Need a car for just 1 year

bluedrop

We are relocating abroad next year. My husband had to take up a new project at work and the location is quite rural. He has to take the car to work. I work from home, however, I will need a reliable small car for school runs, after school classes, grocery shopping etc. I will be doing around 5-7 miles a day.

I have no clue about buying a used car. Please can I ask for some advise? Should I go for a really cheap car (under £1k) or get a reasonable car for around £3-4k? What to look for in a cheap car? Can I rely on a long MOT for the car to run for a year? Do I need to check anything else? (Cam belt etc).

Thanks for reading

martinthebandit

Buy the cheapest car you can that has a years MOT, get it serviced, buy decent break down cover and keep a few quid set aside in the bank for any repairs that may arise.

Don't get hung up on needing a small car though.

onomatopoeia99

For that usage get something petrol, and it doesn't have to be small, they aren't any cheaper to maintain or less likely to go wrong. No car likes only being used for short journeys but petrols cope better with it that diesels.

You can't rely on the MOT for anything other than to say it met the safety standard on the day of the test. A car can have major faults that don't stop it from passing an MOT.

bluedrop

Thanks all.

Should I be looking for something under a certain mileage or would even 100k+ cars be ok ?

Any specific makes that age better than others? I have no clue, but for example, should I prefer a 2005 skoda over a 2009 Hyundai?

martinthebandit

You should be looking at, price, service history and length of MOT, age and mileage are almost irrelevant at the price point your looking at. Especially irrelevant is how much you like the look of it, and as has been said get a petrol model.

foxy-stoat

Find a local private seller than has owned and serviced the car for a few years. Choose a HPI clear car with full history - easier to sell on when you do leave the country.

marlot

bluedrop wrote: »

Thanks all.

Should I be looking for something under a certain mileage or would even 100k+ cars be ok ?

Any specific makes that age better than others? I have no clue, but for example, should I prefer a 2005 skoda over a 2009 Hyundai?

I'd say the other way around. But favour a jazz or a yaris over both of them.

bluedrop

Are mercs good? I found a 2007 A150 with full service history.

DigForVictory

What's your budget like for any spares? It might all work fine, but then again...

Says the devout Mondeo driver. They are not little cars but miword there are a lot of them around, they're relatively cheap & if they're still running at 100K odds on they'll still be running in another year.

Oh and you can load the children, all their school stuff, several best friends and all the go for a swim then have a barbeque tackle into one. Boot space galore!

Bigphil1474

Main thing is, you want something cheap, reliable, and easy to get rid of next year. I'd suggest a Ford.
Merc. spare parts aren't usually cheap. Something like a Ford is usually pretty good for the common repairs. I have a 10 year old Fiesta which has the occasional issue, but never spent more than a £200 a year on repairs. FSH is usually a good sign but not a guarantee. Gotta love a mondeo, but I think the diesels are better and probably a bit big for your purposes. Worth asking any friends/family in the area if they know anyone selling a car, as more likely to know it's history. Do you have a reliable local garage you use regularly? Might be worth speaking to them, see if they know of any cars going, and get them to give it the once over.

Catapa

bluedrop wrote: »

I will be doing around 5-7 miles a day.
Thanks for reading

Get a cargo bike or cargo pedelec for the school run:



While cargo bikes are not cheap, they keep their value better than any car.
If you are not comfortable on two wheels, Baboe makes some large tri-cycles thay could fit four small children or two teenagers.