I am currently shopping around for a second-hand car. I want to move to diesel as I currently have a 2009 petrol Hyundai i10, but I do a lot of mileage commuting for work, and a diesel engine would be more efficient and better able to withstand the high mileage I’m clocking up.
My budget is up to €16,000. I’m really not sure which car to go for and whether it’s best to go with a private seller or a dealership (I’ve been looking at both). My questions: first, whether it’s generally better to buy from a dealership (I’ve seen some very competitive prices from private sellers); and, second, what is the number-one thing I should be looking out for in a second-hand diesel manual?
From Siobhán B, Co Mayo
You’re right – a private seller will usually have much lower prices than a dealer, because they don’t have to build in a profit margin, and nor do they need to cover the costs of storage, sales staff, presale servicing, etc. So you can definitely bag a bargain if you buy privately.
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However, the big worry is that if you do buy privately, you have no comeback afterwards if something goes wrong. That’s one of the big advantages of buying from a dealership, and it’s what makes buying privately somewhat riskier. Now, there is a word missing from that sentence, and it’s “reputable”.
We’ve heard of, and covered, all sorts of tales of woe about people who’ve bought a bad car from a dealership, which mysteriously ceased trading just after the sale, or which changed its trading name and ownership structure, and suddenly you’re left with a lemon and no comeback. So there’s risk on both sides.
Basically, it’s best to follow your nose, in both instances. If a dealer has been trading for many years in the same location, scoring repeat custom, and perhaps comes recommended by a friend, then you’re probably on safe ground. Better still, that dealer will likely offer some sort of warranty on the car you’re buying, so that if anything goes wrong immediately you can get it sorted easily.
If you decide to go private, make sure you bring your wits – and preferably a sensible friend – with you. Suss out the vibes of any private seller and do so early. Are they open to questions and happy to answer? Do they have a stack of paperwork with the car, including its ownership documents, prior NCTs and a fully-stamped service record? Are they fine with you test-driving the car? If the answer to any of these questions is ‘no’, then I’d walk away, no matter how cheap the price.
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It’s also always worth getting a history and background check done on the car, through the likes of Motorcheck or Cartell, which can reveal any nasty hidden history in the car’s past. This can save you money and trouble in the long run.
So the basic advice is: buy from a dealer if you want simple peace of mind; buy from a private seller if you want a lower price, but bring your common sense to bear in both cases.
Now to the specific car. You’ll probably have to trade up a size or two of car if you want to get a diesel engine, especially one that’s reliable, but my first recommendation would be a Mini Cooper diesel.
That’s based on personal experience. Our family car, for more than a decade, was a Mini Cooper Clubman (that’s the small estate model) with the 1.6-litre diesel engine that was shared between Mini, Ford, Volvo, Peugeot and Citroen, and it never spent an unscheduled day off the road until right at the end.
That 1.6 engine needs an annual service, and you need to insist that the garage uses the best-quality synthetic oil when servicing it, but if you do that, then it should be reliable and also rather good fun to drive. It’s bigger than a Hyundai i10 but still small enough to be nippy, and comfy on a long journey. A quick online search found a 2017 Cooper D hatchback, for sale in Galway from a dealership, that’s bang on your budget.
You did say you’re regularly covering high mileage on your commute, so it might be worth stepping up a size again and going for something bigger with a bit more comfort.
How about a Skoda Octavia? If you’re happy to buy private, we found a 2020 Skoda Octavia with the reliable and long-lived 1.6 TDI diesel engine that’s within your budget, on sale in Co Cavan.
The Octavia is an excellent car – roomy and smooth to drive – and Skoda has a very solid reliability record.
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Or how about a Mazda 3? In diesel-engined form it’s super rare, as the 1.8-litre diesel model in the current-shape body didn’t stay on sale for very long, but we’ve found just that on sale with a dealer on the Naas Road in Dublin that’s right on your budget. Super-frugal and rather good to drive too, the Mazda 3 is seriously well-built too, so reliability simply shouldn’t be an issue as long as you keep it properly serviced (which goes for all cars, really).
Finally, there’s the option of a Toyota Corolla. Toyota’s dalliance with diesel was brief, but the 1.4 D4D diesel engine was solid and reliable, and your budget should get you into a 2017 Corolla diesel saloon. That said, your budget might also stretch to a Corolla Hybrid if you shop around, and that should also meet both your reliability and frugality needs, but with petrol instead of diesel. Worth considering, at any rate.
Whatever car you choose (and please do get in touch to let us know how you get on) the trick to getting a car that’s reliable is to get one that’s been looked after. Mileage, up to a point, is kind of irrelevant, so buy instead on condition and – crucially – history. If the car you’re looking at comes with a sheaf of paperwork that shows it has been serviced properly and on time, every time, then it should still be good for plenty of years of happy motoring yet.
Combine that with spotless paintwork and a clean and unmarked interior, and you have a car which has been properly cared for. Keep up that level of care, and you shouldn’t have any problems.
