Need advice for used family car £8k

godsakes

Hi all

We currently drive a 2003 corsa and with one toddler and another baby planned we're looking into family cars to future proof ourselves.

Alas I'm a bloke that's never taken any interest in cars so i really don't know that's decent. Size wise i suspect something like the Honda Jazz would probably be decent for us currently but may be pushing it once the 2nd arrived, so maybe something closer to the picasso Xsara/c3?

In addition it would need to be reasonably cheap to run and maintain - i know the Japanese cars are the best for reliability but i don't know if that's offset by extra expensive parts. Or indeed if a particular model is infamous for having issues.

Price wise i'm hoping to keep it within £7k but can push to £8k if the extra £1k is justified. Mileage wise the wife prefers to keep it within 30k (but again if some knows of a better sweet spot for deprecation let me know).

Any advice will be welcomed

funkycoldribena

Im going to go with the usual recomendations-mondeo,focus,octavia,cant generally go wrong with 'em.Forget Citroen,and Honda Jazzes are limited to 35mph.

UncleZen

Honda Jazzes are limited to 35mph.
What? no Ive definatley seen one go faster than that, then it was downhill.
Kia C'eed, Huyndai i30, Toyota Auris, Honda Civic, Avoid french basically.

funkycoldribena

UncleZen wrote: »

Honda Jazzes are limited to 35mph.
What? no Ive definatley seen one go faster than that, then it was downhill.
Kia C'eed, Huyndai i30, Toyota Auris, Honda Civic, Avoid french basically.

No you were mistaken, they leave the factory with the limiter fitted.
Also Honda will not sell you a Jazz unless you are over 70,this has been in place for a long time.

Chimpofdoom

Personally I've been edging towards the latest civic recently (2006 model) as it looks like a spaceship.. and the interiors one of the best i've seen so far!

But it looks like a spaceship...

bluenoseam

Focus' are solid cars, decent size (more than enough for toddler & baby) & because of their prevelance should be easy should they need any repairs, road tax is average but i'm not sure about fuel consumption on them - they're a top selling car for a reason.

sunshinetours

Interesting answers but presumably we would need an idea of the sort of mileage you do and type of driving ie town, rural, motorway, commuting etc and any hobbies etc ie biking , kayaking...... and whether you need automatic or manual or don't mond

If its mainly town, school commutes etc then something more like the Jazz might fit the bill as they are tardis like inside and actually a reasonable size boot although I do have to agree that you need to be at least 60+ to drive one! Civic also may give that extra bit of room but not sure on 2006+ models as i know they ahd some faults and were no where as near as solid overall as the previous 2005 and earlier model

godsakes

sunshinetours wrote: »

Interesting answers but presumably we would need an idea of the sort of mileage you do and type of driving ie town, rural, motorway, commuting etc and any hobbies etc ie biking , kayaking...... and whether you need automatic or manual or don't mond

If its mainly town, school commutes etc then something more like the Jazz might fit the bill as they are tardis like inside and actually a reasonable size boot although I do have to agree that you need to be at least 60+ to drive one! Civic also may give that extra bit of room but not sure on 2006+ models as i know they ahd some faults and were no where as near as solid overall as the previous 2005 and earlier model

we do around 9-10k mileage per year
mostly town/shopping trips
no hobbies which would affect my choice of car
manual

sunshinetours

godsakes wrote: »

we do around 9-10k mileage per year
mostly town/shopping trips
no hobbies which would affect my choice of car
manual

Consider a diesel at around 10k mile pa providing you don't pay too much premium for the car. Road tax will be lower and fuel bills probably overall slighty lower

Other Kias, Hyundais mentioned have would all be fine and reasonably newish cars at £7k-£8k
The Toyota and Honda models slightly older but arguably hold their value better.
Olenty of choice of Ford Focus out there aswell

www.parkers.co.uk useful guides on there and reviews and stats

getmore4less

Go estate much more practical putting chairs etc in/out.

I have been looking at Octavia, 1.9 tdi looks like sweet spot for older models cheaper insurance.

One model that has caught my eye for cheap newish are Astra estates.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/search/used/cars/vauxhall/astra/radius/1500/maximum-age/up_to_2_years_old/body-type/estate/price-to/7000/sort/priceasc/maximum-mileage/up_to_20000_miles/price-from/6000

2y old < 20k estate for < £7k.

Open up he criteria to get more choice

NeverInDebt

I got a civic last week for less than 8k only done 18k miles and 1.8 litre its lovely car. Didn't get much for trade in though but car was cheaper than I seen locally as they are asking over 9k for similar car/spec/mileage

Mine came with sat nav too as added extra

Get lots of nice comments from neighbours too