Top 10 nearly new deals

23/07/10

It may not wear the very latest registration plate and that oh-so-special new-car smell may have faded. But a nearly-new car will be, in almost every other way, be equal to a factory-fresh one. Except, writes Ray Castle of motors.co.uk, in one important respect: its price.

Thing is, all cars lose value once they are driven – and the biggest drop happens during the first few months and miles. Pretty much any car now will run for 10 years and 100,000 miles without needing much more than routine servicing and replacement of ‘wear’ items: brakes, battery, tyres and exhaust. So a year-old motor is, in these terms, barely run-in.

And right now there’s a handsome pick of such cars to be had, from those just at their first ‘birthday’ to what are effectively ‘new’ cars, already registered for the road but which have covered just a few dozen miles.
Here’s the motors.co.uk pick of the keenest deals around:

Chevrolet Aveo 1.2 LS 5dr
List price, new: £9735
2009, 09-reg, 10,634 miles: £4990
Buying at a year old means paying half list price. And of course you’ll receive the balance of the maker’s warranty from new, which here adds up to two years. Now if you’re after a small, low-cost car the Aveo may not have featured on your buying short-list. But with such a saving on offer, it would almost be rude not to consider one, wouldn’t it?



Citroen Xsara Picasso 1.6 HDi Desire
List price, new: £18,695
2010, 10-reg, 10 miles: £11,995
The Xsara Picasso is a 10 years old design and Citroen has now (just) stopped making them. But here you are getting an as-new car for less than two-thirds of what was originally asked. That’s terrific value. This Picasso has a roomy cabin, five seats that adjust individually every which way while the rear ones fold to free up a huge load space. It’s packed with useful storage spaces throughout and even has its own bespoke shopping trolley packed into the boot, ready to go. That 1.6 diesel is of modern design and makes for a lively drive while returning up to 55mpg. It’s hard to see where you could go wrong.


Daihatsu Materia
List price, new: £11,079
2009, 09-reg, 2755 miles: £8695
Its styling may look crazy but once inside you’re met with all the practical strengths that have earned Daihatsu such a loyal band of owners. Inside the Materia’s a roomy baby MPV, offering comfy seats for five plus a rear bench that slides to and fro to add leg room or boot space, whichever you most need. It also has inside door handles and speaker pods that glow blue after dark, for those nights when you are out cruising in it. Meanwhile here you are saving £2600 if you buy a car like ours that has seen little more than a couple of month’s average mileage.


Fiat Grande Punto 1.4 Dynamic Plus five-door
List price, new: £12,385 (Punto Evo)
2009, 58-reg 6545 miles: £6995
Within the last few months the Punto’s undergone a name change, losing the ‘Grande’ and gaining ‘Evo’. The move marks a perked-up cabin, tweaks to the ride and a raft of new engines. But the ‘Grande’ remains a good car, to our eyes one of the prettiest of its type. And here foregoing the newest model seems a pain worth taking when you get a year-old car that’s covered few miles for barely more than half the list price of a new one.

Kia Cee’d SW 1.6 CRDi 2 Ecodynamic
List price, new: £15,805
2009, 59-reg, 6477 miles: £11,995
Buying a lightly-miled car like our Kia estate here saves almost a third on the original price. And if that’s not enough of a bargain, the main dealer offering this car also promised to top up its Kia-backed warranty to the full seven-year/100,000-mile cover offered with a new vehicle. As the name suggests, this is a ‘green’ model, so CO2 output is low and it’ll return up to 62.8mpg across a mix of trips.


MG ZT+ 120
List price, new: £17,315
2005, 08-reg, 10 miles: £12,995
MG Rover stopped making cars after it went into liquidation five years ago so finding an as-new one for sale as we did here is rare. This one’s had a curious history, having been in storage for three years and then registered in 2008 but still not driven. This is the MG-badged version of the Rover 75 exec saloon, which was the best car Rover made at the time of its demise. As a period piece it’ll be a must for diehard MG fans. But they should still satisfy themselves as to the extent of the warranty offered by the selling dealer and also ask what he’s done to make it road ready after its five years of doing nothing.

Nissan Pixo Visia
List price new: £7150
2009, 09-reg, 3184 miles: £5500
This, Nissan’s smallest car, serves up cheerful, no-frills transport. You’ll need to lock and unlock its doors one by one, while adjusting the door mirrors involves waggling a lever. But if that’s what you want, it’s a fair choice and here buying nearly new immediately saves you a fifth off the asking price.



Renaultsport Megane Cup
List price, new: £23,160
2010, 59-reg, 4015 miles: £21,999
On the face of it, a saving of £1161 doesn’t sound much. But this is a new model, in demand, so by buying a barely used car you see a saving and the chance to drive it within days rather than waiting, say, three months for a factory ordered vehicle to show up. And that’s without considering the extras that come with our nearly new, which includes built-in sat-nav. If you are looking for a performance hatchback the Megane is a cracker, second only to Volkswagen’s Golf GTi for all-round driver satisfaction.

Saab 9-5 turbo 1.9 TiD Edition 4dr
List price, new: £20,240
2009, 59-reg 50 miles: £15,999
Ok, so an all-new 9-5 is just arrived in the UK and our car here is a model that dates from the late 1990s. But you can’t sniff at this as-new car at a saving of better than £4000. And, better still, this end-of-production model is a special edition loaded with standard equipment to improve its value. This 9-5 is an under-rated car; smooth, quiet and long-legged – good for big motorway journeys. And while its big cabin hasn’t the class of a BMW’s, its seats are among the comfiest you’ll ever sit in. This makes a great buy if you’re the type that chooses a car and keeps it until it is worn out.

Vauxhall Insignia 1.8 S 5dr
List price, new: £17,120
2009, 58-reg 16,780 miles: £9989
This entry model of the car that replaced the long-serving Vectra is still generously kitted out: six airbags and air conditioning come as standard, for instance. And at a £7000 saving, this year-o0ld example is cheap enough to make you think twice about buying new. And once it’s yours the savings continue because Vauxhall cleverly makes its mid-size cars among the cheapest of any to own.


For more great car buying advice and to view and buy new and second-hand cars, click on to motors.co.uk. Surf the web using your mobile phone? Go to motors.co.uk's mobile site or text ‘motors’ to 65056 and we’ll send you a link. If you’ve an iPhone, you can download the motors.co.uk app for free. Go to the ‘utilities’ section of the iTunes store.