Buying used: 2014 or 2015 model / Dealer or "Supermarket"

[mellwaters100]

Hello!

Firstly - great forum and great posts which has proved really useful for finding views on the PHEV.

I am looking at buying a used PHEV and really struggling. Main irritation is that Mitsubishi's main site doesn't list prices of any PHEV. I can apply a price range and I get some cars within my budget but, when I contact the dealer that car / price is not available. Also, the site seems to push Mitsubishi HP / PCP deals, rather than simple cash prices.

So, looking for any experiences / advice. I really don't fancy any PCP / HP deal, looking for outright ownership which means a new car is out of the question.

First question: is it worth considering a 2014 model (GX4h)? What are the main differences between the MY14 and MY15. I know the MY15 got a bit of a facelift and soundproofing, are there any other major differences between the MY2014 GX4h / MY2015 GX4h? Example, if I happen upon a '14 plate with say, 25k miles at £18k vs a '15 with 10k miles but £23k - would the extra £5k be worth it (from a features, ride quality point of view as opposed to simply having fewer miles on the clock)?

Second question: I have been using motors.co.uk for searching and the usual motor supermarkets have 80% of the listings. I have read many horror stories about these places and am convinced not to even entertain them. Am I right in thinking that majority of stock at these places will be ex-lease and may only have had the very basic check over by non-Mitsubishi mechanics?

Third question: With the new plates coming in a few weeks, are we likely to see more used models become available and, potentially, prices drop a little?

Any advice / experience of folks who have gone down the "used" route would be much appreciated.

 

[SolarBoy]

Spec is probably the most important thing for you, work back from that.

I have driven both, I prefer the facelift though not sure it's worth an extra £5k but the warranty will be longer.

 

[jdearauj]

I ended up with a MY2015 GX4h model, due to spec and warranty. I was told a car registered from March 2015 onwards gets a 5 year warranty, compared to the 2 year warranty of the 2014 models. I know you can buy the extended warranty, but at the time the older cars with the extended warranty did not offer any further value. They were almost the same cost as the 2015 model.

I paid less than 22k for a MY2015 GX4h with 10k on the clock. The advertised price was £24,999 on the forecourt at the time, but after some negotiating I got the price I was after. They threw in some car mats and the next service free in the price also. I was very surprised the car did not come with car mats. The car was serviced and checked. For me I would have paid less for a car with more mileage as we do less than 4,000 miles a year on average.

I searched through many sites for a PHEV. I used autotrader and the mitisubishi-used car websites the most. The Mitsubishi site I agree did not display prices, but it did not take long to phone around for the prices. I spoke with 3 different dealers within a 40 mile range and allot of them where happy to discuss prices over the phone even without seeing the cars. When going to the dealers I found they would even source vehicles for you once they knew what you were after. They could then purchase the vehicle from the main branch I was told and then bring it in. All I had to do was pay a refundable deposit if I was interested.

I’m not sure if waiting for the new plates to come out will offer more reductions in price. My guess would be yes, but again it depends on the time you have to look for a car and the dealer you are buying from.

I did not pay more going through a dealer compared to the other sites, the dealer seemed to want my money just as much as the other and also seemed keen to make a deal we both agreed on. I also chose the dealer as I hope they will offer more support than using a 3rd party site. This was one of the main reasons as I did not know much about the PHEV technology and wanted the support if needed.

Hope that helps, do ask more questions if you have any. Allot of information is available on the forums and it is allot to take in.

 

[jaapv]

I'm not sure that you will be able to avoid an ex-lease car, as most were sold to the business market, privately owned ones are few and private owners are not bound by a time constraint on selling.
Personally I would prefer to buy one from a dealer instead of from a lease dumping ground.
Make sure that the car comes with a battery condition report, in the UK too many have been used too often on ChaDeMO chargers, which, according to Mitsubishi, can affect battery life negatively.
Personally I prefer the first edition cars, as I do not like the aesthetics of the facelift, even if the interior is a bit more spartan. It suits the utility aspect of the concept IMO.
Technically there is not much to choose between the two, the main useful difference being the extended exterior camera options. Even the alleged better performance is hard to prove in real life.

 

[mellwaters100]

Thank you all for the responses - much appreciated and very useful.

The warranty aspect is certainly good to know. Bought a Toyota Auris Hybrid last year which convinced me a hybrid is an absolute minimum to go for! Toyota have 5 year warranties as standard so good to know that Mitsubishi are now doing the same. That said, our N reg Mitsubishi Shogun is making way for this PHEV purchase - at just approaching 170k miles it is still going strong so here's hoping same longevity on the PHEV's!

Also good to know about the charging situation (this is something I need to read up more about), which kind of re-inforces my view: "you get what you pay for" - going through a dealer is more likely to be a dealer maintained / dealer owned vehicle with less chance of things going wrong later.

Am probably now leaning a little more to MY2015 but, of course, then a MY2014 GX4Hs will come along at a similar price to a '15 GX4H and the dilemma starts all over again!

 

[Goodshot]

Ask for the build date as well. A "new" 5h car I've just been offered has a build date of Jan 2016 so it's already 7 months old! If I order a similar priced Evoque it will be built in Sepember!

 

[Watty]

As another wannabe phev owner may I second the op post re how valuable this site is.
Re car supermarkets don't waste your time, I've been trapsing around for several months now & have come to the conclusion that their having a laugh except the hard sell is not funny. As for battery analysis report don't seem to know what I'm on about except 1 who was going to forward it to me.
In the end I put my details in the autotrader wanted & waited all of thirty seconds for my throughway email account to melt down with the offers. Finally settled on a 4hs 15 plate with just 3k on the clock (ex mitsi management car) with 5/8 year warranties from local mitsi dealer, asking price was £24k but finally whittled that down to £20,750 + my 57 c4 gp.
Take delivery Monday so will post again when I've had a play.

 

[Muddywheels]

Ask for the build date as well. A "new" 5h car I've just been offered has a build date of Jan 2016 so it's already 7 months old! If I order a similar priced Evoque it will be built in Sepember!

They may be similar priced on paper but not in reality - June last year I ordered a Discovery Sport HSE however LR wouldn't discount and I was told 3 months waiting list which ended up being 6 months and the mpg was 35 not 53 claimed - I have owned 9 LR's and a Jag so I was disappointed this was so far away from expected in my experience

In contrast this year I was offered £8400 discount without trying off a new unregistered GX4h with 10 days delivery which on paper was the similar price/spec to my DS HSE before discount - I collected last week and have done 279 miles so far - still have over 3/4 of a tank left and 3m/kw means charging costs are working out at 150 mpg compared to the Diesel :shock:

I love my LRs but I am definitely a convert to the PHEV :mrgreen: