Which car would you choose?

bluedrop

Dear all,
After spending a few hours researching, we zeroed on the following cars.

Honda Jazz
HOnda Civic
Toyota Corolla
VW polo
Hyundai i10

With our budget limitations, we can afford the following. If you were me, which car would you choose and why.

1. 2008 Hyundai i10 1.1 Classic 5dr-30000miles - via trader on Autotrader (£5000)

2. 2006 Honda Civic 2.2 I-CTDi SE 5dr Diesel Hatchback- 37500 miles - via a dealer 20 miles away (£3650)

3. 2005 Honda Civic 1.6i VTEC Executive 5-Door - Via Honda used cars - 55k miles - £5850

4. 2007 Volkswagen Golf 1.4 S 80 [AC] 5dr - 57000 miles - via autotrader (£6000)

5 (£3,599)2007 Honda Jazz 1.4 I-DSi SE 5dr CVT-7 Hatchback - via trader 10 miles away- 52000 miles

6. 2007 Toyota Corolla Verso 1.8 VVT-i T3 5dr Estate - 44000 miles - Via auto trader - (£5100)

We've been considering upto 6yrs old. Would you suggest we consider older cars as well - we are a young couple with a 4yr old child. Our usage will be appx 2500 miles a year.

Is buying approved cars better than buying from a trader on Autotrader or from ebay?

getmore4less

with such a low mileage why not look at cars with higher mileage so cheaper/newer

Have you compared tax insurance.

2010 Fabias are in that price range

bluedrop

I was about to ask this...how much mileage should be okay? We hope to use the car for atleast 5 yrs.

Am I likely to have more problems if I buy a say 70000 miles car than a 40000 miles one? Which one is better - older car with less mileage or newer car with more mileage?

LandyAndy

That's an odd mixture of cars.

How do an i10, a Golf and a Verso meet the same needs?

Mazda2 (current style) is a nice car.

gabitzul

The 2006 civic is suspiciously cheap, are you sure you haven'y mixed the price up with the 2005 one (1.6 means is the old shape)?

Ultrasonic

bluedrop wrote: »

Our usage will be appx 2500 miles a year.

Your list includes a mix of diesels and petrols: you'd probably be better off with a petrol than a diesel car given your very low annual mileage. You'll pay extra for a diesel car and the higher fuel economy won't make up for this with such low mileage. Diesels also don't cope as well with lots of short journeys (guessing what your typical driving may be for such low mileage).

You've listed cars ranging from £3650 to £6000, that's a pretty big range! It might be helpful if you said a little more about what you are really happy to spend, and what your requirements from a car are? Why did you shortlist the one you have? There are obviously far more options than the 6 you have listed. Out of interest what car do you have now, and what do you like/not like about it? Oh, and you say you'd shortlisted a VW Polo and then listed a Golf? Polos would obviously be cheaper.

Ultrasonic

bluedrop wrote: »

Is buying approved cars better than buying from a trader on Autotrader or from ebay?

It's a balance of risk versus lower price. What is 'better' is up to you to decide. In large part it will come down to how confident you are at judging the condition of a car by inspecting and driving it.

Weird_Nev

One thread not good enough for you?
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4034051

getmore4less

I think you need to read both your threads again and think more about your usage.

[STRIKE]Is this a second car.[/STRIKE]

toys or basic model.

3-5year costings
tax, insurance, fuel, maintanence,MOT.

this is what you said in your first post
Here is our situation:
Newly qualified driver - first car
We'll use it for local travel and long distance holidays - all together max 2000 miles a year
We have a 4 yr old child
We don't want to spends loads on maintainnce and repairs
We are looking for a 5 door car that has cheap insurance, safe reliable and just serves the purpose

Check the insurance that will most likely be the biggest spend, then fuel then tax.
Look for cars that allow a 2 year service interval

Ultrasonic

Weird_Nev wrote: »

One thread not good enough for you?
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4034051

I like the way the list of cars at the top of this thread bears no resemblance whatsoever to the suggestions on the other thread!

forgotmyname

6 years old, I wouldnt be spending more than £2000.

At the low yearly mileage a very high mileage petrol car will last you many years. With basic servicing.

But thinking about it 2500 miles a year do you really need a car?

Hire one when the need arises, Or spend a lot less on one?