Cost effective car?

K_and_N

Hi,

We have a Rover 416 T Reg for which the maintenance cost is getting higher n(and mileage is over 116k). So we need to replace it soon and not sure what to buy. Any advice would be helpful.

Ideally we'd like to spend only about £1500-£2000 (not sure if it's a realistic amount). We'd like something economic and easy to maintain.

At the moment, I'm looking at Toyota Yaris, Citeron C1, C3 (less than 7 years old). And couldn't find anything in our price range . Should we be spending more or is there any other options?

Thank you.

TiTheRev

Toyota is the best of those by a country mile. As a rule, German and Jap are best, and steer clear of French and Italian if reliability is a criteria in your purchase. For that sort of budget you should be able to find a half decent 2nd hand car (Mk4 Golf diesel? Pretty bomb proof engines and low maintenance). What other criteria do you have, or is it merely price based?

Strider590

^^ As above, avoid French and Italian for sure.

K_and_N

Thanks, TiTheRev.

Our main criteria are low running cost so reliability is also important. As far as I could find, Yaris would cost us minimum £2800-£3000. Does it sound right?

I'll have a look at Golf too.

TiTheRev

Market prices change by the week, so it's hard to say, but a car is only worth what you're prepared to pay for it really! As I say, stick to the general rule of thumb about German and Jap, and most cars will be reliable as long as they're not ridiculously high mileage where clutches, exhausts etc can start to become pricey.

Lithian

Your budget seems a little low, even if you are looking at the supposed more reliable marques you'll still be looking at a car with 80-100k on the clock and things like clutches, brake discs and timing belts nearing the end of their life. Also in this price range you will be hard pushed to find something that is in genuine good condition. Your £1500 car will likely have had 3-4+ owners, one of whom will have been a careful lady owner who can't park without hitting things and another will have been a 17 year old showing off to his mates.

The point i'm getting at is that although your car isn't perfect, you know what works been done and you'll have an idea of what work is coming up so you can budget for it. Buying another car will be something of an unknown.

I'd probably up the budget a bit and look for a Ford Focus, £2.5-3k should get you off the bottom of the market and give you a better chance of finding something reasonable. Although it dosn't carry the same reputation as a golf for reliability the price you pay will reflect that. Parts are generally fairly cheap and pretty much any independant mechanic will know their way around them. This means that if something does go wrong it wont cost the earth to fix. Avoid the diesel engines though, the petrol ones have less to go wrong and are still fairly economical.