Recommend me a used car

KaneToad

Am not really into cars and have limited knowledge so am hoping that I might pick your collective brains.

I'm looking for a used car. I want one from 2016 upwards - to benefit from improved tech & safety features. I would be keen on high spec, sensors, cameras, motorised tailgates, electric seats etc..

I need a diesel as it will be used for work driving.

I would like an auto gear box as I've a weak left knee due to an old sports injury!

The samples I carry for work are a strange shape so I need a vehicle with a large boot opening and also three seats in the rear with the middle seat being able to fold down flat while the other two seats stay up as I often have to transport people in the back at the same time.

The car would also be used domestically at the weekend so would need to carry family and dogs. Thankfully baby car seats are not a consideration!

Economy is important - more so than looks, fashion or the 'driving experience'. High mpg and low tax.

I would like the mileage to be 50K or lower...

Budget is 15-19k

Any suggestions would be greatly received. Thanks all.

colm_mcm

How big would the space between the rear seats need to be? A lot of cars have a ski hatch (basically the space where the rear armrest is opens up.

KaneToad

colm_mcm wrote: »

How big would the space between the rear seats need to be? A lot of cars have a ski hatch (basically the space where the rear armrest is opens up.

The ski hatch style wouldn't suffice, unfortunately. The boxes, although narrow, wouldn't fit. It would really need the entire middle seat more or less flat.

celtic_oz

any of these any good

https://www.cargiant.co.uk/car/peugeot/2008/FN15PYW

https://www.cargiant.co.uk/car/volvo/v60/LF64DVZ

https://www.cargiant.co.uk/car/volkswagen/golf-sv/PK66EHH

KaneToad

celtic_oz wrote: »

any of these any good

https://www.cargiant.co.uk/car/peugeot/2008/FN15PYW

https://www.cargiant.co.uk/car/volvo/v60/LF64DVZ

https://www.cargiant.co.uk/car/volkswagen/golf-sv/PK66EHH

It doesn't look like the Peugeot or the Volvo have the independently folding middle seat.

The golf looks more promising, on the middle seat front, but I think the boot may not be big enough.

I will have to Google them more thoroughly. Thanks for the guidance.

I think, for the boot size I need, I might need to focus on 7 seaters? Although I don't necessarily need the 7 seats. It would appear, to me, that all the popular SUV vehicles are lacking in bootspace. Or am I misguided?

KaneToad

Update:

I was in a supermarket car park earlier and decided to take a good look at all the cars I passed. There were an abundance of SUVs:

Kia Sportage
Nissan X Trail
Peugeot 3008
Peugeot 5008
Mazda CX 5
Hyundai Santa Fe
Volvo XC 60

I had a good gawk at each and every one of them. But they all appear to have a very short distance between the back seat and the boot opening. By short, I mean shorter than expected.

I saw the following cars too that seemed to offer closer to what I might need:

Ford Galaxy
Citroen C4 Grand
Ford SMax
Seat Alhambra

I think it is an MPV type yoke that I need.
Which of the above would be the most reliable - for a 2016 model? Anything to be wary of?

ednwireland

skoda superb estate surely about the biggest thing inside on the road isnt it

or do you need the height as well

Odyssey 2005

ednwireland wrote: »

skoda superb estate surely about the biggest thing inside on the road isnt it

or do you need the height as well

A superb estate would tick all his boxes except for the rear seats. They fold down two + one

colm_mcm

You pretty much are limited to MPVs (and possibly a small few crossovers) which have individually sliding rear seats. These will have the ability to fold the middle seat flat.

You might also look at 7 seat crossovers like the Nissan X Trail and have your load on one side with passengers in the middle and rearmost seat rows.

Philb76

Friend got a peugeot rifter few months ago i had never heard of it the thing is huge and has everything they are only out this year I believe

KaneToad

Odyssey 2005 wrote: »

A superb estate would tick all his boxes except for the rear seats. They fold down two + one

I had looked at the Superb estate, as someone told me that it had the massive boot, but - you're right- the lack of center folding seat ruled it out.

KaneToad

colm_mcm wrote: »

You pretty much are limited to MPVs (and possibly a small few crossovers) which have individually sliding rear seats. These will have the ability to fold the middle seat flat.

You might also look at 7 seat crossovers like the Nissan X Trail and have your load on one side with passengers in the middle and rearmost seat rows.

I hadn't considered having the passengers sitting behind eachother in separate rows and leaving space for the load. Good suggestion!

I must have a look at the space in the rearmost seat of an X trail. Hopefully it's a more substantial seat than the back of a Quasqai +2 -my sister has one of those and it's only really suitable for small kids.

KaneToad

Philb76 wrote: »

Friend got a peugeot rifter few months ago i had never heard of it the thing is huge and has everything they are only out this year I believe

Just had a quick look at them. They look the business! But it would appear that they are only out this year...the price is that bit higher than my upper end budget. Were it within my range I think I might get a bit of push back from MrsKaneToad as I suspect she wouldn't be as keen on the van-ness of it. I like it though!

gzoladz

KaneToad wrote: »

Just had a quick look at them. They look the business! But it would appear that they are only out this year...the price is that bit higher than my upper end budget. Were it within my range I think I might get a bit of push back from MrsKaneToad as I suspect she wouldn't be as keen on the van-ness of it. I like it though!

I got one used last week, they should come down in price a bit more from Jan and they should get close to your budget. I am not into cars either. They look huge but they dont feel that big when you drive it.

