Best small car around the 3kish mark

toocan

Currently I have no car until March next year and im looking to buy something to tide me over till then. Ideally something small and not Ford. Which would be best out of this lot (any other suggestions appreciated)

Mini 01 plate
BMW 3 series compact
Audio A3 01 plate
Lexus IS200

economy not really an issue so petrol is fine I wont be doing many miles so just looking for something that wont depreciate too much and give me no hastle

benham3160

IS200 out of those.

Nothing else will come close in terms of reliability and build quality. Not a fan of the BMW four cylinder engines (very problematic, and like to pop a headgasket with more regularity than BMW owners will have you believe.) Audi is essentially a Golf, so normal Golf faults.

Still all preferable to the MINI, which is sluggish, thirsty and full of some quite servere faults, including the rear trailing arms that seem to suddenly collapse on the old ones...... Funny Watchdog haven't taken this up, this is a serious, lethal and common problem.

I wouldn't smear Ford, a Focus will have levels of reliability far closer to the Lexus than the Audi...... Fords made since about 2000 are probably the least problematic "main" brand, and the levels of build quality on modern Ford's is lightyears ahead of Fords of old. They in my opinion have been beating VW on terms of build and reliability for about a decade now.

Regards,
Andy

toocan

benham3160 wrote: »

IS200 out of those.

Nothing else will come close in terms of reliability and build quality. Not a fan of the BMW four cylinder engines (very problematic, and like to pop a headgasket with more regularity than BMW owners will have you believe.) Audi is essentially a Golf, so normal Golf faults.

Still all preferable to the MINI, which is sluggish, thirsty and full of some quite servere faults, including the rear trailing arms that seem to suddenly collapse on the old ones...... Funny Watchdog haven't taken this up, this is a serious, lethal and common problem.

I wouldn't smear Ford, a Focus will have levels of reliability far closer to the Lexus than the Audi...... Fords made since about 2000 are probably the least problematic "main" brand, and the levels of build quality on modern Ford's is lightyears ahead of Fords of old. They in my opinion have been beating VW on terms of build and reliability for about a decade now.

Regards,
Andy

Sterling advice. Any recomendations as to which model of lexus to go for and what to look out for / avoid.

PS I know fords are great cars im just not keen on there looks/interior

benham3160

toocan wrote: »

Sterling advice. Any recomendations as to which model of lexus to go for and what to look out for / avoid.

PS I know fords are great cars im just not keen on there looks/interior

Any Lexus, providing it's been looked after should offer exceptional, fault free service for 250,000+. Lexus dealers are very good too, and if a major fault develops they have been known to solve them gratis, or meet costs long after the warrenty has expired, providing it's been looked after. Obviously this is just anecdotal evidence, but it has happened before.

Only thing to mention is, servicing through Lexus will be very expensive, however the engines are fairly simply so any other garage should be able to service it without any agrovation. Something else to bear in mind, parts such as replacement wing mirrors are eye-wateringly expensive, I quoted £100+ for just a mirror glass on an IS200 that'd had an altercation with a wheelie bin.

There is only one engine, all levels of trim should come well spec'd, unlike BMW/Audi where it's possible to buy a cheap "base spec" for the price of an average spec Mondeo, Lexus don't opperate this policy.

Take them all for a drive, see which one you prefer. My money would be on the Lexus in a heartbeat though.

Regards,
Andy

daveregan

Thanks for the response. Code worked perfectly. GREAT service