Used car recommendations- <£5,000

tescofan

hi ,looking for some opinions into my pending used car purchase.

My budget is £5,000 max. and I am looking for a hatchback in the vauxhall corsa/Nissan micra/honda jazz mould.

Lots of choices but I'm severely limited by the fact that my partner whom I'll be sharing the car with, can only drive an Automatic.

I am 24 with a full licence from 2009 (5 years). Still, anything above insurance groups ~6-8 are an unaffordable four digits. Therefore Honda Jazz is out (1.4 litre cars are expensive to insure) and Toyota Yaris is borderline. Realistically, only the Vauxhall Corsa or Nissan Micra (2003 and later) are in, at about £800 per annum insurance. I'd prefer not to drive the superminis like 107 or C1.

For £5,000- what sort of year and mileage could I realistically expect from a corsa or micra? Also, what sort of scope of discount can I expect from a dealer?

I've seen a 27,000 mile 57 reg 1.2 5Door Corsa on Autotrader at £4500 from a dealer, and will go and view it sometime soon. How much could I knock off that price? Some say 15% but isn't that a little cheeky for not much money to begin with?

TIA

Wh05apk

When you refer to insurance groups, have you actually checked quotes?


The reason I ask is that groups are only a guide, when we were looking for a car for my daughter, one of the cheapest was a 1.3 Yaris, which was probably about gp8? "Gp1" cars are popular with learners and so premiums tend to be higher despite being a lower group.

forgotmyname

Just because a car is a low group doesnt mean the insurance is cheaper.

I used to insure a group 18 car for less than the cost of a group 13 car.

GwylimT

I just did a dummy quote for my son who has been driving for three years and recently lost his no claims bonus as he attempted to drive through another car, for a 1.3 jazz (they aren't 1.4) he has a fully comp quote of £600 and he lives in a fairly dodgy area without private parking.

tescofan

I have done a few quotes- for the corsa mentioned with £250 excess it is £850, and for the Jazz with a £250 excess it is £1000, and with a £500 excess it is £850 as well! So yes indeed thank you- the insurance group thing doesn't really correspond, and there are far more Auto Jazzes than Corsas! What would you guys do in my situation, the Jazz or Corsa? And also, for a £4500 how much could I realistically knock off? TIA

GwylimT

Well honda is the most reliable car brand, occasionally have clutch problems but this is mainly due to being popular with older people.

Vauxhalls are prone to electrical faults that can be an absolute pain to fix, is it petrol or diesel? I think you could definitely get the price down.

tescofan

GwylimT wrote: »

Well honda is the most reliable car brand, occasionally have clutch problems but this is mainly due to being popular with older people.

Vauxhalls are prone to electrical faults that can be an absolute pain to fix, is it petrol or diesel? I think you could definitely get the price down.

don't cover that many miles so petrol, and will be going for an auto as well as partner can't drive manual :mad:

facade

Get the Jazz with the £500 excess.

If the worst happens and you crash it, you won't be claiming unless you write it off anyway, as it will hit your renewal prices, then the £250 isn't that much of a loss as you saved £150 on the insurance so you will only be down £100.

funkycoldribena

Jazz over corsa every time.
What about a Fabia?

clayton16749

Jazz over Corsa any day, my personal favourite would be a Yaris


http://www.motors.co.uk/car-35819866/sr

tescofan

thanks alot all of you! An odd thing happened today. I was again making dummy quotes but this time in a friend's place, and the quotes came out even cheaper?!?!?! It's now £730 for a Corsa, £770 for a Yaris and £830 for a Jazz, all on a £350 excess! Really odd isn't it?

Have a few more questions:
1.) Can anyone tell me how much could I realistically knock off a £4500-£5000 window price car?
2.) Is it worth paying that bit extra for a manufacturer approved used car? I've seen a few Yaris-es which are Toyota Approved, but these seem to be £300-£500 more than their non approved counterparts?
3.) Is it worth paying £140 odd for an AA used car check, as I know almost nothing about cars?