Trading a Land Rover Freelander for a used small family car

I have a Land Rover Freelander 2 TD4 XS, full black leather, bought new by me in June 2008, 27,000 miles in grey, aprox £18K trade in. I want to save on my motoring costs.

I'm a single mum, no longer need to tow my daughter's pony, but still need enough space in the car to take her to uni and the Freelander gets quite full! Thinking of a used, one-year-old Golf 1.6 diesel, manual, Bluemotion, aprox £15K.

I spend £200 per month on diesel and think I will halve fuel bills, cheaper servicing, repairs, insurance etc and £0 road tax. What worries me is depreciation over the next three years, the hidden motoring cost. Will I lose more on the Golf's value over the next three years than I will save in running costs? The Freelanders do see to command a high price. Should I keep it a few more years?

Asked on 26 January 2011 by siswick

Answered by Honest John
Don't bank on much better than 50mpg from that Golf. Maybe 55mpg. Could also consider a Focus ECOnetic estate. The truth is that, just like your Freelander, nothing does the official EC economy figure it's supposed to do. Freelander HSEs make very strong money. Lesser specs don't do so well. Even so, for an 08 you might see £18k. But you won't when trading it in for a cheaper car.
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