Car advice needed fast -Which one would you go for ?

[3isthemagicnumber]

Have narrowed down search to 2 cars.Both the same model (quashqai +2). Almost identical prices and mileage (46,000) .Both full service history .However....
One is 09 plate but much higher spec ( sat nav,reverse assist camera,panoramic roof etc etc) and diesel .

The other is 12 plate but very basic spec -no additional extras and is petrol.

Which would you go for ? Newer but basic or slightly older but with all the gadgets ?

I'd go for the older higher spec one personally.

Older higher spec one.

Older high spec.

Thanks -that's the way I'm leaning,just seems a little counter intuitive to deliberately go for something 3 yrs older even though I know when driving I will prefer the higher spec.

Older definitely. Nice to have the gadgets & more attractive for resale when you are done with it.
Check if they will do you a reduction on an extended warranty (unless you are buying privately of course!)

The diesel will last forever.
I think I would always be a little disappointed if I bought the newer one without the gadgets. It's the gadgets that make driving more enjoyable and easy.

Good idea.Its through a dealer (they both are though ones 59 miles apart so can't compare side by side!) so there maybe deals to be done .
Thanks all,you've helped validate my own gut preference .

I love gadgets too .....

But, the 09 car is now six years old (with lower average mileage it would seem)
The 12 car is only three years old.
If I was in the habit of changing cars regularly, would the 12 make more sense - as you'd be trying to sell a 9 year-old in a few years time.

The diesel will probably hold it's value better as well as being probably cheaper to tax and probably do more MPG.

Probably.

I would go for the diesel as I like a grunty engine

The 6 year old car with lower thAn average mileage is a much better prospect than a car that has done 46k in just3 years.

The diesel will last forever.

Apart from particulate filters clogging up, dual mass flywheels getting knackered, injectors gumming up and, if forecasts are corrects, our EU pollution breaches in major cities mean they're going to get taxed to shit because of NOx emissions.

Old diesels without the complications and high specific outputs may chug on forever, but the overly-complicated, highly stressed units in modern cars are a bit more fragile.

The 6 year old car with lower thAn average mileage is a much better prospect than a car that has done 46k in just3 years.

Except that older one is a diesel and doing under 8000 miles per year, if those miles were just pottering to the shops and back, will not have done the DPF any favours.

15k per year is sod all (not far off average), especially if mostly motorway miles at constant speed/throttle (admittedly, not always possible on our crappy motorway network).

Which engines are they specifically? How many miles per year do you do? Things are much more likely to go wrong with the diesel so I would be taking the petrol if you don't do many miles per year.

I would go for the diesel as I like a grunty engine

That's mostly in your imagination! If you really wanted a grunty engine then a large capacity V8 petrol is probably what you need. Diesels feel grunty because of the rate of change of torque low down in the rev range and because they produce their power much lower in the rev range. People buy a diesel and think it's quick because they have never taken their previous petrol cars over 3k rpm, they do the same in a diesel and of course it's faster because they never actually got anywhere near the maximum power output of their petrol. Plenty of bellends out there who claim their shitty VAG 2.0 Tdis and 320ds are rocket ships when actually they're pretty slow.

1995 Toyota Land Cruiser