overflew

Hi - I'm currently looking to buy an Octavia in New Zealand. I originally set out with a budget of ~NZ$8k, and I'm finding that for what seems like 'just a bit more' I can get a newer model - which I want to believe would get me more reliability / lower maintenance cost over time. I've poked around the Internet as much as I humanly can - I'm looking for some external perspective on splashing a bit more cash, vs. keeping it simple with my mostly-round-town trip needs. Main points for me: - Light mileage - I drive about 4.5k kms / year. Mostly inner city, periodic light motorway bursts (20mins each way), big road trip over summer. - Looking to hold onto it for 5-7+ years. - Low maintenance cost is important. (At the very least - I'm trying to get a picture of possible maintenance costs / 'total ownership cost') - Looking for an engine with a bit of pep. (I've tried & really enjoyed the mk2 TSI 1.8 & mk2 TDI 2.0. The TDI 1.9 wasn't quite enough) - I preferred the TSI on the test drive - but the mk2 TDI 2.0 was good fun to drive. - Fuel economy isn't a main goal - small differences are fine, given my low mileage I'm only looking at cars with a full service history, and will take it for a pre-purchase inspection. The cars that come to market seem to usually have 120-130ks on them, with a 2014 156k example below. Cars on the market in my area at the moment: (All have Elegance-ish trim, 1 owner) - 2007 TDi 2.0, 130ks. - $7.5 (private sale) [Test drove & liked] - 2012 TSI 1.8 wagon - 120ks - $11.5k (trade-in, wholesaler) [Test drove & liked] - 2014 TSI 1.8 - 156ks - $12.5k (ex-fleet, dealer) [Trying out in a few days] Financially, stretching to $11k is workable. Going a little further is possible - it's just unfamiliar territory shopping as the cars get a bit flasher. For diesel - I see there's plenty to worry about with DPF, timing belt servicing, higher repair costs down the line. The 2007 example above just happens to super-tidy & looked after and the most in-budget so far. Would love your input if pushing that $8k budget to ~$12k would likely get me 5-7 years of easier maintenance (and optionally, happier driving).