Reliable reliable reliable

wibs

Hi Motoring experts

My situation is that I have a 54 VW Polo that is struggling to carry on. It loses power about every third journey and he EPC light comes on, the engine management light has been on fro a month but perhaps more significantly a rather loud humming noise is occurring, garage say it is the gearbox which will eventually go.

Ive basically written it off in my mind.

I want a car for about 1-2 grand, I have one requirement and one requirement alone. It needs to be reliable (actually two requirements it needs to be an automatic!)

I do about 7k miles a year mainly in a ten mile each way fairly traffic heavy journey to work. I dont care if it is flash, I dont care if it s new I dont care if it is fast. I just need it to be reliable for peace of mind

Ive looked on line and the general concensus seems to be either a Toyota Corolla or a Honda Civic type car.

IS it worth getting one that is say ten years old with low mileage or can I expect things will start to fall apart due to its age?

Or is there another car I could purchase that could see me potter along quite contentedly with no problems?

thanks for any suggestions

ballyblack

buying a ten year old car with low mileage is not a good idea,


a younger car with higher mileage would be a better bet

forgotmyname

Spend a quarter of your 1 to 2 grand and fit a new gearbox.

What fault codes are you getting when the engine light comes on?

jay87

Honda Jazz CVT Automatic 1.4 petrol

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201309108722047/sort/default/usedcars/transmission/automatic/model/jazz/make/honda/onesearchad/used/onesearchad/nearlynew/onesearchad/new/postcode/gl44sb/page/1/radius/1501?logcode=p

Strider590

wibs wrote: »

IS it worth getting one that is say ten years old with low mileage or can I expect things will start to fall apart due to its age?

Always go for cars that have done an average mileage, that's 10k-12k per year.
Buying low mileage cars is the usual sh*t spouted by the same idiots that go around telling everyone that VW Golf are the most reliable cars.

Low mileage is acceptable on something special, like a kitcar or a rare sportscar, but on on an every day runabout, it'll be nothing but trouble.

portly1

Strider590 wrote: »

Always go for cars that have done an average mileage, that's 10k-12k per year.
Buying low mileage cars is the usual sh*t spouted by the same idiots that go around telling everyone that VW Golf are the most reliable cars.

Low mileage is acceptable on something special, like a kitcar or a rare sportscar, but on on an every day runabout, it'll be nothing but trouble.

No car no matter what age or mileage will be guaranteed to be fault free in time.

Personally I look for servicing by a main reputable dealer. If it is a low mileage vehicle I would expect to see as a minimum a full service every 12 months no matter what the mileage.

High or low, it doesn't matter - what does matter is the quality and regularity of a service. If a diesel with say 7000 miles a year, the oil & filter should be changed every 6 months.

forgotmyname

£2200 on a car thats older than their current car and for some reason just come back from a full respray?

Will it really average over 50mpg? Doubtful..

benson1980

I'd go for what you suggest (Corolla or Civic/Jazz), possibly adding a Yaris in there if its not too small. I've got an auto 02 plate civic on just under average miles, cheap as chips to run, never goes wrong and easy to work on/service (if you're into diying). Just keep up the servicing including oil changes in the auto box

skivenov

For 1 to 2 grand, whatever you end up buying, you're rolling the dice, because whatever you buy for 2 grand this year can easily be next year's banger/MOT fail, and in my opinion, you could well find you're selling your problems and buying someone else's.

I'd personally stick with the Polo, and get a proper opinion on the engine fault.

If the one you've got's an auto, they can get a bit noisy, but they're not known for dying. Get the box oil renewed with decent quality oil, and see what happens next.

londonTiger

its better to fix the problem on your current car, if you buy another 10 year old car you don't know when you might need a new clutch, gearbox, radiator replacement etc and other expensive repairs. At least with your polo you know that other aspects are sound.

jase1

skivenov wrote: »

For 1 to 2 grand, whatever you end up buying, you're rolling the dice, because whatever you buy for 2 grand this year can easily be next year's banger/MOT fail, and in my opinion, you could well find you're selling your problems and buying someone else's.

You say that, but I very nearly recently bought an 07-plate Mitsubishi Lancer with FSH and in near-immaculate condition for £1700.

I'd be very surprised if that car was a banger next year

But then you do need to be patient, and wait out for the right car to come along.

I didn't buy the Lancer purely because the 03 plate Mitsubishi I currently own sailed through its MOT and was given a clean bill of health by my regular garage. No reason to change yet.

All that said, I would agree that getting the gearbox fixed, and whatever sensor problems the car has, is very likely to prove more cost-effective than a new vehicle.

Oh -- and to the OP, if you're after Japanese reliability on a budget, the rather bland Mitsubishi small/medium cars can be a very good alternative to the Hondas and Toyotas. They're just as reliable but tend to be overlooked as they have no image to speak of. The engineering is usually quite conventional and outdated for their age as well, which is a bad thing when buying new but at £2000, all that blandness becomes a big positive.