reliability and economy for £7.5k (50mpg+) suggestions

gtanny

Hi,

i was trying to price up a new car but its slightly out of my comfortable budget, i have now decided used may be the better option (i did like the idea of a warranty but not for the cost)

i have a budget of around 7.5k or £150 a month on finance (upto 5 years)

my main requirements are as cheap as possible to run, preferably diesel if im going used but a small petrol wont be ruled out, reliability (i know even the most reliable cars have problems) and as low a car tax as possible

its for a family of 4 but anything with a boot bigger then the new fiesta is fine (the boot on the new fiesta is a tad too small but polo and corsa were fine)

please no suggestions for saloons that you claim get back 60+ mpg as i would like to make this purchase based on honesty

mchale

BMW 520d/320d ???

colin79666

Skoda Fabia diesel. 7.5k might get you one with some warranty left. Or if you want something a bit bigger than a 1.9 VW Golf.

Nilrem

For £7.5k you might be able to get a new/very nearly new Kia (IIRC our local dealer does ex demo cars for about £7k with the full 7 year warranty*), they're not as nice as some of the others, but the MPG can be good and the warranty is good if you just want a reliable, cheap car.



*I think our local one often has Rio's with <12k miles and a full warranty + roadside assistance for ~6.5k for example.

Notmyrealname

Ford Focus. £7500 gets you a 2 to 3 year old one.

gtanny

Nilrem wrote: »

For £7.5k you might be able to get a new/very nearly new Kia (IIRC our local dealer does ex demo cars for about £7k with the full 7 year warranty*), they're not as nice as some of the others, but the MPG can be good and the warranty is good if you just want a reliable, cheap car.



*I think our local one often has Rio's with <12k miles and a full warranty + roadside assistance for ~6.5k for example.

i might speak to them tomorrow as i did like the rio but the new version was slightly out my range, i did see a couple of used new shape models but didnt look to hard at the price

so far im looking at:
Corsa - test drove one today quite nice, big enough boot, preferably diesel
Seat Ibiza - sat in one after i drove a polo and finished a lot nicer then a polo for me so a contender
ford focus 1.6 D ecodynamic, noticing a few of these in my range, always liked the focus but our local ford dealership is shocking
Fiat Grande Punto - always liked the style but reliability is an issue
Kia Rio - test drove on and my wife loved it but unless i can find used its out my range


definate no's are:
BMW 320/520d (road tax is too expensive as is running and service bills - thanks for the reccomendation though)
skoda fabia - i like the exterior styling but i want a car to last and the interior is just way to dull for me
ford fiesta - like the exteria but feels too confined inside
VW polo - test drove one and i just didnt like it

im still open to options so please keep them coming but less then 120g/km CO2 please (i want my tax <£30 if i can)

reeac

Honda Jazz? Had ours for over 6 years with not a single hiccup and it does over 50 mpg. overall.

colin79666

You won't find a new style Kia Rio for 7.5k yet as ey only came out in September. Ex demos are about 10-11k.

I've had a couple of Fiat Grande Puntos. The drivetrains are reliable enough but lots of people are having issues with suspension top strut mounts, steering racks and power steering motors. Also the interior plastics/build quality isn't great. On the plus side they are cheap to buy, run and insure so defiantly worth considering. The 1.3 multijet diesels should easily see over 50mpg.

Hintza

Brand new Fiat Panda.

colin79666

Kia Ceed 1.6 diesel with 3 or 4 years warranty left.

forgotmyname

Why not spend half your budget or less and worry less whether it does 49mpg instead of 50mpg?

Paid £2000 for my last car and sold it after 4 years for just under half that, Only sold because i needed an estate.

Paid just over £2000 for my estate and that was 2 years ago. I expect it to last several years with basic servicing.

Modern petrol cars can be more reliable these days, The diesels can be costly to fix. More highly stressed to get the
power outputs higher.