Well, this is interesting: the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has told us that used car sales have stalled a bit at the beginning bit of 2021, by -8.9%.
That’s hardly surprising and far from the end of our world, because it should result in slightly lower prices as dealers and traders try to lure us back to their lots and showrooms.
If anything, it’s the new car market that’s taking the biggest hit, and perhaps we should be looking 3000 miles away at the US, where there’s a very real shortage of new cars and used ones are at a premium, due to something about computer chips. That could soon affect us as well, so maybe we should be stocking up now. But with what exactly?
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For a start, you should make a beeline for a diesel. Any diesel, because buyers too silly to avoid them and sellers underpricing what they have is a situation to exploit. I found a 2010 Vauxhall Insignia 2.0 CDTi Elite with 145,000 miles, two previous owners, a service history and a tidy MOT record for just £799. That’s a great family hatchback for not much money at all. It’s with a dealer, too, so it has to be sorted.
If you want the best small family hatch of recent times, the Mk1 Ford Focus is still readily available. You need to find a decent one, of course, but why pay through the nose for a nearly new something or other that won’t be as good to drive nor anywhere near as cheap to run?
This Focus can rust, but I found one that still seemed solid enough, was well looked-after and had just been serviced. For £995, a two-owner 2005 1.6 Zetec 5dr with 66,000 miles was temptingly fresh to look at. Futureproofed with a petrol engine, it should last another decade or two.
Those who need a lot of seats are well catered for as well. What could be more practical than the Renault Espace? Goodness me do these look good, and I found a 2008 2.0 dCi Dynamique automatic with just over 100,000 miles for £2000. What a characterful way to get around.
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AddyT. I meant the urban air quality impact of particulates from MPV diesels, not CO2. Which if you're buying a 10 year old MPV I'm assuming it's for local urban transport and not a car for cruising hundreds of miles a week on the motorway (otherwise yes, a diesel has better CO2 so need to balance local air pollution versus CO2 for global warming). So local urban car go petrol. Long distance cruising get diesel.
Incorrect Deputy. It depends on how many miles a year that person with the MPV does. If you're doing the miles you're not going to run a petrol MPV of that era doing no doubt a real world mpg around 30.
I'd rather trust Arthur Daley than listen to James Rupert. Two sentances confuse me.
Any diesel, because buyers too silly to avoid them and sellers underpricing what they have is a situation to exploit.
and
Futureproofed with a petrol engine, it should last another decade or two.
So is James is calling himself silly for not opting for a diesel Focus?