In the good old days, when you went to buy a used car your concern was whether it would break down a lot. If it bothered you, you bought Japanese or German. If it didn’t you bought French or British.
Now though (and my apologies if your car broke down this week) most cars are very reliable. They get gremlins more than they get big blow-ups. And I think consumers have an instinct that this is the case.
This is why they pop down to their local dealer, plonk a wad of twenty pound notes down and tootle off in their shiny new wheels. It’s got six months until it’s next service -what can go wrong?
Well, too many people are finding that the next service is a massively expensive one. Because, as I will now explain, on an increasing number of cars, not all services are equal. So check the next service cost before you buy.
Mitsubishi Shogun
High quality off road ability and a reputation for reliability. An alternative to the Range Rover, but it won’t turn heads in quite the same way. Floods of imports has increased choice and softened prices.
Most economical: 2.8TD 23mpg
Best used buy: 3.5 litre petrol
Fault check: The 3.5 litre petrol has a 9,000 mile/yearly service schedule. The costs are vary between £400 and £600 most of the time, but the petrol has a timing belt, the scheduled service of which is at 54,000 miles and costs £1270.00.
Price guide: Prices on cars that are 5 – 8 years old are all surprisingly flat on the 3.5 petrols. Mileages range from 50-80,000 miles but prices only really move between £7,000 and £8,000, making the 54,000 mile service a very high percentage of the car’s value.
Peugeot 307
A competent family car, that gives a softer ride than its competitors from Ford or Vauxhall. Soft prices and high MPG figures from the powerful diesel engines make it very appealing.
Most economical: 2.0 Hdi
Best used buy: 1.6 petrol
Fault check: The PEF (Peugeot Emission Filter also known as the chip fat filter) on diesel engines will need to be replaced at around 75,000 miles. This can cost £400.00 on top of the service costs which are typically £150, then £300, alternating between a big and small service.
Price guide: A 2005 1.6 HDI with just under 70,000 miles on the clock can be picked up for £4,500. But in 5,000 miles you may get a bill of up to £700.