To buy or not (2nd hand), massive purchase..

Absolutely love the look of the Evoque. Always think they looked great, always wanted one.

If I was to get one it would have to be 2nd hand, no way could afford new, and be one of the older ones. I believe that a newer one is incoming, so prices may drop on current version?

Having had to have company cars, I do know nothing about the actual car apart to look at! Didn't know much about the history, problems, versions etc, I am reading online and this forum now.

Looking for advice, stay away? get one? As said would have to be older one-day I only do <8000 miles. And all short hops.

Starting to look on auto trader, and LR online used and looks like they start about 20K, wouldn't like to go much more really, so low end I suppose.

Obviously prefer low mileage, wouldn't want too high. Have to be 5dr version to. Not bothered if 4WD.

So any advice please, what to stay away from, what problems to look for, at this price I would probably prefer from a garage and/or pay for a AA/RAC check beforehand?

Thanks

I purchased a two year old evo, only had a couple of probs, sorted via warranty. it had 20,000 and now has 37,000. love the car and saving like mad for the next one.

My 1st one reached 2 years old in March.
It was a Pure SD4 manual and with some nice extras it was £32k (ish) new
I chopped it in and I know it sold from the dealer for £28K screen price in little over 2 weeks.
100% reliable from a running point of view but interior light needed a service bulletin modification and had the rear lenses replaced due to excessive misting up. I say excessive as a minimal amount is considered normal under certain atmospheric conditions and clears quickly.

Xenons lights are highly rated in comparison to the halogens.
Spare wheel.
That would be my base level.
Anything extra would be ...well read the spec in my signature.

You'll know whether privacy glass is a must when you see potential cars but after market wraps would be a close substitute obviously.

The manual is more economical than the 6 speed auto but I have found the 9 speed auto better than the manual.
Saggy Seats have been reported a lot but I'm sure that in years to come it will simply be one of those things as the main gripe is that they shouldn't go like that from new. Mine were/are OK but there are differing levels of acceptance as to what is normal.
Rattles and squeaks have also frustrated some owners and of course it all gets reported on these forums so it may be less prevelant than you think. Again mine are OK ...go figure.
A long test drive is what you want covering motorway and round town.
Find some road humps and go slow and faster over them for suspension noises. Squeaky bushes have been reported.
Try all the steering wheel controls.

I think the 5 yr service pack that many have paid for stays with the cars so thats worth checking out...3 years left on a 2 year old car.

The early ones had a parcel shelf that was a bit big and rubbed the black paint off the tail gate pillars leaving white plastic showing through. Again a bulletin was issued and the pillars were repaired and parcel shelf should have been replaced if there were issues.

Oh and finally...
It would seem the boot shrinks after you buy it so be careful of that

Only trouble I find buying cars with high mileage is the squeaks and rattles. Is the evoque any better at this as it's a "premium" car?

Couldn't afford brand new, and was hoping if buying another car to be max at 15K, looking on autotrader evoques start around 20K .

Would be worried also about anything major going wrong, at moment with business car that is all sorted by company.

Always a bit of a gamble - private sale is cheaper, but no warranty - 'dealership' sale would be higher priced but would probably come with a 2 year approved warranty. So you have to take your choice with that unfortunately.

You can only hope that previous owners will have had any issues with rattles etc fixed under warranty. I don't know about 2nd hand private sale prices, but if budget stretches, buy private but one that still has some sort of manufacturer warranty remaining, even 6 months would give you a chance to get all the little things resolved.

My '14 Pure Premium (that seems to be a North American trim name. Anyone know what is the equivalent in U.K.?)
is now a year old (servicing due on Thursday). After owning it for a year, with just under 10k on the odometer, I can tell you that it has been a very reliable car. I went with the Pure Premium (I guess it's an upgraded Pure Plus) only because it included blind spot monitors. Also included and grown to appreciate are adaptive Xenon headlamps/auto dip beam/auto on/off, heated front and rear seats (our dog loves that one), power mirrors, and the Meridian stereo is upped to 825watts and 17 speakers plus sub. I have the panoramic glass roof, but from my driving position, really can't notice it. Passengers love it. Surrounding cameras were also included. May be useful to you in UK, not an issue and more of a parlor trick here. Also, if you do go with the glass roof, make sure you can get an insurance rider that covers replacement if damaged (it is glass, after all, and a bit more brittle than steel). Saved my bacon when my roof got hit by an icicle while skiing. When I reported it to my insurance co, they weren't sure the roof would be covered, but I convinced them that what the rider was for is any glass damage, and they relented with apologies (I was fortunate to get the only replacement roof available in North America). I was also lucky to have a great dealership that I can rely on. They are 60 miles away, but hey, worth the drive; and driving is what you'll want to do if you own one. Good luck