Overall I like it as it is 100% functional. My only reservation is that I am not fan of french cars but I spoke to many taxi drivers that own Partners and they are all fairly happy with it. Time will tell.

KaneToad

A tangential question from my original post:

I've looked, online, at a car with a 'yellow reg' but when I put that reg into the number plate checker sites, it brings back a different make & model.

Why is that?

I doubt the seller is bogey as they're fairly well established.

Iodine1

Have a look at the Ford Mondeo, excellent driver, huge boot, split rear seats, hatchback opening in both saloon and estate versions.

Philb76

gzoladz wrote: »

I got one used last week, they should come down in price a bit more from Jan and they should get close to your budget. I am not into cars either. They look huge but they dont feel that big when you drive it.

Overall I like it as it is 100% functional. My only reservation is that I am not fan of french cars but I spoke to many taxi drivers that own Partners and they are all fairly happy with it. Time will tell.

I took my friends for a spin more car like than I thought it would be and the spec is huge including lane departure control and there is actually a waiting list for them new due to taxi drivers and mobility customers

bazz26

KaneToad wrote: »

A tangential question from my original post:

I've looked, online, at a car with a 'yellow reg' but when I put that reg into the number plate checker sites, it brings back a different make & model.

Why is that?

I doubt the seller is bogey as they're fairly well established.

Double check that you got the reg correct.

Link to the advert?

KaneToad

bazz26 wrote: »

Double check that you got the reg correct.

Link to the advert?

I don't want to be uncharitable to the dealer - in case the mistake is mine. But the reg is very clear. It's three letters and 2 numbers. Does that have any significance? Is that a personalised Reg??

Philb76

KaneToad wrote: »

I don't want to be uncharitable to the dealer - in case the mistake is mine. But the reg is very clear. It's three letters and 2 numbers. Does that have any significance? Is that a personalised Reg??

Could be and it's been transferred to a new vehicle hence the details coming up different

bazz26

KaneToad wrote: »

I don't want to be uncharitable to the dealer - in case the mistake is mine. But the reg is very clear. It's three letters and 2 numbers. Does that have any significance? Is that a personalised Reg??

Could well be or was on a personalized plate.

gzoladz

Philb76 wrote: »

I took my friends for a spin more car like than I thought it would be and the spec is huge including lane departure control and there is actually a waiting list for them new due to taxi drivers and mobility customers

I found the same when I tested it. I had actually rented a Partner a few holidays ago and I was surprised at how much more car like the Rifter is.

I think new are due in March, according to the dealer I got mine from.

Mine is an Allure, which has what I need, but there is a more premium line (GT) and a good few extras that can be added to it. It is also fairly quite up to 100/110kmh, the you start getting some wind noise.

Long term reliability is the only unanswered question, time will tell...

rn

There is an existing car similar to rifter from citroen, I think its called berlingo family. It's basically the van in car form. It's on the market for years, but they are rare enough. One of lads at work has one.

That might come in on budget and other requirements you have.

KaneToad

bazz26 wrote: »

Could well be or was on a personalized plate.

Just to muddy the waters a bit...a friend, in the UK, has a personalized plate. I put that into the number check sites and it does return his make/model.

KaneToad

KaneToad wrote: »

Just to muddy the waters a bit...a friend, in the UK, has a personalized plate. I put that into the number check sites and it does return his make/model.

Presumably the make and model of his previous car which he had the personalised plate on previously didn't come up? This is your situation.

gzoladz

rn wrote: »

There is an existing car similar to rifter from citroen, I think its called berlingo family. It's basically the van in car form. It's on the market for years, but they are rare enough. One of lads at work has one.

That might come in on budget and other requirements you have.

Yes Citroen revamped the Berlingo, and so did Opel. They are all made by PSA, so they're basically the same cast with different look.

colm_mcm

Iodine1 wrote: »

Have a look at the Ford Mondeo, excellent driver, huge boot, split rear seats, hatchback opening in both saloon and estate versions.

Can’t say I’d agree that it’s a great driver. The current Mondeo is a bit of a pig to drive. It’s quite comfy and very very refined. It’s not a drivers car by any stretch.

colm_mcm

gzoladz wrote: »

Yes Citroen revamped the Berlingo, and so did Opel. They are all made by PSA, so they're basically the same cast with different look.

Toyota are badging their own version soon too

H3llR4iser

KaneToad wrote: »

The samples I carry for work are a strange shape so I need a vehicle with a large boot opening and also three seats in the rear with the middle seat being able to fold down flat while the other two seats stay up as I often have to transport people in the back at the same time.

Amazed nobody said this yet but...these are pretty much the requirement for a killsquad / latin american drug lord paramilitary

Jokes aside, have you considered a crewcab / 4 seater van? Sounds like it might be much more practical for the daily needs. Sure, you'd be stuck with the van for the week end...

gzoladz

colm_mcm wrote: »

Toyota are badging their own version soon too

Correct, but I believe they will do only a bigger version, I could be wrong tho.

colm_mcm

gzoladz wrote: »

Correct, but I believe they will do only a bigger version, I could be wrong tho.

For the Proace City (Berlingo) they’ll be doing the SWB,LWB and crewcab versions.

Iodine1

colm_mcm wrote: »

Can’t say I’d agree that it’s a great driver. The current Mondeo is a bit of a pig to drive. It’s quite comfy and very very refined. It’s not a drivers car by any stretch.

Ok, it's not a Ferrari, and I didn't think I was in that sector. But compared to the models listed here, it's a great drive, especially with the 2 litre engine.