Reliability of 4/5 year old car?

I know it's not on your list, but having gone through the same thing three years ago, we ended up with a Honda CRV. Getting three car seats across the back of most cars is impossible. No reliability issues with our car so far anyway

i've had plenty of older premium cars. BMWs can have their issues.

We have a SEAT Alhambra. It's been great, I would have preferred electric but there weren't any 7 seaters available at the time.

I will throw another car that I'm fairly sure could take 3 seats in the back … and i quiet like them as well citroen C5 aircross

2015 Fiesta here on 80,000 Miles,nothing replaced yet outside of oil,filter's,brake pads/disc's.Passed last NCT with no advisor notes.

OP has asked about the reliability of this car?

and people are suggesting this.

I think it's fair to ask, has anyone here got a Volvo XC90 or is anyone here a mechanic, what are the known issues with one of these cars that has a full service history and how reliable are they in comparison to other luxury vehicles like BMW, Mercedes etc?

Personally I struggle to understand how a car that has more expensive parts and retails at twice the cost of a Hyundai/Skoda could be less reliable. If they were the pieces of junk that they're made out to be here then why are there so many of them that are 10+ years old on the road?

I suggested this. Drove one a few years ago and I think they are class. I almost bought an xc90 a few years ago too but went with a q5 which ended up needing a new engine so… you win some you lose some. Still have the q5.

If you think that a car will be more reliable just because it is more expensive to buy then you would be mistaken. Generally speaking the more expensive a car is to buy the less reliable its going to be and the more its going to cost to fix. Obviously there are some out liars like Lexus

Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Suzuki, cheap to buy, cheap to fix, and reliable.

BMW, Mercedes, Porshce, Land Rover, expensive to buy, expensive to fix, not very reliable.

And then you have a middle ground like VW, Skoda, Hyundai, Ford, Opel, reasonably affordable and reasonable cheap to fix. Not the most reliable cars on the road but they do good overall

I’m sorry but claiming the majority of 10+ year old cars on our roads are more expensive brands is completely anecdotal and untrue. I checked Donedeal and there are 2000 Toyotas for sale over 10 years old. 1400 Mercs and 1400 BMW’s. So your theory isn’t stacking up at all.

There's surely more Toyotas sold each year though so it's not really comparing like with like. I do think you see more older premium makes still going but a big part of that is definitely perceived value (owning a premium make is achievable after depreciation) and the fact that they're still comfortable places to be even when they're old.

I know NCT pass rates based on age, make and model are available as I remember seeing it before but don't have it to hand (think it was a giant spread sheet of statistics). This website has it until 2017 so not completely recent but if you look at 2000-2017 mercedes has the second highest pass rate behind Kia:

My own anecdotal experience over the last 4 years has been that my 2007 Merc has cost me less in repairs than our Nissan that's 7 years younger.

https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/idiro.analytics/viz/NCT2017Top20Makes/NCT2017-20MostPopularMakes

In proportion with the numbers sold is fair enough. That being said I would imagine a 20 year old Toyota or Nissan is far more likely to be scrapped and crushed than a 20 year old Merc or BMW since they are worth so much less? Like people would have no problem scraping a €300 Yaris compared to a €1500 Merc or BMW? That might be a contributing factor as to why premium brands are kept on the road

We flogged my wife's 2014 CMax diesel recently which she'd had since a year old. Nothing, and I mean nothing gave trouble with it. Insanely reliable. She's taken on a Tuscon that was my brother's car and is a low miler. It's needed a door lock and a rear shock replaced (both known issues) but has otherwise been fine. Advice also given was to half the oil change intervals with it, which were doing. I think reliability nowadays does have much to do with how well a car is driven and maintained.