Help me choose between two cars...

[shewhocan]

Three kids all in car seats. Need 7 seats (two for occasional use only). Have narrowed it to:

2018 VW Sharan, with 15,000 miles

2016 Volvo XC90, with 50,000 miles

Everyone tells me Volvos are reliable and very safe and it's a nicer spec, but it's older and about 4K more expensive. We'd ideally want the car to last 5 years without major cost (appreciate you can never guarantee anything).

Driving is a mix of short city/ school run, plus a 2-3 hour journey once a fortnight and probably a 5-10 hour journey/ holiday approx 8 times a year.

Any thoughts ?

I'd probably go with the Volkswagen as you probably do quite a bit of mileage. I think the longevity and potential for problems is less as it newer with lower mileage and presumably still has some warranty? Volkswagens are good, reliable cars too.

VW? Reliable?

LOL. Explains why they have never topped the reliability charts for the last 30 years.....

Frankly, both cars are shite and I'd be looking elsewhere!

I'd definitely go for the Volvo. 50,000 miles means it should be well serviced and most of those will be motorway miles. It is genuinely safer and will fare better in an accident. More reliable. Much better depreciation than the VW too....

I'd look at the Volvo the reason it's old and still more expensive is the reliability factor they are Trojan's with all cars you may get issues ask to look at the service history and MOT history (you can get MOT online) to give you an idea of any major work undertaken or if anything major is due to come up. I've found in my experience it's down to luck tbh. I've had a VW Polo - problem after problem, Audi A3 lovely car no major issues, Audi Q5 absolute nightmare cost me a fortune had to Jack it in in the end as it was starting to cost more to repair than run, now have a VW Toureg it had its first MOT and service last week - no repairs!!!! Good luck

Volvo

We have a 2009 sharan. Love the sliding doors and space. However, we've been having major problems due to the previous emissions update, a new valve required (£900 repair bill..). Now wishing we'd never bought a diesel..

Are they both diesel? Are either of them ULEZ compliant? If yes, I’d buy that one as I suspect the cost of running non compliant vehicles is going to increase in the coming years. If you never travel in or near cities this probably won’t be an issue though.

I think all things being equal I would go for the Volvo, reliable and safe and is like driving a sofa 😄