Best small car under £3000

ANDY597

I'm a plus one on fatbellys recommendation for one of the following.

Seat Mii/Skoda Citigo/Volkswagen Up

I have the citigo greentech elegance, no road tax, about 65 mpg if you eco drive, about 55 if you don't and quite frankly the best small car I've driven.

Cheap to insure, and servicing it yourself is super easy.

AdrianC

The Up!/Citigo/Mivvi recommendation might be a good one at a higher pricepoint, but "under £3k" is the very, very bottom end for them. If they aren't Cat write-offs, then they'll be scruffy at best.

As with anything, if you're not fussy about what you want, and your budget is fairly fixed and lower-end, then it's not worth getting too hung up on "what's best", Not only will the generally acknowledged "best car" be poor value, because it has that reputation, but when you're looking at cars approaching a decade old, anything can be a shed. Buy on condition, and condition alone - and don't be afraid to go against the crowd wisdom.

JennyJukes

My 09 Aygo was 3.5k in '15 @ 55000 miles.
It's now 10 years old, 75000 miles. All inner-city driving.
In my time of having it I've had to replace suspension and wishbone. Wishbone was due to my car sliding on ice and hitting a kerb. Suspension was possibly bad driving in the beginning.
I also have to get a replacement clutch on Monday and I read that it's common for the Aygo and C1 to need a clutch replacement around 20-40k! Unsure if any previous owners of mine already replaced theirs.
Also needed break pipes fixed but they weren't that expensive.

This is the only car I've ever had so I can't really compare to any other however comparing it to my colleagues cars (all more expensive cars or..renaults) it's been really cheap and reliable. Cheap to cost and generally to fix. It all depends on its service history, how its been driven and how you'll drive it though I guess. It's still worth around £1200 and I can see it lasting for at least the next 2 years (well, I need it to!)

£20 road tax. £25 per month insurance. Only really need to put petrol in once a month.

Scrapit

sheslookinhot wrote: »

Why would anyone, who is not a car buff, know that information ?

Cos they look the same.

Soph1988

Many cars looks similar to each other... I wouldn't presume they were all made in the same factory. Of course the three cars mentioned look similar - hence why I'm interested in those three... but I certainly wouldn't assume the three different types of make of vehicle were made in the same factory. I don't really see why people feel the need to spend their time commenting on a reasonable question on a MONEY SAVING website to just ridicule or antagonise people.

A post was made early in the thread which gave the facts that they were all made in the same place, which was informative and useful. What sort of person must you really be to then ridicule someone for not knowing this? It is sad that it seems every thread on this website always has a few people who are just so nasty to others. I have no doubt it'll be the sites downfall and has already seen many excellent contributors leave the site in the past. Shame on you.

Thank you very much to those who gave constructive and help advice / experiences, its helped massively!

Car_54

sheslookinhot wrote: »

Why would anyone, who is not a car buff, know that information ?

If you read some reviews, either on line or in What Car etc. magazines, at least one would have mentioned it.


I'd suggest that reading as many reviews as you can should be your priority. Certainly much better than asking random strangers on a forum.

LadyDee

I have a Toyota Aygo to sell (available mid-September) 59 reg, owned from new 25,500 miles. Full service history. Just what you're looking for OP if you are in the RG postcode area.

ratrace

Soph1988 wrote: »

Many cars looks similar to each other... I wouldn't presume they were all made in the same factory. Of course the three cars mentioned look similar - hence why I'm interested in those three... but I certainly wouldn't assume the three different types of make of vehicle were made in the same factory. I don't really see why people feel the need to spend their time commenting on a reasonable question on a MONEY SAVING website to just ridicule or antagonise people.

A post was made early in the thread which gave the facts that they were all made in the same place, which was informative and useful. What sort of person must you really be to then ridicule someone for not knowing this? It is sad that it seems every thread on this website always has a few people who are just so nasty to others. I have no doubt it'll be the sites downfall and has already seen many excellent contributors leave the site in the past. Shame on you.

Thank you very much to those who gave constructive and help advice / experiences, its helped massively!

Dont take it personal, unfortunately you get clowns everwhere and MSE is no exception. dont let it put it off from using the site overall it a good place to get information, all the best with your new car

fatbelly

ANDY597 wrote: »

I'm a plus one on fatbellys recommendation for one of the following.

Seat Mii/Skoda Citigo/Volkswagen Up

I have the citigo greentech elegance, no road tax, about 65 mpg if you eco drive, about 55 if you don't and quite frankly the best small car I've driven.

Cheap to insure, and servicing it yourself is super easy.

I've inherited one of those (same model). Thought about selling it on but it costs so little to run, I use it as a second car.

Adrian is right that 3k is a bit low (at the moment) to get a decent one but the OP did say they could go to £3500 and you can always haggle a bit.

Edit: just checked for a valuation on mine (63 reg) on Parkers and it's £2,510 for 'private good'

AdrianC

fatbelly wrote: »

Edit: just checked for a valuation on mine (63 reg) on Parkers and it's £2,510 for 'private good'

...now look on Autotrader...