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Criteria for Buying a Used Car in 2026

  • Writer: Harshal
    Harshal
  • 4 hours ago
  • 7 min read

Context, priorities, brand tiers, and a worked example from our search

I often get asked what we optimize for when we buy a used car. This post is the 2026 list: context first, then priorities in tiers, then brand tiers. It is a worked example you can copy and replace with your own order.

A separate post covers how we turned listings into structured rows and a shortlist (ChatGPT project, n8n, Sheets, Cursor). This one stays on criteria only.

You need 8 minutes to read this.

White SUV by the road
White SUV by the road

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Context for preferences

At the time of this purchase in 2026, we were a couple living in Dublin with a 5.5-year-old and a 0.5-year-old. Daily life looked different from prior purchases. We expected we would need drop-off and pick-up at the same time in different places. For many months of the year we would be three adults and two kids in car seats. We wanted one adult to sit comfortably in the back. We also wanted a buggy to fit in the boot with room left for the usual bags.

That context shaped the list below. The tiers stay in priority order: fail the wrong tier, and we moved on or re-ranked the option.

P1: Non-negotiable

Fail here, skip the car.

  1. 4 doors or more (not 2 / coupe).

  2. 2021 built or younger.

  3. Mileage: about 20,000 km run per year on average.

  4. Fuel type: petrol or petrol hybrid.Not desired: diesel, diesel hybrid, electric-only.

  5. 2 car seats can fit in the rear seats.

  6. All power windows.

  7. Isofix connectors for car seats in the rear.

  8. Service and maintenance history available.

If a car failed P1, we skipped it.

P2: Strong preference

Fail here, move on unless something else is exceptional.

  1. Automatic transmission

  2. Boot: fits a buggy plus 2× school bags (about 20 L each).

  3. Auto headlights

  4. Rear view camera

  5. Android Auto

  6. Bluetooth

  7. Lane keep assist

  8. Adaptive (radar) cruise control

  9. AC with temperature setting

  10. Rear defroster

  11. Passenger and driver airbags

P3: Trade-offs

We could compromise if price and condition justified it.

  1. Mileage (tighter): about 15,000 km per year average; about 75,000 km total over the years.

  2. Carefully driven (no obvious abuse or neglect).

  3. Surround cameras for parking.

  4. Heated seats

  5. RF key, keyless start

  6. Parking assist

  7. Keyless entry

P4: Nice to have

Worth weighting when two options were otherwise close.

  1. Car segment

    • Tier 1: Saloon, SUV, Estate

    • Tier 2: Hatchback

  2. Android Auto wireless

  3. Single owner

  4. Remote start to heat the car before we enter.

  5. Phone lock / unlock so we are not unsure whether we locked the car.

  6. Blind-spot monitoring

  7. About 140+ cm shoulder room width in the rear.

  8. About 130 cm hip room width in the rear.

  9. 2 car seats and an adult can fit in the rear seats.

  10. Size / parking: car size vs driveway space; turning circle (SUVs harder in tight city spaces).

  11. Leather seat covers for easier cleaning after kids’ mess.

  12. Side mirrors auto-close

  13. Moonroof for light in Ireland.

  14. Rear seat airbags

P5: Lower priority

  1. Powered tailgate (boot door).

  2. Heated steering wheel

  3. Light exterior color for visibility and lower summer heat (avoid black, grey, maroon, dark blue, dark brown).

  4. Fuel efficiency (L/100 km). Example: saloon hybrid around 5.8 L/100 km.

Brand preferences

  • Tier 1: Honda, Toyota, Suzuki, Lexus

  • Tier 2: Hyundai, Dacia, MINI, Skoda, Kia, Porsche, BMW, Mazda, Volvo, Volkswagen

  • Tier 3: Cupra, Renault, Citroen, SEAT, Audi, Subaru, Land Rover

  • Tier 4: Ford, Peugeot, Mercedes, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Fiat

  • Tier 5: Vauxhall, MG, Jeep, Alfa Romeo

We used tiers like a filter: higher tier meant we looked earlier; lower tier did not block a car if everything else fit.

Research notes

These were the questions that we often wondered about and noted down our research around them.

When will kid move into booster seat?

  • Probably by age 7

  • Until he does not outgrow this seat’s height and weight restriction, keep in this seat. One limit is 18 kg. Another is 36 kg.

What is the disadvantage of diesel for us?

  • It needs long drives once in 1 to 2 weeks, at least 15 to 20 minutes at highway speeds.

New vs old

Car running costs

  • Average monthly vehicle running cost was €212.32. Same PDF

Buggy and boot size

  • The Bugaboo Chameleon buggy (our reference as we have it), folded for storage in a car boot, needs roughly 90 × 50 × 31 cm (length × width × height). Chassis and seat together, folded in two pieces, is the usual way to load it.

  • It fits in a hatchback-sized boot such as a VW Golf, but uses most of the boot, leaving room for only a few small bags. MadeForMums review

  • Rule of thumb: look for about 300 L boot space or more (preferably not under 280 L). AutoTrader: how big a boot for a pram

  • A saloon can get tight for holidays or camping gear; estates often fit this use case better. Pike and Bambridge: what boot space means

  • Drivalia: boot space guideReference point: our first car is a 2020 Toyota Corolla saloon, so we compare other cars against how it feels for us in practice.

