Help needed with prospective second hand car purchase

steven0121

Hi, my partner is looking to buy a second hand car as she is going to move work location and it’s not serviced well by public transport,

It’s  to far to cycle. She hasn’t driven in 4/5 years, she is happy to take refresher courses, but is asking me for options about a reliable car around £4/5K that would be cheap to maintain etc.

I would guess at about 15K miles per year max. She has excellent credit, and I was wondering if a 0% credit card might be a way to go?

She likes the fiat 500 but can’t find one in her price bracket with reasonable mileage. Size of the car is not an issue, smaller the better if anything.

I know nothing about cars, so any help you could give she would find very helpful.

Thanks for anything you can advise.

Stubod

..go onto the Autotrader website and do a search based on your needs, (eg you can type in min and max price etc.) ...should  give a few options...

Goudy

The Fiat 500 is a jazzed up version of the older 2008 model Fiat Panda, same as the second generation Ford Ka from 2008.
You have to pay a premium for the 500 as they are a as much a fashion accessory as a car and they are less practical that the Panda they were based on.
I've driven plenty of both and the 500 does feel like it's hemming you in as the door is quite close to your arm/elbow, it's quite tight width ways.

A post 2012 Panda would be a better bet, they have more room in them and much more practical. The chassis and running gear is an update on the 500, so a drive better particularly on 14" wheels (the 500 on large wheels is a pretty rough drive), they are actually built really well, very reliable if you ignore the Dualogic semi auto gearbox version.
They'll be cheaper to insure too.

Stick with the 1.2 69hp four cylinder engine, it's much smoother than the 2 cylinder Twinair (which is rarer in the Panda than the 500 anyway)  it's pretty much fuss free, though it does need a cambelt change after 5 years (same as the 1.2 500), that's worth remembering if you're looking at that age of car.
The Twinair engine is pretty heavy on fuel but only marginally more powerful and a lot more fussy to look after, there are reports of some seriously expensive Multiair failures along with some DMF problems.

Dealers tended to pile Pandas high (pre built stock) and sell them off on cheap PCP deals, so there's always a good stock of good value late plate cars around on dealer forecourts for thousands less than a 500.

With either 1.2 Panda or 500, there's only a couple of niggly areas to really check out (as pointed out, steer clear of the Dualogic).
The sump pans can get a bit rusty and on older cars, so can the rear axles, easy to check with a quick look under each end.
The 500 can also suffer from wiring issues to the tailgate, so check the rear wiper/washer, number plate lights and remote opening work properly.

Alanp

Something Japanese, Suzuki swift, Toyota Yaris, Honda jazz, these  have a reputation for reliability, of course it depends on how they are looked after, probably a better bet than a fiat 

mobileron

If u want reliability its skoda,honda jazz,hyundia ,Kia.

cognoscenti

Have a look at the VW Up/Skoda Citigo/Seat Mii family of cars too; reliable, cheap to run, spacious inside and surprisingly fun to drive for a small car. 
Because they're not as pretty as the Fiat 500, there's not that price premium so far better value.

steven0121

Thanks to all that have posted, great to see a lot of agreement on certain manufacturers. The looks of the Fiat was a big pull for her, but she really wants the best bang for her buck at the end of the day.

annabanana82

I've been looking for a car, and there seems to be huge amounts of Hyundai i10's. They all seem  quite reasonable 

Alanp

My sons gf bought an l10 a couple of years ago and is quite pleased with it

cymruchris

annabanana82 said:

I've been looking for a car, and there seems to be huge amounts of Hyundai i10's. They all seem  quite reasonable 

They are basic, fairly plasticy inside, but reasonably reliable. You'd find the likes of the Honda Jazz/Fiat/VW's to be a bit more tactile to the feel in terms of the interior. 

annabanana82

cymruchris said:

annabanana82 said:

I've been looking for a car, and there seems to be huge amounts of Hyundai i10's. They all seem  quite reasonable 

They are basic, fairly plasticy inside, but reasonably reliable. You'd find the likes of the Honda Jazz/Fiat/VW's to be a bit more tactile to the feel in terms of the interior. 

They are far too small for my needs, only ever been in a Tuscon which I quite liked. 
I was really hoping to get something for £4-5k but it seems to be mainly 10 yr olds cars for that price. Where as if I go to £9k I can pick up a 3/4 year old car with low mileage. But I come out in hives thinking about spending that much