Which VW Sharan to buy?

[CATCHUP7]

I'm stressing about which VW Sharan to buy. I want it to last a good few years so looking at lower mileage. Can anyone offer a neutral view? There's not that much difference but this is the first time I've properly bought a car (bought first car via Cazoo in lock down which was a great experience but they've basically gone bust).

Option 1: from a national used car dealership, 27k miles, 2021 (21) plate. Costs £21,100. 90 day warranty.

Option 2: from approved used VW dealership, 14k miles, 2021 (71) plate. Costs £23,790. One year warranty and one year AA.

Is the longer warranty, approved used label and lower mileage worth almost £3k?

Which engines/transmission are you talking about?

One of my friends bought a petrol Sharan in 2023, same ballpark prices as you're quoting, 19 plate but delivery mileage, and he's barely getting 30mpg. He's horrified, especially as my hybrid Dacia Logan is doing about twice that.

Petrol automatic so must be the same or similar to your friends. Much bigger than a Logan though and not hybrid?

Hi OP, coming back this morning I've just realised I've written Logan last night when I meant Jogger Hybrid.

I mentioned it because my friend was considering the Jogger, went for the Sharan instead (for badge rather than size) and now regrets it. Sure, the Sharan is a bigger car, but it's also much heavier and is based on a floorpan from the mid-Noughties. It also doesn't have a particularly great reputation for reliability, particularly newer ones which have had emissions control equipment added which was never part of the original spec.

I'm sure you're aware that the Seat Alhambra is identical, built at the same factory in Portugal. If you widen your search to consider them you might find some other options.

Thanks for clarifying. We're going for the Sharan for size and practicality. Need the proper size seats with isofix and boot space for pram etc. Would be open to Seat Alhambra as identical but even less choice than Sharans at the moment. Looked at other 7 seaters but nothing quite matches value for money on a Sharan.

Still don't know which one to go for 😅

Can you bargain? Ask them to match the price of the other or at least closer to it? Or get the other dealer to add those extras?
I had a diesel Sharan some years ago and loved it (wouldn't buy diesel now though). But going from diesel to petrol was a shock in terms of mileage.

If it's a binary choice between these two examples then it's really six of one and half a dozen of the other. My preference would be for the approved used one with the better warranty, but as I've bought a brand new Jogger Hybrid in the last year for similar money I'm probably not the one to ask 😀

When I looked into it pre-pandemic I nearly bought a Citroën Spacetourer/Peugeot Rifter/Toyota Proace Verso. Slightly bigger than the Sharan/Alhambra, 8 seats (with ISOFIX on all six seats in the middle and back rows) and really good fuel economy from the diesel autos. Pre-pandemic they were all cheap nearly new too, but like everything else they have shot up in price on the used market and is now electric only, so the petrol and diesel models are becoming rarer and rarer too.

Good luck OP!

Could you get the cheaper one and then buy your own warranty? Fairly sure that you are supposed to get 6-12 months from a dealer anyway

Thanks everyone! The main dealership don't seem keen to negotiate so pretty sure I'll go with the cheaper one. We test drove it and it seemed in pretty good nick. I'll bank the difference in price for any issues although hopefully it'll all work out!