try the car buying service

Great advice and they offered me pretty much what I paid for the car so I am looking to conclude that deal this week.

I have also narrowed down what I will replace it with to two cars:

1 - 12 plate Avensis 2.0 D-4D w/22k miles. Nice spec and a one owner car with full Toyota history. Manual.

2 - Focus 2.0 TDCi Powershift, again a 12 plate with similar mileage and again one owner with full Ford history.

If I could combine the two I would have the perfect car for me. The spec on the Toyota is fantastic but it's manual and dull as dishwater. The Focus is auto which I prefer (but know nothing of the Ford P/Shift boxes) and is also much better to drive but I recall somewhere that the 2.0 TDCi engine may be problematic?

Either car will be predominantly used for motorway trips to holiday home, carrying luggage and stuff 8 months of the year so weekly runs of 2 x 90 miles plus the usual mileage day to day inbetween. Annual mileage is around 17 - 18k.

Any advice as to what to look for/avoid/which would be the better buy. Aiming for 5 year ownership.

Thanks again for all the helpful advice.

Avensis, electric parking brake rules it out for me, but apart from that its a larger car altogether roomy and comfortable, better warranty into the bargain plus Toyota have customer service actually worthy of the title should something serious go wrong out of warranty.

That is a concern of mine if honest but I am struggling to find another car as well spec'd as this one (the original 10 plate wasn't for me - auto box that I hated so looks like a manual it will have to be) is a 12 plate with literally everything you could want. The dealer is not boving at the price and has stated that he'll see me walk away before knocking a penny off. So it's 12k for a 12 plate Avensis or 11k for a 12 Focus (Auto).

Parking brake aside I'm swayed towards the Toyota for the warranty and reliability and toys and Ford for the price and auto.

I'll sleep on it.

I think you've answered your own question with the sentence ''There's just a confidence in Toyota's reliability that may make it worth while.''

Its not just customer confidence, its the confidence the maker puts in their product by standing by them longer than the others, and the many accounts from Toyota owners, who having had problems often long after warranty has expired, had their previously (properly serviced) cars fixed under goodwill.

I wonder if the shortage of suitable used Avensis is partly caused by owners keeping them longer due to the better warranties, plus very few on rental fleets compared to the thousands of the other two you are interested in.

Have you checked Motorpoint and the like to see if a pre rgd Avensis (if there are such things) could be an option for you.

Thanks both.

Gordon - I think you are right but am just a bit irked that they won't budge at all - must be my age and stubbornness :-). I have looked at a lot of cars this week and am at that point where you look at so many you start to confuse yourself so it's time to decide. I have set an absolute budget of £12k and the Avensis is just under that price point and, to be fair, it does seem reasonably priced for a 12 plate T Spirit. It's just the little stuff like they won't put mats in it etc that's bugging me but I may have to let that go. That's the reason I haven't looked at pre-reg etc as this is going to be a car that I just run and run with a reasonably minimal initial outlay.

I have spotted a saloon with 34k on the clock and on an 11 plate for 11k but not from a main agent which I always try to avoid despite the premia applied. That looks ok also so I may take a look at it.

I have owned 3 Toyotas before including an Avensis as a company car and each and every one of tjem has been utterly faultless. In addition, as you mention, dealer service being exemplary. I guess I am just being a tight wad :-). The other issue is that, coming out of a 3 series, the Avensis is going to be like driving porridge. Ho hum.

Well it's been an interesting day. I had actually agreed to sell the 3 series to the business quoted in one of the responses above. I attended at the specified time but something just didn't feel right to me. The agreed meeting point turned out to be at an Evangelical Centre (irony?) with absolutely no indication that the place had anything remotely to do with the the organisation buying my car. The buying company confirmed it was the right place.

None of the 'Evangelists' knew anything about them.

No signs. No office. No rep. Nothing.

Maybe/maybe not I am being over cautious but that's no way to buy a car.

When handing over the keys to a £20k motor I need a little more assurance that I am actually going to get paid regardless of what the 'reviews' on the website say. I am not alleging that they are con men but you can't simply expect people to turn up under such some circumstances, with no evidence as to who they are dealing with, and be comfortable with it. Had they had an office or at least some indication that I was dealing with a 'company' I may have been slightly more at ease. A random bloke turning up in a taxi with no ID ain't my idea of security.

I left. Back to square one.

Edited by Dingle232 on 30/09/2015 at 22:18

And i'd have beem high tailing it down the road with you in the same circumstances.

edit, meant to put been, but under the circs, beem is fine..:-)

Glad someone else felt the same. No doubt they'll say 'we don't have premises to reduce overheads blah...' but I believe that they are affilliated to the Car People so why not simply put a booth in each of their showrooms to give people a bit of confidence that they are actually legit?

Cheek of it is they called me this evening and asked me to explain the no show. I don't think they liked my explanation :-).

Ha. Aside from a stray cat and a couple of 80 year old Evangelists there was nothing I actually needed minding against :-)

They did actually ring me and left a messge to say how effronted they were that I had 'wasted their time'. I didn't even dignify it with a response.

Thanks for all the replies.