How on earth do you choose a new (used) car?!

Horizon81

Get yourself a last of the line (2005) old shape Yaris - either 1 litre or 1.3 petrol. The 1 litre is perfectly adequate but you might prefer the 1.3 if you do a lot of motorway driving (fuel consumption is similar). They're a much better car than the Aygo/C1/107 and better built than the second generation Yaris. Plus the spec is pretty good. The Aygo/C1/107 is a step down from your Punto - I don't even recognise them as proper cars, they're just city runabouts for kids. 2 seats in the back, if you sit in the back your heads practically touching the back window. Buy a proper car instead!

property.advert

I picked up an Astra Design 1.8 auto (140) at 3 years old with 19k on the clock as it came off Motability. Great motor though somewhat heavy on the juice due to engine power, auto etc. Tax is high at £225 or thereabouts.

Not quite what you want I admit but I got it through Network Q, got a 2nd year warranty and have nigh on bullet proof driving for 24 months after which time I'll have had the car 24 months and should know whether it is a keeper or not.

I paid a bit over £5k for it.

Focus' are ten a penny and you can get similar deals. No need to go to the highway cowboys and accept 3 months warranty or have to buy a stand alone one. If you are not well versed in car mechanics and so forth, buy from someone who you can embarrass into submission if it goes wrong.

I looked at these micro cars and they are just tin cans. Get a proper vehicle you might survive a crash in.

cyclonebri1

property.advert wrote: »

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I looked at these micro cars and they are just tin cans. Get a proper vehicle you might survive a crash in.

My sentiments entirely, worth paying a few quid extra in tax and fuel rather than live in fear of becoming a sardine.:T:T

My earlier post was hinting at that whilst looking for a "new" car it's easy to get fixated on a 25kmiles, met purple, triple air cond, turbo propane powered, pink leather interiored Zepco zx560 5 door coupe, (well you get the idea). Then buy the 1st ideal spec motor rather than ideal condition one that comes along.
My daughter does it every single time :mad:

property.advert

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

My sentiments entirely, worth paying a few quid extra in tax and fuel rather than live in fear of becoming a sardine.:T:T

My earlier post was hinting at that whilst looking for a "new" car it's easy to get fixated on a 25kmiles, met purple, triple air cond, turbo propane powered, pink leather interiored Zepco zx560 5 door coupe, (well you get the idea). Then buy the 1st ideal spec motor rather than ideal condition one that comes along.
My daughter does it every single time :mad:

I got an idea of what I wanted. Auto, 5 doors, low mileage, main dealer, relatively simple and cheap to maintain, heavily depreciated from new and potentially unloved (and thus further depreciated) due to low mpg (does not matter for me due to low mileage) and high tax (again, hardly matters in the big scheme of things).

I looked at whole of life costs not just those up front. Thus a £10,000 investment losing £1,000 per year is better than a £5,000 investment losing £1,500 per year by £500 per year (less interest earned). Insurance at my age is fairly similar for most cars, even the higher groups.

In the end it came down to Vauxhall or Ford, Astra or Focus. Umpteen to choose from, all over the net and once I sorted out how cars came off Motability, I knew my likely targets.

Colour, exact specification etc. were largely immaterial.

missile

flutterbyuk25 wrote: »

...(51 plate Fiat Punto) as the electric steering pump has gone, and it's not worth paying the £600 it'll cost to fix. This is the only car I've ever had since passing my test in 2004, and I've really liked it.
x

buy another Punto ?