Best v4m family car within £11k (new)?

Hi notatroll,

A few issues occured to me, which you haven't mentioned.

Comfort- seats are highly subjective- what works for some may be hell for others, so make sure it's one they'll be comfortable with. Only one way to find out and that's to drag them around the dealers!

Which dealers are local, and which of them have a good reputation? No point getting something where the local servicing dealer is either many miles away and/or rubbish. You don't have to get the car serviced at that make's dealer to keep the warranty, but main dealers will be able to hook up the right diagnostic computer to the car, and be aware of the latest updates and service bulletins for the car.

What other attributes do they value? Style? And be honest, are they brand snobs?- there's actually nothing so wrong with a Chevrolet Lacetti, but I shuddered when the Enterprise Rent-a-car delivered one as it's the "Reasonably Priced Car" on Top Gear lol. It can be quite important as almost everything is reasonable these days, so brand, looks and "personality" of the car have become even more important ways for the companies to make their's stand out. How would your parents feel about the radical design of the current Honda Civic?
Do they have any other special requirements? A lot of older people with mobility issues drive Ford Fusions or C-Max as apparently they find them easier to get in and out of compared to a normal car with seats nearer the ground.

The worst thing to do as you know is to get the wrong car for them, as either you're stuck with one you hate, or you have to take a massive depreciation hit.

Given what you've said, and aside from the VW group, how about a new Vauxhall Corsa, a 1.2 or 1.4 in reasonable Club or Design spec should be within reach. I think it's currently What Car? Magazine's Car of the Year. Also worth considering might be the Nissan Micra (reliable but getting old I think) or the larger Note. The Toyota Yaris shouldn't go wrong but seems pricey for what you get. A Honda Jazz should be reliable and worth considering too. Fiats or anything French do not generally have a great reputation for reliability, but reliability of almost all makes is actually pretty good. Most of the recent "breakdown" type incidents I have had were to do with tyres, or where the dealer mucked something up, and not problems caused by bad design/parts/assembly. So in that case, don't rule out the Clio, Peugeot 207 and Fiat Grande Punto which are all meant to be good cars.

It's quite a long list I know, but if you're committing £11k of your money, then it's worth considering plenty of possibilities, before getting to a shortlist of maybe 3 cars. Would suggest 1.2 or 1.4 petrol engines, rule out anything that parents think is ugly, uncomfortable or impractical. Make sure you know which features are essential (air conditioning?), those that are "nice to have" and those that don't matter so don't influence the decision.

Drivethedeal.com is a good benchmark, but your local dealer may have unregistered or pre-registered cars on the forecourt for good prices too.