£10k car to keep for 10 years?

k6chris

My first foray into reducing motoring costs by running an older, higher mileage car is on the cusp of becoming 'suboptimal'. Looking at previous advice here, on lower cost motoring, the answer seemed to be 'buy a car and keep it for a long time'. I drive about 12,000 miles a year, including some light, but long-distance towing. So, if I want to buy a car for £10k and keep it for 10 years, what are the key characteristics I should be looking for? What should I avoid? Thanks!

Zero_Gravitas

The key characteristic is that it should be a Skoda Octavia...

foxy-stoat

Get an RX450h - should last the distance.

vacheron

Zero_Gravitas wrote: »

The key characteristic is that it should be a Skoda Octavia...

I was going to say Octavia (specifically a Diesel Octavia), which is basically a bomb proof Passat with a few less bells and whistles.

We had 2 as site cars which covered almost 200K each and they were utterly indestructible. When we swapped them for Insignias and we aren't even going to go there!

elsien

Another Skoda vote - my last one was 11 years old and still going strong with no expensive repairs needed at the point where I stupidly managed to write it off.

jimbo6977

Pre-reg!

Be quick and you can get an old model Nissan Juke.

Otherwise Fiat Tipo.

https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/best-pre-reg-and-nearly-new-car-deals/

k6chris

vacheron wrote: »

I was going to say Octavia (specifically a Diesel Octavia), which is basically a bomb proof Passat with a few less bells and whistles.

We had 2 as site cars which covered almost 200K each and they were utterly indestructible. When we swapped them for Insignias and we aren't even going to go there!

Yes, I like Skodas too. One question, some of them now have small capacity, turbo charged engines, as opposed to old school larger blocks. Is this likely to be an issue??

vacheron

k6chris wrote: »

Yes, I like Skodas too. One question, some of them now have small capacity, turbo charged engines, as opposed to old school larger blocks. Is this likely to be an issue??

IIRC I think small turbo'd (1.2, 1.4) engines tend to be petrol.

Ours were the 2.0 TDI's. But they regularly returned 50-60MPG on motorway trips.

NeverEnough

Older Volvos can also reach starship mileages if well maintained, especially D5 engines.

Aylesbury_Duck

Toyotas are a good car for this as well. The old Carina and now the Avensis are used heavily by taxi drivers. A contact of mine runs a firm that has had several of them go over 250k miles without significant expense.

pinkteapot

vacheron wrote: »

IIRC I think small turbo'd (1.2, 1.4) engines tend to be petrol.

Ours were the 2.0 TDI's. But they regularly returned 50-60MPG on motorway trips.

Superb (next size up from Octavia) here, 2.0 TDI - three years old and gets 50-55MPG on motorway trips, and we're not economical drivers. :rotfl: Nearer 60MPG on 60 limit roads.

We've had ours from new and plan to keep it a good long while.