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Hi Grainne,

Yeah, at that price level I'd avoid a Scenic. They older they get the worse their reliability becomes. How about a Toyota Corolla Verso instead? It's within your price range, has the space and is ultra reliable. The only thing is you'll probably have to break your 1.5-litre boundary and go for a 1.6.

What do you think?

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Hi Cinta,

Sorry, we're not a comparisons site. You're 17 but you don't say whether you have a full licence or a provisional, nor whether you have any penalty points or any other details about yourself. The only way to find out is to start wearing out the phone lines and the internet cables by searching and shopping around all the major providers. And then get yourself put on your dad's insurance just like we all did...

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Hi Barry,

To be blunt, you're going to struggle to get a decent diesel engined car at that price level. There do seem to be one or two diesel Peugeot 307s or Renault Méganes around at that sort of money but we'd advise serious caution before purchase - neither have a great reputation for reliability. 

Unless you're covering mega-miles every week, you would probably be much, much better off getting a tidy 1.4 petrol hatchback, perhaps a circa 2002 Toyota Corolla? Really solid on the reliability front, excellent fuel economy and affordable motor tax. It would be a much better idea than going all out for diesel but ending up with a less reliable car.

What do you think?

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Hi Rafeek,

Your best bet is to start ringing around your local car dismantlers asking if they have an example of that car in stock. The price could vary considerably

Best of luck

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Hi Clare,

If you're looking for an MPV, I always tend to recommend a Toyota Corolla Verso. They're spacious, have plenty of room for boosters seats and the like and are very safe and reliable. If you get around €3k for your Renault, that should get you into a 2008 or 2009 Verso diesel.

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Hi Aparesh,

You know what? I wouldn't. Renaults from that era are not the most reliable things and your budget could be as easily eaten up fixing a catalogue of minor problems. Your budget though should be able to get you into a Toyota Corolla Verso - one of the most reliable cars around and a firm favourite in CompleteCar Towers when it comes to affordable, reliable family transport. 

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Hi Jacinta,

Essentially the old 1.9 TDI Pump Düse engine is just a bit less sophisticated than the newer, cleaner 1.6 TDI common rail engine. That said it's still pretty economical and while you could potentially get 60mpg from the 1.6 you should pretty easily get low-fifties-mpg from the 1.9.

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Hi Helena,

I presume you mean the diesel versions of both cars? If so, according to the official figures, a Qashqai 1.5 dCi diesel will return 54.3mpg on average, while a Corolla Verso 2.2 D-4D will return 44.8mpg.

Hope that helps

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Hi Raska,

Well, you haven't specified which model, but I'm going to take a stab that you mean Auris, Corolla or Avenisis. On that basis, the answer is yes (reliable, comfy, practical, lots of them around to choose from) and no (Auris and Corolla's 1.4 D-4D engine is underpowered compared to the competition, Avensis cabin feels a touch old-fashioned).

If you need a little more than that come back to us with a specific model.

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Hi Bernadette,

I'd say between €7,000 and €8,000 on a trade-in, depending on what you're trading it in against.