  • 2020 Toyota Corolla saloon boot about 470 to 471 L. YouTube

Typical boot space sizes we found online for different car segments and body types (approximate ranges):

  • City car: about 200 to 300 L. Small cars, limited cargo space, fits small bags.

  • Hatchback: about 300 to 400 L. Compact, practical for daily use and small family.

  • Compact saloon: about 400 to 450 L. Slightly more boot space than hatchbacks.

  • Family saloon: about 450 to 500 L. Larger family cars with decent luggage space.

  • Estate / wagon: about 500 to 700+ L. Extended boot space, good for family trips.

  • SUV: about 500 to 800+ L. Versatile, higher cargo space, extra seating flex.

  • MPV / people carrier: about 600 to 900+ L. Maximum space for family and luggage.

  • Large luxury car: about 500 to 700+ L. High-end cars with ample boot space.

Rear width: 2 car seats + 1 adult, or 1 car seat + 2 adults

  • For 2 car seats + 1 adult: rear shoulder room over 145 cm and hip room over 140 cm.

  • For 1 car seat + 2 adults: rear shoulder room about 140 to 145 cm; rear hip room about 130 to 140 cm.

  • Many mainstream sedans and compact SUVs claim “space for three,” but in practice that is often only OK for children or short trips. For regular use with two car seats and an adult, large saloons, estates, SUVs, or MPVs work better.

  • Examples often cited: Toyota Highlander, Honda Pilot (US); Skoda Superb and VW Passat estates in Europe.

Figures are average of rear shoulder and rear hip room (cm) from each source. Some models are US-market; compare within one market, not across regions.

  • Skoda Octavia: 141.0 cm (CarExpert)

  • Honda Accord: 142.1 cm (Steele Honda)

  • Nissan Altima: 141.7 cm (iSeeCars)

  • Toyota Camry (US / UK): 140.1 cm (Edmunds)

  • Mazda 6: 140.0 cm (CarExpert)

  • Honda CR-V: 137.8 cm (Edmunds)

  • Nissan Maxima (US only): 138.7 cm (Edmunds)

  • Toyota RAV4: 132.3 cm (Edmunds)

  • Toyota Corolla saloon (our reference car): 130.8 cm (Edmunds)

  • Toyota Avensis (discontinued): rear shoulder and hip not in the same table we used; see Wikipedia for general specs.

Pros and cons of Japanese imports to Ireland

  • Japanese cars are generally reliable and well-made.

  • Insurance: Will need to shop around; some insurers (e.g. AXA) may offer better rates with a clean history. Most insurance companies do not insure Japanese imports because of the lower level of anti-theft security.

  • Infotainment: Honda Fit example had Japanese UI; Honda Insight had English. Friends said Google Lens can help. Changing the display can break steering wheel button integration, so we cannot change it.

  • Often affordable to buy; maintenance is often reasonable; some spare parts can be costly.

  • Anecdotal: a friend’s Peugeot had expensive repairs (imported parts); they sold it.

Before committing

We verified things we could not see on the lot.

  • Ownership transfer. Check whether the car was transferred in the last 3 months (e.g. in Ireland, motor tax / change-of-ownership records). The result will say either that no registration certificate was issued in the last 3 months, or that it was transferred to an individual on a given date. If the name on the logbook does not match the seller’s ID, ask how they acquired the car.

  • Car history. Run a history check (e.g. MotorCheck, Cartell, or your local equivalent). No news is good news.

  • Tax band. Confirm tax band and ongoing costs (e.g. motortax.ie or your local equivalent).

  • Insurance. Get a quote for that specific car; engine size and model affect premiums. Smaller engine usually means lower insurance. If we were not in a standard insurable category, we considered options like TheAA.

  • Age and mileage. We treated roughly 5 to 7 years as a sweet spot for cost versus condition. If the car has a timing belt, check its replacement interval and keep some headroom (e.g. 30%). If no timing belt, we looked for under 100,000 to 150,000 km. For the same mileage, consider where it was driven (e.g. highway vs city start-stop).

  • Ongoing expenses. We budgeted for annual servicing, insurance, and any periodic tests (e.g. NCT; in Ireland around €55 per year). Roughly €400 per year for servicing was our optimistic baseline. Note: in Ireland a car will fail NCT once it is over 10 years old, so factor that into age and cost.

  • Depreciation (optional). To sanity-check value, we sometimes looked up depreciation for one model (e.g. one we were considering) across years. The comparison helped when deciding between similar options.

Sources

Takeaways

  • Write priorities in order and group them into tiers. You need a clear order and a rule per tier (e.g. fail P1, skip; fail P2, move on unless exceptional; P3+ are trade-offs and nice-to-haves).

  • Separate must-haves from preferences. A long numbered list only helps if the tiers stay honest when you compare real listings.

  • Use the same list to explain your choice. When someone asks what you considered, share the list. The tiers show why you said no to some options and yes to one.

For a template: take the P1 through P5 structure above, replace each line with your own criteria and order, then use it to filter and to explain your decision later.

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