Looking to buy a small, used car. Help!

noclaf

Anyone here own a VAG car with the DSG gearbox...interested to know how the reliability has been long-term?(mated to a petrol TSI engine)

treeroy

if money is tight for you then buy something more along the £2,000 price tag rather than £4,000

Mercdriver

treeroy said:

if money is tight for you then buy something more along the £2,000 price tag rather than £4,000

Buying lower priced cars isn't always cheaper.  

treeroy

Mercdriver said:

treeroy said:

if money is tight for you then buy something more along the £2,000 price tag rather than £4,000

Buying lower priced cars isn't always cheaper.  

Most cars priced at £2,000 will not have £2,000 worth of problems wrong with them.

I bought a car for £2,000 recently and got no real issues at all.

Thurrafork

Hello

Thanks so much for all the responses so far. This really helps!

Right, I don't need an estate, or really anything on the large end of the small car spectrum. I'm alone, *sob*, so this will only be for driving myself about.

Yes, I've been looking at the Skoda. It seems pretty solid for a good price. Although I'm keen to get a car in a lower tax band and most of the Fabia's I've seen have been £125.(Although I suspect I shouldn't allow the tax band thing to become a deciding factor.) Also, the mpg seems a smidge lower than other makes.
The Polo seems great - always recommended. But of course a bit more expensive on average.
I'm still quite interested in the Kia Picanto/Rio or Hyundai i10/i20, but reviews seem mixed, and there's the aforementioned issue of potentially more expensive parts. Although, as has been said, maybe that is not a realistic concern.
I always thought the Vauxhall Corsa was meant to be pretty reliable, so I was surprised to hear of the quality issues. And as for insurance, most of the Corsas seem to be in the 06E insurance group, which should in theory be cheaper than my current old Peugeot 206 (which is in the 07 group).

Speaking of insurance... After suggestions here and a bit of research I was pretty much decided on the SEAT Ibiza - it seems pretty great! But then I saw that they are in the 12E insurance group - which means my insurance would basically double! Am I misunderstanding something here? Why would the Ibiza be so much more expensive to insure than other superminis?

Let me know your thoughts folks!

Thanks

angrycrow

Insurance groups are largely irrelevant when determining price. My fiesta was only a 1.4 zetec but was the most expensive to insure car I have ever owned due to being popular with new male drivers who crash them. It cost more to insure the fiesta with 9 years ncb than for my Audi cabriolet with 0 ncb. Do some comparative quotes to see how they work out. 

parking_question_chap

I would go for a Honda Civic or Honda Jazz. Might be 8 or 9 years old but they are very reliable motors. Dont focus too much on getting a 1.2 You might be glad to have a little more oomph on longer rides and should be less stress on a bigger engine. Economy is determined by how you drive too.

Best of luck.

[Deleted User]

jamieboo said:

I'd prefer an engine of no more than 1.2ltr to help keep the road tax cost lower.

My 1.6 Focus is zero tax. It's based on emissions not engine size. 

daveyjp

When buying cheap buy simple.  Avoid turbos, DSG gearboxes etc, all are expensive to fix.

fatbelly

You should see if you can get a drive in a VW up/Skoda Citigo/Seat Mii (all the same car).
They were very well liked when they came out in 2012 and superminis don't have a lot of advantage over them, if any.
3k will buy a nice one now.
I've driven long distances in a Citigo and no problems. 60mpg, cheap insurance, zero road tax. False boot floor is useful when you put the seats down.