We are looking into getting a family car (light use, plus the occasional mountain trip) and found this one here in CH:
- 2014 USED Ford C-Max 2.0 TDCi (whatever that is)
- priced 23000 francs (originally listed for 34000)
- 16300 km on it
- 116 PS
- 5.5l/100Km on diesel
- fabric on seats
-warranty until 100000 or 3 years
It was used as a perk by one of the dealership's employees who can return it for a new one No bells and whistles on this thing, and no anything added in - i.e. no winter tires included. But for CHF 500 MORE, we will get plates, vignette, car registration.
That’s the difference between American built models and ones made in Europe. Americans don’t call their cars “gas guzzlers” for nothing.
Nissan have got 22.5% Euro bonus on their cars at the moment so might be worth a look. Frankly I hate the C Max - it rides like a van and sounds like a van. Ugh!
They had a brand new Nissian Qashqai 1.6 i-way last week for CHF20,900. Contact their branch at Sursee - 041 925 60 00. If it’s the diesel version the 1.6 is a quite powerful engine for its size.
Also check with the local dealers as they may have good offers on ex-demo models.
I think reading reviews helps, but you need to try the models out for yourself before making any decisions. Like everything else who likes what car is a very personal thing.
Don’t understand the comment about not having a 6th gear - our 2ltr petrol and 1.6 diesel Teknas have them as standard.
One of our neighbours had the C-Max. The back doors are much too big/long (worst of all vans that I have seen) They need double the space to open properly (to let someone in/out). If you buy it, have fun in any but the largest parking spaces.
Nothing wrong with telling people about a car you like. It suits us, we’re on our second one and will probably buy a third when the time comes.
And I meant check out all the local dealers in the OP’s area, not just Nissan. Otto’s do all different models too. This week’s model is a Hyundai i10 1.2 Style for CHF15,680, but I don’t think it’s what the OP’s looking for.
At the moment new cars look much better value than used ones - most manufacturers have 'Euro Rabatt' deals, discount leasing, 0% financing, free servicing and various other incentives.
The 'new cars lose a fortune when you drive them off the forecourt' is a myth in a lot of cases too. Yes, they lose a load if you pay full list price, but if you get a good deal when you buy they often work out cheaper than a used one, particularly if you need financing of some sort.
In terms of the car itself the C-Max is a very good choice for something of that type. I think I'd go for a Citroen C4 Picasso if the new one was in budget but the Ford is a decent option, and preferable to most of the others.
Another one to look at if you’re not worried about having all the bells and whistles is the Dacia range. A Lodgy is just under CHF12,000, the Duster just under CHF15,000 brand new.
Normally I'm a big Dacia advocate, but at the moment they don't make sense because they haven't adjusted prices or added incentives like the other manufacturers. Although the base prices are low those cars don't even have a radio, let alone a/c and both the Lodgy and Duster are (I think) circa 20k when equipped to the level of a 'normal' basic car. When you can get 0% leasing with no deposit on a Renault Scenic and a big discount off the sticker price there's no competition. In Spain a decent spec Duster is €16k with a diesel engine, here it's 22k CHF in spite of the lower tax in CH.
Not sure, the C-Max is a 2.0 TDCi 163, so 50bhp more than the Dacia and generally the 2.0 C-Max is decent spec. By way of comparison this is the current Ford offer list
You can have a C-Max 1.0 EcoBoost (the one I'd go for if it's for light-ish use) with lots of toys for 21,445 and 3.9% leasing and for me that blows the Dacia out of the water - it's a nicer car, should be more economical and is more flexible/practical than either the Lodgy or Duster.
Entirely depends on why you are buying a particular car. Dacias are cheap because they are cheaply put together. That means cheap/dated engines, thin plastics, poor/minimal sound insulation, woeful fabrics covering poorly filled/supportive seats and minimal equipment.
Spec one up to a good standard and you are in 4-5 year old BMW X3 territory - and that is hard to reconcile.
Many years ago I did a trip to Brno in convoy with the long term Duster on the Auto Illustrate fleet - I was in power sports car which managed to achieve better fuel economy than the diesel Duster on the motorway.
I like the Duster, they're pretty well put together but with cheaper materials so don't feel as nice as even a Kia Sportage or Chevrolet Captiva, but it's hard to spend more than 25k on one and if you want 3 years worry free motoring it's not bad. Also, to most people the refinement will be perfectly adequate, no worse than a 5 year old volume car. Of course a 3 year old X3 is a nicer car, but will have done over 100k km and has the potential to throw some big bills at you while the Dacia will still be under warranty.