppose. Found the Grand Megane Estate comfortable so I'll try the Fluence this week. Boot space decent enough for a buggy and a few other things?

naughtysmurf

Yeah, fine size boot on her

toby2111

Great,I'll check one out this week and keep an eye on the web for a good value one. Thanks

AMKC

tomred81 wrote: »

I have the laguna III, coupe version, great car, haven't had a single problem. The laguna II was apparently very troublesome so they improved on their reliability. I'll probably go for a fluence next.

The Laguna II did have a lot of problems but but was and still is a lovely car to look at. Renault had rushed through a lot of the tech on the Laguna II without proper testing.Unfortunatly for the Renault and the Laguna name a lot of damage had been done and in places like England people just stopped buying them. They don,t do that anymore they learn,t there lessen. There is still at lot of the Laguna II,s about do.
Renault cars are much better and o=improved in every way now.

The Laguna coupe is a beauty to look at. Glad it has been good for you.
There is rumors that Renault is going to make a fourth Laguna model. Hopefully its true. Maybe there will be a coupe with that too. Would you not just wait and get another Laguna. Be a big difference from having a Laguna Coupe and then a Fluence saloon. It would certainly be more practical do just maybe not as much fun to drive or as nice to look at.

tomred81

I wouldn't be in the market for a new car, I must take a test drive in the fluence, see how it compares.

toby2111

Just took ownership of a 2012 Fluence Dynamique,39,000km on clock,full Renault dealer service history(only 1 service at 27k km).Bought privately. Absolutely spotless inside and out,sellers wife only used it for running around the place,now she wants something smaller.Met them both,100% genuine,decent people. Got it for €10,000 which I think is a great price seeing as similar ones with similar mileage are going for between €13k and €15k on carzone. Happy out as its a major improvement on my old 07 Kia Ceed. Its exactly what I wanted-spacious,economical,very comfy.
One thing-both key cards are saying low battery,how much is it to replace the battery in them?Will a motor factors have replacements?

George Dalton

Absolute bargain IMO. They are one seriously under-rated car. They are as reliable as anything else out there and in my opinion a far better ownership proposition than any of the Korean offerings that are put on a pedestal on many forums (especially this one!)

naughtysmurf

Agree with George, great deal, well wear, batteries in your local Tesco for a couple of bucks, just put them in the right way, the center bit of your key card flips open to remove / insert

hurleronditch

Well wear with it. I have a late 2010 one I bought 2.5 years ago. Got her serviced on schedule all the time, not one problem with her to date touch wood. Still 7 months warranty left. Once you have the dynamique with Bluetooth cruise and dual climate there's not much else you need, though any time I get a spin on a nice B road I wish she had 30 extra horses for fun, but she has enough torque to make day to day stuff simple.

I do feel it should be the new Octavia of this forum!!

toby2111

Fluence owners - I've no rear wiper on mine, is that the same on all fluences? If so, how do you keep rear window clear?

naughtysmurf

toby2111 wrote: »

Fluence owners - I've no rear wiper on mine, is that the same on all fluences? If so, how do you keep rear window clear?

Just use the rear window heater when needed, saloons don't usually have rear wipers, air-con all the time may also help also it's better for the air-con system anyway

bazz26

Saloons don't really need a rear wiper. Because of the long boot on the saloon any spray from the rear normally doesn't get past the saloon boot. Hatchback/estate designs are different as the rear windscreen is nearly vertical meaning it is more prone to spray at the rear which hinders visibility.

toby2111

Thanks. First time having a saloon, always had hatchbacks. Kinda figured a wiper would only get in the way of the boot but just wanted to be sure.
On a side note, what sort of fuel economy are fluence owners getting? I'm doing mostly motorway driving mixed with town driving, says 5.8l per 100km but only have it a week so maybe that might improve over the next few weeks.

toby2111

naughtysmurf wrote: »

air-con all the time may also help also it's better for the air-con system anyway

Do you leave air con on all the time?Does that not use up more fuel?

naughtysmurf

toby2111 wrote: »

Do you leave air con on all the time?Does that not use up more fuel?

Yes I do, I don't think you will notice any extra significant fuel consumption with leaving the air-con all the time, at least use it on a regular basis, if you don't, I understand some kind of a mould or fungus can build up in the system, causing issues, air-con is great

toby2111

Yeh,its handy . I presume you turn it off during cold weather and turn up the temperature??

naughtysmurf

No, on all the time, if it's cold set the temp to a comfortable level for you, same when it's warm / hot

toby2111

I was only ever using a/c in a car when it was warm/hot to cool down the inside of the car. Never thought it could also be used to heat it up also!!